Talking Chop

Jorge Cantu

Why don’t the Braves try to bring him in and play backup to Chipper and if Chipper gets hurt the team will have a legit 3rd base. this guy played decent for the Marlins and could be a huge pickup.

jayball - December 2, 2010 reply

With Prado in left...

…we can just sign an OF for that back-up purpose. Cantu is a horrible fielding thirdbaseman and not that good of a hitter. I would pass.

cavebird - December 2, 2010 reply

Awesome! Caption should have been “Braves heading to the playoffs in 2011: resign Hinske!”

ChrisK562 - December 2, 2010 reply

Thata boy, Frank.

Haha

I like :)

HEYJUDE - December 2, 2010 reply

AAesque

Rec’d

Doghnut - December 2, 2010 reply

Great news!

royhobbs - December 2, 2010 reply

Yes!

Ha ha

Nice one.

This is perfect.

Now Frank Wren can head into the winter meetings with a clear focus on what the team needs.

swainzy - December 2, 2010 reply

J.J. Putz, please.

Really?

Please explain how he’s worth what he’ll br asking… I’m not disagreeing, I just don’t fully see it

HansonManCrush - December 2, 2010 via mobile reply

Just because he asks for something doesn't mean he's going to get it....

Putz has closing experience incase Kimbrel or Venters can’t do it, has a K/BB ratio of 3/1 and WHIP of 1.18. He’s been very good in every year except for 2009 with the Mets, which was going to be a disaster even before the season started. And he’s only 33, so he still has plenty left in his arm.

If there is one thing this team does not have a need for, it’s another back of the bullpen arm.

We have so many options right now.

I’d prefer that we just get a CF. If we waste money on a closer, I will be more pissed than when we traded Yunel.

Did you not watch the team last year?

Why were we so damn good? Our bullpen. And it’s not like Putz is going to cost us $13M like Saito and Wagner did (which turned out to be a hell of an investment). He’ll cost us 3-4M and he would be more than worth it.

As long as he doesn’t turn into another Bob Wickman…

I’m kind of surprised Wickman made it out of Atlanta before Tim Hudson had the chance to murder him.

I still remember that game in Florida back in ’07.

The one where he took the chew out of his mouth, threw it to the ground, and then tripped and almost fell over? Good stuff.

It’s the one where Hudson took a 3-0 lead into the 9th and then Wickman threw a wild pitch for the winning run. I don’t know if that’s the same one.

Our bullpen was good last year – and most of them come back this year. Why do we need to go spend money on big-name “closers” when we can pay less than $1M combined to two guys who can do the job as well as anyone.

If they don’t work out, then we look at our other internal options like Aussie.

We have 3 cheap in-house options for the back of the bp. I fail to see how this necessitates spending ANY more money on that position.

Most of them are coming back?

Our closer, who was one of the best in baseball last year, is gone. Sure, we can replace him with Kimbrel or Venters, but that takes away from our options in the 7th or 8th innings. Saito is also gone, and when he was healthy, he flat out dominated. We’re also without Dunn, who is a more than capable LOOGY.

If we don’t add anyone via free agency, we’re looking at:

Kimbrel
Venters
Moylan
EOF
Proctor
Martinez
Marek/Gearrin/etc.

That really isn’t all that great. We have no clue how Kimbrel will handle the full time closer’s role, and we have to at least consider that Venters threw a ridiculous amount of innings last year. Will his arm hold up?

Moylan has gotten worse the last 3 years and had serious issues with control in 2010, and we still don’t know if EOF’s vision issues are fixed. If either of those guys go down, we’re in big trouble.

Proctor hasn’t really pitched in the Major Leagues in 4 years, and Martinez and the other in-house guy are total unknowns as well. Sure, we could hope for a Venters 2.0 performance from someone, but that seems awful risky, doesn’t it?

We need to add at least one arm to the bullpen, if not two.

Scott Coleman - December 3, 2010 reply

Venters threw less last year than he normally does. He was a starter, remember?

That bullpen that you just posted is the best in the division, and stil one of the best in baseball.

We have an idea how Kimbel will handle the full-time role since he has been closing full time his entire career, and was beas at the end of as season. It isn’t guaranteed, but it is an idea.

If he fails for some reason, we have Venters and Moylan.

Moylan had issues??? Did you watch him pitch? He was absolutely dominant.

We don’t NEED to add any arms to the BP. We NEED a CF.

CF will come in the summer

it will give mcllouth a chance to prove himself or loose all faith,
and it will give young or that guy from the indians a chance to prove themselves as the backup CF—both have the chance to turn out awesome—both stole over 35 bases, hit over 310 and had obp around 375 last year in AAA…the guy from the indians is a switch hitter too.. i just wish i could find out minor league splits somewhere? if his numbers are balanced or weighted against left handed pitchers, he is mclouth’s perfect backup.

cone next summer though

we will likely be calling up Teheran or the second of Beachy/Minor and will have a 6th starting pitcher to make a centerpiece of the trade..

Luckily a new centerfielder deals with the CF and likely a potential 3B problem as well, since it would mvoe someone to left, and prado to third if need be.. but still, waiting till the summer will give us a chance to make sure we are filling the right hole

Who has advocated spending big money on a name closer?

I think most suggestions I’ve seen mention going after 1 or 2 guys who’d accept somewhere around $2-3m, and at most $5m, hopefully getting 2 experienced, quality bullpen arms for around that $5m total.

That first paragraph is almost like you’re arguing against a position no one else advocated.

Thats a lot of money to spend considering our remaining budget and needs.

Because a backup CF and backup SS will be prohibitively expensive?

and when free up some of KK’s salary in a dump, we’ll have around $10m remaining to spend, which is plenty enough for a couple experienced relievers and some bench depth.

you are the one saying we arnt able to dump KKs salary…there is no reason to think this will change, until some news alludes to such a fact.

I think Justin is right here, albeit drastically overreaching on his position. We don’t need bullpen help as much as we need a capable CF. If we are going to pursue a CF we should do so first and not worry about bullpen. If and when we get the OF sorted out, then we should start looking to fill out the pen if we can.

Our needs in the OF outweigh our bullpen needs, which doesnt mean we don’t have holes in our pen..it just means we have bigger holes that need addressing first.

First paragraph is mistaken...

I don’t think we can dump KK’s FULL salary, but the above post said “free up some”. There is a difference between those two assertions. As of yet, we have been unwilling to find a trade partner in MLB willing to take on his full salary. We have reportedly been willing to eat a significant portion of that salary, and still inexplicably have been unable to part with a proven 4/5 caliber starter to another MLB team. But we have been reportedly getting offers from Japanese teams to eat $1-2m I believe was the report, and perhaps over $3m. Add the $2-3m+ to the current $5m+ we’ve got left to spend, that gives us $8m+, if not around $10m, to spend on a relief arm or two, and bench pieces to give depth for CF and SS.

Now that I read the second and third graphs...

I’ll respond to them. I agree, OF is a bigger need than bullpen, although that’s debatable. It depends on how confident you are in Schafer’s rehab and McLouth’s rebirth (neither of which I’m confident in), and how confident you are in the young arms like Kimbrel, Venters, Marek, EOF, Gearrin, Hyde, etc to fill the pen (of which I’m confident they can get it done). But with injuries possible, and almost inevitable, I’d like redundancy in the bullpen to round out the competition for spots.

As for comparing needs and what to fill when, the question comes that while OF may be a “bigger hole” than the bullpen, timing of filling those holes is immaterial imo. Also, filling the OF need is easier said than done. There aren’t the attractive, reasonable cost options for the OF need as there are for the bullpen need. If a trade comes along that is suitable to Wren, and fills the OF, make it. But don’t get desperate for an OF and overpay because of the unlikeliness of McLouth refinding his All Star form and Schafer’s wrist ever getting healthy enough to hit MLB pitching.

The free agent market for relief arms is a lot more attractive than the free agent market for OFs, so unless Wren has a trade partner with an acceptable deals, I don’t see how forgoing bullpen options just to find an OF that may or may not even be out there right now, is a good idea. Timing is irrelevant imo, so why wait to sign a reliever until after an OF is acquired?

it definately arguable, but i think OF is more important for us right now.

the reason timing is important, because it is much easier to fill the pen hole than the OF hole…and you don’t want to spend 5.5 M on a releiver [for arguments sake Scott Linebrink ;) ] and then not have a lot to work with for OF…it doenst matter if the resources are managed properly you are right..but if we have to have one id rather have an OF.

why is centerfield a bigger hole?

yeah we all know mclouth is out there, but havent we figured out he is going to get a chance? he cost too much not to, and he will get his chance as a starter.. that is why we have brought in two AAA guys that could back him up, who have tools beyond mclouths even if they cant recreate their AAA batting numbers in the bigs.. they can both steal more bases, and they both play better defense…

i think this move tells us we are sticking iwth nate at least through the start of the season, and giving ourselves a couple decent options to help out… one of them who is a switch hitter could be especially good help against lhp, which mclouth is not so good against

$3-4M on a guy we don’t need is no where near worth it.

i dont think we need 2 bullpen arms

id spend that money on just one guy

You can never NEVER have enough bullpen arms.

gondeee - December 2, 2010 reply

Exactly.

The Keith Lockhart Era - December 2, 2010 reply

This

No, but you can have too much money tied up in bullpen arms.

Not saying the Braves are there, but they do have a budget, so they can’t just acquire all the talent at every position that they can.

Well

Kimbrel, Venters, Gearrin, Marek are all at league minimum basically
Proctor at $750,000
Moylan and EOF getting raises

That’s a pretty damn cheap pen

That's good.

That means more money to spend elsewhere. It’s not like the payroll has to be split at every position equally.

I’d like to see a little money spent on the pen, not a bunch, but some experience would be nice.

I agree.

I just don’t think it’s the priority some others do.

Agreed, and currently, we have more than we can field on the MLB team, and we have needs elsewhere on the field. The BP is a strength of this team right now, not something that needs to have more money spent on it.

Such as?

We have plenty of options, but like with Cold War American/Russian nuclear policy, redundancy of resources is a good idea here.

We already have redundancy of resourses in the pen.

I’m just glad we all want to throw money at one of our strengths while ignoring our needs in the OF.

Such as?...

feel free to list names, because everyone has reasons to doubt.

Do you seriously want me to list the names of all of our players who can fill a bullpen spot?

justincredubil02 - December 5, 2010 reply

Sure, I love lists of names

and I know there’s a lot, but adding one more name to the list, one with a somewhat lengthy, proven background of success at this level in a late inning role, at a pricetag of $2m is a good idea.

Mr. Sanchez - December 4, 2010 reply

I disagree for the following reasons:

1. He costs way too much to fill a role that we already have internal options for.

2. His poven background of success has not been so successful recently.

3. $2 is anywhere from 50—67% of our remaining budget, leaving little cash to spend on bigger, more imporant needs.

4. Our bullpen is already crowded. Either he takes qualiy time away from Venters, Kimbrel and Moylan, or he doesn’t get the time that the highest-paid player in the pen should get.

4-So you want a Bobby style, use 3 guys every day until their arms fall off bullpen usage?

Mr. Sanchez - December 5, 2010 reply

No, but do want the better pitchers to pitch more often. Either Linebrink takes innings away from better pitchers, or he plays a filler role.

Either way, it isn’t worth 2M of our precious budget.

justincredubil02 - December 6, 2010 reply

Or he's a much better pitcher than you're giving him credit for...

I’m going with option C.

Mr. Sanchez - December 6, 2010 reply

disagree mightily heres why

While Kimbrell and Venters are both looking awesome, another back of the pen arm with experience could simultaneously help them perform, be there when they start getting tired at some points in the season, and really transform our bullpen into a weapon..just one guy like that and i see our bullpen as a weapon like last year.. without it it everything seems less.

This is the biggest last move we should make in the off season. It would likely mean not signing diaz unless we can trade KK. (Trade KK we have money for Diaz)

the other option is not doing this and letting someone compete for the spot, and letting someone compete for centerfield and resign matt diaz and i am a huge diaz fan

I think the move for centerfield is a mid season move ive been saying this for a while..

I Saw Buzz Beaned - December 2, 2010 reply

I'd rather...

Entice Billy Wagner to join the team in spring training as an consultant to help Venters and Kimbrel. Who knows, it may talk him into giving it one more shot. I those two have what it takes to carry the back of the ’pen.

i wish too for sure

shit id say sign him at the allstar break next year out of retirement

let him rejuvinate the pen and be there when venters and kimbrells rookie arms are getting tired

I’m pretty sure Everyday Johnny’s arm is going to be tired until he retires…

Kudzu Kid - December 2, 2010 reply

We have that other back of the bullpen arm with experience, and he comes from the land Down Under.

And...

he has gotten steadily worse the last few years. Bullpen arms are a fickle beast, so if we can bring in a couple cheap, quality arms (and under $5m, if not under $3m is relatively cheap) having an excess amount of quality relievers is a good idea since a kid or two probably fail, an old guy or two probably get hurt, etc. The current crop could be good, but hoping that every kid pans out and everyone stays healthy is hoping against reality.

By “Steadily worse” do you mean “one of the best in the game”?

Let's not kid ourselves

I would like to suggest that everyone throw the notion that Peter Moylan could be a closer, out the window. I like Moylan a lot, but I wouldn’t necessarily considering him one of the best in the game. Pre-TJS, when he was capable of hitting 93-94 on his fastball with movement, he could have been perceived as a potential closer, while he was enjoying the luxury of his rookie unfamiliarity, but what we’ve seen over the last two years is probably closer to the real Moylan, and even that is a little skewed by the benefits of the first real drastic adjustment he’s made to his game since ditching 3/4 delivery in favor of sidearm 100% of the time.

He’s still an effective bullpen arm, and an important cog to a successful bullpen, but still prone to volatility more than the supposed bests in the game, but I don’t seem him as anything but a 7th inning guy, and maybe situational outs in the 8th or later. The increased walk-rate and contact rate, while strikeouts going down aren’t what you want out of a reliever as the leverage increases.

royhobbs - December 3, 2010 reply

It depends on how you define closer and what that role should really be.

Personally, I hate the idea of having a designated person to get the last 3 outs of a game, just because it’s the 9th inning and that’s what you are supposed to do.

I prefer to have a guy you can throw in during a high-leverage situation and put the fire out.

Many many games are saved in the 7th inning, not the 9th.

No douchington...

I mean his numbers have regressed since his great opening season in 08, and his numbers this year were worse than last year, his BB/9, K/9, FIP, etc are on a downward trend.

I think we need to start a new fanpost that gets automatically rec’d so it stays at the top (a la the rosterbation thread). It’ll be Called “Justin vs Mr. Sanchez.” You guys can go in there and duke out any topic you want.

Doghnut - December 3, 2010 reply

LOL

Awesome. And bonus points for the first guy to use the douch- prefix creatively in a sentence.

Yakker - December 3, 2010 reply

it would have been better with a captain, Mr. , of something of the like but i do like Douchington….perhaps…J.R. Douchington

And yet, they were still among the best numbers for RPs…hmmmm

justincredubil02 - December 5, 2010 reply

Really?...

5.2 BB/9 is “among the best numbers for RPs”? Interesting, considering our new bullpen acquisition posted a better WHIP, K/9 and BB/9 than Moylan did just last year. He posted the same WAR as Linebrink too (-0.1).

Mr. Sanchez - December 4, 2010 reply

More of "the best numbers for RPs"...

against lefties last year, Moylan allowed a slash line of ..308/.507/.481. I’m sure the best relievers let every other left handed hitter they faced reach base.

But hey, this guy, he should be our closer, (just like Matt Diaz shoulda been our leadoff hitter, right?).

Mr. Sanchez - December 4, 2010 reply

Ya know, if I had ever said that Moylan should be our closer, you would be on to something.

Sadly, I never said that. Keep trying to make straw arguments though. It’s fun to see you floundering.

Your words...

“We have an idea how Kimbel will handle the full-time role since he has been closing full time his entire career, and was beas at the end of as season. It isn’t guaranteed, but it is an idea.

If he fails for some reason, we have Venters and Moylan."

See that last line there, it suggests Moylan as our closer should a rookie with noted control issues fail, gets injured, etc.

Mr. Sanchez - December 5, 2010 reply

As a 3rd option, yes.

justincredubil02 - December 6, 2010 reply

“If there is one thing this team does not have a need for, it’s another back of the bullpen arm.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. In point of fact, that’s one of the things this team still needs. One of the reasons why the Braves’ bullpen was so good last year was due to its depth. Once you relegate Kimbrel to the 9th and Venters primarily to the 8th, you’ve lost a whole lot of bullpen flexibility. Venters was so valuable to the Braves last season because he was a guy who could came in and get big outs anywhere between the 6th and 9th innings.

2Brave2Bscared - December 2, 2010 reply

No matter how many times you want to say “wrong” it doesn’t change the fact that I am not wrong here.

Until we have a good backup plan for Chipper and Freeman, and until we have someone like Gutierrez or Ellsbury in CF, we do not need to be spending any more money on the bullpen.

Once both of those things happen, and if we have some cash left over, I’m all for bolstering the ’pen.

Signing a “closer” right now is equal to building the most massive, strong, armored gate to your city – but not having a wall on the back side.

I agree, we need a contingency plan for if/when Chipper misses some time. As of now, we put Prado there, but then who plays LF? Mather? If anyone in our infield misses extended amounts of time, our offense doesn’t look nearly as good. We need to find some sort of backup plan for this. I’m sorry to say, I don’t think we are going to have a CF like Gutierrez or Ellsbury in CF, though I’ve seen crazy things happen.

dlkinser86 - December 3, 2010 reply

mclouth gets his shot

as do the CF’s comming to spring training (both of whom i am kindof excited about)

and if none of them prove productive, we will trade for a centerfielder in late spring or early summer.. using what will be a 6th starter at that point as the centerpiece of a trade..

I wonder what’s easier: Trading for a CF or picking up chicks?

I'm going with trading for a CF

Picking up chicks is hard.

buzzdeadwax - December 5, 2010 reply

It’s unlikely that Putz will be expecting more than $5 million, seeing as how most teams see him as a setup man, especially after making $3 million last year. If the Braves can trade Lowe or Kawakami and get the other team to eat some of their salary, this is payroll space they can easily make room for.

swainzy - December 2, 2010 reply

My guess is that KK money = bullpen money.

The words “KK” and “money” should never appear in the same sentence…

You act like he’s a bad pitcher or something.

KK acts like he’s a bad pitcher…

That’s some pretty good acting.

That makes absolutely no sense.

On what basis does KK have any trade value…

Umm…for the price, which is only $2-4M dollars, he’d be a top #5 starter for most teams in baseball.

Isn’t he making $7MM per year?

6.5M, but the Braves have already said they’ll eat a bit of his contract.

And it still hasn't worked...

why?

Mr. Sanchez - December 2, 2010 reply

I feel like if he gets traded

Itll be later when the best FA’s are gone and some team gets desperate. Im not saying itll happen, but I think that might be our best shot (stateside, at least).

Doghnut - December 2, 2010 reply

a top #5 starter? Not disputing that he’d be a #5 for most teams…but what does TOP #5 starter for most teams mean??

dunnytwogloves - December 2, 2010 reply

lol

I mean he would be one of the better #5 starting pitchers in baseball.

Not that being a #1, #2, #3, etc. has any affect or value on a guy, but I’m just trying to say he would be fine in the back-end of most team’s rotations.

I guess I am jaded by our ridiculous SP talent to realize 4.32 ERA is not that bad compared to AL 4th and 5th starters…but still.

Buuhhh...

zing!

Chipper Pwns - December 2, 2010 reply

Hideki Okajima! He’ll be cheap (he’ll be non-tendered) and he’s a lefty, and he desperately needs to go to the NL

Bmacbandwagon - December 2, 2010 reply

the guy doesnt even look where he throws though

Didn't stop Fernando Valenzuela.

Just have Okajima breathe through his eyelids.

it works for Okajima too…sometimes

Right. When he breathes through the correct eyelid.

KoKo the Monkey (T-Bone) - December 2, 2010 reply

I support this move wholeheartedly...

but I will miss Diaz.

+23

Awesome news.

Now to get a utility infielder.

BW Smith - December 2, 2010 reply

Trade

Manny Acosta for Omar Infante? Anyone? First we have to get Acosta back from the Mets… Give them some used cups and rosin bags

HansonManCrush - December 2, 2010 via mobile reply

That should get the job done. Might have to toss in a bag of sunflower seeds to finish the deal.

BW Smith - December 2, 2010 reply

A small bag. No more.

Wren says...

Merry Christmas, Braves fans!

that was the Uggla deal

this is more of a Happy New Year

Braves24 - December 2, 2010 reply

stocking stuffer…. if you have a really honking big stocking.

Ply me with enough alcohol, and you’ll find out.

TheLetter2 - December 2, 2010 reply

fancy

Doghnut - December 2, 2010 reply

I don’t drink. But the joke wouldn’t have worked otherwise.

TheLetter2 - December 2, 2010 reply

I think that's what someone said

buzzdeadwax - December 3, 2010 reply

thats what she said

Holty_Panthers_Fan - December 2, 2010 reply

Love it

Acquire RH hitting Power Bat ; Done

Resign the best PH on the Market ; Done

Veteran Bullpen arm / closing experience ; TBD

Another OF; TBD

Great start to the offseason; Mr Wren another Gem that is going to go way under the radar.

LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEE IIIIIIITTTTT !!!!

Oh dang

Meat Another IF; A. Everett or C. Guzman please Mr. Wren.

JJ. Putz is more than likely out of the Braves price range unless we can dump KK which looks like now from the rumor mill has all but dried up regarding him going back to Japan.

I wish.

Holty_Panthers_Fan - December 2, 2010 reply

Putz and Jenks are both available. Not sure about Jenks, but National League bats might renew him a bit.

FYI

vs. NL:

Jenks: 2.16 ERA, 41.2 IP
Putz: 2.53 ERA, 64 IP

i think we may already have our 4th outfielder

i think it will be either young or this guy from the indians—botha re superiod centerfielders who steal lots of bases, hit over 300 in AAA and with over 375 on base percentages…

I am prettttty confident one of those 2 will be mclouths backup, will play center and move mclouth to left in defensive situations, and will be a pinch runner..

we can also hope they can get an on base percentage like that in the majors because if they can, they are by far the best option when prado moves from left field from time to time, as it will strengthen the defense to put this guy in center and mclouth in left as opposed to mclouth in center and likely a weak defender in left. The defensive advantage to using this guy over a left fielder is substantial, and if he can maintain an obp over 350 and steal bases, then he is going to often be the best option as the outfield sub in center and left (via a move of mclouth)

Who’s the guy from the Indians? Did I miss something?

http://www.talkingchop.com/2010/11/22/1831354/wren-looking-for-lightning-in-a-bottle

jose constanza

34 steals this year
49 last year

with obps of 378 and 373 respectively

he switch hits

the year befor elast was AA by the way

that was his first year in AAA

those 34 steals were in 113 games

Forgot about those signings

I figure they will be in ST then AAA.

you dont think that sounds like our backup CF?

I think we are wanting young or constanza to shine enough in spring training to backup mclouth and be a better pinch runner on the team than we currently have.

I’m pulling for Young, I’ve watched him a good bit and am pretty impressed. But, Constanza’s numbers do look good.

Brandon Hicks is an awesome PR…7 runs scored…6 PAs…the guy is amazing

that is awesome

but is he really a better runnder than young or constanza?

I think people are asking for too much bat from the middle infielder.. we really need a defensive wiz to be able to backup gonzalez and replace uggla in defensive situations. (and it cant be the same guy that plays CF because we want that guy to be in the outfield in defensive situations!

Yayyy!

In Hinske We Trust!

award6 - December 2, 2010 reply

YAY

More of this!!

there are just no words.

apoxonbothyourhouses - December 2, 2010 reply

yes there is

EPIC

I just realized

Epic is our generation’s “Groovy” and will be lame in a couple years.

Agreed

I don’t know how it got big, but I’m already annoyed by it.

I don’t know how it got big

Gamers. Nerds rule the world, didn’t you get the memo?

Good point

I’m surprised no one caught on to that one, opened everyone right up to a TWSS with that line

I thought about it, but I thought it would detract from the very legitimate point I was trying to make.

haha

good call

it is pretty significant actually

it defines this moment in the history of humanity

"a couple years"?

really?

MartinMcFly - December 2, 2010 reply

Wanna know what would've been great?

If the ball caught up in the wind, didn’t leave the park, and Hinske had to bust it down the line for a single.

Hate the Home Run Watchers

Love the home run-runners (heyward)

joshmaurer - December 2, 2010 reply

But Hinke’s homer was so watchable.

I'm watching it over and over again!

TCfromDubVee - December 2, 2010 reply

You mean like the Crime Dog?

Who loved turning triples into doubles, and doubles into singles?

The best part

is that Hinske’s hit causes the pitcher to get whiplash and knocks hit cap off.

Darin H - December 2, 2010 reply

Beautiful

One of my top 5 favorite GIFs I've ever seen on TC...

Kudzu Kid - December 2, 2010 reply

Hell yeah son!

TCfromDubVee - December 2, 2010 reply

Great news!!

Glad Hinske made the right choice!

BTW

Just realized Hinske went for a 1-year deal plus a team option. I thought Wren had offered him a 2-year deal, but I guess the rumors were wrong. That makes this awesome news even awesomer.

I read he wanted a 2-year deal,

but FW was not going there. Happy he took the 1-year deal :)

HEYJUDE - December 2, 2010 reply

Hey!

it’s you!

Hi there!

:)

HEYJUDE - December 2, 2010 reply

Yeah

So just in case he decides to go all Greg Norton on us, the team can nix the second year.

royhobbs - December 2, 2010 reply

so Im not the only one who thought of that happening…does this mean everyone will ahte HInske by June and wish death and/or substantial bodily injury upon him and his family?

bc thats what happened with Norton, everyone forgot how great he was in 2008

thenightstallion - December 2, 2010 reply

The “What have you done for me lately group” may, but most people wont. From a big play stand point, Hinske’s 2010 season trumps Nortons 2008, and Norton literally refused to even make contact in 2009. But I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say as long as Hinske doesn’t come out wearing a Mets jersey at any time in the season, he’ll see nothing but love from Braves Country.

there were only like 5 people (probably an estimation) on this blog who seemed to remember that Norton was a beast no more than a year before he sucked the big one.

I don’t think it will be too big of a stretch to claim that Norton’s 2009 produces a higher OBP than Hinske’s 2011.

And we've been over how little impact obp has on pinch hitting

it helps, but slg is more important in that role.

And let’s hope for Norton’s 08, when he got regular at bats, instead of 09 when he was never able to get on track thanks to a maximum of a dozen at bats in a month (and I don’t think he even got that if you exclude AAA at bats).

actuallyl lets hope for 09 the only reason Norton got so many ABs in 2008 was because of a tremendous amount of injuries and general suckitude across the board…the less ABs Hinske sees the better, bc as a bench player he isnt as good as our regular guys…although admittedly that means Hinske will suffer a bit.

we should toe a tight line between the two, i think enough ABs to get him on line and keep him there.

Agreed...

but if we use Hinske as sparingly as Norton was used in 09, he’ll be likely to produce a similar struggling stat line (with likely a similar redeeming quality in walks, cause he has a good eye). He needs to get at least 3-5 starts a month. Hopefully no more than that, but if you don’t give a guy regular looks at MLB pitching, he isn’t likely to do well as cold as he’d be averaging 2-4 plate appearances a week.

I'd be fine with Hinske's '09

Kudzu Kid - December 3, 2010 reply

He wouldn’t be able to match a .330 OBP?

dunnytwogloves - December 3, 2010 reply

Well, he’s only done it 5 out of 9 seasons, including a .333 job in ’08.

His career average is .336, so a .330 OBP is no guarantee, especially if he becomes an every day player for reason X or Y.

BTW, he only put up a .338 OBP last season

*ahem.

This is good news...

I still want Matty, though; can’t we have both?

sddbaker - December 2, 2010 reply

if we get the money for kk

yeah buddy

JKowalek - December 2, 2010 reply

Woohoo!

another season (or two) of: RE! … SPECT! … WALK!

heartman - December 2, 2010 reply

wahoooooooooooo

Taylor Masters - December 2, 2010 reply

OH YA

I think we can all agree that Hinske’s HR may have been one of the top 2 or 3 moments of the entire season for the Braves at the time it happened, until the 9th inning collapse that may have been the most heartbreaking moment of the season.

BravesFan22 - December 2, 2010 reply

Here's how I see the bench shaping up.

Ross – C
Hinske – 1B/OF/3B(in a major pinch)
Mathers – Super Utility
Conrad – IF
FA Back up IF w/ SS experience – (Guzman, Lopez, Ryan(via trade), etc.)

Jay212033 - December 2, 2010 reply

i predict mathers doesnt finish the season with the big league club

or he is a huge turn around

apoxonbothyourhouses - December 2, 2010 reply

who the hell

is “Mathers”?

you mean Mather? He is no Super Utility. He’s been brought in to play 4th OF and LF if we need to trade Prado for a CF.

I don't think the thought is needing to trade Prado...

…it is need to have Prado play third base if Chipper goes down.

cavebird - December 2, 2010 reply

No way on earth they trade Prado.

He’s too too young, too good, and too cheap to trade.

Damn

The “s” really got to ya didn’t it??

Wow

I put an S on the end of his name and all of a sudden you don’t know who he is?! Give me a break! Mather has played 1B, 2B, 3B, C and all 3 OF spots in his career.

Jay212033 - December 2, 2010 reply

+1

What he said

He doesn’t play them well, though, with the exception of left, right, and first. He’s Hinske minus the bat.

SKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jdmarine - December 2, 2010 reply

Now that they’ve officially non-tendered Diaz, where do you think he’ll end up in ’11?

joshmaurer - December 2, 2010 reply

Hopefully Tampa Bay

All signs point to Philly.

They need a RH hitting OF to platoon with Ibanez and Matty’s got connections up there apparently.

Jacob Peterson - December 2, 2010 reply

That just seems wrong………..

UMDBHIK - December 2, 2010 reply

Fantastic news!

His homer in Game 3 was the greatest moment I’ve ever seen at a baseball game (live). Given his PH skills, ability to play several positions (none of them well, but that’s OK), and all around awesomeness, he’s worth way more than the $1.5M or so they’ll be paying him. Not as big of a bargain as David Ross, but a great signing nonetheless. I look forward to more clutch hits from him in the future!

Jacob Peterson - December 2, 2010 reply

Adam Dunn is officially out of the NL East

More good news!!!!

This

I’m glad he won’t be hitting anymore tape measure shots off our pitching!

Jay212033 - December 2, 2010 reply

Adam Dunn is officially out of the NL ~~East~~

FTFY

Hell yeah hinske back for 2011! thats great

farreasy - December 2, 2010 reply

Great news

I love his presence off the bench. 2011 is looking pretty darn good.

jayjaxon - December 2, 2010 reply

Wren saved $500,000!!! MLBTR reported

Hinske will earn $1.45MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

Correction

$50,000

That's a hell of a deal.

SouthernPanther - December 2, 2010 reply

YES!!!!!!!!!!

SO BIG!!!!

Well...I might as well take this one.

TWSS.

SouthernPanther - December 2, 2010 reply

TWSS right back at ya

You always left me satisfied and smiling

really?, nothing?

That's not what she said

buzzdeadwax - December 3, 2010 reply

That’s unfortuneate for you then.

:)