Lowe leaning toward Braves offer per ESPN

[frosgrim]

I'd be happy with Nady, Swisher, Ludwick or Ankiel, but not at much cost. All those guys are risky and come with a downside. Nady seems the most likely trade targer, but I hate the idea of overpaying the yankees for a rental (and a mediocre one at that)I wish we'd just bite the bullet and sign Dunn to a 2 year deal. Seems that he wants a lot more than he's worth, though.

The problem with Dunn is that he's a butcher in the field. With the Braves moving towards building a young pitching staff, the defense has to be solid. Second, Heywood appears to be a year away from the majors. From all reports he's going to be a Ryan Howard type hitter. Why pay Dunn all that money and the years when you have a better player a year away?

I keep hearing about Jermane Dye as a possibility. That seems to be the perfect fit IMO. He's a vet, can be a clubhouse leader, and he can still hit. Durability is an issue, but I think it would be worth the risk of a mid-tier prospect (Reyes or Morton possibly). I don't like, in any way, Andruw Jones coming back. I don't know what happened to Jones over the past few years, but whatever it was its bad- real bad. A blogger on the AJC suggested that Andruw's back maybe worse than he's let on. A bad back would explain a lot of his decline, but that doesn't change the fact that Andruw flat out sucked the past 2 years.

Nontheless, Wren has done a descent job with the starting staff. He went after the right guys at the right moments. The only problem was that Towers wanted the entire minor league system, Burnett wanted to play for the Yankees, and there wasn't any better option than Lowe at this point. It could be argued that Flowers was too much to give up for Vasquez, but from what I've read of Flowers, Wrenn may have traded him at Flowers highest value point. I wouldn't be surprised to see Flowers have a major hole in his swing, ala Marte.

So just to set the table here's the starting rotation:

Lowe

Kawakami

Jurgens

Vasquez

Hanson/Campillo/Morton/Reyes

Not bad at all. That #2 spot could be Vasquez or Jair depending on Spring Training.

Line up

Anderson

Escobar

Chipper

McCann

Johnson

Francour

Kotchman

Diaz

pitcher

Not that great. However, put Dye in there:

Anderson

Escobar

Chipper

Dye

McCann

Francour

Johnson

Kotchman

pitcher

That looks a whole lot better. Anderson could be replaced by Jones (prospect one not Andruw) or Scheafer.

[Dakin]

I shudder at the thought at Anderson or Blanco or Shaeffer in the leadoff spot. If any of the three wins the job they'll most certainly be out worst hitter. No way they should end up getting the most at bats. I'm rooting for Shaeffer, but I hope he's hitting 7th or 8th. Johnson's a decent on-base guy, as is Escobar. Its not ideal, but one of those 2 should be leading off. Of course, Bobby Cox will be deciding, so who knows.

I wouldn't mind Dye, but again would prefer to sign a free agent to a short term deal, rather than parting with more prospects. It would take a lot more than Jo Jo Reyes to land Dye. And yea, bringing Andruw back for anything more than a minor league contract would just be dumb, and Andruw has stated that he won't sign a minor league deal. I really hope Wren lets go of that idea. Andruw is on a rapid down-slide.

As I said, Cox is managing this team so I don't see much chance of a lefty not being in the rotation somewhere. I think Morton, Hanson and Campillo will have to really impress Bobby for JoJo or Glavine not to be the 5th starter. I think it would be wise to start Hanson in the minors, anyway.

[DrReality]

He's a nice pickup for us. The Braves need to make some moves. Both Chipper and Bobby are getting old. Need to win sooner than later.

[CBAreject]

So just to set the table here's the starting rotation:

Lowe

Kawakami

Jurgens

Vasquez

Hanson/Campillo/Morton/Reyes

Not bad at all. That #2 spot could be Vasquez or Jair depending on Spring Training.

Guys, we traded Reyes a long time ago.

[TroyMcClure]

Guys, we traded Reyes a long time ago.

They have tried to. With Peavy and Vasquez. He's still on the team, though.

[AHF]

Is Hudson basically out for the year?

[Guest]

Is Hudson basically out for the year?

I remember hearing out until at least the all-star break, but the most the Braves would see of him is half a year.

[frosgrim]

Guys, we traded Reyes a long time ago.

Jo-Jo Reyes is on the 40 man roster (link).

[frosgrim]

Is Hudson basically out for the year?

I've read conflicting reports. Some say all of 2009 others suggest maybe late in the season. I would rather Huddy just get back all his arm strength for 2010.

[TroyMcClure]

I've read conflicting reports. Some say all of 2009 others suggest maybe late in the season. I would rather Huddy just get back all his arm strength for 2010.

He got hurt in August. The timetable for that injury is a year, give or take a month or two. I heard him on the radio a few weeks ago and he said he felt good, he was on schedule and that he hoped to be back in August. If he can come back that is great, but the Braves have given themselves a chance again this year and Hudson coming back would only be a bonus.