Talking Chop

Could we see a Florida Marlins-style fire sale with the Braves in the next 48 hours? Here's this bit from AJC editorial columnist Jeff Schultz:

Frank Wren, the general manager, who said “a half-dozen” roster players are the subject of trade conversations and that, yes, discussions have been stepped up in the last 24 hours.

That's a considerable chunk of the team, and likely some guys that one would have thought were virtually untouchable a week ago. Schultz speculates as to who could be on the block:

Consider the ones who aren’t injured. Mark Teixeira: packed. Will Ohman: on several teams’ hot list. Jeff Francoeur, Mark Kotsay and Kelly Johnson: given circumstances and logic, all likely are part of trade discussions.

Apparently you can also add Mike Gonzalez to that list. Here are some of Wren's comments:

Like the rest of Atlanta, the Braves are covered with “For Sale” signs. The difference: Wren absolutely will move some property. Trade talks have been going on for weeks, he said.

But: “We’re in a position now to take those conversations further.” That wasn’t so subtle.

“When you come out of spring training and you feel like you have a good team, the last thing you want to do is get to Aug. 1 and trade parts of that team away,” Wren said. “That’s not the reason we do this [job]. But when you’re faced with it, you want to get the best return.”

It's gonna be a very different August and September in Atlanta. This is kind of a symptom lately in Atlanta sports; the Hawks are having trouble signing Josh Smith, the Falcons are going to suck for at least a year, the Yellow Jackets, well, they're the Yellow Jackets. I guess we'll all be Dawg fans for year or two.