Veal Cut-let; Martin recalled

[Tapate50]

Just announced... The blurb mentioned Martin going back into middle relief, but I'd be hesitant to make that assumption just yet. He started a game at Gwinnett and threw a lot of zero's up there. Maybe DL for Julio to 'get right'?

[nsacpi]

Martin put up some great numbers in his brief stay in AAA. He will help the pen. We still need a second lefty. I wouldn't mind giving Greg Smith a look. He's done ok in Gwinnett and put up very good strikeout to walk numbers against lefties last year and this year (37 to 7 the two years combined).

[Garmel]

I think Martin was sent down just to keep Fredi from killing him.

[50PoundHead]

I think Martin was sent down just to keep Fredi from killing him.

Indeed a possibility.

[Braves1976]

I didn't know where to put this so I am putting it here. EY Jr. is a total waste on our bench, we don't even use him as a pinch runner and he provides little other value besides defense. Now that Maybin has a groin issue it forces us to start Gomes again tonight vs a righty. Plus Cunningham has been slumping after coming back down to earth.

To sum it up, if we care about winning EY Jr. needs to go where we can put someone useful in his spot on the bench.

[nsacpi]

The Reliever Protection Program, one of Hart's better innovations.

[nsacpi]

I didn't know where to put this so I am putting it here. EY Jr. is a total waste on our bench, we don't even use him as a pinch runner and he provides little other value besides defense. Now that Maybin has a groin issue it forces us to start Gomes again tonight vs a righty. Plus Cunningham has been slumping after coming back down to earth.

To sum it up, if we care about winning EY Jr. needs to go where we can put someone useful in his spot on the bench.

I'm not a fan of EY or Schafer last year, but I hate it when Fredi (or any manager) buries a player like that. It basically makes them useless to the team because they lose all sharpness and effectiveness.

[50PoundHead]

I'm not a fan of EY or Schafer last year, but I hate it when Fredi (or any manager) buries a player like that. It basically makes them useless to the team because they lose all sharpness and effectiveness.

Especially with a team like this, you need 25 contributors. One of the biggest problems with the team's current construction is the front half of our bullpen is iffy and EY, Jr. is a non-entity.

[GovClintonTyree]

I'm not a fan of EY or Schafer last year, but I hate it when Fredi (or any manager) buries a player like that. It basically makes them useless to the team because they lose all sharpness and effectiveness.

Yeah, but he doesn't have any work for him. Cunningham is fine. And Maybin has won that job.

[clvclv]

I didn't know where to put this so I am putting it here. EY Jr. is a total waste on our bench, we don't even use him as a pinch runner and he provides little other value besides defense. Now that Maybin has a groin issue it forces us to start Gomes again tonight vs a righty. Plus Cunningham has been slumping after coming back down to earth.

To sum it up, if we care about winning EY Jr. needs to go where we can put someone useful in his spot on the bench.

I've been begging for EY to be DFAd for a couple weeks (if not a little longer) - since Cunningham has seemingly replaced him, I think getting rid of EY and calling Perez up would be a great move - he and cunningham could platoon in CF if Cam needs a DL stint, and it'd be nice to get Markakis a day or two off against a tough LHP or two. Having Perez available would give Fredi the option of playing Perez or Cunningham in right (and the other in center) on a day like that.

[stpeteirish]

I've been begging for EY to be DFAd for a couple weeks (if not a little longer) - since Cunningham has seemingly replaced him, I think getting rid of EY and calling Perez up would be a great move - he and cunningham could platoon in CF if Cam needs a DL stint, and it'd be nice to get Markakis a day or two off against a tough LHP or two. Having Perez available would give Fredi the option of playing Perez or Cunningham in right (and the other in center) on a day like that.

Not if you're getting Kelly Johnson back any time soon. You DFA EY when you get Johnson back and option Ciriaco when Gosslin returns, yes?

[nsacpi]

Not if you're getting Kelly Johnson back any time soon. You DFA EY when you get Johnson back and option Ciriaco when Gosslin returns, yes?

Yeah. That's what I was thinking. Gosselin needed surgery on his hand. Might not be back until August. But we have Peraza and Castro for cover in AAA.

[clvclv]

Not if you're getting Kelly Johnson back any time soon. You DFA EY when you get Johnson back and option Ciriaco when Gosslin returns, yes?

I'm not so sure we're not nearing the point that it's time to DFA KJ as well. Don't get me wrong - having a little pop like KJ offers is nice and all, but we're pretty much at the point that some of these guys need to be pushed to find out what we've got. Not only is Mallex Smith breathing down Eury's neck, Perez' performance is tough to explain away with "small sample-size" anymore - his OBP over his last 104 AAA games is north of .365, he's swiped 45 bags in 55 tries, and his BB/K ratio is 33/68. What else is there for him to prove in Gwinnett?

I just personally don't see any reason for EY or KJ (or Gomes to be honest) to take ABs away from Cunningham and Perez at this point - if they're AAAA players, let's find out now because they're just going to be in the way when Mallex/Peterson/others start to get close to ready.

[nsacpi]

CJ is a better hitter than Eury and Cunningham at this point. When defense is taken into account it might be a push.

[jpx7]

I'm not so sure we're not nearing the point that it's time to DFA KJ as well. Don't get me wrong - having a little pop like KJ offers is nice and all, but we're pretty much at the point that some of these guys need to be pushed to find out what we've got. Not only is Mallex Smith breathing down Eury's neck, Perez' performance is tough to explain away with "small sample-size" anymore - his OBP over his last 104 AAA games is north of .365, he's swiped 45 bags in 55 tries, and his BB/K ratio is 33/68. What else is there for him to prove in Gwinnett?

I just personally don't see any reason for EY or KJ (or Gomes to be honest) to take ABs away from Cunningham and Perez at this point - if they're AAAA players, let's find out now because they're just going to be in the way when Mallex/Peterson/others start to get close to ready.

I sympathize with the developmental angle, but I'd much rather the team be patient with the veterans (outside of Ankle-Breaker) and extract something, rather than simply outright DFA. Kelly Johnson, particularly, should have value to several teams once he returns from the DL (and if he can demonstrate his strong early-season play won't be substantially diminished by the injury). Squeezing assets out of thirty-year-olds, in my opinion, is nearly as important in a rebuild than major-league PAs for fringe organization players (lik Cunningham or Perez) who may or may not prove useful down the line.

[clvclv]

I sympathize with the developmental angle, but I'd much rather the team be patient with the veterans (outside) of Ankle-Breaker and extract something, rather than simply outright DFA. Kelly Johnson, particularly, should have value to several teams once he returns from the DL (and if he can demonstrate his strong early-season play won't be substantially diminished by the injury). Squeezing assets out of thirty-year-olds, in my opinion, is nearly as important in a rebuild than major-league PAs for fringe organization players (lik Cunningham or Perez) who may or may not prove useful down the line.

That's kinda the point from my perspective - as soon as he gets back (and gets a handful of ABs) you DFA him and announce to everyone else that it's time to come get him if you think he'll help you. I personally don't think we're getting anything for EY at this point and while I do think Hart might be able to squeeze some value out of KJ, he's not likely someone he's getting calls on until he says "Hey, come get him if you want him before everyone else gets a shot at him".

[jpx7]

That's kinda the point from my perspective - as soon as he gets back (and gets a handful of ABs) you DFA him and announce to everyone else that it's time to come get him if you think he'll help you. I personally don't think we're getting anything for EY at this point and while I do think Hart might be able to squeeze some value out of KJ, he's not likely someone he's getting calls on until he says "Hey, come get him if you want him before everyone else gets a shot at him".

On yea: Ankle-Breaker should just be cut immediately. But the rest agèd crew—maybe even Gomes—should be worth something to some team(s), even if it's just a convalescing arm (aka the John Hart Knee-Weakener Special).