Braves get Hinshaw, send Freeman, Gonzalez, Rohrbough to Giants

February 9, 2011-

In need of a quality left handed starting pitcher, the Atlanta Braves found one. It's Alex Hinshaw (left), the highly rated 28 year old hurler from the San Francisco Giants. He did come at a price.

The Giants receive 21 year old first baseman Freddie Freeman, MR Mike Gonzalez (age 32), and AAA SP Cole Rohrbough (age 23).


Hinshaw, who was 6-7, 4.43 ERA in 2010, has been used heavily out of the bullpen by the Giants, pitching in 94 and 95 games in the last two seasons. But Braves GM Jobo Foster sees Hinshaw as a quality starting pitcher.

"He started 3 games last year for the Giants," said Foster. "He's got a fine repertoire of pitches that I believe will make him an excellent choice to start every fifth day. He may need to build his endurance a bit, but all our scouts and coaches are high on him and feel he could be an ace for us."

Freeman (left) had a very good rookie season for the Braves (19 HR, 80 RBI, .262 BA) and it was surprising to most that he was traded. The Braves had been trying to move Gonzalez (below right) as a budget reduction move.

With the recent trades of Michael Main, Aaron Poreda and Cody Johnson to the Dodgers, Tommy Hanson and Randall Delgado to the Marlins, and now Freeman and Rohrbough to the Giants, Foster was asked if he were mortgaging the future.

"I don't think so. We have traded a lot of excellent prospects," Foster admitted, "but all the guys we have gotten are still young and just entering their prime. They are all proven players and have a number of productive years ahead of them. We've given up a lot of potential to get a lot of guys who can get it done now and in years ahead."

The Braves new field leader, Terry Pendleton, said that Mark DeRosa would be moving from second to first base and Omar Infante would take over at second. Pendleton further noted, "The starting pitchers we now have (Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Hinshaw, Fausto Carmona, and John Rathwell) coax a large number of ground balls. Omar has a greater range and a better fielding average than Mark; so that should cut down the number of ground balls getting through our infield."

"We'll miss Freddie's bat, but Omar won't be that far behind him. With the improved infield defense and pitching I believe we'll be a better ball club," Pendleton predicted at the close of the press conference."

Good enough to catch the Marlins and the Mets? "No bulletin board stuff today, boys," laughed Pendleton.

Braves acquire Carmona from Marlins for Hanson, Delgado

January 8, 2011-

The Atlanta Braves sent 24 year-old SP Tommy Hanson and prospect SP Randall Delgado to Florida for 27 year-old SP Fausto Carmona (right). Both Braves GM Jobo Foster and Marlins GM Sam East expressed the sentiments that both clubs should benefit from the surprising deal.

Pressed by the financial limitations in small market Florida, East commented,"I'm a little nervous trading an ace within the (NL East) division, but Hanson has the potential to be as successful as Carmona and I need to save some dollars so I can extend Josh Johnson's contract this year or maybe sign one or two more players during the off season."

Foster also mentioned his hesitancy to trade within the division, but added, "When you get the opportunity to add a starting pitcher like Carmona, that helps you get over that reluctance in a hurry."

Carmona was 15-8 with a 2.93 in the regular season for the World Champion Marlins. He also pitched well in the playoffs, going 1-0 in 3 starts with a 2.45 ERA. "We believe he is just coming into his prime and will be a great addition to our rotation," said Foster.

Hanson (left) struggled early in 2010, but finished the season a bit stronger, giving hints to the kind of pitcher he's been projected to become. His record was 9-14, 4.76 ERA, and 167 strike outs in 177.2 innings. Delgado has not been considered a highly rated prospect, but his performance and pitch development indicate he may have more than what some scouts have been saying about him.

"Florida is getting two fine pitchers. I've always liked Tommy and looked forward to his career development. Randall has been turning quite a few heads as well lately. We'll miss them, but again...getting a guy like Fausto...well......"

Foster left his sentence unfinished, but the smile on his face spoke volumes.

http://www.ootpsimbaseball.com/gaba/news/html/leagues/league_100_news_195.html

Braves trade prospects for Ethier

November 29, 2010-

The Atlanta Braves shipped three well regarded prospects for right fielder Andre Ethier of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers received southpaw MR-SP Aaron Poreda, SP Michael Main and AAA slugging LF Cody Johnson.

Ethier will fill the hole left with Braves' decision not to offer arbitration to Jeff Francoeur, who has started in RF for the GABA Braves for the last 6 years.

The Braves new skipper Terry Pendleton said getting a player of Ethier's quality was high on the priority list. "He's the kind of guy you can count on for a solid season every year...25 homers, 95 to 100 RBI are definitely within his capabilities," Pendleton commented.

When asked if the price was high, giving two possible starting pitchers and a potential big league slugger, Braves GM Jobo Foster said, "You just used the operative words..."possible" and "potential." We liked Poreda, Main and Johnson, but they're still developing. With Ethier we're meeting a huge need with an all-star player. We know what he can do. He adds power from gap to gap and to all fields for our lineup."

Ethier has hit .291 with 77 home runs and 344 RBI over his 5 year GABA career.

2010 Braves limp home to 77-85 season

November 26, 2010-

"It was a tale of two seasons," said Braves GM Jobo Foster. "There were stretches where we played like a playoff bound team, but there were others when we played like we were a cellar bound team."

Succinctly worded, that sums up the GABA Braves 2010 season which saw Atlanta stumble home with a NL East 3rd place finish, 20+ games behind the GABA champion Florida Marlins.

Foster took time to review and evaluate the questions raised about this team as they came out of spring training at the beginning of this season.

1. Has the bullpen been significantly improved? "Overall, our pen remained the same...new faces, but similar performance. Despite fine steady seasons by new acquisitions Chris Perez (3-2, 2.45 ERA, 2 saves) and Josh Kinney (3-3, 3.33 ERA,), most of the rest of our relievers were spotty at best in their performance. Joe Nathan had a very "un-Joe Nathan " type season (4.03 ERA, 28 saves in 37 opportunities with 5 blown saves). I'm sure Nathan will return to form this year. We will be on the lookout again to improve our pen."

2. Will the winner of the fifth starter role be able to handle the job? "Tommy Hanson (9-14, 4.76 ERA) got the job from the start of the season and Bobby Cox stuck with him through the season. He was up and down all year, but toward the close of the season he seemed to be settling in and showing signs of the potential we feel he has. What we did not expect was Tim Hudson's troubles (3-12, 6.37 ERA and released after 17 starts). We brought up young John Rathwell who showed promise, but also, as you might expect, took some lumps (3-4, 6.05 ERA in 10 starts). We have several guys who will vying for a place in our rotation with Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, and Hanson. We certainly are looking to trade for a starting pitcher we feel will be a good fit for us."

3. Can 20 year-old Freddie Freeman handle the job at first base? "The answer is yes. Freddie did all we asked of him. For such a young rookie, he had the kind of streaks you might expect, but he had a solid year offensively (19 HR, 80 RBI, .262 BA) and defensively. He'll only get better as he matures."

4. With two lineup changes will the Braves be as productively offensively as they were in 2009? "No, we were not. From a league leading 886 runs scored, we fell to 727 (13th in the NL) last year....a full run less per game than the year before. Our two new position players, Freeman and Mark DeRosa (19 HR, 100 RBI, .286 BA), and Brian McCann (23 HR, 91 RBI, .306 BA) handled their roles well. But we had a great drop-off with the rest of the lineup. Injuries limited the time played and effectiveness of Jordan Schafer, Nate McLouth and Jeff Francoeur, our entire starting outfield. Chipper Jones had a year a lot of guys would like to have (17 HR, 77 RBI, .294 BA), but actually is a down year for him. Yunel Escobar never got on track with his bat all year as his batting average dropped from .294 to .254 and his home runs were cut nearly in half (from 13 to 7). We have got to pick up the offensive pace in 2011."

5. Will the "Bobby Cox Farewell Tour" be a motivation or a distraction for the 2010 season? "I think it proved to be neither. We will miss Bobby in the dugout this year, but I believe our new manager, Terry Pendleton, is ready to lead this team from this point forward, if we can get him the pieces he needs."

Foster went on to say that because of finances, the Braves would not be offering arbitration to Jeff Francoeur among others. "Since Jose Martinez is still a work in progress, we'll be scouring the trade markets for a good bat to go in right field. Plus any other improvements that we might be able to stir up."

Lowe wins 20th on second try

Tuesday, September 15, 2010-

With a workman-like performance last night at Turner Field, Derek Lowe nailed down his twentieth victory, becoming the first pitcher to win 20 in GABA this season. Lowe used 113 pitches in 6.1 innings, giving up 7 hits, 4 walks, 2 runs and 7 strikeouts to beat Washington by a 5-2 score.

"Derek is the kind of pitcher who knows how to win even when his stuff isn't quite as sharp," said manager Bobby Cox. "He knows how to battle out of difficulty. He showed that again tonight."

"Wasn't the prettiest game I ever pitched," Lowe said afterwards, "but any win, especially a 20th, is nice looking to me."

After losing his first chance at 20 to the Rockies (6-1) in Colorado last Wednesday, Lowe had five days of rest before his next opportunity at the milestone win. Rookie Freddie Freeman staked Lowe to a 3-0 lead with his 17th homerun in the fourth inning after Washington rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg (11-12).

"The way Strasburg was pitching early, I didn't know if we were gonna get any runs," Lowe chuckled. "Freddie's blow sure took some pressure off. I sure didn't want to stretch this thing out 'til my next start."

Lowe now has 20 wins against 5 losses for the season with a 2.50 ERA over 205.1 innings pitched, leading the NL in each of those categories.

Braves welcome back Schafer

June 22, 2010

Since May 1 when Jordan Schafer went on the disabled list, Atlanta won only 10 games and lost 31, for a winning percentage of .244. In that span the Braves suffered through three long losing streaks of 12, 6, and 10 games. When Schafer was in the lineup the Braves have been 15-7, a winning percentage of .682, including winning 4 of 6 on this his first week back from the injury. Could one player make so much difference?

For one thing, they have sure missed him in the number 2 spot in the lineup. None of the guys who replaced him there (Hernandez-.189, Van Every-.136, Blanco-.088, or Escobar-.209) filled the role of setting the table or moving the lead-off hitter along.

Also, none of his replacements roamed the range in centerfield as effectively which meant that a few more base hits fell in that he possibly could have taken away.

On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that while Schafer was out, the Braves faced teams with better winning records than they have when he has played. Atlanta without Schafer faced teams with a .548 winning percentage and with him faced teams with a .471 winning percentage.

Baseball is a team game; and while wins and losses are certainly the result of team performance, the numbers don't lie as they clearly reveal that Schafer is a most important cog in the Braves' machine. And this in only his second year in the big leagues.

"It just killed me, not being able to play and seeing our team playing so poorly," Schafer admitted. "Honestly, even with me out of the lineup, we're a better team than what we showed."

One thing is for sure...Atlanta is a better team with him in the lineup.

Braves losing streak skids to 9

May 17, 2010


Derek Lowe and Jair Jurrjens finally looked human... plus the bullpen looks atrocious... plus the injuries continue to pile up... plus the hitting cooled off a good bit... it all adds up to a nine game losing skid for the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves were outscored 71 to 28 over the nine game span against St. Louis, Cincinnati, Arizona, and Los Angeles. The three straight sweeps over the last week cost the Braves 5 games in the standings, dropping them into third place with a 16-16 record.

It's easy to see there is lack of performance from the relief corps- they rank dead last in ERA (6.65) among the pens in the National League. Outside of Joe Nathan no one is having a good start to the season. General manager Jobo Foster has indicated he's considering bringing back Danny Herrera who is doing very good down in AAA Gwinnett (2.31 ERA, 0.94 WHIP). Some in the Braves front office are urging patience, saying that the arms in the pen are talented enough to come around. They going to need to do that and soon or some of those veterans (Linebrink and Moehler, in particular) may find themselves released, as their seems to be little market for them.

Also starting pitching is a concern as Tim Hudson (2-4, 8.46 ERA) and Tommy Hanson (1-1, 6.13 ERA) are not giving what the Braves need out of their fourth and fifth slots. If they cannot turn it around soon, Gwinnett hurlers Aaron Poreda (1-0, 1.88), Charlie Morton (3-0, 3.23) or Jorge Campillo (0-3, 2.95) are all clamoring for attention from the big club.

The injury bug bit yet another outfielder, namely Gorkys Hernandez who had replaced the injured Jordan Schafer in centerfield. Hernandez (0 HR, 2 RBI and .231 BA) strained a hamstring which will cost him at least a month on the disabled list. The Braves will be bringing up Jonathan Van Every (8 HR, 14 RBI, .314 BA, .443 OBP, .709 SLG in AA) to play center until Schafer can return.

42 year old Matt Stairs is just not producing as a left-handed pinch hitting. In 13 plate appearances he has one walk, no hits and nine strikeouts. Could the Braves be thinking of promoting 21 year old Cody Johnson (10 HR, 24 RBI, .269 BA, .349 OBP, .546 SLG) to fill that LH pinch hitter role?

Certainly Atlanta is a better ball club than the last week has shown. How they bounce back from this disastrous week may be an indicator of how good they could be. But will it be good enough to run with the horses in Florida and New York? The Marlins and the Mets continue to play above .600 winning percentage and sit first and second in th NL East.