Millwood1Hitter
Anytime Now Frankie...
Well to be fair, Paul has done more good "out" of the White House than Obama has "in" the office.
Angels close to acquiring Kyle Kubitza from Braves
- Thread starter dak
- Start date
Well to be fair, Paul has done more good "out" of the White House than Obama has "in" the office.
While it cost us a little more than that (2 pitching prospects and 2 young and risky infielders - and in retrospect most of us would have given up everything in the package for Justin and let them keep Johnson if we could have Drury back), that deal was a "win now" deal that actually gave us 3 shots at winning with him, not one. That deal was made with almost ALL the other pieces in place - Mac, Freeman, Uggla (prior to his disappearance) and Heyward to sandwich around him in the lineup, Huddy, Minor, much healthier versions of Meds and Beachy in the mix with Julio coming fast, and one of the best back-ends in the history of the game before Venters and O'Flaherty blew out.
The acquisition of Justin was absolutely seen as the last piece, and while we were lucky that Towers was drinking the Kirk Gibson kool-aid at the time and actually believed that they had a better chance to win with a gritty Prado than Upton, the game has continued to change (for the better IMO) and the vast majority of teams have finally begun to understand the downside in giving up significant value in return for rentals. Theo and Jed's success in Chicago have opened a lot of eyes around the game (that didn't believe another run like the Braves had could ever be duplicated) - be patient and stick to the plan because you'll have much more than a 2-3 year window if you do.
If it was so obvious then why did it take a bad end to the season and the GM being fired for this opinion to become so wide spread? This was one of the youngest teams in baseball and uber talent a year ago. Now it's too flawed and broken. Which is it? Just whichever opinion the current front office thinks it is?
Again, another year of seeing a failed farm system as well as another year closer to FA for two core players who didn't seem willing to take a small discount (up for debate obviously). I think its clear why the decision was made.
The farm produced one of the best and youngest teams in the majors to end the 2013 season. Excuse me while I'm not upset it didn't produce any quality major league talent after all the recent graduations. The low minors depth was an issue but not one that couldn't be corrected without punting the major league team.
The majority of the young core was produced when Clark and his scouting staff was here. Sure, there was Wood/Simmons/Gattis but other than that there wasn't much from Wrens tenure and the farm system was getting SIGNIFICANTLY worse. To the point where it was in the lowest 5 in the sport. Recipee for disaster.
I know why the decision was made. I just don't think it was the correct one.
Rolling the dice on one season is not a smart decision when the team is about to move into a new ballpark in a few years. If the Braves felt that they could sign either Heyward/Upton long term then I believe they would still be here.
Sure, if you can't retain your young talent. I still believe the Braves could have signed one of Heyward/Upton. They chose not to and go for farm depth. I argue they needed farm quality if that's the route you want to take. Again, if this was obvious to everyone then where was this opinion last year? Did you want to blow it up then to fix our horrible farm? We should of been able to get even better prospects with both of them having two years left.
I doubt that's true at all. Upton strikes out too much and Heyward is a defense first guy. The front office clearly doesn't see the value in that.
The past year was a disastrous year on the farm. The future looked much bright after 2013 than it did at the end of last year.
So if your going to have to do it anyways. Why not go for it one more time? It's going to be awhile regardless before they are contendors. Again, nothing was stopping them from trading guys at the deadline if the season wasn't going in the right direction.
For those that complained of the returns now would have had a field day with the ones the Braves would have gotten at the deadline considering you can't get draft pick compensation unless the player is with the team for a full year.
The Braves are targetting 2017. That gives them 2 years to get it right. Thats doable considering how many great strides they've made this offseason adding to the talent base.
It didnt work last year with them. Odds are it wasn't going to work if they kept the same exact team. Not to mention having to fix the rotation with no money and no prospects to trade.
People need to come to grips that 2015 and 2016 will not be good years for the Atlanta Braves.
People need to come to grips that 2015 and 2016 will not be good years for the Atlanta Braves.
I don't agree about the return. It's not as much as it was before that draft pick compensation was changed. But teams in the hunt generally give up more at the deadline because they are desperate.
Agree to disagree. I don't think we get anything near the returns we got for Heyward/Upton at the deadline.
Ask Phillies fans what they think about this strategy these days.
rico43
<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
Keep the term "pleasant surprise" in your head
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
As someone that was very against the Heyward trade, and more understanding of the Upton trade...
Some are talking about how just before last season we felt great about our young core, and then they're saying we tore it down. We really didn't. We still have a lot of young guys. Freeman, Teheran, Simmons, Kimbrel, Wood, Minor, etc. We didn't gut our team. And we had nothing at all in the pipeline. Like, nothing. Our system is really deep and diverse. We still lack high upside offense, which is concerning because I'm not sure where it's gonna come from. We're going to have to sign someone at some point, which is why it's still a bit puzzling that we got rid of Heyward AND Upton. Because they have to be replaced. And whoever we try to replace them with is going to be a risk.
Some are talking about how just before last season we felt great about our young core, and then they're saying we tore it down. We really didn't. We still have a lot of young guys. Freeman, Teheran, Simmons, Kimbrel, Wood, Minor, etc. We didn't gut our team. And we had nothing at all in the pipeline. Like, nothing. Our system is really deep and diverse. We still lack high upside offense, which is concerning because I'm not sure where it's gonna come from. We're going to have to sign someone at some point, which is why it's still a bit puzzling that we got rid of Heyward AND Upton. Because they have to be replaced. And whoever we try to replace them with is going to be a risk.