Marcus Giles is no longer a Brave. This will undoubtedly rub a lot of fans the wrong way, and well it should. To lose a star player for purely financial reasons without getting anything in return is a hard pill to swallow. Especially when we really don't know who will fill the void(s) created by his departure - second base and lead-off. To make matters worse we will have to sit on the sidelines and watch as the likely suitors for Giles' services, New York and San Diego, enter into what could be frenzy for the scrappy second baseman. After pulling off a great trade at the Winter Meetings to acquire the needed setup man for our bullpen it seems that while taking that one step forward we have now taken two steps backwards.
But a closed door for one could mean new opportunity for another - that is the promise of baseball, and that is what keeps us coming back to it even after disappointments like this. While the Marcus Giles chapter has ended, we could see the emergence of a new and exciting chapter to be written by Martin Prado, or Kelly Johnson, or Eric Campbell, or someone we haven't even considered yet.
The promise of the youngest member of that potential group of replacements is Eric Campbell. He has starred at every level he's been at, and while he's only slated for hi-A or possibly double-A next year, the Braves have never shied away from promoting someone to the Majors whom they think is ready (Furcal, Andruw, James, McCann, Francoeur). Rob McQuown of Baseball Digest Daily has some interesting comparisons to Campbell:
We already have one of those guys and crave the other. It's no secret that the Braves draft and covet players with this similar profile, and being a player of that ilk benefits Campbell tremendously in his ascent to the Majors in the way he's viewed within the organization. With a good spring he could find himself in Atlanta - never underestimate the promotion ability of the players who impress Bobby Cox.
0 recs | 12 comments
are any of these
real possibilities:Martin Prado, Yunel Escobar, Willy Aybar......
i know you mentioned Prado, he's seems the least talented of the bunch
31yonkers5 - December 14, 2006
anyone
but pete orr. orr is scrappy, but there's a reason he was in the minors for so long. my vote goes to kelly johnson - has pop in his bat and great plate discipline, and should be athletic enough to adjust to second base. but he lacks speed, which may make him a tough choice for leadoff. but hell, who's gonna play LF? diaz and langy? gripes...wuky - December 14, 2006
I'll be looking closely
at Kelly Johnson and Willy Aybar. They are the most talented, but where are they on the learning curve at 2nd base?Escobar takes walks and get on base in a lot of ways...I've seen him play and he is even good at bunting for base hits. Off the top of my head...he probably has the most innings at 2nd base among the three guys
What do you think of this lineup:
Gregor Blanco - LF
Edgar Renteria - SS
Chipper Jones - 3B
Brian McCann - C
Andruw Jones - CF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Jeff Francoeur - RF
Kelly Johnson - 2B
Johnson and Blanco flip-flop as to hwho is playing better at the time. Blanco is Charles Thomas only faster and more of a contact hitter. He takes some walks too.
themurph - December 14, 2006
this would be my lineup
This is what I'd like to see the Braves do.Kelly Johnson - LF
Edgar Renteria - SS
Chipper Jones - 3B
Andruw Jones - CF
Brian McCann - C
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Jeff Francoeur - RF
Willy Aybar - 2B
I like Prado but I like him more as a utility player.
I just can't see Kelly Johnson moving from left to second and Aybar seems to be a more natural infielder anyways. Johnson doesn't have a lot of speed but working the count is a huge strength of his and its not like Giles was stealing any bases last year so we don't lose anything there.
Blanco is interesting but his incredible lack of power scares me.
I think Escobar and definitely Campbell need some more time in the minors but they could be ready by mid-season if needed.
Zbrave - December 14, 2006
Aybar at 2nd?
DOB at the ajc has said numerous times that JS likes Aybar as a utility player, mostly as a replacement for chipper at 3rd for when he gets hurt, which seems inevitable. if you ask me, though, i think betemit would have filled in nicely for giles.wuky - December 14, 2006
Blanco
If you look at my lineup with Gregor Blanco the last thing he would need to do is hit for power. My projected lineup reminds of some AL lineups.Blanco could look for a walk every time up and let everyone drive him in. He also has this little-half-swing-pop-it-over-the-third-baseman's-head-trick that he can turn into a double. The man is fast.
I still think we end up trading LaRoche for a guy to hit lead off and play second and let Thorman hit seventh in the lineup.
themurph - December 14, 2006
Blanco
themurph,I like the Blanco idea. He is a guy who has been with the organization for a few years and has slowly made his way up the ladder. He has some useful skills with the speed and OBP. Prado has neither one. If he can hit for a decent average in the MLB he could be a good solution. He's an extreme wild card and i don't know if the braves are even considering him for anything. Maybe Carlos Duran will come out of nowhere next year.
yondaime4 - December 14, 2006
Re:Blanco
Wow, did not realize that he is only 22 years old. HE still has future. His lack of power this season is odd considering that he has his SOME homers in the past, not many but some, and he hits some doubles too. Now all of a sudden i am jumping on the bandwagon of the future! Still KJ will be in our lineup somewhere next season. I think he has quickly turned into a favorite for significant playing time, even in the front office. (I really have no basis for that).yondaime4 - December 14, 2006
Who WON'T Be Playing 2B
Yunel Escobar refuses to play 2B because he's afraid of going into the bag with his back to the runner. Willy Aybar is a utility man at best and when you consider that Chipper will probably be out for about 50 games this year (that has been true each of the last two seasons) then they'll need him in that role. Kelly Johnson won't be healthy for the start of the season and the transition back to the infield (he came up as a SS, I believe) will still be tough. Pete Orr has basically no upside as a starter. So I guess Martin Prado is the only real option, but he's just not very good. At least he's cheap and won't be asked to do much while hitting out of the 8-hole. LF worries me less with Diaz's bat and Langy's glove. 2B is truly worrisome at this point.ejruiz - December 14, 2006
I think
Johnson has a decent chance of being healthy in time for the season. He will be 9 months removed from surgery by that point. While is usually takes a pitcher a year at least to get back on the mound Fielders can come back much faster because they aren't throwing 100 times a game at max velocity. And especially at 2b you don't have to throw hard very often. We'll see though.yondaime4 - December 15, 2006
I Hope You're Right
I honestly think that Kelly Johnson is our best, realistic bet at 2B for next year. If he's ready to go at the start of the season, I hope he's our man.I also realized that I forgot to mention Eric Campbell in my original post, so I'll do that now. I don't believe his transition to 2B will be complete by the time the games are played next year and he still needs more time to mature in the minors. Honestly, I hope we fill that position well enough to have him moved back to 3B for his eventual call-up. With all the trade talk surrounding LaRoche this offseason, I think Chipper's move to 1B is closer than we think and we need a solid bat to play in his stead at the hot corner.
ejruiz - December 15, 2006
ESPN is saying
that the Padres and Giles are working close to a contract. Looks like they're planning to slot him as their leadoff guy, too. (sorry i don't have the link)I have to admit, it would be fun to play on the same major league team as your brother. Too bad we could swing a deal earlier on and gotten something in return for Giles.
wuky - December 16, 2006
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