Let The Hand-Wringing Commence

In a recent column by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, Orlando Hudson claims that black players are being discriminated against in the free agent market. What's worse is that Passan seems to agree with it.

MINNEAPOLIS – As Major League Baseball prepares for its annual Jackie Robinson Day on Thursday, one prominent African-American player questioned teams’ commitment to employing black players past their prime years.

A "commitment" to employ black players "past their prime". Just one sentence into the article, we have a problem. Why should a team take on a player who may not contribute as much as they did in the past with the color of their skin as a factor? That's a classic definition of racism.

“You see guys like Jermaine Dye without a job,” Minnesota Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson said Monday. “Guy with [27 home runs and 81 RBIs] and can’t get a job. Pretty much sums it up right there, no? You’ve got some guys who miss a year who can come back and get $5, $6 million, and a guy like Jermaine Dye can’t get a job. A guy like Gary Sheffield, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, can’t get a job. …

“We both know what it is. You’ll get it right. You’ll figure it out. I’m not gonna say it because then I’ll be in [trouble].”

We know it, huh? Lets see who we're talking about here:

During the off-season Dye turned down a $3 million contract offer from the Cubs, was rumored to be linked with the Nationals during the off-season after Elijah Dukes was released, and talks petered out with the Brewers.

If Dye was looking for more money from some team, he struck out and now he doesn't have a job. It definitely seems as if it's mostly his own fault.

Gary Sheffield, on the other hand, is a 41-year old outfielder who hit well in a part-time role with the Mets, but was brutal in the field. Now, he's one year older and probably still has a glove of iron. No National League team is going to take him and there are only 14 DH spots in the American League.

What Hudson wants to say: He believes there is a racist element to the free-agent market in baseball, and that it’s paralyzing the 36-year-old Dye’s ability to earn what non-blacks with commensurate numbers received in the offseason.

Wow! What a damning statement! I'd sure love to see you back that up while Dye lobbies the Mariners and Sheffield tries to get younger.

“Call it what you want to,” Hudson said. “I ain’t fit to say it. After I retire I’ll say it. I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff to say after I retire.”

So, he's not fit to say it now, but after he retires, he's going to go all Kitty Kelly on us?

Hudson’s comments came on the heels of Dye turning down a one-year contract offer from the Washington Nationals for less than a quarter of his $11.5 million salary with the Chicago White Sox last season. After a first half in which he slugged .567 and hit 20 home runs, Dye spent the second half of 2009 in a deep slump from which he never emerged, batting .179 and slugging .297 while playing subpar defense in right field.

Hudson believed Dye’s credentials – 164 home runs in the last five years and an OPS 21 percent better than the league average – would buy him the benefit of the doubt.

Okay, let me get this straight: Hudson believes that Dye should be paid according to his track record despite the fact that he utterly tanked for three months last season offensively and defensively. If that is the case, then that should work for trades too. The Braves should have been able to get something more for Jeff Francoeur and something, period, for Kelly Johnson because of their positive track records.

Dye hoped to play for a contender, and while he understood he would take a pay cut, he expected a deal in the $4 million-plus range. Hudson said he and Dye spoke on the phone this offseason about his status, though they never broached specifics about why the market never materialized above $3.5 million, a number approached or exceeded by a number of players with inferior credentials.

“We don’t even get into it,” Hudson said. “We both know what it is.”

Translation: Dye wanted to get paid. He didn't get paid what he wanted and now he doesn't have a job. It must be because he's old and black.

And what's this about "players with inferior credentials"? Hm. I probably have to keep reading for that.

The Baltimore Orioles guaranteed $4.5 million to first baseman Garrett Atkins, 30, after he hit .226 and slugged .342 in 354 at-bats last season.

Atkins, a white guy, is also a corner infielder and six years younger than Dye, thus more likely to return to his pre-2009 production. Dye was unlikely to play first base despite expressing interest, so I'm not sure this a particularly good comparison.

Thirty-three-year-old Aubrey Huff’s(notes) on-base percentage was 30 points lower than Dye’s and his slugging percentage 69 points lower, yet the San Francisco Giants gave him $3 million

Another white guy, but three years younger than Dye also a player who had been playing first base and DHing for a few years. He shuffled between DH and the corner infield and outfield spots his entire career. The only times Dye has been in the infield are for one game at first and one at short in 2005 with the White Sox.

The Chicago Cubs paid 31-year-old Xavier Nady $3.3 million after an elbow injury limited him to 28 at-bats last season.

A third white guy, he's also five years younger than Dye and called on to be a utility-type like Huff once was. He's already played in the outfield and first base this year.

Whether teams with first base openings didn’t trust Dye’s ability to convert or others with outfield slots preferred different players, his presence on the open market in mid-April is particularly puzzling when coupled with the fates of other black players.

The elephant in the room behind Curtain #2!

Second baseman Ray Durham, coming off a 2008 in which he got on base at a .380 clip and slugged .432, couldn’t get anything more than a backup sniff as a 37-year-old. Durham’s case, one source said, is among those being looked at by the MLB players’ association in its potential collusion case against MLB.

I'm not sure how they can argue collusion with this. Durham did have a fine season (.289/.380/.432), but it was in a diminished role with two teams (304 PAs with San Francisco, 112 PAs with Milwaukee). Maybe there was concern that he couldn't take a full role any longer.

Also, I'm noticing a trend here: Every black player cited so far is above 35 years of age. As of this blog post, according to Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index, there are only 81 baseball players 35 or older. Out of those 81 players, only 14 are outfielders or first basemen. That either means that there are entrenched players at the positions or teams want to go younger at said positions. Dye's real crime may just be getting older.

Outfielder Kenny Lofton(notes) put up an above-average OPS as a 40-year-old in 2007 and hasn’t been seen since.

And Sheffield, 41, remains a free agent after slugging .451 with spacious Citi Field as his home stadium.

I was wondering when we'd get to them. Kenny Lofton somewhere along the line has garnered the reputation for being a "malcontent". In recent years, he hasn't done anything to disprove that. After he left the Yankees, he was rumored to trying to steer C. C. Sabathia away from signing with the Yankees. This came after he agreed with teammate Gary Sheffield's comments in which he said black players were treated differently than whites in the Yankee clubhouse. This essentially branded longtime manager Joe Torre as a racist.

There are other factors, of course. The free-agent market has shifted drastically against older players. The game places a greater emphasis on defense. And in the individual cases, Lofton came with a difficult-to-handle reputation, as did Sheffield, who once alluded to possible racism from his manager with the New York Yankees, Joe Torre – an accusation backed up by Lofton.

Okay, I win. Blog post over.

But wait, there's more...

Never has Dye been lumped among the malcontents, and his case lends credence to a belief among some black baseball players that should frighten MLB: They’re treated differently. True or not, it doesn’t matter. The specter of racism in a game still haunted by its history – and trying to rejuvenate itself among black youth – is a disturbing reality.

First, note the scary adjectives and noun:

• should frighten MLB
• The specter of racism
• a game still haunted by its history
• is a disturbing reality

That paragraph could have been so much better, but it's watered down by hyperbole. Whether black players believe there is a racist conspiracy against them is their problem. Major League Baseball shouldn't just sign unemployed black players because blacks and most Hispanics were shut out of the major leagues for 63 years. Not only that, but no one has let them forget about those 63 years for the 63 years since.

There are some things that go on in the game that shouldn’t be going on,” Hudson said. “But it’s part of baseball. It’s part of life. Deal with it.”

Perhaps Hudson’s stake is personal. Two years ago, he entered free agency seeking a multiyear deal. He ended up taking an incentive-loaded $3.4 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This season, the 32-year-old hoped for multiple years again. He signed with Minnesota for $5 million over one year.

The second-base market is one that has been closed off to most free agents over the past few years. Almost every team has a regular starter at second base, with a few exceptions. Hudson had to sign with the exceptions both times. That doesn't mean baseball is racist.

Hudson’s words spoke enough that Dye and his agent, Bob Bry, declined to comment Monday night. Hudson going public was unique, too, as other players worry it will have a negative effect on the issue.

Right: You're going to get a bunch of dudes on the Internet disagreeing with it.

While some will accuse Hudson of race baiting and paranoia, the reality is quite the opposite: He is taking public a concern that promotes discussion and forces MLB to be honest with itself about the precipitous drop in African-American players over the last two decades.

"Promotes discussion"? If accusations by Sheffield, Lofton, Hudson and many other black players hasn't led to a solution, there are two reasons for it:

• MLB isn't going to bother with it.
• The problem is so overstated that it isn't significant.

You'd think that with so much racial sensitivity in today's society that Major League Baseball would bend over backwards to make sure black players find employment. Apparently, that's not happening.

As for the drop in black players overall, the main culprits are the NBA and NFL. Basketball and football seem to be much more popular with black Americans and that's why Major League Baseball is stepping up their inner-city programs.

Between the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program and Urban Youth Academies, baseball has tried to resolve that chasm between the sport and black children. The issue: Compared to the football juggernaut and the stranglehold of basketball, baseball finishes a distant third.

... wow, I scare myself sometimes.

While the tremendous influx of black talent in the major leagues in recent years – from Ryan Howard and Carl Crawford to Justin Upton and Jason Heyward – is a positive sign, it doesn’t eliminate the feeling that others have been and continue to be mistreated.

Funny how all of those players have more talent than Orlando Hudson. And who are these "other" black players, by the way? All this article has really proven is that one player is upset that he can't get a secure job and is upset about another who screwed up his shot at getting a job and may not get one this season. If this is all about "promoting discussion", then anyone at all who feels as if they're being discriminated against should speak up and not make it seem like it's an isolated case.

So as players receive their special jerseys this week with the No. 42 on the back and the sport celebrates Robinson breaking the color line, baseball will examine itself again and wonder how it can change a perception that is now six decades old and seems to be going nowhere.

It's a perception that's most likely born of suspicion and paranoia: "Because my ancestors were wronged because of the color of their skin, I may be wronged too." That's not good.

By the way, everyone wearing #42 on Jackie Robinson day is a total and utter farce. I was fine with individual players doing it, but having it be mandatory for everyone is just going too far.

EDIT: Slight grammar fix
SECOND EDIT: Deleted three "(notes)" from quotes

I'm Running Out Of Good Titles For Bisher's Stuff

You have to say this about the old man: he can still churn those articles out. It doesn't mean those articles are good, but he can churn them out. His latest foray into the blogdom of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's website: Brace yourselves, but Braves should put Chipper on market.

Wow, a controversial subject. Not bad for a start. Let's see where Mr. Bisher goes with this:

OK, now it’s the Braves’ turn. After all those seasons of shoring up their roster with blockbuster trades in mid-season, at the expense of raiding the farm system, consider this: (Are you sitting down?) Tell the world they’re putting Chipper Jones on the open market. Anybody out there in need of a third baseman, or, on the American League side, a designated hitter?

Actually, I'm not sure what "blockbuster" deals he's talking about that came at the expense of "raiding the farm system" at the trading deadline. Let's take a look at the Braves' past deadline deals (deals made in July) that involved a significant amount of prospects (two or three):

• July 31, 1991: Traded Matt Turner (AAA Richmond) and a PTBNL (Earl Sanders, AA Greenville) to the Houston Astros for Jim Clancy
  
• July 18, 1993: Traded Melvin Nieves (AAA Richmond), Donnie Elliott (AAA Richmond) and Vince Moore (A+ Durham) to the Padres for Fred McGriff


• July 30, 1998: Traded David Cortes (AAA Richmond) and Mike Porzio (A+ Danville) to the Rockies for Greg Colbrunn


• July 31, 1999: Traded Micah Bowie (AAA Richmond), Ruben Quevedo (AAA Richmond) and Joey Nation (A+ Myrtle Beach) to the Cubs for Jose Hernandez and Terry Mulholland


• July 12, 2000: Traded Bruce Chen (AAA Richmond + MLB Atlanta) and Jimmy Osting (AA Greenville + AAA Richmond) to the Phillies for Andy Ashby


• July 31, 2000: Traded Trenidad Hubbard (MLB Braves), Fernando Lunar (MLB Braves + AAA Richmond) and Luis Rivera (AAA Richmond) to Baltimore for Gabe Molina and B. J. Surhoff


• July 31, 2005: Traded Roman Colon (MLB, AA and AAA) and Zach Miner (AA Mississippi) to the Tigers for Kyle Farnsworth


• July 31, 2007: Traded Elvis Andrus (A+ Myrtle Beach), Matt Harrison (AA Mississippi), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (AA Mississippi and MLB Braves), Beau Jones (A+ Myrtle Beach) and Neftali Feliz (Rookie) to the Rangers for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay.

There are many other trades that the Braves did using their prospects. Some of them may even be considered "raiding the farm system", like obtaining Denny Neagle from the Pirates in August of 1997 for four prospects, including Jason Schmidt. Also, there's Bisher's much-maligned trade in the 2003-04 off-season, where the Braves sent Adam Wainwright and Jason Marquis, along with Ray King, to St. Louis for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero. However, according to the parameters that I've set, the list above contains the only trades since 1991 where the Braves traded away two or more prospects when dealing in July. Most of them aren't particularly franchise-shattering, so I guess my ultimate point is that Bisher's painting with a broad brush when it comes to deadline deals.

As for there being teams needing third basemen or designated hitters, I'm not quite sure about that. A more accurate question would be: what contending team would need a third baseman or a designated hitter AND be willing to give up two or three top prospects to take on Chipper's below-market, but very high contract?

I can hear all the gulps, and the screeches, and calls for my scalp.

People have called for your scalp for lesser offenses, like implying that the Braves' farm system is dry because there is no immediate help in Lawrenceville (AAA Gwinnett County Braves), and saying that the Braves need to show more patience with Jeff Francoeur because John Smoltz and Tom Glavine were shown that courtesy (or so he says).

First place, forget where you saw this. This is not my choice at all, but considering the direction the Braves have taken the past four years, the lock is running low on sentimentality.

Considering the fact that you wanted to show patience for Francoeur and seemed to support the idea of giving Smoltz and Glavine as much time as they needed to get back into form, I think you were being quite sentimental then. However, I don't blame you for changing your mind.

Sure, Chipper is the face of the Braves. And the voice. He speaks for the team when anyone is looking for an opinion, or reaction to a news event. All of us seek him out, and he responds in his even baritone voice. He never lets you down. So to offer him for trade, hang him out there like a piece of meat for swap. A dreadful thought.

So why spend all those words describing how great Chipper is to the franchise, then say the Braves need to trade him? Get to the point!

But think again.

I'm already thinking of stopping this blog post right now, but I have an obligation to keep going.

He deserves one more chance at a World Series, or postseason play, and he’s not going to get it here.

No, he's not, and he has been vocal about how he has been frustrated with the Braves' inconsistent offense. He's really echoing most of the Braves' fans. It's more of a "I want this team better" frustration, rather than a "I want to get out of here!" frustration.

Also, I don't deny that it would be good feelings-wise to see Chipper get a shot at a World Series with Contending Team X. However, that's not what matters to me as a Braves fan. What I want, if Chipper Jones is traded, is to get two, maybe even three, prospects that can help the Atlanta Braves immediately or as soon as 2010 without compromising or blocking any of our young prospects (Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, etc.).

He just signed a fresh contract, so that much is done, but the front office was rather slow getting around to that. This front office hasn’t been distinguishing itself, anyway.

A little slow in getting around to a contract extension? I'm sure there are a lot of things to do when it comes to that, and you know it. I could care less if the front office is "rather slow" when it comes to those things. The only thing that matters is getting it done, regardless of when it happens.

From that last sentence, I sense the start of one of one of Bisher's patented diatribes. Get your armor on and shields ready. You might need them.

It has been making trades for Gary Sheffield, Mike Hampton, J. D. Drew and Mark Teixeira and shredding the farm system in the process.

It's hard to believe that this one sentence has so many errors in it, but when looked it in context with the last paragraph's sentence, it does.

The Braves have a different front office than the one who made those trades. John Schuerholz made the decisions to import those players; Frank Wren had nothing to do with any of them. I consider him as a different "front office", even with Schuerholz as the president of the team.

Now, as for the players mentioned, two of them didn't cost the Braves much in terms of prospects, which is what Bisher has been complaining about in the first place. Gary Sheffield was obtained from the Dodgers for Brian Jordan, a young pitcher named Odalis Perez who was, I believe, out of prospectdom at the time, and a prospect named Andrew Brown. Sheffield gave the Braves two superb seasons before leaving to sign with the Yankees. In turn, the Braves traded away a league-average outfielder in Jordan, an inconsistent and oft-injured starter who turned in just two above-average seasons since the trade (Perez), and a pitcher who is now retired from baseball after playing two years with the Oakland A's (Brown). That's not a deal that fits Bisher's template.

Mike Hampton was obtained for a remarkably cheap price: reliever Tim Spooneybarger and minor league pitcher Ryan Baker (who never reached the majors) and the Marlins and Rockies pick up the tab for Hampton's astronomical salary for a few years. Hampton did his job for the Braves in the 2 1/2 years that he pitched for them. Now, everyone remembers him for the 2 1/2 years that he DIDN'T pitch for Atlanta, AND the Braves were on the hook for his salary. I think that's why his name is mentioned here.

The Teixeira deal was the most destructive of all, literally re-stocking the Texas Rangers’ roster. Check the standings of the American League West.

I beg to differ. The Rangers don't owe the majority of their resurgence in the AL West to Saltalamacchia, Harrison or Andrus. In fact, only Andrus is producing as expected (.265/.328/.381, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 87 OPS+). Harrison (currently on the DL, 10 games, 4-4, 5.43 ERA, 82 ERA+, 1.559 WHIP) and Saltalamacchia (.247/.297/.388, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 79 OPS+) have little to do with it. Quite frankly, Jarrod's just lucky that Taylor Teagarden stinks; otherwise, he'd be out of a job.

I'd have to say that Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Hank Blalock and even Andruw Jones have more to do with the Rangers occupying first place in the AL West for now.

By bartering Chipper, what the Braves might be able to do is re-stock its own roster with fresh talent.

And we only base that on his name. Chipper still has an injury history and that makes me question what kind of value the Braves could get for him. The Braves won't get any quality major league players for him, that's for certain. They could get two, or even three quality prospects for him, as I mentioned before. The problem here is that the Braves would take a major PR hit if they traded the face of their franchise. Considering the way the FO has been perceived in treating John Smoltz and Tom Glavine by people who aren't even Braves fans, a Chipper Jones trade could be catastrophic.

True, Chipper is 37 years old, but so is Raul Ibanez, the fresh personality who has brought so much to the Phillies’ lineup.

I'm not sure I'd call his personality "fresh". For what it's worth, Ibanez is riding an extremely flukish year (an ungodly 20.6% HR/FB rate that's pretty much impossible to maintain). I'd like to see what he can bring when he has more "normal" stats. Congrats to Ibanez for being so productive right now, though.

And Chipper is a young 37, keeps himself young hunting and ranching on his acreage in Texas. He was the leading hitter in the National League last season, so the years haven’t been weighing heavily on him.

Yes, he has been able to keep up, but if I'm a team that wants to trade for Chipper, my first question would be about his durability. I know that he wants to stay healthy and be out there to play, but sometimes, he just can't be. For years, Chipper's goal has been to play in 150 games. He hasn't played in that many games in five seasons (153 games in 2003). The good thing is that Jones is on pace to play in at least 150 games (He has played in 58 of 67 games so far, so he can play in 153 games maximum).

I don’t know what his contract arrangement may be, whether it includes a non-trade agreement or not. I doubt that he would stand in the way, with the right deal, with the right team.

The right deal is what the Braves want, and what is the right team? What contender needs a DH or third baseman? At this point, it's all conjecture.

He only has to take a look around at what has happened to some of his old Braves pals. John Smoltz, for instance, tired of hemming and hawing and went his own way.

Smoltz went to the Red Sox, who gave him the chance to earn more money. I still contend that the Braves are better off not taking the chance on him.

And Tom Glavine’s rejection has been heavy on the minds of Braves fans lately.

But Tommy Hanson, with each start, has made the pain of Tom Glavine being "mistreated" go away. It's a wonderful feeling to see Hanson do what we think he's capable of doing. He almost makes me say, "Who's Tom Glavine again?"

A deal for Chipper might go a long way toward re-stocking the roster, but it would have to be more productive than a lot of swaps that have been made lately.

A deal for Chipper would only ease Bisher's mind about the "barren" minor league system. The fact remains that even if the Braves obtain quality prospects, the possibility remains that they won't be able to contend.

And what about those recent swaps?

Except for Jair Jurrjens, and to a degree, Omar Infante, those transactions have not been richly productive, including such as Royce Ring, Josh Anderson, Mark Kotsay, Will Ohman, Jeff Ridgway and Mike Gonzalez, and a lot of them are history. Not a pennant-building haul, you might say.

............

I've had to stare at this paragraph and discuss it with others, but I think I understand what Bisher's trying to say here. He says these are ill-advised trades because, for the most part, they didn't work out, or these players aren't with the team anymore.

What I find very peculiar is the nature of why some of these players are on the list. It's funny how Josh Anderson is mentioned in this list; in an earlier blog post of his, Bisher thought that Anderson was the top leadoff prospect of the Braves due to his penchant for hitting a .300 average . I mentioned in that post that because Anderson can't walk, his production will disappear if he can't hit .300. That's exactly what happened: as of the time I wrote this post, Anderson has a .254/.288/.325 line with just six walks in 133 PAs.

Mark Kotsay was, naturally, part of what some Braves fans called an ill-advised deal that sent Joey Devine and Jamie Richmond to Oakland for the center fielder with back issues. He provided solid production (.289/.340/.418, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 99 OPS+ in 345 PAs), but it certainly wasn't worth giving up Joey Devine for him, even if Devine has been shelved with an elbow injury this year.

While Royce Ring and Jeff Ridgway were part of the parade of LOOGYs until Eric O'Flaherty came along, I question adding Will Ohman and Mike Gonzalez to this list. Those two players have done their jobs with Atlanta. In fact, Will Ohman was one of the Braves' best left-handed relievers since Mike Remlinger. That distinction, though, wasn't hard to obtain; the Braves have had a parade of lefty relievers since Remlinger left.

Mike Gonzalez, though he had to have Tommy John surgery, has performed as expected as Atlanta's closer. Plus, Brent Lillibridge helped net Javier Vazquez, and the 32-year old pitcher could easily be shopped at the trading deadline.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals, Rangers, Rockies and Rays enjoy the fruits of some of the Braves’ misjudgments.

The Rangers may be enjoying the Braves' misjudgements the most, but the Cardinals may not particularly care for the fact that Wainwright is somewhat injury-prone right now (I'm not denying that he's not a good pitcher; he hasn't been able to stay very healthy).

As for the Rockies, I find something wrong with including them. Jason Marquis, as I type this, is leading the National League in wins (9) and has his highest ERA+ in years (123 in 97 IP) at this point in the season. The problem with including him is that the last time Marquis had an ERA this high was in 2001, when he was a 22-year old with Atlanta (128 ERA+ in 129 1/3 innings pitched; also with the benefit of 12 unearned runs). Thus, Bisher seems to imply that to reap the benefits of Marquis' current breakthough, the Braves would have had to hold on to him for eight seasons. There's no telling what would have happened in his career had he stayed here in Atlanta that long.

Plus, what's with mentioning the Rays?... oh, that's right. Willy Aybar, the super-sub that helped the Rays win the 2008 AL pennant. It's wonderful that Aybar was able to get his head on straight and that he was able to be on a pennant-winning ballclub. It's also clear that the Braves sold low on him. The thing is, I'm not at all worried about that trade. Omar Infante was putting up similar OPS numbers to Aybar before his hand was broken (.349/.389/.430 in 97 PAs, to .268/.375/.411 in 152 PAs). Yes, the only difference is batting average, but you can find a quality backup that plays multiple positions if you look hard enough.

Time to make a move while Chipper is still a major commodity.

Why's this sentence even here, given that this follows:

They can’t close the gap left by all those absentees, so skillfully scouted and carefully nurtured. Not that dealing Chipper Jones can come close to making up for them all, but he could wipe out some of the damage, and in the long run, have a good closing run for himself.

That is only if the mystery prospects pan out. The possibility remains that the Braves can trade for the best prospects in the world, and they may not amount to squat.

And again, Chipper having a good closing run for himself is ultimately only good for Chipper Jones. Yes, we will be happy for him if he wins a World Series with another team, but it will be a fleeting happiness; one minute later after we see Chipper celebrating with the new champions of baseball, we'll turn off the TV and stew over how the Braves need to improve themselves so that they will be the ones celebrating on a cold November night.

If the thought of this offends you, let me remind you that this is the team that traded Henry Aaron and Dale Murphy, and allowed Phil Niekro to take a hike, and Smoltz and Glavine to go adrift.

Hank Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers by his own request. Dale Murphy was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pennies on the dollar because he told the Braves he wanted to move on. Letting Phil Niekro walk was a true mistake; Pascual Perez fell apart and Craig McMurtry, Ken Dayley and Zane Smith never panned out. Refer to what I said above about Smoltz and Glavine.

There, I’ve said it. And I’m not sorry.

Well, I'm not sorry for what I've said either, Mr. Bisher, so we're even.

Furman Bisher Strikes Yet Again

Like screaming at a wall, I'm here once again to dissect one of the senior sports writer's articles. This time, the premise is...

*drumroll*

... that the Braves should show more patience with Jeff Francoeur!

*ba dum pish!*

Sorry, that wasn't supposed to be a joke. Before we delve into Mr. Bisher's article, I'd like to point out Jeff Francoeur's current statistics, after finishing a 1-5 day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He will be compared with the eight regulars in the Braves' starting lineup, who all lead the team in plate appearances at this point.

203 PA (1st of 8)
.250 AVG (6th of 8)
.271 OBP (8th of 8)
.344 SLG (6th of 8)

It's pretty bad when he's that low in production. Only Kelly Johnson (.247) and Jordan Schafer (.210) are worse in batting average. Schafer (.296) and Garret Anderson (.327) dwarf Francoeur in slugging. That also speaks to how bad the Braves outfield is in general.

Now here are Francoeur's regular stats:

49 G (T1st of 8)
192 AB (1st of 8)
24 R (T2nd of 8)
48 H (T1st of 8)
5 2B (8th of 8)
2 3B (T1st of 8)
3 HR (5th of 8)
23 RBI (3rd of 8)
66 TB (T3rd of 8)
5 BB (8th of 8)
30 SO (2nd of 8)

It seems as if he's one of the better regulars, but that is because Francoeur has played in every game this year. Thus, it's not unusual for him to be leading the team in hits or be one behind the lead in RBIs (Casey Kotchman and Yunel Escobar have 24 RBIs each). With that in mind, let's dive into the world that is Furman Bisher's articles:

These are disheartening days for the Braves. For Jeff Francoeur in particular. For those who came to Turner Field to cheer him, but now who jeer him. When Mark Bowman, of MLB.com, wrote that this might be a pertinent time to consider locating another employer for him, oh, did that set off a firestorm! A flurry of conjecture.

Trade Jeff Francoeur? Homegrown hero? Onetime Sports Illustrated cover boy? Where did it all go?

In the dustbin of Braves history, right beside Brad Komminsk and Andres Thomas.

Let me take you back to those Camelot days, when the Braves’ roster was plump with bright young prospects. There was a pod of them, all seeming to ripen at the same time. A sort of an informal Boy Scout troop of them, who went to each other’s weddings, and celebrated their togetherness like club members.

Yeah, funny how winning makes everything seem all hunky-dory and buddy-buddy and Knights of the Round Table-y.

I'm sure they were friends, but that only goes so far in them helping their team win ballgames. The Baby Braves days these same days were ones where the Braves were grasping at straws in order to remain in the playoff hunt. This was the final year they managed to grab some. Their young guys all produced at the same time and the Braves rode that to the NL East championship. The pennant was well-earned, and they didn't deserve to be kicked out the playoffs the way they were (Darn you, Chris Burke and the home run I never saw on TV when it was happening).

Cue the "But..." paragraph...

Remember their names, for some are long gone.

AGH! Not now!

Oh, well. Who were those guys?

Francoeur, Brian McCann, Macay McBride, Kelly Johnson, Ryan Langerhans, and two Canadians, Pete Orr and Scott Thorman.

So we have:

• The Braves' current right fielder
• The Braves' All-Star catcher
• A former reliever that wasn't even that good in his rookie season.
• The Braves' current second baseman.
• A former outfielder who started out well in a platoon role in his rookie year, but later fizzled out so badly that he was traded twice in a span of a week.
• A hustling infielder who was playing over his head and it worked for a while; he still has a pro career.
• A slow-swinging first baseman who couldn't hit anything more than a belt-high fastball and that dashed his dreams of becoming another Adam LaRoche.

Two out of six isn't so bad. Yes, I said two. Moving on...

McBride, traded to the Tigers, is recovering from arm surgery at Toledo.

Unfortunate.

Orr and Langerhans are working on the Nationals’ farm team at Syracuse.

As they should be; they're both not that good.

Thorman has sort of disappeared from the screen.

Sort of?? The guy's done.

And we all know where McCann, Johnson and Francoeur, the subject of the moment, are,

Quite.

and of the three, McCann was the only unrated prospect in his early days on the farm. Remember?

Now, why do I feel like I'm being talked down to? Well, whatever the case, the idea that McCann was "unrated" at the time is nonsense. That very year, in 2005, the Baseball America Handbook has McCann rated as the third-best prospect in the Braves organization, ironically behind Francoeur and Andy Marte.

When the Braves offered both McCann and Francoeur long-range contracts last year, McCann took it and is signed through 2012.

And it is money well invested. McCann is well on his way to being a four-time All-Star in his first four full pro seasons and is pretty much the best catcher in the National League.

Francoeur played the odds, and banked on going to the arbitration
table calling his shots. His timing couldn’t have been worse. What followed is the season of remission.

It serves him right, and the Braves were fortunate that he was aiming for more money. Imagine what would have happened if he signed a contract similar to McCann's; Braves fans might have been calling for Jeff's head sooner because he would be getting multiple millions of dollars to suck.

He heard sounds coming from the stands at Turner Field he had never heard before. Boos and taunts, mild at first,

Poor baby.

but for a local favorite who had reaped nothing but adulation through high school at Parkview and two-and-a-half gaudy seasons with the
Braves?

Gaudy??? If you call two seasons where you have 507 and 477 outs, amounts only leadoff hitters should have, "gaudy", then be my guest.

Where had it all gone?

I told you: in the Braves dustbin of history. See? It's right under my desk. I think I need to make a little more room beside Chief Noc-a-homa right there...

Meanwhile, McCann was harvesting a national following for his bat, and for his backstopping. Most of it. You could steal a base on him, and he was no adagio at blocking low pitches. But he could hit, and so could Ernie Lombardi, whose career wasn’t based on backstopping.

McCann isn't exactly a modern Ernie Lombardi; he has improved in his defensive skills since his rookie year. I daresay he may be improved tenfold since then.

...

Wait a minute, I thought this article was supposed to be about Jeff Francoeur. Why aren't you talking about him?

But in the case of Francoeur, you ask where did it all go?

No, I ask "Where was it all in the first place?"

Home runs, RBIs, and yes, strikeouts, as well?

I don' think Francoeur's strikeouts have disappeared completely. If it wasn't for Jordan Scahfer, Francoeur would be the team leader.

Last season it seemed the rest of the league had caught up with Francoeur’s habits, and what developed was a bottom-line .239 batting average and a mere 11 home runs. He didn’t strike out as often, but that was because his patience ran low and he swung at anything early and often.

Francoeur's strikeout percentage has actually decreased steadily over his career. He's making more contact, it's just that his swing and approach are so bad that most of his contact results in weak outs.

While the Braves spent all manners of time waiting for two dear old relics to return to their days of pitching glory, patience ran low with Francoeur.

This doesn't make any sense. You can't compare two forty-year old pitchers coming back from injuries to a struggling young outfielder who is (assumingly) healthy and playing.

Besides, they weren't waiting for John Smoltz; they let him walk to the Red Sox because they'd give him more money to not pitch. Also, please don't get me started on how much of a mistake it is to let the "dear, old relic" that is Tom Glavine get a chance to end his career on a good note for his own ego.

Was it because he had taken off to Texas in hope that Rudy Jaramillo, the Rangers’ hitting guru, might help him return to glory? It was furtively done, and true, he also recommended Andruw Jones try the same “cure.” It has worked out better for Andruw.

No, it is not because Francoeur went to Jaramillo for help. In fact, I would wager a lot of Braves fans applauded that move. The problem is that Francoeur is such a poor batter that he can't implement Rudy's teachings. As for Andruw, his career was literally down the crapper, so he did everything he could to get it back. It has paid off for him so far.

Francoeur now finds himself the subject of trade speculation. From hometown hero to hometown trade bait, perish the thought. I can’t see it. His market value has reached GM level.

There's another equally attractive option: designate him for assignment and release him. Let some other team take on the headache of trying to fix him. Let some other organization try to find the potential that once oozed out his ears.

Is there not enough patience to help him work his way through it? Whoever thought it could come to this for Jeff Francoeur.

The Braves suffered through one season of very sub-par production and it seems to be continuing two months into this season. Why continue to work with him when it's clear that he's getting nowhere fast?

(In closing, let me apologize for referring to John Smoltz and Tom Glavine as “relics.” But it takes one to know one.)

At least you know what you are, Mr. Bisher. :)

Furman Bisher Strikes Again

For those of you who don't know, Furman Bisher is the senior waxing poetic journalist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He's 90 years old. While I respect that Mr. Bisher has written much more than I have, and probably ever will, I can still call him out when he's wrong. This is just my way of doing it.

This is an article that Bisher posted on the AJC Blogs Saturday afternoon.

Once upon a time, as fairy tales usually begin, the Braves were a baseball team that was home-bred, carefully incubated in the farm system, and nurtured all the way up to the major league level. There they won championships and pennants and played in the World Series, one of which they won. And they left their names scrolled on the walls of the ball park where they played, and in team and league record books.

I see that we're playing the "generalization game" here. Fine, let's do that.

Many significant Braves players were drafted, brought up through the farm system and contributed to the club's run of 14 straight division titles, five pennants and one wonderful World Series title. We're good here.

Then something began to change after the season of 2005, and the once-flourishing franchise has been groping ever since.

Ah, the cut-off point. The last year the Braves won the NL East title.

Like I said before, many significant Braves players have been drafted, farmed and turned into contributing members of the Atlanta Braves. I think it would be a good idea to list a few:

Tom Glavine
Ron Gant
David Justice
Jeff Blauser
Mark Lemke
Tom Glavine
Steve Avery
Kent Mercker
Mike Stanton
Mark Wohlers
Greg McMichael
Chipper Jones
Javy Lopez
Ryan Klesko
Andruw Jones
Kevin Millwood
Rafael Furcal
Adam LaRoche
Brian McCann
Jeff Francoeur

and others.

Now, the Braves’ “farm” system reaches from Venezuela to Japan. Deals are made, faces change, and only this season have they reached deep into their jeans to play a hand in the free agent rat-race.

This list is a list of other Braves players who had significant contributions to the franchise's run, including two very important players, who are listed first:

John Smoltz
Greg Maddux
Lonnie Smith
Terry Pendleton
Otis Nixon
Sid Bream
Alejandro Pena
Rafael Belliard
Fred McGriff
Marquis Grissom
Denny Neagle
Kenny Lofton
Andres Galarraga
Kerry Ligtenberg
Brian Jordan
Vinny Castilla
Gary Sheffield
Johnny Estrada
J. D. Drew
Kyle Farnsworth

They were all traded for or signed as a free agent. One of the most powerful starting rotations in baseball history, the one of the 1997 Atlanta Braves, was built with the farm (Glavine, Millwood), trades (Smoltz, Neagle) and a free agent signing (Maddux).

A payroll that once was held around the $80-million level, by order of the McScrooge ownership, has now zoomed to about $97 million.

I think he combined "Scrooge" and "McDuck" to get "McScrooge", but how exactly is the Braves ownership a bunch of "McScrooges" if they up the payroll? I guess they could sacrifice some gold coins from their cash vault they regularly dive into for fun.

They even splurged $60 million on Derek Lowe, a 35-year-old they niftily lifted from the Dodgers.

They "niftily" lifted from the Dodgers? Yes, I'm sure it was pretty nifty, but Lowe was Plan B. Plan A was to splurge more on A. J. Burnett, who has been less reliable health-wise than Lowe.

They traded for Javier Vazquez, an $11-million-a-year pitcher

Yes, yes they did, and things have been working out swimmingly for both parties so far.

And then they really hit the high road. They invaded Japan.

How is making a vague World War II backup plan reference hitting the high road?

Kenshin Kawakami is a good-natured 33-year-old pitcher, and I say that without understanding a word he says. When you hire one Japanese player, you get two Japanese. You must have an interpreter, in this case Daichi Takasue, also most accommodating. Any interview is sort of an Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy act. You ask a question, Daiche asks Kenshin, Kenshin replies, Daiche repeats what he said. Kenshin hits well, as pitchers go, and I asked Daiche if he was a good hitter in Japan. Kenshin smiled shyly and in translation, “He wouldn’t want to say. It would look like he’s bragging.”

When I asked him his view on American umpires, he said (so Daiche said), “the plate seems to be narrower over here,” and illustrated with his hands. It does give us a variety we haven’t had in a Braves clubhouse before.

Now that's a very nice tidbit. Kudos for bringing us that, Mr. Bisher.

So far, the Braves have hovered around .500, but I fear they’ve just about found their level. It’s not the pitching; it’s the run-making.

That, I am not disputing.

The best prospect of a leadoff man was traded to Detroit, Josh Anderson, a .300 hitter with base-stealing speed and center field experience in the majors.

Now this, I am disputing. Anderson seems to know how to hit and he does know how to steal bases, but those are his only good points. He can't take a walk and he doesn't have much power at all, despite the fact he led all Braves outfielders in home runs in the second half in 2008 (three). If he goes into a slump, he's not getting on base at all. There's a reason that it only took Oscar Villareal to get him and that the Braves could only get Rudy Darrow for him: he's just not that good.

Jordan Schafer probably would have benefited from at least a half-season in triple-A. He’s not a leadoff type.

I don't really see how Schafer could get that much better in Gwinnett. Besides, a leadoff hitter's job is to get on base and set the table for the next hitters in the lineup. Schafer is leading all rookies in walks (17) and on-base percentage (.407), and that was from the seventh and eighth spots. If he keeps the same approach, he'll be an excellent leadoff hitter. Let's not forget he also has the ability to steal bases.

Josh Anderson is, and he's hitting well in Detroit.

He has a .311 batting average, but he also has three walks in 49 PAs. I repeat: a leadoff hitter's job is to get on base and set the table for the batters to follow. If Anderson isn't hitting, it isn't likely that he's going to get on base. Not to mention that he has been hitting seventh and eighth in the order in Detroit, like Schafer in Atlanta.

There’s a problem at second base right now, but I’m a believer in Kelly Johnson.

As am I. Johnson is a notoriously streaky batter and he's having one of those "bad streaks". Omar Infante is the best option right now and he's certainly handling the job.

They’re suffering the loss of Brian McCann, which nobody has figured into the equation.

I'm not quite sure how "no one" has figured that into an equation because David Ross was signed specifically to back up McCann for a few days at best and to start at worst. If no one figured that into the equation... then I don't know what Bisher is talking about. It could very easily be something I missed.

And Chipper Jones can be handled — just don’t pitch to him.

Got that right.

We saw an illustration while the Cardinals were in town of how a bad deal can draw blood over the years. The Braves didn’t simply trade Adam Wainwright to get J.D. Drew for a year, but they also threw in Jason Marquis, now a $9.8-million starter in Colorado.

They "threw in" Marquis because he wasn't doing particularly well in Atlanta (he had been demoted to the pen in 2003), and he he didn't do particularly well after he was traded. He was up-and-down in St. Louis, finishing as high as 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA (but with a rather high 1.416 WHIP) in 2004 and as low as a 14-16 record with a horrendous 6.02 ERA and 1.523 WHIP im 2007. He at least became an average pitcher with the Cubs (101 and 99 ERA+ those two years) and is starting out well in Colorado. The salary he's making now with the Rockies really doesn't have anything to do with it.

That deal will be haunting this team for years, as will the deal that sent five golden talents to Texas for a season of Mark Teixeira — who, as a Yankee, is currently hitting more than l00 points below Casey Kotchman.

The St. Louis-Atlanta deal will haunt the Braves for years only because of Adam Wainwright. And then, there's that trade again, with Ron Mahay conveniently forgotten. I guess left-handed relievers really are a faceless commodity.

Plus, we all know the reason that Teixeira is hitting 100 points below Kotchman is that he's a habitual slow starter.

Three are on the Rangers roster

Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, for those who don't know. Andrus has cooled off after a hot start and is hitting .254/.290/.390 in 64 PAs with Texas. Matt Harrison was hit hit hard in his first four games this year (1-2, with a 7.89 ERA and 2.077 WHIP). Saltalmacchia is about where he should be, batting .276/.300/.448 with two homers.

and a fourth, pitcher Neftali Feliz, may be the best of them all, Bobby Cox said.

He probably is.

Right now he’s tuning up on the Oklahoma City farm.

However, he's looking pretty mortal right now: 1-1, 4.30 ERA, 14 K, 2.114 WHIP in 14 2/3 innings. That's sure to change, of course, because Feliz is very talented. However, that's one ugly-looking tune-up.

Gone are the rich old farm days that gave us John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Steve Avery, Mercker, Stanton, Wohlers, Lemke, Blauser, Chipper … a bumper crop of farm products. Just pick up the phone and call Richmond. Now, it’s just a matter of calling a cab in Lawrenceville — if there’s any help there to be called for.

Mr. Bisher, with all due respect, you finish way off-base. Just because there's no immediate help in Lawrenceville (the Class AAA Gwinnett County Braves) other than Tommy Hanson doesn't mean the farm system isn't rich anymore. On the contrary, the Braves farm system is very rich in potential. It's just mainly in the low levels, like how the farm system was back in the mid-to-late 1980s.

The Braves regularly mine their farm system for talent and have reaped the benefits lately with Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur (sans 2006 and 2008). Baseball America recognized them as having five Top 100 Prospects:

Tommy Hanson (#4) - AAA Gwinnett
Jason Heyward (#5) - A+ Myrtle Beach
Jordan Schafer (#42) - Atlanta Braves
Gorkys Hernandez (#62) - AA Mississippi
Freddie Freeman (#87) - A+ Myrtle Beach

This isn't counting players like Kris Medlen, who is off to a 3-0, 1.52 ERA, 0.89 WHIP start wtih Gwinnett, and Jeff Locke and Cole Rohrbough at Myrtle Beach. If you look hard enough in farm systems, you can find potential jewels. The Braves have plenty of gold that can shine.