So agree, William. Murphy seems always hurt. A .200 hitter last year. Matt Olsen has had two straight DOWN years. Having Contreras at first & C, Langiliers at catcher and maybe Baldwin up a year earlier would, in my opinion, been a better deal than Olsen and Murphy. Bad deal.
Fascinating tour of complex 'What Ifs'. Even though this season has been fun so far, there is a long ways to go before I can manage to let the memory of the Freeman/Swanson debacle fade. Coming off a WS championship, two of the biggest stars who were immensely popular with fans and who both wanted badly to stay in Atlanta, and AA couldn't stand the thought of paying Freeman top dollar and then seeing his skills fade while continuing to pay him toward the end of his career. And, deservedly, Freddy got the last laugh - two WS Championships - in a row! While Atlanta floundered during the same time. Sure, Freddy's skills will begin to diminish over the next couple of years but the Dodgers said, "So what? We got the inestimable value of two consecutive WS Championships!" something every other franchise only dreams of. And Swanson would certainly have stabilized the oft unproductive Atlanta SS position.
I am a real Olsen fan - I agree he sets the standard for 1B play and if the award were given out today he would be MVP, and he will age over the next three years better than Freeman. But without a WS Championship along the way I don't think I can simply forget what might have been with Freddy.
AA did well to get Suarez but his decisions on Murphy and Bummer look like big mistakes. If this year's Braves gets into the playoffs and goes deep, I will begin to heal from the Freeman/Swanson mistake and give AA the credit he would deserve. But we're a long way from that.
Thanks for an interesting analysis. A great reminder of how tough it is to be an MLB GM.
I never would have traded Contreras.
People like Contreras and Acuna help you recruit in Latin America and Caribbean.
He was younger, cheaper, and a better hitter.
One of A.A.'s WORST DEALS. Although he seems to have unlimited job security.
But he did a good job this Offseason adding Dubon, Yaz, Mateo and Saurez.
Lots of money coming off the books. Chance for him to make moves.
So agree, William. Murphy seems always hurt. A .200 hitter last year. Matt Olsen has had two straight DOWN years. Having Contreras at first & C, Langiliers at catcher and maybe Baldwin up a year earlier would, in my opinion, been a better deal than Olsen and Murphy. Bad deal.
Fascinating tour of complex 'What Ifs'. Even though this season has been fun so far, there is a long ways to go before I can manage to let the memory of the Freeman/Swanson debacle fade. Coming off a WS championship, two of the biggest stars who were immensely popular with fans and who both wanted badly to stay in Atlanta, and AA couldn't stand the thought of paying Freeman top dollar and then seeing his skills fade while continuing to pay him toward the end of his career. And, deservedly, Freddy got the last laugh - two WS Championships - in a row! While Atlanta floundered during the same time. Sure, Freddy's skills will begin to diminish over the next couple of years but the Dodgers said, "So what? We got the inestimable value of two consecutive WS Championships!" something every other franchise only dreams of. And Swanson would certainly have stabilized the oft unproductive Atlanta SS position.
I am a real Olsen fan - I agree he sets the standard for 1B play and if the award were given out today he would be MVP, and he will age over the next three years better than Freeman. But without a WS Championship along the way I don't think I can simply forget what might have been with Freddy.
AA did well to get Suarez but his decisions on Murphy and Bummer look like big mistakes. If this year's Braves gets into the playoffs and goes deep, I will begin to heal from the Freeman/Swanson mistake and give AA the credit he would deserve. But we're a long way from that.