Smoltz headed back to the bullpen...

[topdawg.sixpack]

Braves pitching is way to old....I think it makes sense though, sense Smoltz cant pitch more than 5, and the Braves have lost so many 1-run games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3376418

 

[vhdawg]

....but I went to a Braves game about three years ago when Smoltz was closing, and when they brought him in, the atmosphere at that game was electric. I had goosebumps, and I swear I think I heard Jim Ross say "Oh my God, that's John Smoltz's music!!!"

 

[War Machine Dawg]

This certainly shortens the game for our starters. Gonzalez-Soriano-Smoltz is an absolutely sick 7-8-9. I had a buddy arguing with me last night that Smoltz needed to stay in the rotation. I said no way. Smoltz's shoulder can't take being a starter anymore. If he's going on the DL once a month, it's not worth it. He said Smoltz as a part-time starter was better than in the pen. Smoltz is still a dominant starter, but like he said in the interview, it doesn't help the team if he can't go past 5. Plus, I think he can still be an elite closer. Knowing it's over in the 9th because you've got him coming into the game really stabilizes the bullpen, because now you bump Soriano back to the 8th where he's more comfortable, and Gonzalez back to the 7th, a la last year's plan of Gonzalez-Soriano-Wickman. Only this is about 1000 times better because Smoltz >>>>>>>>>>>> Wickman.

And VH, I agree about when Smoltz comes out of the bullpen. It's absolutely electric. My Jim Ross-ism would be "And business has just picked up!"

 

[8dog]

have been really good this year so I think this is a great move.

 

[gtowndawg]

your a puss!

Signed,
Every Braves fan.

</p>

Left-hander <font color="#000000">Mike Hampton</font>, meanwhile, left a rehab start at Triple-A Richmond in the fourth inning when he was bothered by his injured chest muscle.</p>

"Maybe he came out just in time," Cox said.</p>

The manager was hoping Hampton could pitch for Atlanta on May 10 but said now the team will have to "wait and see."
</p>

I've wanted to get that off my chest for a while. </p>

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Don't forget, he's a thief too. One of the funniest things ever said by one of my buddies was about Hampton this year. We'd been having a Braves discussion (my friend is from Athens, big Braves fan), and he said he always has one Brave he has to hate. He said this year was Kotsay. I said Kotsay wasn't that bad and was a stop-gap while we got a AAA player ready to take over. Just a few days later, Hampton pulls his pec. I send my buddy a message saying I nominate Hampton for the Most Hated Brave Award. His response: "Absolutely. I mean, he pulled his titty. How much more of a bigger puss can you be?"

 

[Stormrider81]

Complete waste of money. It's the one move I think really blew up in Shuerholz's face.</p>

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Worst. Sign. Ever. I won't ever forget Rick Cleveland lobbying for the Braves to sign him in the CL at one point. We did, and the rest is history. Blind Dawg is noticeably absent from this thread. He predicted 12 wins from Hampton this year. I said if he pitches through the first month, we'll be lucky. Damn thief can't stay on the field. Jayson Stark had an article the other day discussing whether or not Barry Zito or Hampton was a worse sign. He concluded Hampton, because of his DL time. Zito will at least eat innings, even if he's getting shelled.

 

[kmullen]

First Smoltz could really help out that pen, I think the other players would have a lot of confidence in close games with him sitting down there ready to take it.... Jair has been the Braves most consistent pitcher this season and took another hard luck loss when the offense forgot how to hit....And last thank the lord they have insurance on that contract of Hamptons! The guy is a walking injury and I believe he believes he will get hurt everytime he steps on the mound.

 

[BlindDawg]

First of all the Braves didn't sign Hampton. He came in a trade(I forget who was involved) and the Marlins were/are paying a large portion of his contract. I don't think acquiring him was that bad of a move because they actually got two pretty good years out of him. Yes, the past 2+ years have sucked and I wish he'd get back on the field but Hampton had had little to no injury issues when the Braves got him so its not like they were getting Mark Prior and counting on him to anchor the rotation. Secondly, I did not predict Hampton to win 12 games this year. My prediction was he'll make 20 starts and if that happens then he will win 10 games. Though it may seem like a stretch now, that is far from being out of the question for him. Oh and in the Zito/Hampton worst contract debate, I take Zito. He's been completely useless for the Giants. The Braves at least got a few good years out of Hampton, and Hampton had some decent years after signing the contract before he got to the Braves too. There's nothing like having a $100+ million middle reliever. Both were terrible contracts, but give me a few good years of Hampton and a lot of years of wondering if/when he'll pitch over signing Zito to anchor a rotation and then having to move him to middle relief barely a year into the contract because he's been so bad and just so it doesn't seem like a total waste of money.

 

[8dog]

Whether the Braves signed him or took over certain portions of his contract is irrelevant. They knew what kind of salary situation they were getting themselves into so its really the same thing. It's not like he just showed up in Atlanta and said "jokes on you, you owe me $14 mill in 08".

 

[BlindDawg]

I agree they knew what they were getting themselves into, but at the time they were getting a guy who was once a 20 game winner and had been a solid top of the rotation starter his whole career with very few injury problems for $14 million or so which was a significant discount of his actual contract. At the time, it was a reasonable deal for the Braves. Like I said, Hampton had had very little or no injuries to that point in his career so there was no sign that something like the last two years could or would happen. Hampton was not Mark Prior 2.0 when the Braves got him.

 

[gtowndawg]

We are now in season 3 of Hampton not throwing a SINGLE pitch in a Braves game. And in the 05 season he only threw in 69 innings....maybe 1/4 of a season. We are staring down the barel of having a 3 year run of nothing from someone making 14 million per year. That's bad no matter how you slice it.

(I will admit we did get two good years, which is more than I remembered).

Source:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hamptmi01.shtml
</p>

 

[BlindDawg]

By no means am I saying the last 2+ years haven't been bad and that this is a good situation. Its not. All I'm saying is that it wasn't a totally worthless acquisition like SPD, Storm and others are saying it is. Is it ideal or good? No, but I think the two years we got from him at a discount rate was good and somewhat justified getting him especially since we had no idea it would turn out this way. Also, as someone else said earlier, insurance paid his salary the last two years.

 

[Stormrider81]

much less can't even get on the field, then I view that as a bad move. Now, that's all hindsight because JS couldn't have known he'd have this trouble beforehand. I'm not blasting him over this, just saying I wish we could undo this deal. Yes, we got two decent years out of him, but that has been outweighed by the fact that we've desperately needed starting pitching the previous two years and he was unable to go. It's a sucky situation that I would rather we avoided altogether.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Secondly, I did not predict Hampton to win 12 games this year. My prediction was he'll make 20 starts and if that happens then he will win 10 games.

Expecting him to win 50% of his starts was problem #1. Well, making 20 starts was problem #1. If pitchers don't miss a start they make what, 34, 35 starts? How many pitchers with that many starts win more than 17 games these days? Maybe 10-15? I don't see even a healthy Mike Hampton as being one the top 15 winners in MLB this year.

 

[BlindDawg]

Now, that's all hindsight because JS couldn't have known he'd have this trouble beforehand.

That's basically the point I've been trying to make. I wasn't saying the Hampton deal was a great one, just that you couldn't blame JS for doing it because it seemed like a good deal at the time. I don't think it was a completely worthless deal because of the two good years we got, but I agree it has not worked out as planned and looks bad in hindsight.

 

[ArrowDawg]

....at how good that Jurgens guy is.

The problem I have with the Braves these days is that I don't get the same feeling of urgency that I used to get from the group of players they had throughout the 90s. Those guys had a set goal of getting to the World Series every year. The guys they have today just come across as a bunch of individuals earning their paycheck, albeit very talented individuals.

 

[Todd4State]

As a Cardinal fan, I thank you for taking JD Drew and giving us Adam Wainwright, and Ray King was pretty good for a couple of years to. Not that Drew was bad in Atlanta, but he was there for a very short time and Wainwright would be a front of the rotation starter that the Braves could have locked up.

Bob Wickman was a pretty bad move, to.

Also, as far as Zito, I think he might be hurt. I don't know why no one seems to think that this is a possibility, but his velocity has dropped drastically, and his curveball kind of rolls up there. It's not sharp at all. They say he looks good in the bullpen, so it could be Steve Blass disease.

But yeah, Hampton was a bad move. The Braves probably need to just release him, or maybe the Cardinals could trade Mark Mulder for Hampton straight up. <Not serious> I think Mulder is probably done to. His velocity is topping out at 88 and he's consistently been at 84-86, not to mention that he got shelled at AAA last night- but yet it was "encouraging". So, I guess he needs to learn how to throw a knuckleball.