Thanks for a thoughtful discussion on Braves SP situation. Glad to see you’ve not gone full panic and blame mode before the first SP game. Hoping both Schwellenbach and Waldrep will be back quickly and without impact on effectiveness. I’m getting lonely, but continue to believe signing FA SPs is a fool’s errand in today’s game. I see the 2 Braves unfortunate injuries as reasons why you shouldn’t be chasing after SPs with $ or prospects. The risk of injury is too high and unpredictable. The track record is clear - look at last year’s SP FA results… you want Burnes for 6 yrs and $210 million? He pitched 64 innings to a 2.0 WAR in the 1st year of that contract. Or maybe Blake Snell. He threw 64 innings to a 1.3 WAR for $36.4 million last year. Or I know, we should’ve signed Nola when he was a FA…he’s a workhorse, never injuried. He pitched 94 innings with a -0.3 WAR. Almost every Braves commentator is shouting: “Sign an SP!” It’s easy to say, but bring the data that shows it’s an effective solution. Oh but the Dodgers - they won the WS after they spend a literal fortune on SPs. Really? That’s why they won? They had the 16th best ERA in MLB.
Yeah, the Nola thing, where he was super healthy and then randomly got hurt, is the exact reason I didn't want to sign Chris Bassitt just because he's been healthy recently - pitchers are perfectly healthy until they're not. I just don't see a lot of wisdom in paying $30M/year to an arm, but you've gotta do the other stuff if you're sitting out of free agency
SP injuries are dictionary examples of “random” and “frequent”. A lot of Braves commentators and fans have gone full Mets behavior and are theowing commiption fits before the first ST pitch, shouting: “AA knew these SPs were high injury risks!” Be serious. Look around the MLB. Every SP rotation is the defintion of “high injury risk”. Braves have to get roughly 1500 outs in the regular season. In today’s game that requires a deep staff, including minor leaguers.
… correcting…Buidling, hopefully, one of the best bullpens in baseball and using a disproportionate number of high draft picks on pitchers are moves AA has made to position the pitching staff for success. SPs are still critical, but a team has to use the entire staff to get 9 outs (including guys in the minors) over the course of a season. SPs continue to pitch less. Over the last decade their share of IP has declined by more than 10%.
It's discipline, not overcaution. And if more owners stood on principle with their own max, MLB would have a better argument against the escalating, inflated salaries which are an insult to so many fair minded people. What do teachers and health care workers make per year? Isn't there a woman at home in anyone's family who doesn't want to hear what Kyle Tucker or Gerrit Cole is making per annum? Paying extravagent athlete salaries is like buying cigarettes: you know it's wrong; you know you should stop.
To be a non-cooperator in a corrupt system, you need a strategy. Gandhi's was nonviolence. The Braves has been focusing on scouting and development, making the most of those years "under team control." Players happy with The Braves Way sign extensions, like Acuna, Riley, Olson and Strider. Those who don't depart: Swanson, Freeman, Fried. That's self-discipline.
One more SP on the IL -- a pitcher who the Braves were going to plant in AAA for the first half of the season to lighten his load anyway -- is no reason to question Alex's leadership. It probably is a reason to question how MLB can tweak its rules so teens don't consider surgery the norm en route to high 90's fastballs and dizzying spin rates. Figuring out injury risk while optimizing repertoire is a challenge all across baseball. Major kudos will be due to the scientist (journalist, or AI software) that figures that one out.
Let's not argue that the Braves must throw up their hands and follow the crowd over the cliff. The expanded playoff tournament enables staying competitive without the dreaded rebuilds and deadline surrenders, injuries permitting. The Braves are a publicly traded company, so they have a responsibility for profits and/or dividends as well as 90-win seasons. Maybe come the negotiating season in 2026-7 the time will finally arrive for effective salary caps. Maybe some hedge fund wiz kid will buy the team. Either way, as a Braves fan since 1957, I'm proud over what's been built over the recent eras, against the headwinds of escalating costs favoring major market teams.
I can't thank you enough JimK. At some point this year the Braves could have a back log of pitching depth in the pen and starters.....and they could not. But it seems like the Braves have built the drafting etc for this situation where they have too much pitching. In 2026 by the middle of the year the Braves may be approaching this. Fingers crossed.
Thanks, and yes, exactly -- whether it's Schwelly, Waldrep, or Ritchie, odds are the Braves will have another playoff quality starter ready, rested, and surprising for October 2026. Worked for the Jays (Yesavage), Yanks (Schlittler), and a couple of others in 2025.
What does what teachers and health care workers make have to do with this? Answer: Absolutely nothing! No one is saying it's "fair," but news flash - The world ain't fair.
How much are you worth? You are worth what someone is willing to pay you. And after saying adding an "impact" starter to rotation was the goal this off season, AA has done NOTHING to add to the rotation (unless you consider adding Martin Perez as doing something, which I don't).
Now, our vaunted pitching depth is toilet paper thin... and with the injury to Schwelly, Waldrep was going to be giving a chance to win the 5th starter job in spring training.
As it stands, our rotation is Sale - 37 years old and spent time on the IL last year. Been hurt a LOT over the past five years. Strider - who has had 2 surgeries on his elbow and was not the same pitcher last year. Lopez - coming off shoulder surgery. Shoulders are a LOT more problematic than elbows. Holmes - who is coming off rehabbing a partial UCL tear and Bryce Elder. All other in-house options are kids or off the scrap heap like Martin Perez.
AA did a very good job bringing back Kim and Iggy and signing Suarez and Kinley. Yaz was also a good signing to minimize how much Profar has to play in LF. BUT HE HAS DONE NOTHING TO IMPROVE THE ROTATION and the "we have the money, but the deals just didn't come together" excuse is more than just a little thin, at this point.
Like the sentiment of the first couple paragraphs, but don’t ageee AA hasn’t done anything to improve the pitching. Building, hopefully, will be one of the best bullpens in baseball improves the pitching. Using a very disproportionate share
Do you believe the people who base their livelihoods --where their children go to school/live/their entire existence want or don't want or really want or REALLY want to win? Right?
Thanks for a thoughtful discussion on Braves SP situation. Glad to see you’ve not gone full panic and blame mode before the first SP game. Hoping both Schwellenbach and Waldrep will be back quickly and without impact on effectiveness. I’m getting lonely, but continue to believe signing FA SPs is a fool’s errand in today’s game. I see the 2 Braves unfortunate injuries as reasons why you shouldn’t be chasing after SPs with $ or prospects. The risk of injury is too high and unpredictable. The track record is clear - look at last year’s SP FA results… you want Burnes for 6 yrs and $210 million? He pitched 64 innings to a 2.0 WAR in the 1st year of that contract. Or maybe Blake Snell. He threw 64 innings to a 1.3 WAR for $36.4 million last year. Or I know, we should’ve signed Nola when he was a FA…he’s a workhorse, never injuried. He pitched 94 innings with a -0.3 WAR. Almost every Braves commentator is shouting: “Sign an SP!” It’s easy to say, but bring the data that shows it’s an effective solution. Oh but the Dodgers - they won the WS after they spend a literal fortune on SPs. Really? That’s why they won? They had the 16th best ERA in MLB.
Yeah, the Nola thing, where he was super healthy and then randomly got hurt, is the exact reason I didn't want to sign Chris Bassitt just because he's been healthy recently - pitchers are perfectly healthy until they're not. I just don't see a lot of wisdom in paying $30M/year to an arm, but you've gotta do the other stuff if you're sitting out of free agency
SP injuries are dictionary examples of “random” and “frequent”. A lot of Braves commentators and fans have gone full Mets behavior and are theowing commiption fits before the first ST pitch, shouting: “AA knew these SPs were high injury risks!” Be serious. Look around the MLB. Every SP rotation is the defintion of “high injury risk”. Braves have to get roughly 1500 outs in the regular season. In today’s game that requires a deep staff, including minor leaguers.
… correcting…Buidling, hopefully, one of the best bullpens in baseball and using a disproportionate number of high draft picks on pitchers are moves AA has made to position the pitching staff for success. SPs are still critical, but a team has to use the entire staff to get 9 outs (including guys in the minors) over the course of a season. SPs continue to pitch less. Over the last decade their share of IP has declined by more than 10%.
It's discipline, not overcaution. And if more owners stood on principle with their own max, MLB would have a better argument against the escalating, inflated salaries which are an insult to so many fair minded people. What do teachers and health care workers make per year? Isn't there a woman at home in anyone's family who doesn't want to hear what Kyle Tucker or Gerrit Cole is making per annum? Paying extravagent athlete salaries is like buying cigarettes: you know it's wrong; you know you should stop.
To be a non-cooperator in a corrupt system, you need a strategy. Gandhi's was nonviolence. The Braves has been focusing on scouting and development, making the most of those years "under team control." Players happy with The Braves Way sign extensions, like Acuna, Riley, Olson and Strider. Those who don't depart: Swanson, Freeman, Fried. That's self-discipline.
One more SP on the IL -- a pitcher who the Braves were going to plant in AAA for the first half of the season to lighten his load anyway -- is no reason to question Alex's leadership. It probably is a reason to question how MLB can tweak its rules so teens don't consider surgery the norm en route to high 90's fastballs and dizzying spin rates. Figuring out injury risk while optimizing repertoire is a challenge all across baseball. Major kudos will be due to the scientist (journalist, or AI software) that figures that one out.
Let's not argue that the Braves must throw up their hands and follow the crowd over the cliff. The expanded playoff tournament enables staying competitive without the dreaded rebuilds and deadline surrenders, injuries permitting. The Braves are a publicly traded company, so they have a responsibility for profits and/or dividends as well as 90-win seasons. Maybe come the negotiating season in 2026-7 the time will finally arrive for effective salary caps. Maybe some hedge fund wiz kid will buy the team. Either way, as a Braves fan since 1957, I'm proud over what's been built over the recent eras, against the headwinds of escalating costs favoring major market teams.
I can't thank you enough JimK. At some point this year the Braves could have a back log of pitching depth in the pen and starters.....and they could not. But it seems like the Braves have built the drafting etc for this situation where they have too much pitching. In 2026 by the middle of the year the Braves may be approaching this. Fingers crossed.
Thanks, and yes, exactly -- whether it's Schwelly, Waldrep, or Ritchie, odds are the Braves will have another playoff quality starter ready, rested, and surprising for October 2026. Worked for the Jays (Yesavage), Yanks (Schlittler), and a couple of others in 2025.
What does what teachers and health care workers make have to do with this? Answer: Absolutely nothing! No one is saying it's "fair," but news flash - The world ain't fair.
How much are you worth? You are worth what someone is willing to pay you. And after saying adding an "impact" starter to rotation was the goal this off season, AA has done NOTHING to add to the rotation (unless you consider adding Martin Perez as doing something, which I don't).
Now, our vaunted pitching depth is toilet paper thin... and with the injury to Schwelly, Waldrep was going to be giving a chance to win the 5th starter job in spring training.
As it stands, our rotation is Sale - 37 years old and spent time on the IL last year. Been hurt a LOT over the past five years. Strider - who has had 2 surgeries on his elbow and was not the same pitcher last year. Lopez - coming off shoulder surgery. Shoulders are a LOT more problematic than elbows. Holmes - who is coming off rehabbing a partial UCL tear and Bryce Elder. All other in-house options are kids or off the scrap heap like Martin Perez.
AA did a very good job bringing back Kim and Iggy and signing Suarez and Kinley. Yaz was also a good signing to minimize how much Profar has to play in LF. BUT HE HAS DONE NOTHING TO IMPROVE THE ROTATION and the "we have the money, but the deals just didn't come together" excuse is more than just a little thin, at this point.
Like the sentiment of the first couple paragraphs, but don’t ageee AA hasn’t done anything to improve the pitching. Building, hopefully, will be one of the best bullpens in baseball improves the pitching. Using a very disproportionate share
Giolito is available if they REALLY want to win. Right ?
Do you believe the people who base their livelihoods --where their children go to school/live/their entire existence want or don't want or really want or REALLY want to win? Right?