Edgy Braves Blogger Is Sick of Waiting on Peavy
Good day Braves fans. I’m JB and I’ve got the mid-November, no baseball, waiting-on-something-to-happen blues getting me down in Atlanta.
On the good side though, I am a baseball fan that loves basketball and the Hawks (though they didn’t win) impressed me greatly last night. In fact, I do love all North American sports including (at times) some soccer
(futbol). Yet it’s true I really struggle with maintaining my sanity when my Braves aren’t taking the field. My 6-1 Atlanta Hawks who ALMOST pulled off a win in Boston last night will be coming back to Atlanta on Sat. night to face the New Jersey Nets and if you’re in ATL this weekend, you should really think about going out to support them. I have no shame plugging this team. They’re great this year.
In case you’re hiding under your covers all fall waiting for Spring, or have permanently planted your head in the sand after 2008’s miserable season you know the Braves are trying to land ace Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres. It looks pretty certain if this does ever happen, that we’ll be saying goodbye to Yunel Escobar, and perhaps Charlie Morton, Jo Jo Reyes, and Gorkys Hernandez who was acquired for Edgar Renteria last offseason.
The only thing that’s not certain is if this trade will ever actually happen. The Cubs are the only other team seriously interested in landing Peavy but their intentions has perceptively waned after Lou Pinella’s comments.
But talk about agony! I can’t remember a trade that took so long to finalize and had so much talk surrounding it. Of course we live in an age when information is leaked and decimated quickly and it’s also mid-November when there’s no baseball going on. So what else is there to talk about? Maybe it just seems like we’ve been discussing this all year long.
If something doesn’t happen soon, let’s move on and make one of the following things happen.
Get Serious About a Pitcher NOT Name Peavy
Some have mentioned Matt Cain as a possibility and it may not be a bad idea. I still like Derek Lowe
as an experienced and successful #1 or #2. True he doesn’t have a Cy Young on his resume like Peavy and is a little bit older. But he’s pitched with some good success and has good postseason numbers, well maybe not for the Dodgers this year, but Lowe potentially could have Smoltz-esque Octobers again.
Go Hard After Tazawa
Tazawa could certainly be a possibility but a vague one at the moment. Nothing has really developed further since talks about any kind of contract hasn’t developed beyond the point of the offer the Braves made.
However, my friends at Rain Delay did a great post on Tazawa that you should see including some video of this Japanese talent. I’d be ok with making “Taz” a reality for the Braves.
Get Hanson Major League Ready
He hasn’t played in the big leagues at any point prior to 2009 and maybe a spot in the rotation is not the best idea just yet. But at 22, the same age as Jurrjens, let’s go ahead and get him some spot starts or even some long relief to get ready for full time action no later than 2010. The dude, along with Marietta native Tyler Flowers, is tearing it up in AFL. Check out the last two recent write up’s (Crooked Pitch and DOB’s Blog) I found about him here and there’s reason to get excited about the possibility of having him in the rotation in the near future.
The last suggestion will not solve anything if Peavy doesn’t but I think we should start working that into our plans for ‘09 regardless.
Let’s face it though, we’ve put so much time and effort into this Peavy trade and at this point it’s the Padres who are holding things up. There’s already been a lot invested into this deal. At this point it’ll either be that the Pads send Peavy our way or they hold onto him. Even if we do get Peavy, there’s no reason to start negotiations with Tazawa when he becomes available. Why not get both of them?
Anyway, if something doesn’t happen soon, I’m gonna just lose it. I’m sick of the perpetual state of limbo this trade has remained in and I’d like something else to blog about other than Peavy but there’s not much else happening.
On the one hand, landing a Jake Peavy is not only a bolster to our “start from scratch” rotation but it sends a message to the rest of the NL East that I don’t think will be taken lightly. Much like Santana’s coming to the Mets did last year.
However, it is not without trepidation that we would proceed with this transaction in my mind. Sending Yunel to San Deigo unnerves me mainly because of the downgrade we’d get at shortstop. Maybe Lillibridge is Major League ready but while being a defensive bastion, his offensive contributions will be more reminiscient of Belliard.
Ugh….
Anyways let’s just get this thing over with. The question mark hanging over Braves Nation is making life at this Braves blog a little unbearable. Please. Break us of this purgatory.
About the Author: JB is an Atlanta native, avid scorekeeper, and baseball enthusiast. He doesn’t mind if you don’t love the Braves. As long as you love the game and you’ve got something to say, you’re welcome at The Launching Pad.
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