Loading ...
If We Were In Frank Wren’s Shoes
Written by Colin on July 25, 2008 – 1:15 pmAs we continue to wait and see what happens at the end of this series against the Phillies, we’re looking at what we’d do if we were in Frank Wren’s shoes. Here’s a breakdown from some of the BravesBlast crew – we’ll add more as we hear back from everyone.
Colin: I’d wait. Don’t trade Tex – what we’d get for him is likely not better than the 2 draft picks we’d receive if he doesn’t re-sign. On that note, try and re-sign Tex. We’ll free up a LOT of space in the budget at the end of the season.
Akshay: Try to get a young, power hitting first baseman or outfielder.
Dan: First, I’d trade Mark Teixeira for a package that would help out this years’ team with a player that can come up in August/September and a prospect for the future. I’d also get some help for the bench.
Charles: Is start over an option? I’d trade Teixeira for a pitcher and a bat that are two years away. I’d let Chipper play until he doesn’t want to anymore, tell Frenchy that if he wants to stay in Atlanta, he needs to figure out how not to be Andruw, see if there is a market for Kotsay, and stop drafting GA high school pitchers – how many of them have worked out? I’d tell Bobby never to bat Kelly Johnson above the six spot – he’s best at the bottom of the lineup. I’d retool the outfield and bring speed back to the Braves. Don’t focus on a quick fix – it’s gonna take 3-4 years to turn around. Any trade that is made should be made with prospects in mind that are going to take 3 years or so to get ready.
Jonathan: I’d stop worrying about Tex. See what offers are on the table for him and take one if it seems like the right thing to do. I’d start looking long-run however. It’s time to rebuild at this point as the current staff isn’t exactly where we need to be at. We need another mid-age veteran on the pitching staff to go side-by-side with Hudson and to help nurture the young arms that we have working in there; Jurrjens for example. Then we need to pick up another bat. Whether it be keeping Tex or finding another source of power or two, the offense needs some serious help. We need some players that can be the backup to our main power when it struggles as well. It’s time to step back and take a look toward the future a few years down the road, not just trying to scrape by on a day-to-day basis.
What would YOU do if you were GM? Would you wait or do something right now? Let us know!
Posted in Speculation | 3 Comments »
By Cameron on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
If I were Wren, I would keep Tex, its not like we're the Nats, plus eveen if we cant resign him, our scouts hav done well recently, McCann, Blanco, Frenchy (at least for 2005-06), Reyes, and then Heyward and Schaffer in the minors. Then above there was talk about the future, which is what we need, but which is also what we, in a way, have going for us, a top 3 of what Ive sen from Jurrjens, Reyes, and Morton wouldnt be bad for the next few years, especially with Hudson. Then Gorkys Hernandez, with the year hes having in A ball could be a legit leadoff guy in 4-5 years. So, to summarize, I would stand pat. The only guy I would consider dealing would be Francoeur, with his performance this year, I dont see him getting any better. To me, he looks like a .230-.245 guy who has some pop, but not enough to yell about, 2 years ago I would never have seen myself saying that, but now I see him as Langerhans with a bat a notch and a half better.
saying what I have, I made a lineup for the 2012 season, with our current prospects
RF Gorkys Hernandez (he played right in the futures game)
SS Yunel Escobar (a healthy Yunel = really good #2 guy)
LF Jason Heyward (Ive heard a lot abt his abilities both with Power&Avg hope he wrks out)
1B Mark Teixeira (a vet in the middle of this lineup would be great if we could keep him)
C Brian McCann (or you could flip-flop him with Heyward, I dont care)
CF Jordan Schaffer (good enough to be in the bigs now, should be in 2012)
2B ??? I dont care as much about Kelly as others might, but who knows
3B ??? who knows, he could still be playing and batting 3rd with th way hes aging
rotation
Jair Jurrjens- you see what he has
Jo-Jo Reyes- good stuff in his sophmore year
Hudson- if hes still around, prob. would have his ace stuff, but…
Morton- Im not totally sure about him, but I like him so far
Tommy Hanson- the only pitching prospect ive heard of- but a no hitter w/ 14Ks and only 21, even if in AA
once again, these are the prospects that I know of, so forgive me if you disagree and for being so long-winded
-Cameron
By Akshay982 on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
Lillibridge is actually a guy that can play third as well as he can play short defensively, throw in his pretty solid .280 average in the minors and he can be a good bat in the middle-to-low end of the lineup and a stop gap at third that's easily better than Chipper was at that point in Chipper's career.
As far as the pitching goes, I agree with the rotation you have, Cameron. That's a pretty solid rotation and I can only see all of those guys getting better. But just out of curiosity, Brian McCann had a down year last year and no one was saying the same things they are this year about Francoeur. Two seasons ago, Francoeur had 29 homers, last year he hit .293 over 162 games, this year he doesn't have power and doesn't have average, isn't there apossibility that he's still figuring everything and could come back and potentially be one of our best hitters next year? He's still gonna hit about 30 doubles and maybe 15 home runs this year, and who knows, maybe his average comes back around next year.
By colin_ake60861 on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
Good summary, Cameron. I'd keep Tex as well. There is so much long-winded-ness on this site (the majority of it belonging to me) you got under the radar. Don't worry.
I like Morton – he needs more control but he's got the capability to be a good starter.