The Republic of Sport

Caravaggio

Caravaggio's Comments

Posted Thursday November 12, 2009, About: Braves shopping pitchers

Oops, guess having MLB's third best ERA was a typo. As for trading pitching, I'm not really sure what the Braves should do. Vasquez was stellar last season, but is only under contract for another year. He was also arguably our best pitcher last year. Should we trade him for a premier bat and hope someone takes up the pitching slack? Tough question. Ideally you'd want to move Lowe, but realistically that's problematic. He's aging, has a bad contract, and was pretty shoddy last year. Further complicating matters is our farm system. Who's coming up next year and how effective will they be? You expect great things from Heyward, but most everybody goes through a transition period, and Wren might wanna "Tommy Hanson" the guy. Is Freeman legit? I've heard conflicting things, and he's probably not ready for the show next year anyways. Well, whatever happens, it should be a pretty interesting offseason. The Braves are expecting great things for Cox's swan song.

Posted Saturday October 24, 2009, About: Westbrook wants more touches

They definitely need to run more and not get caught up in Andy-ball, but I don't think Westbrook is necessarily the answer. Give LeSean McCoy more opportunities.

Posted Tuesday July 21, 2009, About: Braves unlikely to deal Vazquez

Right, cause everybody's clamoring for a 4-5 starter with 4+ ERA. Frank Wren is an idiot if he can't trade this guy, right?

Posted Tuesday July 21, 2009, About: Braves unlikely to deal Vazquez

You can't rely on Hudson as a replacement for Vazquez. Afterall, Vazquez has been one of the best pitchers in the NL this year, while Hudson is only a year removed from Tommy John surgery. He'll probably replace Kawakami when he returns, though, and form an elite pitching staff - one where you have to worry about hitting against all five members of the rotation.

A Vazquez trade will not happen. His contract runs up in 2011, and he commands 11.5 million next year. That means the only teams interested in him are contenders. Buuuut, the Braves are also contenders. So that means this trade must involve a hitter who can help win this season AND is equal in value to Vazquez. Just not gonna happen.

Posted Monday June 08, 2009, About: Tiki's TV stock plummeting

What would you expect in this economy, harhar.

Posted Saturday June 06, 2009, About: Smoltz rips Braves over Glavine release

This is a direct quote from the Hall of Fame website: "The choice of which team logo appears on a player's plaque is the Museum's decision, though we always consider the wishes of an inductee. As a history museum and as such, it's important that the logo be emblematic of the historical accomplishments of that player's career. A player's election to the Hall of Fame is a career achievement, and as such, every team for whom he played is listed on the plaque; however, the logo selection is based on where that player makes his most indelible mark."

In 2005, Wade Boggs wanted to wear a Yankee cap, but his best years were had with the Red Sox. Thus Boggs went into the Hall of Fame as a Boston rep, even though he had an extremely icy relationship with the organization.
Gee, I wonder what Glavine will be? Will he be a Brave, where he won: 2 Cy Youngs, a World Series, WS MVP, and 244 games? Or will he be a Met, where he had 5 mostly forgettable seasons? Oh, I know, he'll be wearing the hat of whatever lower tier team decides to sign him for a year, definitely.

Posted Saturday June 06, 2009, About: Smoltz rips Braves over Glavine release

The player can't decide. In 2001 there was a policy change, and the Hall of Fame Committee has final say in which cap a player will wear. Here is a link as to why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_hall_of_fame#Players_with_multiple_teams

Posted Saturday June 06, 2009, About: Smoltz rips Braves over Glavine release

By the way, all this talk of "which hat will he wear in Cooperstown" is ridiculous. If you know the rules, then you know that Glavine is guaranteed to go in as a Brave.

Posted Saturday June 06, 2009, About: Smoltz rips Braves over Glavine release

Glavine was not strung along! Come on people! Let me fill in some gaps on the situation. Glavine was signed in the offseason with the intent that he would fill all his contractual obligations and make every penny of the contract he signed, including the roster bonuses. He was supposed to be pitching in the majors in April, nearly two months ago. But he had yet another setback with his arm, was sent to AAA (where he had terrible stuff), and only recently did he show any flashes of being a decent pitcher (In AA and A ball! Guys like Pavano and Padilla would look brilliant against that competition). If you haven't been living in a cave for the last year, you knew Atlanta had Tommy Hanson in the wings AND he would be brought up this year if the fifth rotation spot was unsecure. From the get go, it was obvious it would be Glavine or Hanson. But Glavine just wasn't up to the task, and missed his oppurtunity. It's Hanson's time, get with the program already.
As far as loyalty goes, I would fight tooth and nail if Glavine was a lifetime Brave (someone like Chipper Jones). But he wasn't. He left for greener pastures (emphasis on the green). And now he wants special treatment? That is hypocrisy my friends. Everyone just needs to move on. I hold no grudges about Glavine's move in 2003 (though someone other than a divisional rival would have been easier to accept), and he shouldn't be upset now. Loyalty went out with the '94 strike (oddly enough, that was championed by Glavine as well).
To put it simply, this was always a Glavine v. Hanson battle. The Braves wanted Jake Peavy, but balked at the trade when the Padres insisted on including Hanson in the deal. Who, exactly, is storming the gates to get Glavine?

Posted Friday June 05, 2009, About: Smoltz rips Braves over Glavine release

First of all, Boston is a team that can afford to pay a pitcher (whose 42 and coming off yet another arm surgery) $5 million for half a season of work. The Braves are not. Second, Glavine was suppossed to be in the starting rotation in mid April. This is a fact often overlooked. Everybody knew Glavine was a stop gap for Tommy Hanson's arrival. If he'd been pitching when he was suppossed to too, and had performed well, there'd be no need for Hanson to come up. Since he was still in the minors by June, the Braves obviously went with the phenom.
Sorry, Glavine - it's just business. You can't be a hypocrite about the situation; afterall, you're one of the heads of the player's union.

Posted Friday June 05, 2009, About: Packer upset with new defense

"Just focusing on football"
"You know, this is a transition and I just want to focus on it"
"Historically, the 3-4 has been a sound defense"
"it's a new scheme, so I'm learning it. I'm not saying I don't like it, I'm saying I'm learning it"
"new techniques, new terminology. All in all it's learning the new system"

....

Yeeeeah, that sounds like one pissed off guy to me... for sure...

Posted Thursday May 28, 2009, About: Braves mum on Red Sox trade

Francouer to Boston makes no sense for either team; this is just the Rumor side of "Truth & Rumors".

Posted Saturday May 23, 2009, About: Youkilis incites Santana

Let's make a deal Red Sox Nation. You guys win the series with New York and the Braves will sweep the Jays for you. Pretty fair I'd say.

Posted Friday May 22, 2009, About: Cubs may move Soriano to 2B

Is Soriano tripping in that picture? "Dude, my hands are huuuge. They can touch everything but themselves... oh wait"

Posted Saturday May 16, 2009, About: Yankees-Twins feud brewing?

I know it's "illegal" for baserunners to run inside the base paths, but let's be real about this situation: it is extremely rare for a ballplayer NOT to run on the grass when trying to beat out throws to first. Everyone does it, and I think Tex overreacted to a situation that every first baseman comes across several times a game. When you're a righthanded batter it's simply the fastest way to the bag. It's the fielder's responsibility to not put the 1B in harms way by making a better throw. I'm not blaming Cash, though, either. It was a bang bang play that needed to happen fast. It's just baseball, no need to get all worked up over nothing.

Posted Thursday February 19, 2009, About: Kiffin's accusation irk Georgia AD

Wow, funny AND original. Tell me you're single you studly stud. Rome's not that far away, we could be gettin' it on right now big sexy.

Posted Thursday February 19, 2009, About: Kiffin's accusation irk Georgia AD

Also... are Alabama, UF, and UGA fans bonding?... Kiffin is officially one of the four horsemen, I'm positive.
(forgive any poor spelling and grammar... didn't sleep last night...)

Posted Thursday February 19, 2009, About: Kiffin's accusation irk Georgia AD

Tennessee's defense is good, I'll give them that. Eric Berry has a legitimate claim as the best DB in the nation (Mays being his only equal). But that offense will still be terriblel next year, and they've got some great defenses they'll be playing. If I'm Kiffin I'm less worried about allowing 30+, and more worried about having 5-6 quarterbacks on the roster.

Posted Wednesday February 18, 2009, About: Kiffin: Even bad publicity helps recruiting

Not sure how much truth there was in your claims that Brown signed with UGA because of his grandmother, Kiffin. You should realize, though, that family plays a crucial role in many kids' decision to sign, and publicity like this will hurt your recruiting with those kind of recruits.

Posted Tuesday February 17, 2009, About: Selig: Don't blame me

While I believe some blame rests with Selig, I tend to put the bulk of it on the players and the union. The players started using PEDs, they were in no means forced down their throat. Regardless of whether they were banned substances in baseball, they were still illegal as far as the government was concerned. MLBPA fought hard for years to keep testing off the table. Selig tried, feebley, to have tests (as early as '95), but he was shot down. Simply put, the union is just too strong in the sport. With the way baseball's going now-a-days, I'd welcome a lockout.

Posted Friday February 13, 2009, About: Why Cardinals won't trade Boldin

I agree with Rikj. Football contracts are different from every other sport. Many of you are held up on the fact that these guys have contracts, when in essence they earn salaries. Barring injury, these guys can be cut, essentially be fired, and never see the rest of the money they signed for. I have no issue with guys asking for a better contract, which is really just a raise. It's always an issue when a player doesn't want to honor these things, but never when it's the team. That is a horrible double standard.