Backtobanks

But Fox could outhit and outrun him lol.

This has been discussed in the topic "Soriano could play 2B". The obvious problem is that this lineup might give up as many runs defensively as they generate offensively. Hopefully they will call up Fox to DH during interleague play.

From MLBTR: What To Do With The Braves Outfield? By Steve Adams [May 22 at 8:00pm CST] In his blog over at MLB.com, Mark Bowman lays out the offensive woes of the Atlanta outfield, and in the comments section, Bowman even ponders the potential release of Jeff Francoeur: "When I look at myself in the mirror, I'd have to say that my fault is that I've given Francoeur a break for far too long. There's no doubt that the leniency stems from the fact that he's a great guy. But at the end of the day we all have a job to do. My job is to relay information to the public and thus, I've written two entries this week preparing you for the possibility that Frenchy's days in Atlanta might be numbered. It will be very difficult for the Braves to trade him. As for a return to the Minors, I don't know if that would help anybody. Thus, you can't ignore the possibility that if things don't improve soon there's a definite possibility that they could release him." Here's some of the unfortunate "highlights" of the Braves' struggles, if you can call them that: In 12 games since being activated from the DL, Garret Anderson is hitting .283/.321/.326 with just one extra base hit - a double. All this comes along with limited range in the outfield. In 66 May at-bats, Francoeur is hitting .197/.214/.273. For his career, Francoeur has averaged 630 ABs per season. Over his last 631 ABs, dating back to May 6, 2009, Francoeur is hitting .235/.287/.341 with 11 HR. Over that time, among players with 500 ABs, only Michael Bourn, Chone Figgins, Bobby Crosby, Willy Taveras, and Jason Kendall have lower slugging percentages, and only Chris Young of Arizona has a lower OBP. Ouch. Rookie Jordan Schafer's .660 OPS is the highest of any of the three Braves outfielders mentioned thus far. So what's Frank Wren to do? He's clearly in need of immediate upgrades in the outfield, and Atlanta would seem to have the pitching to spare. Let's hear some suggestions from the MLBTR world: How can Wren save this situation? How about trying to get Martin Prado in a deal for a package including Reed Johnson? Prado can play any IF position and is only 25 years old. His career line is .304/.363/.446/.809 in a small sample.

Carlos Quentin in the top 50! :pig: :pig: :pig: :pig: :pig: :pig:

Except I don't see many 3B out there to get. The usual names Kuzmanoff, Beltre, Atkins, Mora, DeRosa, Wigginton, etc. certainly aren't worth Heilman (let alone Heilman plus prospects). Also, I would think you want somebody that will accept a backup/pinch hitter role and can probably fill in at other positions. DeRosa/Loretta/Aurilia/Wigginton/Belliard kind of player.

Why wouldn't the Nats do this? They're going nowhere and have had Johnson on the trading block forever. Trade him before he gets injured again.

I don't understand Lou wanting to keep him in the lineup, but talking about "resting" some of the other slumping regulars. It's not like Fontenot has a proven ML career where you can be sure he will snap out of it. The other slumping stars have better backup options. Between Font, Scales, Freel, and Miles, at this point, we need 2 of them in the lineup every day. As unpalletable as it may sound, Fontenot is the closest thing to a good player out of the bunch. Even if we do give Scales the nod at 2nd and ride out whatever magic he has left, theres still a 3 headed monster at 3rd. Id rather wait for the off chance of Fontenot breaking out than wait for Freel or Miles to stop being Freel and Miles. I agree that Fontenot is better than Scales/Freel/Miles, but not when he's in the middle of a slump. Try Scales/Freel/Miles because they can't do much worse than what Fontenot has done in May.

While I would love to have Peavy, the price would have to be right. Starting pitching isn't a problem with this team now or in the foreseeable future. Look at this Cardinal series and the two playoff series and ask yourself whether Peavy would have made a difference. If we can get Peavy without giving up Vitters, then I'm all for it.

I don't understand Lou wanting to keep him in the lineup, but talking about "resting" some of the other slumping regulars. It's not like Fontenot has a proven ML career where you can be sure he will snap out of it.

Apparently, Lou and Hendry think it will work as long as we can stay close in the NL Central. You do have to be optimistic about the offense rebounding when Lee, Bradley, Soto, and Fontenot return to anywhere near what was expected of them and Ramirez comes back from his injury. As frustrating as they have been, their record isn't bad considering all the injuries and slumps they have had. When you have Theriot, Fukudome, and Hoffpauir carrying your team offensively, you know you've been struggling.

Yeah, especially if they have to give up a boatload of good young players. Konerko, Thome, Dye, and AJ aren't getting any younger.

With our offensive struggles, I'm willing to keep Vitters, Marshall, etc. and look for some offensive help. Starting pitching in 2010 looks to be okay with Marshall, Shark, Wells, and possibly Harden (re-signed) to fill 2 spots.

With the way they've been struggling, you have to wonder how much longer they can leave Jake Fox at AAA.

Ascanio + Miles for DeRosa.

I think Patton has to stay or go through waivers, but I agree that Fox makes more sense than Cotts/Patton/Ascanio or Miles/Freel. Maybe they will call him up when they get to inter-league play to use as DH. Of course, by then he will be slumping or injured.

If the Cubs make the playoffs and get swept again, what would your reaction be? "Oh well, it's just a crapshoot, go get 'em next time fellas..."? Anybody who has paid attention to the recent playoffs should realize that the playoffs are a crapshoot. It's just a matter of which team is hot at that point. Look at how many times the "best team", the "best hitters", and the "best pitchers" fail in the playoffs. Look at the number of times a mediocre team, hitter, or pitcher is successful in the playoffs.

I've been a fan for 55 years and I'm always amazed that the baseball "experts" (managers and pitching coaches) haven't figured out that you can tell if a closer is having a good/bad day by watching the first two batters. Also, it's ridiculous not to have another pitcher warming up after watching the first two batters. I've heard managers say that it's an insult to your closer to have somebody warming up. I thought the idea was to win games and not worry about somebody's ego.

It would be great to have Fox coming in to pinch hit instead of Miles/Johnson/Freel. As one poster pointed out Fox/Hoffpauir would look great at DH for interleague games.

Heard a story about Theriot do weight training and having a bet with Lou about hitting 10 HRs. Maybe it's true. :-k

Gonzalez/Peavy would probably cost you DLee (plus cash), Marshall, Vitters, Castillo, Soto, and Marmol.

Now that one certainly qualifies.

Lee for Greinke! \:D/ \:D/ \:D/

Put Theriot, Johnson and Freel on the field at the same time and watch the grit fly. We would lead the league in grittiness and be last in runs scored.

I agree with the poster that stated that we ought to quit dreaming because Freel will be our 3B until Ramirez comes back. Of the other players mentioned, Wigginton or Loretta (probably not available) would be the best choices because of their versatility. A trade for Cantu would decimate our farm system. Players like Beltre and Mora would be useless once Ramirez comes back. Huff and Blalock probably can't play well enough defensively. Atkins and Kuzmanoff might be decent fill-ins if their asking price was really cheap.

Freel + $3million for Gathright might make it worthwhile. At least he has some experience backing up 3B.