DOB: Braves offseason about to get a lot busier. - Gamel released.

clvclv said:
The problem with this statement is that anyone assumes someone actually digs beyond the GM-speak and would actually publish anything that hadn't been spoon-fed to them.

While I understand MF II's point, I respectfully disagree somewhat - what made the B.J. pursuit successful - and the trade for Justin an even better example - was the fact that Bowman and DOB took everything they were being told as gospel...neither of them ever bothered to dig beyond their regular "sources" to find out whether there was anything more to what the national guys were reporting.

If you're the local paper's guru or the team's official website's scribe and you ALWAYS get scooped by the national media, you're exactly the puppet Wren & Company wants in place - when they do consider outside the box moves they'd like to quietly work on, there's little chance anyone sees them coming until the deal is closed or on the verge of being closed.

Bourn was a Borass client and was angling for a max deal and B. J. was the top other available CF option who was available when Borass set his initial number - anyone with ANY MLB-involved job that couldn't connect those dots that gets a paycheck should've been fired. The fact that others scooped Bowman and DOB on the signing simply magnifies this point.

The organization had been PUBLICLY angling for Justin for years - you mean to tell me that DOB and Bowman are good at their jobs because they continually cut-and-pasted the same babble in articles for several weeks after they'd been told that we weren't pursuing him anymore when they kept reading that Wren hadn't completely closed that door on MLBTR and Twitter every morning???

Puh-leeze!!!

Wren & Company play these two like a fiddle.
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It's totally different now, in terms of social media, and at least Wren realizes this fact. We shouldn't single out DOB & Bowman, because it's a safe bet that plenty of what other beat writers throw out there is to fill a deadline. MLBTR is just a content farm. Twitter is one of the worst things to happen to off-season rumors. You guys should stay away from it. It's for those with short attention spans and a constant need for immediate gratification. That's exactly why posts appear here like, "give us something to talk about."

It's also one of the main reasons that the Winter Meetings aren't as captivating now as they used to be, because everything's become too transparent. Yeah, it's nice to have MLB Network with the coverage, but (sorry to sound like the old guy in the room again), it was way more exciting when you didn't know what was going to happen. Not coincidentally, there was far more action. Everyday, there were blockbusters trades to announce and marquee FA signings. Exactly 20 years ago, everybody was thinking that Bonds was going to sign. Imagine my shock at picking up the USA Today, and discovering that Maddux was the big catch. That was exciting.

Wren's job isn't to feed the rumor mill.
 
Knucksie said:
It's totally different now, in terms of social media, and at least Wren realizes this fact. We shouldn't single out DOB & Bowman, because it's a safe bet that plenty of what other beat writers throw out there is to fill a deadline. MLBTR is just a content farm. Twitter is one of the worst things to happen to off-season rumors. You guys should stay away from it. It's for those with short attention spans and a constant need for immediate gratification. That's exactly why posts appear here like, "give us something to talk about."

It's also one of the main reasons that the Winter Meetings aren't as captivating now as they used to be, because everything's become too transparent. Yeah, it's nice to have MLB Network with the coverage, but (sorry to sound like the old guy in the room again), it was way more exciting when you didn't know what was going to happen. Not coincidentally, there was far more action. Everyday, there were blockbusters trades to announce and marquee FA signings. Exactly 20 years ago, everybody was thinking that Bonds was going to sign. Imagine my shock at picking up the USA Today, and discovering that Maddux was the big catch. That was exciting.

Wren's job isn't to feed the rumor mill.
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I'm definitely not saying this is a bad thing. Having guys like DOB and Bowman as the "mouthpieces" actually serves a very good purpose - they are more than happy to stop digging as long as they're tossed a few scraps here and there. This frees him up to get most of the heavy-lifting accomplished before it's all over the Twitter and blogospheres.

Just pointing out that if anyone's looking to either of them to scoop anyone that they'll be looking for a long time.
 
clvclv said:
Rosenthal reporting Price WOULD NOT consider signing a long-term extension if traded to Seattle, but WOULD consider it based on where he's dealt.

Absolutely have to believe Wren's neck deep in talking to Friedman. Price has been quoted as saying he grew up a Braves fan, and he already has old pal B. J. here, so you've got to figure we're one of the places he'd consider an extension.

With Texas and the Dodgers supposedly out and Seattle likely to back away given that news, Tampa's leverage is dwindling by the day. There's nothing that says they CAN'T wait until later to deal him, but the return drops with every start he makes if they decide to play chicken.

Wood/Sims/Bethancourt/Peraza has to look better and better given this news.
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That may get them talking but doubt it gets a deal done.

But ive said over and over i'd trade for him only if he signs an extension.
 
Reading Bowman is useful in the same way that, say, reading Pravda during the Soviet years was useful. You can't expect any sort of independent or critical thinking from Bowman, but as the organization's unofficial mouthpiece he can give some insight into what the organization is thinking. He makes it possible to read the tea leaves.
 
DOB mentions Greg Dobbs as another option for the bench. Not in the same class as Chavez, but would fill a similar role. Has pronounced platoon splits so needs to be kept away from left-handed pitching. Has a decent track record as a pinch hitter--career .709 OPS. Age 35. Fits the profile of the type of veteran player the Braves love to have on the bench.
 
clvclv said:
Rosenthal reporting Price WOULD NOT consider signing a long-term extension if traded to Seattle, but WOULD consider it based on where he's dealt.

Absolutely have to believe Wren's neck deep in talking to Friedman. Price has been quoted as saying he grew up a Braves fan, and he already has old pal B. J. here, so you've got to figure we're one of the places he'd consider an extension.

With Texas and the Dodgers supposedly out and Seattle likely to back away given that news, Tampa's leverage is dwindling by the day. There's nothing that says they CAN'T wait until later to deal him, but the return drops with every start he makes if they decide to play chicken.

Wood/Sims/Bethancourt/Peraza has to look better and better given this news.
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If Wren is talking to Friedman, and it take dropping his drawers to go further, then that really makes BJ a prima-donna. They already brought in his brother with the expectation of a sibbling rivalry. Then, if Price were acquired (and signed to extension), that's really laying everyting at his feet. Then, there'd be NO excuse to not produce.
 
nsacpi said:
DOB mentions Greg Dobbs as another option for the bench. Not in the same class as Chavez, but would fill a similar role. Has pronounced platoon splits so needs to be kept away from left-handed pitching. Has a decent track record as a pinch hitter--career .709 OPS. Age 35. Fits the profile of the type of veteran player the Braves love to have on the bench.
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DOB also mentioned Ibanez in that same tweet.

Dobbs is someone I've had my eye on for years and have long thought would make a solid bench player...but looking at his baseball-reference page, I'm at a loss to understand why I think that. Maybe because he's a left-handed hitter with a line drive swing and a certain kind of stance. I'm a sucker for those guys. They always look "hittery."

The reality, of course, is that Dobbs had one really solid season five years ago (a 112 OPS+ for Philadelphia in 2008) and has been pretty crummy ever since. .267/.310/.366 over the last three seasons in Miami, all as a pretty unimpressive corner guy (who played overwhelmingly at first last year).
 
Yea Dobbs does nothing for me at this point. Think Greg Norton. I'd rather go hard after an impact bat for the bench that can actually fill in as a starter if needed.
 
MadduxFanII said:
DOB also mentioned Ibanez in that same tweet.

Dobbs is someone I've had my eye on for years and have long thought would make a solid bench player...but looking at his baseball-reference page, I'm at a loss to understand why I think that. Maybe because he's a left-handed hitter with a line drive swing and a certain kind of stance. I'm a sucker for those guys. They always look "hittery."

The reality, of course, is that Dobbs had one really solid season five years ago (a 112 OPS+ for Philadelphia in 2008) and has been pretty crummy ever since. .267/.310/.366 over the last three seasons in Miami, all as a pretty unimpressive corner guy (who played overwhelmingly at first last year).
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Haven't looked closely, and will admit I'm much higher on Chavez or Ibanez, but something makes me feel like Dobbs has just always seemed to be one of those "Braves killers"...seems like there's been a pretty good track record of success against us even though it doesn't seem to translate against everyone else.
 
I also think Chavez is perfect insurance for CJ in case he falls back to his career norms. Not saying he will but not out of the question.
 
clvclv said:
Rosenthal reporting Price WOULD NOT consider signing a long-term extension if traded to Seattle, but WOULD consider it based on where he's dealt.

Absolutely have to believe Wren's neck deep in talking to Friedman. Price has been quoted as saying he grew up a Braves fan, and he already has old pal B. J. here, so you've got to figure we're one of the places he'd consider an extension.

With Texas and the Dodgers supposedly out and Seattle likely to back away given that news, Tampa's leverage is dwindling by the day. There's nothing that says they CAN'T wait until later to deal him, but the return drops with every start he makes if they decide to play chicken.

Wood/Sims/Bethancourt/Peraza has to look better and better given this news.
Click to expand...

Let's just go to one minor league team.
 
MadduxFanII said:
Reading Bowman is useful in the same way that, say, reading Pravda during the Soviet years was useful. You can't expect any sort of independent or critical thinking from Bowman, but as the organization's unofficial mouthpiece he can give some insight into what the organization is thinking. He makes it possible to read the tea leaves.
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LOL Bowman and the commies. He'd spit up 5 chicken wings if he read that.
 
clvclv said:
Guess I just remember some big hits - didn't bother to check numbers. Won't be the last time that happens.

:facepalm:
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Went back and checked ballpark. He has a .792 OPS at Turner Field, which is 100 points higher than career. So he must just totally suck against us at his various home parks. Obviously these samples are questionable for a part-time guy as well.
 
Steamer projects Dobbs to put up about a .650 OPS. He'll do better against righties.

Chavez is projected at about .750. A significant upgrade over Dobbs.

Terdoslavich is in between at .720. Sounds about right.

Conclusion: Get Chavez even if you have to pay a bit more. Probably shouldn't bother with Dobbs. But the front office probably values his intangibles higher than I do.
 
Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 4h
#Braves still exploring wide range of options for starting pitcher. Want to add one to fill Hudson's spot.
 
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