Closer and Closer we get...

-For the record, "Long Road To Ruin" by Foo Fighters is pure awesomeness.

-Beyond the Boxscore has a great overview on the impact, if any, injections truly have on the team's ability to come back and beat the other team. Last year's evidence suggests no real answer to the question, "Does getting ejected cause a team to get a spark?" This is one of those "numbers just won't tell you anything" discussions. Why? Well, it's simple. Anytime, and Chipper Jones mentions it, the evidence is found in "it seems we get a spark" from something, what that really means 10 times out of 10 is that you only remember the positives, not the negatives and in this case, it doesn't seem there is much motivation is watching your manager get ejected.

Not to say not ejected is the right way. I love that Cox battles for his players. It helps out the clubhouse. I just don't seem to think getting ejected is a significant spark. For instance, it may get a team's leaders to say, "he was pissed with us and we need to do better." That may have long-term consequences. See Lou Pinella's tirade last year against the Braves. His team, for whatever reason, played better in the weeks that followed. Maybe, just maybe, it was due to the ejection.

All that said...who the hell knows?

-At a blog of a Phillies fan, A Citizen's Blog, ranks the top three NL East staffs. Mike seems convinced that the Braves will have the best staff in the division. I don't agree, but I think he underscores a truth that is setting up. The Johan Santana trade makes the Mets better, but does it make them that much better? The Phils have Brett Myers/Cole Hamels, the Braves have Smoltz/Hudson, and the Mets have Santana/Pedro. Name-value alone, the Mets have the better one-two punch. Truth has it up in the air. I do think the Mets/Braves have better depth than the Phils.

-AJC has been busy. First, there is Mark Bradley talking up the Braves pitching. Not a whole lot here as Bradley's not DOB/Bowman. But he does seem to indicate, with the possible pushing of Frank Wren, that Chuck James may not even make the 25-man roster this spring. That is actually a bit newsworthy.

-DOB provides the 10 keys to success for the Braves. I think he was running out of shit when he said Mark Kotsay had to be a catalyst. Though...if he's pushing KJ lower in the order...he better damn well be a super duper catalyst.

-Elsewhere, Chipper Jones filed in on a DOB article with some, at times, jerky sounding remarks. Here is the direct link to where it begins.

-Um, that's all for now.

-I said that's all dammit.

Slow week, random links

The week between Christmas and New Years is dead time for most of the country, baseball included. Even if you work, you aren't really "there," ya know? I only worked two days last week and I am not afraid to say I should have been paid for maybe a half-day. Maybe.

-Bobby Cox got some love from Jeff Passan's New Years Resolutions article found here.

I resolve to get ejected for all the right reasons, which include balls and strikes, bad calls on the bases, close plays at the plate, umpires breathing wrong, butterflies flapping their wings, Joe Morgan mispronouncing a name, a keyboard being used somewhere in America and photosynthesis occurring.

-I can talk all day about Cox's abilities as a manager in the game, but one thing I respect about him is that he fights for his players moreso than any other manager I have ever seen. He's not behind his players so much as they are holding him back. Also, check out the Tommy Lasorda link. Kinda racey. Don't worry, Tommy. This Tommy enjoys some girl-on-girl porn, too.

-Speaking of odd things, Oscar Villarreal got a two-year deal with an option for 2010 from the 'Stros. $2.85M. I guess it's not a terrible signing, but Villy really isn't good enough to deserve more than a one-year deal and an option. You can always do better than Villy and you never want to be tied down to him. He's like the girl you settle with because you gotta be with someone, ya know.

-Mark Bowman slurped on the Murph for awhile. Cox, John Schuerholz, and Pete Van Weiren all guest-star in this Made-For-Hallmark tale about a good guy who could hit homers and for some reason, that wasn't enough for the Hall. Fact is...the Hall of Fame is for the best of the best of the best. Murphy is not one of those guys.

-Bowman delegated a duty to some random person, who wrote up the Braves Year In Review. Oddly, Peterson Orr didn't even get mentioned.

-The Chop Chick (she's a man, baby!) put together a Farm Report for the AJC. The article is...hard to read. That's an understatement. I have brain leakage after reading about Boyer and Devine.

-Boyer and Devine would have been a great title of an 80's show.

-Finally, I missed this, but on December 17th, the Braves signed Jorge Campillo to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Campillo is 29 and a veteran of eight major league games with one start. When he came out of the Mexico League three years ago, he was one of their best pitchers. Decent, not great, minor league numbers. Horrible, or horrid, major league numbers. Long shot, but I like these type of players. Maybe McDowell can get him going.

Happy New Year, children.

Glavine Lovefest!

Now the AJC just loves themselves some Glavmeat.

Family ties brought Glavine back to Atlanta

What the frick did Alex P. Keaton have to do with Glavine? Well, they answer that in the first paragraph.

During his five years in New York with the Mets, Tom Glavine stayed up late after games, watched Tivo until 3 or 4 a.m. and slept until noon.

So, essentially, Glavine was watching a lot of Family Ties while he was a Met. Something about Keaton's Reagan love brought him back to the conservative Georgia. And Glav, you were once from Massachusetts. The shame.

The one-year, $8 million contract he signed with the Braves last month was $5 million less than the Mets' offer. It was a financial sacrifice Glavine was glad to make.

The Mets didn't make an offer, Carroll Rogers. They were on the hook to pay Glavine $13 million anyway. Glavine DECLINED an option and received a $3M buyout. So, really, Glavine will make $11 million next year, Carebear. Seriously, I hate when they let the nonbaseball people write for the AJC. Though, Terrence ain't much better, I guess.

I am in the Christmas spirit.

Week in Review

When I work during the week, I rarely if ever keep track of the Braves, baseball, my cat, or my bathing routine. Perhaps I've said too much. Anywho, here is a recap of the week's events involving the Braves. Some of this may be old news to you, some of it may have been mislooked, but all of it is NEWS! I feel so Dan Ratherish.

The Savannah Morning News mentions that maybe John Schuerholz's decision to move to President was due in at least part to the fact that he didn't want to deal with Glavine or try to replace Bobby Cox. Hear that, John? The SMN calls you a pussy. What now?

Meanwhile, the favorite target of this blog, the AJC, had a Frank Wren piece from Jeff Schultz. It's your basic fluff piece with a little history on Wren that you probably will never be asked about on Jeopardy. This Schuerholz/Wren shake-up is kind of reminding me of the Bill Parcells/Wade Phillips shake-up in Dallas. One guy is the bigger personality - both in the media and the way he is portrayed. However, Wren won't have direct contact.

I'm still not sure this setup will work so well. If Schuerholz feels the itch to do the GM job, it could break down rather quick.

Crooked Pitch had a look at the Braves outfield in 2007. Decent objective piece, though he is dreaming if he feels Brandon Jones can be the starting center fielder in 2008.

Speaking of center field, Torri Hunter has expressed a desire to play in Atlanta next year. Last year, I railed against getting Tom Glavine and this year, I would rather have Glavine than Hunter. If you look at Hunter's career, he has two pretty good years, three pretty shitty years, and four average to slightly better-than average campaigns. Why the hell would I want to pay $13-$15 million for that? Yes, he is coming off a solid year, but he still posted a pedestrian .334 OBP and a hardly notable .505 SLG to go with his 122 OPS+. All told, his year wasn't that much better than any other year.

Put it this way. As I was preparing for my next chopnation column, I came to the conclusion that on a money paid, production received scale, Mike Cameron trumps Hunter and I'm hardly that much of a fan of Cameron.

DOB is hyping up Jordan Schaffer. Hopefully, the kid keeps progressing, but this lovefest is getting a little scary. I believe a lot of people are convinced that Schaffer will be the starting center fielder. You have to learn from the Andy Marte's of the world that just being great in the minors and having solid potential doesn't make a star right away. "Think Grady Sizemore meets Steve Finley?" I hope he is more on the Sizemore side than Finley. The latter was a good guy, nice defender, but an average hitter. Sizemore is a damn force.

Finally, news came out today that Paul Byrd bought $24,850 of HGH between the summer of 2002 and the winter of 2005. 2002 was Byrd's career season with the Royals when he came out of nowhere to suddenly win 17 and post solid numbers. The Braves signed him in 2003 and he spent two years in Atlanta in which he started just 19 games. Maybe the HGH made him more prone to injury.

Now I'm of the camp that really downplays the impact HGH has on a player, especially a pitcher. HGH simply buils immature muscle which would be good for someone who needs girth like an offensive lineman, but not so helpful for a guy like Paul Byrd - who is a finesse pitcher. Nevertheless, this is the kind of stories that you kind of get used to. I tend to like Byrd, but jeez, you were an idiot.

So...

Didn't update as much as I thought I would yesterday. Blame Google and the programs I got from them. You would think Google Earth isn't that fun, but you'd be wrong.

So, here is a hodgepodge of stuff.

DOB is still harping on Dan Haren and Joe Blanton, but at least seems to be resigned to understand how doubtful that is. He throws Noah Lowry out as a possibility. Seriously, can the Braves not get a right-handed pitcher anymore?

Lowry had a pretty solid first two seasons, but has been bad the last two. Biggest reason? He sported a solid 7.0+ K/G in '04 and '05, but that number has slumped into the 4.7-4.9 range the past two seasons. If you can't strikeout batters, you will make things much, much harder on yourself. Seems more like a project than a serious improvement.

Elsewhere, in the DOB column..."The Kansas City Royals and GM Dayton Moore are having their organizational meetings this week in Surprise, Ariz., and a major topic of conversation is their managerial search. Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton’s name has been mentioned prominently, which comes as no surprise. But also mentioned by members of the Kansas City media has been Brian Snitker, the Braves’ third-base coach and a minor league lifer until he was brought up to the bigs to join the Braves’ staff last winter."

I don't mind either leaving. TP has watched over a very productive offense and maybe he has played a starring role, but I just don't feel he has been much more than there for the ride. Snitker has experience as a manager in the system, but don't think he'll be much of a loss either. Still holding out hope for Manny Acta being the Braves manager when Bobby leaves.

Pendleton is also a possible St. Louis target and that makes a lot of sense.

Down in Orlando, the Braves are beginning their organizational meeting. John Schuerholz once again talks up the need to focus on starting pitching and hopefully that doesn't just mean signing Tom Glavine for a fun little year. However, the real news from this column is Schuerholz almost going to the point to say that he has no faith that Hampton will be in the rotation next year. Sure, if he's healthy, probably, but the Braves can't "expect anything." Good to hear, JS. Apparently, you can teach an old dog a new trick.

Finally...Baseball America released their Top 20 Southern League Prospects. Here are the Braves players that made the cut.

5. Brandon Jones, of, Mississippi Braves
13. Brent Lillibridge, ss, Mississippi Braves
16. Jo Jo Reyes, lhp, Mississippi Braves
17. Diory Hernandez, ss, Mississippi Braves

Bit surprised by the Hernandez selection in that he doesn't seem like a true prospect, but a good minor league player and possible bench player in the majors. BJ's got some real upside, doesn't he? Matty, sorry, but BJ sticks around, I would not get too comfortable in a starting role.

Jeff Francoeur can do it!

Another AJC article...

Keep Renteria, find young arms

Yay, Norman Bisher has some fresh ideas. Keep your trading piece and find some young arms. Wonder if they'll be connected to any bodies or if that's not needed for him.

This may test his bulldogged agent, Steve Boras, who doesn’t get nearly enough doors slammed in his face. The price tag on Andruw is $20 million. This time Boras has reached his extreme. John Schuerholz can see far more value in $20 million worth of starting pitching. He can find any number of .220 hitters who can chase down fly balls for far less. Maybe this season was just a blip on Andruw’s radar screen, but at no time during the season did he give any extended promise of breaking out of it.

Jeff Francoeur could handle the job. He has the arm that Jones doesn’t have, and he has the range for it. But, he is so perfect for right field, the powerful arm, plus range to cover some of center field as well. Well, a bit of a stretch, I guess. There’s a kid named Jordan Schafer down at Myrtle Beach who gets high grades — and who is known by some as Grady Sizemore-like — but the last time the Braves found a center fielder capable of making the leap from Class A to the major leagues was Brett Butler in the early 1980s. Rafael Furcal later made the graduation at shortstop, which brings up a matter of another nature.

What Francoeur he been watching? The Francoeur I have seen is, at best, adequate in right field. Yes, he has a great arm, but his range is pretty horrific. I will write about it more in my player review, but Andruw's range has come up huge when it comes to plays in the right-center gap because Francoeur simply is not that quick, nor has great instints, nor takes great routes. By the way, speaking of Andruw, he sort of made a jump from A-ball to the majors. Started 1996 in the Carolina League, ended with Atlanta. I know, technically, you're talking about making the jump in spring like Furcal did, but it is still notable.

There’s nothing uplifting about the thought of Edgar Renteria in some other team’s cloth. He has given the Braves two years of solid joy at shortstop, but here’s the deal: If the Braves are looking for a place to readjust the payroll, they could deal Renteria and go with the younger and more agile Cuban, Yunel Escobar, for a bundle less. A cruel thought, but baseball is a game that breaks hearts.

Two things...amaze me here. One, he previously said keep Renteria. I know he said that because it is that sentiment that attracted me to the column to see what worthwhile argument he would make for keeping Renteria over Mr. Dynamic, Yunel Escobar, or Dr. Sabermetric, Kelly Johnson. Gotta work on KJ's superhero name.

But then, instead of that, Bisher says...it would hurt, but the Braves could just deal Renteria anyway.

So...why the title? And more importantly, if trading Renteria is a "cruel thought," you sir lead a semi-charmed life. And now, I have to listen to Third Eye Blind.

So, instead of working the free-agency market, retreading with aging, leathery arms, is there not the possibility of transferring one of those young, vibrant riflemen from the bullpen to starting? Just asking. Chuck James appears better suited for short-term duty, so swap him for Soriano, Acosta, Ascanio or Devine, who, for the most part, are merely names at this stage. One thing for sure, leave Peter Moylan just as he is, the best thing that happened to Braves pitching this year.

This is not how Bisher immediatelly follows the Renteria discussion, nor is it how he ends the column, but damn, this paragraph amused me. Not the Chuck James part. I'm inclined to agree, though I am not sure how much better James would be in relief. But that Soriano is just merely a name.

The guy who finished the year as the closer...

The guy who has sick stuff...

Merely a name.

God, I'm glad I don't pay money for this incredible writing.

DOB: The AJC Idea Man

Braves, Glavine to dance again?

Make it happen. Not because Glavine’s an ace at the peak of his career, but because he’s still a very good middle-rotation-quality starter who’ll pitch like a No. 1 or No. 2 many nights, who’ll probably give you 200 innings and 34-45 starts like he has every season, and be a great influence on young pitchers such as lefties Jo-Jo Reyes and Chuck James, assuming they’re still here.

I am going to say this one time, DOB. Glavine wasn't that good last year. Not "that good" because he had a down year, but not "that good" because he simply wasn't. When the season opens, Glavine will be 42 and can't strike out anyone. His ERA isn't even indicative of how poorly he pitched, even with the shitty last three games. His DERA was 4.52. It has climbed the last four years, but this year, it skyrocketed. It was his second worst full season DERA of his career (go back to his first full season for his worst). He's not going to be a "very good middle-rotation-quality starter who’ll pitch like a No. 1 or No. 2 many nights." If he's lucky, he'll outperform Chuck James.

If you can get him for $9 mill, give or take a mill, in this market that’s a bargain. (Dream - No, no, no) And also - this is important - because it’s only a one-year commitment, it should permit the Braves to go hard after a trade for a younger quality starter, a guy like Oakland’s Dan Haren or Joe Blanton, who could be available only because perpetually tight-budgeted Oakland needs to reload with prospects and knows it might have to dump one of its quality young arms to get a few young players in return.

I'm going to snip his Haren/Blanton talk. This isn't like trading for Hudson, who was in the final year of his contract. It's going to take Reyes/B.Jones/KJ to even start talking about Haren. Blanton, you might be able to put Lillibridge in for KJ, but this is going to be a helluva price to pay. Not that the Braves *can't* pay it, but it's going to put them into an odd position. Your young pitching is essentially down to Chuck James and...uh, here hopes Tommy Hansen stays healthy and moves fast.

You would pay Glavine and either one of these guys less combined in 2008 and than you’d pay any of the few good free-agent pitchers on the market, and about $5-7 million or more less than you’d have to pay a Johan Santana in 2008 (not that he’s a Braves option; too rich for this payroll).

Imagine, if you will, a Braves rotation with Smoltz, Hudson, Haren (or Blanton), Glavine, and Hampton (if healthy, he has to be in it because of salary). If Hampton’s not healthy, then you go Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes or Jeff Bennett, or maybe even Manny Acosta (he’s going to work as a starter this winter, see if that role might fit him; Braves already know he can be a real good reliever).

Folks, you win the NL East with that rotation, regardless of who you get to replace Andruw (and we can cover that later, though I think Mike Cameron is a serious candidate, more so by the day. Randy Winn would also be a good option).

Shizzle my nizzle, I agree with DOB on Winn and I think he's been stealing from me. At Chopnation, I started a thread on CF Targets and I really like the idea of going after Winn, especially if the Giants pick up some of the remaining $16M+ salary over the next couple of years.

Oh, and one more obvious reason to bring back Glavine: It would be a great story for the Braves, who’d have Smoltz and Glavine back together for what could be Bobby Cox’s final season.

I know Glavine has detractors for things he said more than a decade ago, for his union leadership, and for going to the Mets as a free agent five years ago.

And I certainly respect those views. I really do.

But consider that there are going to be no better bargains (or ones requiring only one-year commitments) among pitching free agents than Glavine, who was 13-6 with a 3.88 ERA in his first 31 starts this season, before stumbling big-time at 0-2 with a 14.81 ERA in his last three starts.

Err, remember when I said I would mention his season one time. Okay, here is a second time. Truth is...his ERA should have been MUCH MUCH worse even before those three starts. And um, a 41 year-old absolutely sucking down the stretch isn't a sign, is it? Means nothing, right? AJC - Logic is secondary.

John Smoltz and Tim Hudson were 30-16 with a 3.15 ERA this season and combined for 430 innings. But of the eight others who started games for the Braves, only Chuck James (11-10, 161-1/3 innings) and Buddy Carlyle (8-7, 104 innings) had as many as five wins or 90 innings.

Yes, it was a bad year. Yes, Glavine will likely stay healthy. Yes, he'll probably pitch 180 or more innings. No, that doesn't mean he'll be a significant improvement.

Add Glavine and a Haren or Blanton (or a lesser-but-durable pitcher from elsewhere), and without spending a ton in 2008 you’ve transformed a rotation that went just 58-58 this season and pitched only 917 innings, with a 4.45 ERA that ranked 7th in the NL.

So shitty, yet it didn't rank that shitty compared to other teams in team ERA. Hmm...maybe their win-loss record should have been better if they had a better defense or Bob Wickfattyass wasn't closing? Nah...it's all on the pitchers for they play every position on the field.

The only NL rotations that produced fewer innings were the injury-riddled units with the Cardinals, Nationals and Marlins, who had the three worst starters’ ERAs in the league.

Fucking assholes. How dare they get dragged down. By the way, if you think Bobby has a quick hook with starters who aren't Cy Young contenders, raise your hand.

Glavine can’t file for free agency until after the World Series, like everyone else. And the Braves aren’t permitted to talk to him or other free agents, at least not officially, before then.

The Braves's CIA is on it, though.

But if the Braves aren’t ready with an offer in early November, as soon as its permitted, or if they low-ball Glavine by asking him to take $6-7 mill, then they have no one to blame but themselves and should expect no sympathy.

I agree, I would show no sympathy for them. On the other hand, I would respect Schuerholz for not being an idiot and handing over a lot of cash to a question mark. Would be a nice change.

If they don’t want him because they believe he doesn’t have enough left, well, then say it. But Bobby Cox has said repeatedly that Glavine has plenty left, and Smoltz has said he’s still as good as ever (I don’t buy that, but Smoltz knows a hell of a lot more about pitching than I do, so I’ll assume Glavine at least is still good).

The article goes on, but this is where I'll stop. When has Bobby Cox ever said, "well, he just doesn't have anything left." The guy was waxing positive on Redman. And Smoltzie sticking up for a best friend? Wowzors, imagine my shock. Later today, I've heard rumors the sun will set in the west, but I don't buy it. We'll see about that one.

Way to use critical analysis.

Just when I thought I was done...

The AJC has to pull me back. Here's a fun dumbass bit from Jeff Schultz.

10: Say this for Tom Glavine: When he ends a relationship, he takes a statistical wrecking a ball to that sucker.

9: Tommy G’s final two starts with the Braves came in the 2002 playoffs: He lost both, allowing 13 earned runs on 17 hits and seven walks in 7 2/3 innings (ERA: 15.26). Glavine’s final three starts with the New York Mets: 0-2, 17 earned runs (including four home runs) on 25 hits in 10 1/3 innings (ERA: 14.81). So much for the goal of leaving them wanting more.

8: OK, that said, yes, Glavine would still be an asset to the Braves. Putting aside all of the warm-and-fuzziness of Glavine retiring as a Brave, we’re not about an objective of him being a staff ace. Given what we all saw this season, is there really a belief that he’s not good enough to be a No. 3 or possibly 4 starter in this rotation for one season? He threw 200 1/3 innings this season. His arm was dead at the end. But 200 1/3 innings would’ve ranked third on the Braves’ staff, right behind John Smoltz (205 2/3), and way ahead of Chuck James (161 1/3). What would that have meant for the rotation? And the bullpen? And playoff chances?

Jeff spends two paragraphs ripping Glavine's shitty final starts for the only two teams he has played for, then speaks of him being an asset. Now, I don't like Chuck James that much and Glavine definitely pitched better than James, but Glavine's like 60 years old by now (yay, 5 year contract!) and showed that he had nothing toward mid-September and, of course, the end of September.

Glavine won't come cheap either. It's not like he's on the street with a sign, "will throw six inches off the plate for food." James will be cheap next year. Advantage = southern boy. Tom Glavine has a player's option sitting out there for $13M.

Yeah, good job on that one, Omar Minaya.

He's not a $13M pitcher. Hell, I wouldn't give $6.5M for him. And it's a major suspension of belief to come to the conclusion that he'll accept much less than eight figures. Move on, people. Move the hell on.

Uh oh, it's Terence...

Terence Moore and I have a love-hate relationship.

To specify, I hate himself so much that I love when he comes out with such stupidity. I don't like Dave O'Brien and Mark Bowman annoys me, but they can't help being who they are. I feel Moore can...but chooses to not.

Braves make big mistake letting Andruw go

Oh, goody. Off to a great start. The Braves latest big mistake was letting the .220-hitting, rapidly aging Andruw Jones go. Hmm...maybe he likes the name of my blog, too.

Bad move.

Terrible move.

Actually, this is an atrocious move for the Braves, because manager Bobby Cox had it right for eternity when he said of Andruw Jones, who ranks 1a, 1b or 1c among baseball’s center fielders for the ages, “He has RBIs in his glove.”

Oh, the suspense. Was it bad or terrible? No, it was atrocious! I could have deleted bad and terrible, but I'm going for suspense!

It didn’t matter that Jones often looked ridiculous for long stretches after swinging and missing at pitches in search of reaching the farthest dark hole. Who cared that his batting average spent two seasons going south instead of north? No, he wasn’t much in the clutch this year, and yes, his agent is Scott Boras, the bogeyman for teams wishing to sign one of Boras’ clients below the amount of the national debt.

Who cares? Um, the Braves maybe? Jeez, Terrence, I don't know. By the way, whatever you define clutch by (I call it luck, but whatever), Andruw's career RISP is .254/.360/.444. This year? .231/.360/.439. A big jump in AVG, but a .005 point jump in SLG and OPS. No, he wasn’t much in the clutch this year

And, yes, the Braves can ease some of the post-Jones trauma with the signing of free agent Torii Hunter, the former center fielder and slugger for the Minnesota Twins. He also has a magic glove, and even though he can’t slug with Jones, he is more consistent at the plate with his ability to sustain hitting streaks.

Yes, Terence. The value of a player is not how frequently he gets on base, but whether or not he is "consistent" at "sustaining" streaks in which he gets one hit or more in a game. At value here with all the information on players that readily available is whether or not he can get a single in any amount of consecutive games. Hunter is not even that much more of a AVG hitter. He has batted .271 over his career, a wonderful eight points better than Andruw. Jeez.

That said, with the new folks at Liberty Media claiming they are willing to increase the payroll, the Braves’ Designated Geniuses should have discovered ways to acquire much-needed starting pitching while keeping Jones. In fact, Jones was part of the solution regarding that starting pitching. He is the hidden reason the Braves produced Cy Glavine, Cy Smoltz and Cy Maddux, along with all of those consecutive years of team ERAs that ranked first or second in baseball. He caught everything. He threw out everybody. He made the spectacular routine. He did so through an 11th year with the Braves that will produce a 10th Gold Glove, but management will shove Jones out the door by allowing him to become a free agent while yawning.

Well, mostly yawning. As a lifetime Braves player who contributed heavily to the franchise’s record 14 consecutive division titles, Braves officials will continue to say nice things about Jones as they wave good-bye. Still, the bottom line remains: He’s gone, and he’s only 30, and history comes to mind. Not in a good way, especially if the baseball gods wish to spank the Braves for their short-sightedness.

On one hand, Moore has a point. Andruw's defense was very helpful to the pitching success the Braves reached. Was he the hidden reason? No, but in a sense, again, his defense is underscored.

Andruw's RAA 1998-2007
98...22
99...19
00...13
01...10
02...11
03...18
04...-1
05...-5
06...-3
07...-1

Since Andruw's obvious lost step between 2003 and 2004, the Braves have only won one ERA title and have not had one Cy Young winner.

Here's Moore's problem. He doesn't account for that lost step. He also doesn't understand a lot about the relationship between defense and pitching. Yes, Andruw helps his pitching. His pitching also helps him out. His greatest numbers came before Glavine and Maddux left town. So, in essence, they were also the hidden reason Andruw looked so great. Their control led to balls he, from CF, could get a better read on because he was positioned correctly and they were hitting their spots.

Again, Andruw made them look better and he will be missed, but at the beginning of this column, Moore quoted Bobby. "He has RBIs in his glove." Yes, and they are measured by RAA. Listen, Andruw can't help the fact he gets little help from his corner outfielders and his pitchers and that does hurt him defensively and yes, he's still an incredible guy out there.

But at no time in Moore's column does he speak of what Andruw does at the plate in a positive manner except to say he outslugs Torii Hunter's career IsoSLG of .192. So, we're essentially talking about Andruw's defense and I'm here to tell you...it's great, but it ain't that great. I spent all season talking about what Andruw leaving will bring. I accept it, though, because this game, while it tends to ignore defense too many times in the modern age, is still a game played with a bat in addition to the glove. And while Andruw is a good hitter if you accept that he simply had a collassal failure of a year, Andruw's still just a guy with an adjusted OPS that is 15% better than the average. He is not, in no way, shape, or form a $15M type player.

Moore continues...though, truly, this next part is just Moore's personal masturbatory material.

Consider 1966. That was the first year Frank Robinson played for the Baltimore Orioles, and it was the first year of David Justice’s life.

Let’s start with Robinson, the undisputed star of the Cincinnati Reds for nearly a decade. He was traded to the Orioles for nothing worth mentioning before that 1966 season, because Reds owner Bill DeWitt said Robinson was “an old 30.” All that a creaky Robinson did in his first season with the Orioles was take the American League’s Triple Crown Award, lead them to their first world championship and grab World Series MVP honors. He eventually pushed the Orioles to three more pennants and another world championship (over the Reds), and then trotted to Cooperstown from there.

As for Justice, the batting hero of the Atlanta Braves’ only world championship in 1995, he suffered a shoulder injury early during that next season, and then he was dealt to the Cleveland Indians before the following year for nothing worth mentioning.

He was …

That’s right, 30.

Justice immediately slugged the Indians to their second World Series in three years. He later joined the New York Yankees, where he became the MVP of the AL championship series before helping to lead the pinstripe bunch to another world championship. When he ended his career with a playoff trip with the Oakland A’s, he had reached the playoffs six times after his trade from the Braves. He also retired as the all-time postseason leader in games played, at bats, extra-base hits, runs, hits, total bases, walks and RBIs.

This isn’t to say Jones will become Robinson or even Justice during his post-Braves career.

This is to say why even take the chance?

Why? Because David Justice allowed the Braves to keep Glavine and Maddux. Moore's love for David Justice is on par with Joe Morgan's dreamy eyes for Gary Sheffield. According to Morgan, the Tigers problems has nothing to do with their pitching not being healthy as an effective as it was in 2006. It was all Sheffield. Well, Moore's little obsession with Justice is an every column add-in.

Justice was an asshole. He wasn't traded because he was, but he was an asshole. He was also expensive and coming off an injury - and beginning to look injury-prone. In his career, he had played in 150 games once. The Braves needed to find money somewhere to keep the pitching together. They were loaded at the time with outfield prospects, too, including Andruw Jones. Yes, Justice had some great time in the AL. The DH was keeping him healthy, too.

The implication that Justice got his teams to the playoffs is laughable. He played on some damn good teams after his trade. But he didn't make his teams that much better.

Jones will make his team better, I believe. His defense will help out. But Andruw is not on his way out cause he's 30. He's on his way out because he doesn't provide nearly enough bang for the Braves buck. He's out because he has more trouble the past two seasons than ever with injuries.

Andruw's gone because it's best for the Braves.

Cry, Terence, cry.

I do like how you closed comments because you were being made a fool of.

It's All Friggin' Luck!

I love Dave O'Brien coming out with the five reasons why the Braves are in first. Kelly Johnson, obviously. He is a dynamic force at the head of the lineup, getting on base at an insane rate. Chipper Jones? Well, yeah. A healthy Chipper Jones that is locked in is among the best sights in baseball. The bullpen? Even if they had been average, it would have been impressive. They have been so much more. And Tim Hudson? Damn force. He's been awesome.

But that's where DOB should have ended. Four good reasons you cannot argue with.

But then, he had to add something else. Clutch. The Braves are clutch. And every sabermetric vein in my body screamed out.

Clutch is a pathetic reason. Oh, but look at the stats. With two outs, the Braves are hitting .298/.390/.489. Two outs and runners in scoring position, the Braves are up to .292/.436/.531.

But if we really want to base stuff on this, how about we talk about power pitchers? .229/.314/.427. Oh, God, we can't hit power pitchers! And flyball pitchers? .253/.355/.399. If we were facing Chuck James, we would lose every game!

The thing that is astonishing to me about this incredible lack of real facts is that DOB skips over something. If RISP and two outs is a major stat to focus on, why not just focus on RISP? Is that not clutch enough for this team to hit in? Well, their stats in those situations are simply .258/.394/.467. Good, yes, but their AVG and SLG is very similar to their overall statistics of .268/.354/.459.

God help the Braves if they get a man on second. They are batting .179/.367/.345 in those circumstances.

So, what does this mean? Well, the Braves are exceptionally disciplined this year. They make pitchers get them out as opposed to recent years of getting themselves out. That OBP does not lie. Let us not forget that pitchers are not quite as effective with runners on as they are when the bases are empty due to a myriad of reasons (for instance, runners causing alterations to delivery and stats themselves are altered because of sacrifices).

Is it really clutch, as DOB tries to point out, that is one of the top five reasons the Atlanta Braves are top five team? If this two out nonsense is true, then my question would almost have to be: why are the Braves not getting these runs home before the second out?

The truth is that any hitting coach worth his salt will tell you that the most important part of hitting is to play within yourself. Sounds dumb, but the idea is sound. Jason Bay, the Pittsburgh slugger who drove in 210 runs the last two seasons, knows a good deal about being a run producer right? Here is what he had to say.

"It's not so much a matter of raising your level in a clutch situation. It's a matter of keeping your level the same," Bay said. "Baseball is predicated on the idea that the people who are the most successful are the ones who do things the same way most consistently. It's not an emotion game like football or hockey, where you can go bust some skulls."

Jason Bay gets it, why doesn't Dave O'Brien?

Clutch is an illusion. You see Derek Jeter have a big game in the playoffs and suddenly, he's clutch. Well, why isn't he clutch in all of those games because Jeter hasn't reached base every postseason game he has played in? Was he just not clutch in those games? No, he is a good ballplayer and good ballplayers have good games because they are good ballplayers.

Chipper Jones is hitting .181 in his last 55 postseason at-bats, all coming in series that the Braves lost. Is he not clutch? Overall, Chipper Jones is a .305/.402/.544. In the postseason, he's .288/.411/.459. You ready to call Jones a choker?

Nah, don't bother. It's not that Chipper chokes or this team is clutch. Anyone who has taken one college stats course can tell you how absolutely ridiculous it is to buy into these terms. Most baseball players are not astute as Jason Bay, but then again, most of them didn't go to Gonzaga. Simply put, the Atlanta Braves are a good hitting team right now, and I'll give Terry Pendleton some credit that it pains me to give. Young players are progressing and being productive while the older players have yet to struggle any this year. Nearly 67% of the time when there are runners in scoring position and two outs, pitchers are facing KJ, Renty, Chipper, Andruw, McCann, or Francoeur. You wonder why this team is hitting well under those circumstances?