Seven Question Sessions: Atlanta Braves

Written by Sean Hogan

Sunday, 07 March 2010 18:49

bravesmanlove

(Garrett Anderson and Nate McLouth via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Next in line for our NL East Seven Question Sessions is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves took 3rd place in the East last year, ending up with an 86-76 record. They have been relatively busy this offseason, adding relievers such as Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito and hitters such as Troy Glaus and Eric Hinske while moving starter Javier Vazquez to the Yankees. Today's answers are brought to you by Alex from Chop-n-Change.

Fight for Old DC: Will Chipper Jones rebound in 2010? And if he doesn't bounce back and doesn't retire, what do the Braves do in '11 and '12?

Chop-n-Change: I think Chipper will rebound a bit this year, but he's still just a 130 game a year player at this point, so while I think it's likely that he can manage something along the lines of .300/.400/.450, his counting stats will remain low due to playing time. For the time being, he's our third baseman as long as he wants. The Braves don't have any serious third base prospects in the minors at the moment, so we'll just have to hope he can keep hitting at a relatively high level while he's on the field.

FFODC: Which of the Braves' Non-Roster Invitees do you think has the best chance of making the team?

C-n-C: Right now, it's looking like Jason Heyward, though I really would prefer he stayed on the farm for at least a month to get more seasoning (and not be a Super Two). Beyond him, probably one of the pitchers -- we've been down the Chris Resop road before, and he's a bad pitcher who doesn't deserve a spot on the team, but guys who can throw 100 have a habit of looking good in Spring Training.

FFODC: Billy Wagner signed a 1 year deal worth $6.75 mil including a $6.5 mil club option for 2011 at the cost of the Braves' 2010 1st rounder. Thumbs up or thumbs down?

C-n-C: I like the deal, assuming, of course, that he's healthy. We just have to take the Braves' word for it. Since 2011 is a club option, I basically just think of it as a one-year deal, and if he's pitching like he was at the end of last year, he's worth that price. $10 mil for him and Saito is a high-priced back end of the bullpen, and I wish we had another outfielder (so that Heyward wouldn't have to start in right field on Opening Day), but I don't think it was necessarily a bad use of resources.

FFODC: Who has the better career: Tommy Hanson or Jason Heyward? Who do you think spends the most years with the Braves?

C-n-C: Tommy vs. Jason... I don't know who has the better career. Obviously, ace starters are harder to find than power-hitting corner outfielders, so if Tommy lives up to all of his potential then he could be more valuable. But they're both tremendous players, and I'm glad that we'll have them for a while. As to how long they'll stay in the uniform, I'm really hoping we'll be able to lock them up soon to team-friendly deals -- but I've been waiting a year for them to do that with Yunel Escobar, and it hasn't happened yet. Heyward's a local guy, so I'm hopeful.

FFODC: A lot of people have assumed the Vazquez trade was made almost purely for financial reasons. Is that the case? If that's true, do you think the Braves are truly hamstrung by their finances or do they just have to change their financial approach?

C-n-C: Money was obviously a major consideration in the Vazquez trade. I hated it at the time, but I've come around on it, at least for now, with Arodys Vizcaino as highly regarded as he is. But he's a flamethrowing teenager, so he's a long way from living up to anything. They tried for a couple of months to move Derek Lowe, who has three years and $45 million left on his contract, and understandably couldn't find any teams who were willing to give up much talent for the privilege of paying Derek that kind of money. I hate losing Vazquez, but it was clearly a sell-high trade, so I can learn to live with it.

FFODC: Is there a free agent that was out there this offseason who you think could have been the key piece to catching up with the Phillies or winning the Wild Card?

C-n-C: I don't think there was a single free agent who would have guaranteed the playoffs, but I would have loved getting Mike Cameron.

FFODC: You've gotten to see Frank Wren. in action for 2 and 1/2 years now. Has he done well enough to keep him around once his contract expires after 2011 seasons?

C-n-C: In my opinion, Wren's an above-average GM. His strengths: he's good at improving the team in the middle of the season, as he did with the Nate McLouth trade last year. His weaknesses: he's bad at building a solid outfield. I think the 2010 season will be very telling. If the injury risks that he's betting on (Wagner, Saito, Troy Glaus) don't pan out, then my opinion of him will drop considerably. If they do, though, it'll rise. That may be unfair, but that's the way I see it.

Thanks again to Alex from Chop-n-Change for answering these questions!