Talking Chop

god damnit

THIS!

Scott Coleman - January 15, 2010 via mobile reply

umm.. Damon is best as a 2 hitter

GoBravesNY - January 15, 2010 reply

that may be

but he’s a lot better than any of the players we got, with the possible exception of Jordan Schafer.

Scott Coleman - January 15, 2010 via mobile reply

if we can get him for less than 5 million

we better sign him.

Scott Coleman - January 15, 2010 via mobile reply

If we can get him for less than 5 million...

wouldn’t somebody else likely get him first?

Mr. Sanchez - January 15, 2010 reply

no other teams are really interested besides possibly the Tigers. there’s really not much competition for Damon.

Scott Coleman - January 15, 2010 via mobile reply

Well, the Tigers have been known to drastically overpay for free agents…

Yakker - January 15, 2010 reply

I would think at $5m, more teams would become interested

and even at that price, I still don’t think the Braves shouldn’t be without a deal already in place moving one of the OF. Like say Melky for Alberto Callapso, or McLouth for Callapso and some prospects.

Mr. Sanchez - January 15, 2010 reply

Good News

He is a complete waste of money… We are better off holding on to our $. Spending it on someone who would take the place of a lower cost option with similar stats is ludicrous.

rcates - January 15, 2010 reply

GoBravesNY - January 15, 2010 reply

+ 2

HEYJUDE - January 15, 2010 reply

Melky to Chicago

Who would we want from the Cubbies for Melky that would allow us to sign Damon for one year? Another arm like we got in the Vasquez trade? Thoughts?

Crispy - January 15, 2010 reply

Why would the Cubs want Melky?...

when they already have an OF of Soriano, Byrd, and Fukudome or Hoffpauir

Mr. Sanchez - January 15, 2010 reply

I had totally forgotten that the cubbies had signed Byrd. While I still hope Melky gets flipped before the season begins, I really don’t know who else in the league would even want him now.

I’m really afraid you and cavebird will get your wish and see alot of Melky this year. Good luck with that.

Who said I wanted to see a lot of Melky this year?

Saying he is a good fourth OF and is not “trash” (as you like to call him) doesn’t mean we want to see “a lot” of him this year. I could see 300-400 AB’s depending on whether Heyward starts the season in Atlanta, but that’s about it.

400 ABs is alot considering how bad a hitter he is.

This is the problem with your arguement. Even you admit he’s at best a 4th outfielder, and best suited as a defensive replacement. Anything more than 250 ABs and he’s going to be a detriment to the Braves and pull down the overall numbers of our outfield. My complaint with Melky is that he is making way too much money for what he can do. We can get a defensive specialist that can play all 3 outfield positions and OPS around .700 from inside our organization for $415k in Blanco. Your prediction of 400 ABs and Sanchez’s prediction of 100 starts really make Melky a platoon player, which his numbers show he isn’t good enough to be. If Melky hadn’t come up through the Yankees organization, he would be struggling for a spot on somebody’s 40 man roster. We have a bunch of guys in the organization with a similar skill set. Brian Barton comes to mind, since you don’t like the Blanco comparison. Reid Gorecki is kind of the same guy too, but the Yankees signed him after trading Melky to us(hmmm, coincidence? Probably not). Gorecki hit better, but had worse range in the field.

You’ve made it clear you love the guy. Like I said, good luck with that. If he plays as much as it appears he will in 2010, we’re at best 3rd place in the NL East. Melky will be the same albatross around the Braves necks FYF was, because he’s 3 easy outs a game, and you just can’t get that from your outfielders and expect to win.

And you’ve made clear that you hate him. So maybe you can give it a rest now.

fandave - January 15, 2010 reply

nope

I plan on laughing at the 3 or 4 of you that like him all season long

whatever.

fandave - January 15, 2010 reply

This.

Please.

That's just stupid, and that's okay...

…but don’t say I said something I didn’t. And if you make the Blanco comparison again, you need a lobotomy. Sorry. That’s what you need. I specifically said I didn’t love Melky and said he was a good fourth OF, that’s all. You acknowledge that and then say I love him, meaning you are obviously lying in your own post.

As for Blanco, you say that we can get a .700 OPS from him. That’s crap. He had a .605 OPS for Gwinnett last year. That’s a .500 or less OPS in the majors. In other words, a good hitting pitcher. So saying that he is a .700 OPS guy in the majors is another lobotomy time quote. So please don’t post like you even know how to tie your shoes, because your comments show that you don’t.

That’s about the third time you’ve made some sort of mental health or intelligence comment just because I don’t agree with your man-love for Melky. Its getting old, and I really try not to put too much stock in anything said on a message board, but at this point I’m over it.

FUCK YOUR FAMILY!!!

(I realize you haven’t been around here long enough to even get that, and you’ll probably get all butthurt now, but I really don’t care. Its always funny to those of us that get it whenever it comes up.)

At this point there’s no use continuing the arguement. You think its ok to pay a .700 OPSing “4th outfielder” $3.1mil, I think anyone who thinks that is a complete and utter dumbfuck. You like Melky, I’d rather drive a rusty nail in my dick than watch him get trotted out in the field and pwned at the plate every day. Neither of us is going to change our minds. But when your boy is OPSing .650 in May, you’ll be my bitch, even though I bet I won’t be able to find you anywhere.

Rhyno18 - January 16, 2010 reply

Fair enough...

…I am venting here and use you as the example because, well you post stupid crap like Blanco being a .700 OPS guy in the majors.

I have no man-love for Melky. If you want to see that, go find the Melkman fanpost from a few weeks back. That was funny. I get what Melky is—-he is not about to breakout. He is what he is. A useful fourth OF. Yeah, his hitting is league average, but for a guy who can play all three OF positions, that helps in a reserve role. And, yeah, being league average is a huge improvement over a guy who OPS’s .605 in AAA. (I mean seriously, I haven’t made any comments about your man-love for Blanco, but are you Blanco?)

I have no real problems with people degrading Melky—-if they make sense and aren’t irrational. Same with any of the other players. There is an argument to make against Melky. As a starter at either corner OF position, his league-average bat is weak. Very weak. Not FUGA weak, but weak enough. I don’t like the idea.

As for whether it’s okay to pay a .700 OPSing fourth OF 3.1 million, ask the Cubs about Reed Johnson last year. But don’t mention Melky—-two of the past four years, he has OPS’d over .750. And a third of those years was .718. He just had a really bad year in 2008. It happens. He is not that bad. He isn’t good, just not that bad. You should really get over your man-hate, lol.

Finally, no, I don’t get the F-your-family inside joke. But if you don’t consider it a joke, can I at least request which family members of mine are involved? I’d have a decent-sized list for you. ;)

cavebird - January 16, 2010 reply

LMAO, ok I’ll explain, cause it really was funny at the time.

“Fuck his family!” goes back to the Mike Hampton era. After Hampton “got healthy” and left to sign with the Astros, there was alot of angst around here from some people who felt after all the money the Braves had paid him to ride the pine, the new improved healthy Mike Hampton owed the Braves a hometown discount and should have resigned with us since we had offered him a contract very similar to what Houston had offered. Hampton stated in his press conference with Houston he wanted to be closer to his family. One poster pointed that out and the first response was “FUCK HIS FAMILY!”, which became an instant meme around here. I’m really surprised it hasn’t come up with all the speculation about Damon wanting to be closer to home by playing in Atlanta.

Rhyno18 - January 16, 2010 reply

Right...

Because Cabrera is a lock to OPS 650 because he did it once as a 23-year-old in his entire career.

Why precisely will Cabrera only OPS 700?

Do a 24-year-old’s career numbers define his ability? I’m thinking not. You might have noticed that most young players get better as they age. Barton, Blanco, and Gorecki are ridiculous comparisons. Cabrera’s been doing as well or better than them, except he’s been in the majors, not AAA and AA.

If there’s an opinion that differs from DOB’s, I almost always trust the other guy. DOB’s stated his opinion as fact one too many times for me, and I’m not drinkin’ the Kool-Aid.

Lauren T. - January 15, 2010 reply

gondee, what are you saying in the final paragraph?

I don’t get the logic there. Yes, Damon is a better hitter than Melky. But he wouldn’t be replacing Melky; Melky is the fourth OF. Damon would be the starting left-fielder. His playing time would come at the expense of Diaz or Heyward. If Damon would agree to be our fourth OF (not likely, he’ll start somewhere), I don’t think it would be a good fit anyway—-Damon plays only left field, while Melky can play all three OF positions decently. I can see signing Damon if we don’t trust Diaz or we want Heyward to stay in AAA most of the year. I can also see signing Damon if the price drops so low that it would be silly not to sign him. I can’t see signing Damon otherwise.

I think what gondee is saying there is that he does not share your opinion of what Melky’s value to Atlanta is.

I know you disagree...

…but you still haven’t produced a sensible explanation. (Calling Melky “trash” and comparable to Gregor Blanco doesn’t qualify as sensible, sorry.)

And neither of you have given any explanation of how signing Damon would affect Melky in any way. Damon would not be the fourth OF, he would be the third OF, and Melky would remain the fourth OF. (Playing only left (and barely that), Damon wouldn’t be a fourth OF.) If we signed Damon and traded Melky, who would be the fourth OF? I guess we could use Schafer or Heyward in that role, but having either of them ride the bench in the majors would be a pretty stupid way to stunt their development. Do you know of any good fourth OF options Atlanta has?

Well, between several guys...

I think some combination of Hinske, Infante, Prado, and Jones/whoever else at the end of the bench could cover the bench starts.

At the moment...

Cabrera is the starting LF.

lemke2blauser2bream - January 15, 2010 reply

This is all Scotty Boras's doing...

Damon was rumored to be talking with the Tigers, but then their GM denied those rumors. I really think it’s all Scott Boras putting these stories out that teams are talking to him to drive up Damon’s asking price when in actuality the Braves and Tigers (or anyone else) have no interest so he has no leverage in asking for more money from anyone. I say he ends up back with the Yankees for cheap. I remember seeing a quote saying that Scott Boras hadn’t even given Damon any thought the entire offseason while working on Holliday’s deal, now he’s trying to do what ever he can to salvage the situation, sounds like Damon needs to get a new agent.

Adamal24 - January 15, 2010 reply

Why not Winn?

I still don’t understand all the hubbub over Damon. What would make the most sense for me (and why Wren didn’t pursue him earlier in the off-season, I’ll never know) would be to go after Randy Winn. I would be shocked if he signs for more than 3M on a 1 year deal. He switch hits, would plug in nicely in the leadoff spot, has some pop (with last year being an aberration), and has plus D at all three outfield positions. We could then flip Melky for a bucket of balls, stick Winn in right until Heyward is ready and then either move Winn to the 4th OF spot or platoon with Diaz in left.

On a 1 year deal, it makes a lot of sense to me. Sure, Winn’s power fell off a cliff last year, but his D is literally 1000 times better than Damon’s, he has a ton more versatility, they will likely have comparable offensive seasons anyway, and Winn will be cheaper. Just food for thought.

Steinmanberg7 - January 15, 2010 reply

i really just don’t think we are looking for anymore outfielders.. Wren has pretty much said we are done, we are saving some $$ in case we need to make a move at midseason

Adamal24 - January 15, 2010 reply

This

HEYJUDE - January 15, 2010 reply

melky>randy, thats why…

Even if we are not looking for another outfielder, it is a big time stretch to say that Melky is better than Randy by any objective measure. Winn’s D is substantially better than Melky’s measured by UZR (see http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1235&position=OF and http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4022&position=OF) and Winn has higher average offensive numbers across the board over the span of his career. For a comparable price, the fact that he can also successfully hit in the one hole, something the jury is out on with Melky, it is hard to say that the Melkman is affirmatively better than Winn. At best, Melky’s a serviceable 4th OF who will bat 8th with little pop. Even at his advanced age, Winn has more speed, better D, slaps more doubles, and would be a much better table setter at the top of the order.

All of this is most likely a moot point if we are staying put, it just seems like Winn would be an ideal fit for a year because he can play everywhere with good D, lead off, and he wouldn’t block Schafer and Heyward long-term. Plus, no one said we couldn’t sign Winn, evaluate everybody at ST, keep Heyward down for two months, then flip Cabrera later in the season when Heyward’s ready and we know what kind of needs we have….

Steinmanberg7 - January 15, 2010 reply

LOL...

Winn hasn’t been above-average in CF in years.