In 2006, 16 year old Luis Avilan was representing the Braves in the Dominican Summer League, the first of his 7 seasons in professional baseball to date. Through his age 22 season, (he turned 23 in July) the left handed Avilan has accumulated 460 professional innings. By way of comparison, through their age 22 seasons, Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel had accumulated 309, 225, and 172 respectively. It may be a positive that Avilan’s innings during those early years were under organization supervision.
Avilan (who Chris Berman will call “Frankie,†unless he can think of someone even older) has yet to throw an inning at AAA in his 7 seasons. In 2 unremarkable seasons at AA Mississippi, he’s allowed 163 hits in 167.2 innings, with 133 strikeouts and 67 walks. That’s a 1.37 WHIP, 7.1 K’s per 9 innings, and 3.6 BB per 9 innings. He had a 4.08 ERA, and a record of 7 and 14. Although he was used exclusively in relief for Atlanta this season, he started 25 out of his 52 games at Mississippi, including 12 out of 16 in 2012. He did show improvement in his repeat season.
Avilan pitched really well in his Major League stint, allowing 27 hits in 36 innings, with 33 strikeouts and 10 walks. That’s a 1.03 WHIP, 8.3 K’s per 9 innings, and 2.5 BB per 9 innings. He had a 2.00 ERA, and won his only decision. He averaged slightly over an inning per game, and faced 84 right handed batters vs. 58 lefties, so he definitely wasn’t used as just a LOOGY. He was effective against both, in the tiny samples.
36 innings is a very small sample; is it reasonable to think that Avilan is suddenly a substantially better pitcher than he showed in AA? The short answer is no, but the optimist will point to his youth, the change to the bullpen, and dream. Pitchers are more difficult to project. A new pitch is learned here; a labrum frays there.
I grew comfortable watching Avilan in close games. I imagine the front office felt the same. I also imagine they will want to see more than 36 innings before blowing up O’Ventbrel.
Good work Rusty. I loved the Berman line.
Thanks, Rusty. I too grew comfortable with Avilan.
I’m so comfortable with Avilan that I’d be willing to trade O’Flaherty or Venters for a decent return.
I think this kid is the real deal. Watching hitters face him was delicious. Even good hitters were looking fondly at the bench.
For those expecting to be in Central Florida this coming spring, tickets for Braves’ Grapefruit League games go onsale at 10 am Eastern Time:
http://tinyurl.com/d9gfhxn
Id be fine if we sign Upton knowing that Wren will be looking for the best available bat for LF and not just a leadoff type hitter. Prado is more than capable of batting leadoff again.
I just don’t trust that Wren is going to let Prado be the leadoff guy.
#6 – You are probably right, but it should be an option if the best fit for LF is a power bat. Prado has almost 600 AB’s leading off, .298/.340/.469.
My feelings about every signing are contextual: that is, for how much and how long? I prefer Upton over Bourn long term, because of his age and skill set, but I’d rather not pay either $100 million.
The one guy I don’t want is Dexter Fowler.
Good job, Rusty S!
I might have overlooked the good job Avilan did for the team.
Let’s give him a nickname before Boomer gets there!
How about the Avilanche?
Vandy peeps – word is UK is looking hard at Vandy alum Mark McIntyre (currently San Jose State’s coach – 10-2 this year with a 20-17 loss to Stanford).
Know anything about him?
Thanks. (I keep hoping I’ll live long enough for us to get it right.)
Avilanche is really, really good.
Also has marketing opportunities.
Awesome guy, good coach. (Son of former VU HC George, who did a nice job in the late ’70s and early ’80s.) Think he’d be a good get.
Willie Taggart just not at all interested?
Every time I see Avilan’s name I start singing it to the tune of “Feliz Navidad.”
Auburn booster that I know says write it down that Jimbo Fisher will be the next head coach at Auburn. That would be a good hire for them IMO and if Arkansas lands Patterson then the league is just going to be brutal.
Heyman is reporting that the Braves are one of the 4 teams with heavy interest in Nick Swisher. He speculates that it would take 4/$60 to sign him.
@14- Ah man I was just about to suggest Feliz Avilan
But I think The Avilanche is better
@13 – Not sure why, but Taggert’s name has never come up. Neither has the Kent State coach.
The Kentuckyk boards rotate between Mike MacIntyre, Butch Jones and Mark Stoops depending on who the “source” is.
Wherever Charlie Strong ends up, I could see him bringing on Joker Phillips as his OC.
14 — I laughed out loud, but now I’m going to think the same thing every time I see his name.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8627606/rating-players-contracts-major-league-baseball-part-1
Grantland.com has a story on the top 50 Trade Values for MLB players. Braves highlights:
Freeman and Kimbrel make Honorable Mention – with an asterisk for The Kraken since he’s ‘only’ a relief pitcher, but, as the writer said, ‘Damn. WHAT a pitcher.’ (Paraphrased).
Simmons at #45. #31 through #1 tomorrow. I expect we’ll see Heyward and a 1 or 2 of the young starters in that group. Maybe Prado around 30, but probably not.
@15 I see hiring Fisher as a better version of the Chizik hire. Just going after a good ole boy. I just don’t think he’s got a good enough pedigree. It’s a “solid” hire but they need a home run.
I will be stunned if Auburn can do any better than Fisher, unless they get lucky on an under-the-radar guy. Having to go against the Saban juggernaut and knowing that you don’t even have a two-year grace period after winning a national championship…this is not the sort of work environment top-tier guys are typically going to seek.
#21 – Whats your opinion of a home run? Fisher would be 10 times better than Malzahn IMO.
Not to mention the NCAA poking their nose around at Auburn again.
#22
Bingo. That’s the main issue.
It’s not breaking my heart (because UGA plays them & recruits against them every year), but you can’t run your program like it’s a banana republic.
Given their in-state situation, I sort of get Auburn’s lack of patience and it’s true that every hire since Doug Barfield “turned things around” relatively quickly… but still, who wants to go to a place where going undefeated doesn’t earn you any capital?
Of course, if things go badly, at least you can count on a parachute made of money.
Thanks and props to the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders Megan M and Chrystal Anne for getting their heads shaved to support leukemia research.
It’s a good year to be a Colts fan again.
@23 Petrino is a home run, and Malzahn is a guy who’s probably a hell of a lot more talented than anyone realizes. It’s common knowledge now the Chizik meddled in his offensive scheme to “save” the defense after 2010. Fisher is the guy who just lost to Florida.
NCAA investigations haven’t scared great coaches away from hires before, especially not recently now that the NCAA doesn’t have the stones to actually punish a school in any meaningful way.
And come off the Chizik defense. He didn’t earn that undefeated season. He came in with no pedigree and he leaves the same. This article goes into some of the many issues they guy had http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2012/11/scarbinsky_gene_chizik_set_the.html He put out the worst Auburn team in history, guys. He’s been blown out more times than Joker Philips. He turned the program into a joke in 4 years.
Who’s defending Chizik? Certainly not me. I’m just pointing to the reality of the *extremely difficult* hiring situation.
If you go undefeated, you get credit for that, just like if you go 3-9.
@29 Now when every impact player was either a JUCO transfer or a senior you didn’t coach or bring in.
Does anyone think this type of season would have been tolerated at Alabama, regardless of a ring two years earlier?
Then Urban Meyer deserves no credit for his first national championship, Nick Saban doesn’t get credit for his first national championship, Les Miles doesn’t get credit for his first national championship, and any success Jimbo Fisher has had he gets no credit for. The “someone else’s team argument” would nullify the achievements of half of college football’s successful head coaches.
@32 All the coaches you have named are guys with some history of success, which Chizik clearly doesn’t have.
I think Chizik needed to be fired. Ive got a lot of Auburn friends that want Malzahn as the next coach. I just think Auburn should expect better.
Malzahn hasn’t exactly proven anything that Chizik hasn’t proven…
I’m not sure Gus is the guy either, but I think if you’re going to go off the beaten path, he’s a good choice. Most of the teams that have beaten Alabama in the past few years have run a spread offense, and he’s obviously great at running it and he has ties here.
Not really though. Since 2009, Bama has only lost 5 games. Auburn and A&M are the only 2 losses against a spread offense. The others were SC and LSU (2). They have beaten more spread offenses than they have lost against.
Malzahn could end up being a good hire, but Auburn cant take the chance on another unknown. Thats why I think its Petrino. He needs a decent job and Auburn needs a proven winner.
I agree with Stu, Auburn is going to be a hard sell. If they land Jimbo Fisher, that is a homerun hire.
I think Arkansas and Tennessee are better jobs right now than Auburn.
@37 I would argue that SC runs a version of the spread. I think Petrino is the best hire, and he’s desperate.
Jimbo Fisher is certainly a homerun hire. There is no one that Auburn is going to be ablel to attract that will be better than him, or has a better coaching pedigree.
What am I missing about Fisher that has people so worked up? It’s my impression that he’s a pretty good OC who has done well with FSU in a terrible conference. He’s also a guy Bama didn’t want in 06.
Of course, what do I know? I was convinced that when Florida hired Muschamp, he was going to be a disaster. After his first year, I was convinced that his intensity is creating a lack of discipline within the program. Now, you could say that his intensity has actually created discipline within the program. At this point, I have no idea what Florida has with him, and he’s probably bought himself three more years at least with the success that he’s had this year.
With all that said, all of these guys being thrown around are uncertainties until they become a Les Miles or Nick Saban.
I think there is more to the Petrino story. Apparently no SEC teams are pursuing him, and he would certainly help Auburn, Tennessee and Kentucky in a big way.
I love Will Muschamp. We finally have our Manchurian Candidate.
But all kidding aside, it’s hard to fault his results this year, especially with that wildly inconsistent QB/offense. They definitely won a couple games I thought they’d lose.
I’m thinking of buying season tickets (or more likely, a partial plan) for the Nats, but I know there’s just no way I’ll be able to make it to many games. Does anyone have any tips on the efficacy of reselling tickets? Is it easy? How likely am I to be able to sell my tickets at retail price? If I only go to 10 or 15 games, is it even worth it to bother? Should I buy two tickets? There’s a “buy two, get two” deal. Would that change your mind?
I just have like no frame of reference for this kind of thing.
I don’t get the Manchurian candidate reference, but that is probably because it was before my time.
I don’t like Muschamp’s coaching style, but you can’t argue against its effectiveness. The players play with a lot of passion, they don’t seem to buckle under pressure, and aside from some mental lapses in judgment, the team has played pretty smart all year. When I evaluate a coach’s performance, those are some big things I would look at.
#45 – I would think re-selling football tickets (6-8 home games) would be much easier than trying to re-sell (60+) baseball season tickets. There just arent too many people looking for tickets since they are so easily obtained at the stadium. Ive never tried it, just thinking outloud.
#45
It’s “easy” to re-sell them on StubHub, but you won’t make your money back. My guess would be that you’ll do OK with opening day, but that’s all.
As a longtime Yankee season-ticket holder (partial-plan with 2 other guys), I can tell you that you’ll be practically giving away the unwanted tickets.
For our unwanted games, we try to sell them early in the season to co-workers or the deli guy or anyone we know as “a big Yankee fan.” (Because of our tenure, we have great upper-level seats.) When the season starts, it’s tougher to get rid of them, unless they’re Mets games, Red Sox games or the Old-Timers Day game. (I’m not sure what gets DC fans going.)
Is it worth it? Again, dunno what the Nats offer as a part of the plan. We continue to commit each year, mainly for the post-season options.
More than anything else about baseball, I like actually going to the games most, so it works for me. Plus, more than any sport, I find that baseball offers the best venue for connecting with friends, new & old.
#46
It’s from a Cold War-Era thriller/film that was re-made a few years ago.
Muschamp, who is 0-2 vs UGA, is a Georgia grad, so it’s kinda like Tom Glavine putting on a Met uniform & sabotaging things, as if he were programed by his former outfit.
The rumor in Kentucky is that Mike Slive has put the kebosh on any SEC team hiring Petrino. No idea if it’s even remotely true.
One option is a “partial” (ie, 21 game) plan. One of ’em’s got 3 Braves dates, so those are 3 that I would definitely try to make. Maybe I’ll try to go halvsies on two tickets on a 1/4 season plan with friend. I know a coworker who is a huge Nats fan.
Apparently the American WBC pitching coach is… Greg Maddux.
Interesting, huh?
Rob Deer is hired as the assistant hitting coach for the Cubs…amazing…
@39/43 – Being in a pretty closed GA Tech bubble for the most of the last decade, I understand that I’m ill prepared to understand things related to top-level, competitive college football, but hasn’t Petrino shown himself to be a fairly awful human being over the course of his last several jobs? Is this not considered adequate grounds for ignoring him for the Auburn job? If not, then is there any level of awfulness that could disqualify an otherwise winning coach? If Petrino is required for Auburn to compete with Alabama, is competing with Alabama such a good thing to do?
Rob:
I have a bad feeling Muschamp is our Chizik. We had a great year against a tough schedule this year, but I worry about the offensive production and how long Muschamp’s Billy Nartin routine can motivate our guys. I gave a feeling we lump along with 7-8 wins for three years and then he is gone.
@45,
One alternative is to join a season ticket package with other people as I have done. That way, you can buy a reasonable number of tickets and not have to commit to a lot of money. For example, I bought six games (12 tickets) this year but I could certainly have bought more (or less). The obvious problem is you don’t necessarily get all the specific games you want (and, in our group, you have to buy in pairs) but I have never had any trouble getting Braves games because no one else in the group is a Braves fan. Alternatively, I recruit people every spring to commit to a certain number of games with me that I buy from the group. It’s not perfect but I did get access to playoff tickets. If you are interested, let me know.
If not, then is there any level of awfulness that could disqualify an otherwise winning coach? If Petrino is required for Auburn to compete with Alabama, is competing with Alabama such a good thing to do?
You clearly do not understand the SEC, man.
@53
I’m with ya. Words cannot describe how upset I would be if Tennessee hired him. Ignoring the fact that he will likely screw the program over either accidentally or on purpose three years (tops) down the road seems pretty silly to me. The man has literally screwed over every employer he’s had on the head-coaching level. Why on earth would it be different now? Plus, how can he possibly be taken seriously in recruiting?
@56 – Admittedly, yes. There has to be some line that fans wouldn’t cross to win though, right? I’m just curious about where it is.
Well human sacrifice would probably be frowned on, but other than that…
Don’t give Stu any ideas.
I’m shocked at the pessimism about Muschamp on this board. I’ll worry about the offense once Peace gets hired to be someone’s head coach, but until then, I think they’re in great hands. This is a team with a first year starting QB who was recruited to play in a different system and a bunch of WRs that are mediocre at best. The Gators have four (4) WRs coming in with next year’s class, and they’re sorely needed. What Muschamp has done with this team on both sides of the ball this year is nothing sort of remarkable.
I have had Braves season tickets since 93 and I really don’t find it too difficult to manage the unwanted tickets. The Braves offer a ticket trade program so if there are games you know you will not attend, you can trade them in for additional seats to other games. Since I only have two seats this lets me have a few games each year where I take a bunch of people. The Braves also have direct integration with Stub-Hub to allow you to re-sell your tickets and quite a few of the games can be sold for a good bit more than face value. Finally, there are some games I do just give away to friends or family or donate as prizes for various fund raisers (my son’s baseball team always loved those donations). The first thing I do every year is look at the schedule and determine which tickets fall in which categories: I’m definitely going, trading, or selling. So a mid-week series against Houston might be traded and a weekend series against the Yankees will have at least two of the games sold (because Yankees fans will easily pay 4 x face value for tickets). When the dust settles on my schedule adjustments I usually end up coming out ok financially and I get to go to the games I want to go to (about 50-ish games usually). I’ve been doing it this way for years without any problems.
I think the main takeaway here is clear: everyone should watch the original Manchurian Candidate, and fast. That movie is awesome.
Another awesome Cold War political thriller is The Parallax View. Watch that one too.
The remake with Denzel Washington isn’t half bad either.
I like Seven Days In May too.
“[Of course] they may walk in and say, ‘I don’t want you to be the coach no more.'” ~Jimbo Fisher on the possibility of taking the Auburn job.
I’m sorry, I don’t want a man who can’t speak proper english coaching at Auburn.
Do you want football players who can’t speak proper English?
So infidelity AMD moral bankruptcy, no biggie. Down-home folksiness? Deal-breaker.
That should be and not AMD.
Does anyone else’s phone autocorrect their text to be copyrighted corporate brand names at alarming frequency?
I think its some kind of subliminal advertising.
@67 I’m not being serious. And as much as I hate what Petrino did to his wife, I don’t think it affects his ability to be a good head coach.
Could certainly affect the number of living rooms he’s allowed to get into on recruiting trips.
Guy knows his football, though.
Certainly nobody is perfect. Generally speaking, though, I think one would prefer a public figure and mentor to demonstrate good judgment in all of his/her dealings (including private life).
Just found out that Bud Selig is speaking on campus this evening. His address is entitled: “Perspectives on Ethical Leadership — A View from the Commissioner.”
Since I just found out about it, I won’t be attending. I bet we could muster a few questions for him, though.
@71 Nick Saban is the kind of man that spends every waking moment thinking about football (to the point that he forgets his own birthday and spends holidays watching film) and no one cares. All football coaches are probably a little unstable.
@71 – Exactly. If fans want to ignore academics and just put the best team on the field, that’s one thing – your average illiterate college defensive lineman might still be illiterate after graduation but he probably would’ve been anyway, and at least he got a few years of fun and maybe a shot at setting himself up financially for life in the NFL. Give an 18 year old an unprincipled scumbag like Petrino as a mentor for four years (not that Petrino would ever stay at one program for a full four years) and you could very well graduate a class of people who are actively worse than they would’ve been without going through the program. That seems to me to cross the line from symbiosis between fans and players to full out parasitism.
Football happiness in exchange for the a portion of the players’ character – that might be overstating it a bit, but I think that’s generally the bargain.
If you are the parent of a high school senior, who would it be easier to forgive…Jim Tressell or Bobby Petrino?
@74 Gene Chizik was always lauded as being a “good man”, yet he let the program devolve into an undisciplined mess. Kids weren’t going to class, going to practice, and they were drinking and getting caught. Let’s face it, Auburn has never been known as a program that focused on academics. That’s another issue entirely.
The above post should say “weren’t going to class.”
I also don’t think Petrino has ever been in any NCAA trouble.
He cheated on his wife. He hired his mistress, knowing she was to be paid with state taxpayer dollars. He undertook to lie about all of this to his employer, an institution of higher learning entrusting over 100 18-22-year-olds to his regular supervision.
I mean, you can frame it however you like, drawing whatever comparisons you want to draw, but he did these things. This is not the sort of behavior most reasonable people want from the figurehead for their program.
Absolutely none of that affects his ability to teach people how to play football.
@76 – Yeah, it’s more complicated than the good person/bad person dichotomy I described in 74. Mark Richt is a good counterexample too – well-liked good guy whose players seem to have reserved holding cells in the Clarke County jail.
Absolutely all of it does. But whatever. Didn’t realize things had gotten quite this desperate on the plains, but I probably should know better.
My late stepmother was an Auburn alum and mid-level booster, and I truly believe if Auburn hired Petrino she and her daughter (another alum) would picket the president’s office. Why hire someone who is going to immediately alienate a significant portion of your most important benefactors?
Marvin Miller has passed away.
If it’s between the really successful guy with character issues and the guy who can’t take it to the next level in the ACC, I want the guy with character issues. There are better options out there but I don’t know if they’d want the job, and I am firmly in the “No Jimbo” camp.
Life is all about timing.
Whoever gets Petrino will get the “Prodigal Returns” Petrino. He’ll probably be the most loyal, honest, trust ’em with naked virgins (look – a Gandhi reference) guy you’d ever want.
For awhile, anyway. But that’s what pre-nups are for.
Outkast, on pre-nups: http://www.tubechop.com/watch/704016
#84
Well, depends on what you consider “the next level in the ACC.” I mean, barring a big upset in the conference title game, he is going to win the ACC championship this year. It’ll be the first time FSU has done it since 2005.
I don’t think any SEC school will give Petrino an interview, even Kentucky.
If Auburn was going to make a move with him, it probably would have already gone down.
He isn’t even on Tennessee’s radar and it appears Kentucky is going down a different path.
I bet Petrino has to sit out another year before anyone will touch him. If he goes anywhere this year, maybe Colorado would bring him in?
I think in a year or so he turns up somewhere like Virgina, Marshall or Minnesota. A school trying to make a splash with their program.
Don’t think London is going anywhere for a while at UVA. This year was disappointing, but I think most of their important decisionmakers are very much on board with him.
On Jimbo:
If Tennessee hires him, I’d be pretty happy.
Only the hiring of Gruden or Stoops would make me happier, and I don’t see that happening.
@87 Well, They faced two ranked teams this year, correct? A Clemson team that lost both of its games against ranked opponents and Florida. You’d better win the conference with that schedule.
@89
Yeah, I agree. I think things would ahve to fall off the rails pretty bad there to let him go.
If Auburn wants to hire Petrino, then more power to them. He’s left every program/team he’s inherited as unmitigated disasters.
I really don’t think Auburn is that attractive of a job opening. Competing with Bama, LSU, TAMU, and UGA every year is murderer’s row and with the NCAA setting up camp there, it can definitely get worse.
I wouldn’t mind Auburn hiring Petrino. It’d be nice to know that both Arkansas and Auburn is being ruined by him.
Exactly.
Because I don’t know that much about college football administration, I’m going to weigh in on something completely different for a moment:
If Dayton Moore trades Will Myers for Jon Lester, he will be making a HUGE mistake. I capitalized “huge” to emphasize the hugeness of the “huge” in question. Because it would be that big of a mistake: HUGE. On the other hand, maybe he’ll deal Myers for Hellickson, which would be both a huge mistake and hilarious.
96 – Is KC close enough to even consider deals like that?
Why is KC not just cutting Francoeur and starting Myers?
My predictions on SEC coaching vacancies
UT – Charlie Strong
AU – Gus Malzahn
UK – Mark Stoops
Ark – Kirby Smart (As an Alabama fan I hate this idea, but it seems logical)
@98 Because they have Frenchy under contract for another season. This may not make sense–a sunk cost is a sunk cost–but to Dayton Moore, who wants pitching, it does. If I’m Moore, I’d throw a pot of gold at Greinke and tell him to come back. But then if I was Dayton Moore, I would never have made almost any of the major league moves he has made, so the context would be different.
The Mets have apparently offered David Wright a 6-year/$100 M extension.
I’m going to continue my trend of wanting things people don’t agree with and say I’d like for us to go after Hamilton.
By the way:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/dodgers-send-shock-waves-through-local-tv-landscape/
@101
And, to counter that, the Braves are in talks with Chad Durbin!
ububba, I believe the Mets have added a 7th year to their offer now.
Im fine with Durbin returning.
7/115(?) for Wright? That takes him through his mid-to-late 30’s does it not? That’s not a bad offer there. Too bad he’ll probably take it, putting paid to my dreams of D. Wright inheriting the C. Jones mantle.
On the Myers stuff,
What would be our comp to Lester for Myers. Lester is a fairly young, sometimes great, frequently good pitcher with solid 2 being his primary forward look. he is controlled at 2 years at around 20 mill (I think).
Now I KNOW most of you will FLIP OUT, but seriously think on and discuss: Medlen for Myers.
1. Myers CAN play center for a year or two if you can get a bopper for left.
2. Myers would be a plus fielding left fielder if you sign Upton for 5 / 75.
3. Myers has 3 full seasons at major league minimum, then three arbs. Next 6 years cost 26 million or so.
4. Myers is righthanded. So far he shows minor normal platoon split.
5. Assuming you get Upton, then you have about 8 mill for 3 years that you were going to put in right. Take that and what you would have paid Medlen and the increase in the national contract in 2 years and get Greinke.
Isn’t that a better team?
If Teheran or Delgado looked to be ready for the rotation then it would be something to consider. However, I dont think a rotation of Huddy, Minor, Maholm, Hanson, Teheran would get us close to the playoffs.
Missed the part about getting Greinke there Cliff. If that could all be accomplished with us getting Upton, Myers, and Greinke then yes Id do it. Seems tough financially though and may hurt our extension efforts down the road with other players.
I’m really, really worried about the offense next year. Simmons is likely to perform as he did post-injury last season, and not the super-star performance we saw the first month. We’ll be without McCann. Without Chipper. We’ll probably see a drop off in center, and LF is a total mystery.
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
Told #Mets’ offer of extension to Wright yesterday was 6 yrs./$100M. Source today says team offering 7 yrs. between $125M and $150M.
That link was soooo depressing. The Braves are basically screwed until 2031. Like, ROYALLY screwed. Like, ROYALS-LY screwed.
Who signs a 25-year deal at fixed rates, anyways? Without an opt-out? That’s insane.
OTOH, I guess it was Turner doing the smart thing and guaranteeing a revenue stream before selling. Still, 25 years is CRAZY.
Jonah Keri just ranked MLB players by trade value (so contract matters), and Kris Medlen wasn’t on the list. Not in the Top 50, not in the honorable mentions.
Whoops. (Heyward was #10.)
Yeah, the tv deal is easily the most important issue for the Braves, now and in the future. But we as fans have no control over it, and so we focus on the players, managers, etc.
The new deal signed by the Dodgers will probably lead to a payroll, in the not too distant future, of $300 million. And that means other clubs will be signing similar television contracts and increasing payrolls at a pretty rapid rate. The Braves have kept their payroll steady for almost a decade now. Over that span they have transformed from a big market to a mid-market team. Imagine if it stays the same for another 5-10 years? Or 20? Something has to give: either the Braves spend more money over time, or they become the Pirates.
Jason Heyward is going to look terrible in Dodger Blue.
If ownership of the Braves changes is there some escape clause that can be invoked to get the new owners out of the horrible TV deal? I’m just trying to think of any possible scenario where this TV deal goes away…
Kimbrel, Venters, O’Flaherty, Avilan, Lisp, g
Gearrin, and a pile of cheap candidates for #7 in the pen. Gambling 1-1.5 million on Durbin is not a wise use of resources.
It is Mark Stoops to Ky.
#115
And even worse in pinstripes.
Sounds like Peterson to Arkansas, Petrino to AU, and Jimbo to UT. At least thats todays rumors.
BTW, Rosenthal is now saying the mets deal to wright is for 8 years and $140-150mil
Carlos Ruiz busted for greenies. 25 game suspension.
Mets and Braves locked in intense negotiations. The Mets with Wright and the Braves with Durbin.
Dodgers are going to end up giving Greinke a bigger contract than Sabathia’s. It is already beginning…
/weeps
Luis Avililan….
Luis Avililan….
Luis Avililan….
Prospero Año y Felicidad.
124 — of course!
What do you guys think of these Miles to Arkansas rumors? Why would he leave LSU, and especially for Arkansas, a lesser school and still in the West?
@126
LSU will throw him some money and it will all go away. I don’t see him going there.
But I do think Auburn may get Petrino
Miles will not leave LSU for Arkansas.
Mickey ‘Guitar’ Baker died today. He was one of the wildest studio musicians of the 50’s as well as a brilliant jazzer, and author of a guitar method that has mystified the middling players of the world since he wrote it. He tooke the lead on sides with Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner as well as lesser lights like rockabilly Joe Clay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Baker
Caldonia!
OK, I just bit the bullet & gave myself an early Xmas present: 2 tickets to the dome on Saturday.
Figured if this is the biggest UGA game in 30 years, I’d hate to experience a win watching from my den couch. And if it goes the other way… hey, shared misery all around. I surely wouldn’t be alone.
Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice & live a little.
Shake, Rattle and Roll, Caledonia, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On. That’s a monster credit list. And I’ve always loved Love Is Strange.
You can really hear the 3 Kings in his playing, especially Freddie.
130—Awesome. I’ll be pulling for the Dawgs — have a blast!
@130 have a great time, ububba! It should be an awesome game.
“At $1.73M/game, it will take the Dodgers around 6 or 7 games to make what the Braves get for an entire season’s TV money.”
Maybe it was fair market value at the time, but it would be nice to know which idiot on the Braves’ side was the first to proclaim: “25 years sounds like a good idea.”
It was someone working for someone at Turner who wanted the team sold ASAP. I guess they thought revenue-certainty was a good thing for the sale.
Still, it’s really bad for Atlanta.
Pull them dawgs through, ububba. Enjoy!
New thread.