House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves: A deeper look at 3 positive takes from 2019

By Josh Mathews

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 25: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after scoring during the 8th inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 25, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 25: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after scoring during the 8th inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 25, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
TORONTO, CANADA – JANUARY 8: R.A.  Dickey #43 (L) of the Toronto Blue Jays is introduced at a press conference by general manager Alex Anthopoulos at Rogers Centre on January 8, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA – JANUARY 8: R.A.  Dickey #43 (L) of the Toronto Blue Jays is introduced at a press conference by general manager Alex Anthopoulos at Rogers Centre on January 8, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

AA actually did a great job

Good moves by AA:

  1. Signing Josh Donaldson via free agency
  2. Signing Brian McCann for just 2 million
  3. Bringing back Nick Markakis for just 4 million
  4. Trading for Matt Joyce at the end of spring training
  5. Deciding to tender Adam Duvall a contract and sending him to AAA
  6. Trading Arodys Vizcaino and Jesse Biddle for Anthony Swarzak
  7. Signing Jerry Blevins
  8. Revamping the bullpen at the trade deadline
  9. Signing Adeiny Hechavarria
  10. Picking up Cervelli and Hamilton in September

Not so great moves by AA:

  1. Signing Dallas Keuchel

I really tried to consider everything when making this list here. Seriously, if this was your kid and he brought home this report card, would you not be impressed? Proud?

Now, the critical fan will look at the more minor transactions like Cervelli, Hamilton, Blevins, Joyce, and Swarzak and say something to the effect of “Those guys didn’t do that much for us anyway.”

With the more minor transactions, it’s not about signing someone that becomes a superstar, it’s about finding the more economical way to plug a hole or bridge a gap while still protecting your assets.

He did this last year for example- Ryan Flaherty hit the cover off the ball for the month of April while Johan Camargo got healthy and got his bearings.

Also, think about Preston Tucker, who had a solid start to the 2018 season and was eventually traded as a part of the deal for Adam Duvall.

Elementary examples of doing this-

  • Not releasing a player due to bad performance that could be of use later (example: Luke Jackson, who was out of options)
  • Not signing an expensive free agent just because they might be the ‘best available’ but looking for other ways to fill that need
  • Using assets that are not useful to the team (I.E. Arodys Vizcaino and Jesse Biddle) to gain an asset that could/did help the team (I.E. Anthony Swarzak)
  • Knowing the right time to release or designate a player (I.E. deciding that Wes Parsons was expendable)
  • Utilizing the disabled list in order to create roster space, and using the September call-up period in order to audition players (I.E. Darren O’Day)

While that’s not a comprehensive list, the moves listed above are all concrete examples of the bullet points.

The same fans that were screaming ‘Sign Bryce Harper‘ last offseason are the same fans that are now saying ‘I hope Bryce Harper is miserable because the Nationals made the World Series.’

First, stop being a hypocrite. Secondly, learn to baseball.

Home/Braves News