Funny thing is that he never did shit until he got to SF. Always an ERA over 4, if not close to 5. Hey, we got Neagle for him and for many years, it was a good deal. Some pitchers just flame out with ATL, such as Odalis Perez and Bruce Chen. Neither worked well with Leo Mazzone, but have at least got back on track. Chen, not so much, but he is gaining ground...slowly. Perez has been pretty darned good for a few years now.

Still, if Schmidt stays healthy, he could be close to 200 wins by the end of his career. Not too shabby for a guy who didn't blossom until his late 20s.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3357012

Hmmm...not sure what to think of this. Now, i can agree that the Braves moves weren't spectacular by any means, but they ARE typical moves. (ie Jordan and Mondesi) The thing about this is, he is pretty firm in the belief that Jordan and Mondesi WILL be starters for the Braves. He may not realize that there are still some kids fighting for jobs, such as McCarthy and Langerhans. Jordan could get injured, like he normally does and Mondesi could whine about something, anything that would probably get him released. That said, Mondesi IS trying to play for his last BIG contract, so maybe that motivates him. If BOTH players do not pan out, there is marginal loss in terms of finance (Jordan $600K, Mondi $1 million, not including incentives). Personally, i like the two deals because if BOTH players or even ONE comes close to their yearly average, the Braves only spend a little over $2 million for guys that typically hit 25 homers, drive in 85 runs. Not too bad. If they don't live up to expectations, the kids trying to get spots have the potential to at least sniff those numbers. I still think Dayn Perry has an Atlanta Hate Club, but who doesn't?

SF- i don't think their moves are all that bad. Sure the OF is old, but if healthy it will be a productive one. And they REALLY needed a closer and can count on Benitez performing just as good as Gagne. (really, i believe that) Vizquels' defense will help the pitchers and Matheny is a solid defender at the plate. I really can't complain much about these moves because, like ATL, they are common moves that both teams would typically make. Am i wrong?

I just have a hard time sitting back and looking at what the LA team did and have SF and ATL be accused of having worse offseasons. The Dodgers are NOT the team to beat in their division. Jose Valentin and Derek Lowe? You gotta be kidding me.

I DO think that any team in the NL East could give the Braves a run for their money, but i think he fails to realize that the Braves are trying to win with pitching, after striking out with decent offense trying to carry them the last few years.

But, this is why the games are played and not determined on paper.

Bah...i'm going to A52 to drink and play some tunes.

In other news:

TWINSFEST IS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THEN HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is going to be very sportsy. YAY!

I don't get that at all. Sure, the Mets shelled out millions of dollars, now lets just see how those players perform. The A's winners I don't fucking think so, they set themselves up for a rebuiliding year.

"One rare talent surrounded by dreck. It's a bit like Bono fronting Hoobastank. "

This quote alone shows that they guy who wrote this article doesn't know jack shit. If rare talent is super overyphyped washed up has been who level of suck seems to multiply exponenitaly with each sub mediocre album his shitty band craps out, than yeah I guess Bono does with that description.

Getting back to baseball. The Giants made the moves they needed to Win this season. I like the moves, and I think they'll take the division. Benitez is huge and Alou will decrease the amount of walks Bonds gets. There's talk the Bonds might bat 3rd with Alou 4th, that'll cause some damage.

The Braves also made some decent moves. Mulder is a huge plus, and while both Jordan and Mondesi are old they're still putting up decent numbers.

The Dodgers on the other hand have pretty much traded themselves out of the playoff picture. BTW Ryan you did for get about LA signing Kent.

Shit, yeah!! Forgot about him!

Kent is another one of the primary reasons i doubt the Dodgers. I just have a hard time seeing him successful in that ballpark, which he won't be. Minute Maid Park boosted his numbers, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with him.

BTW- it was Hudson who went to the Braves.

Doh, I was blinded by Bono rage when I posted that.

You also forgot about the voodoo doll I have for that traitor Kent.

Anyway, about the ignoramus who wrote that article... what can you really expect from someone who can't even properly spell D-A-N?

This just adds to my theory that Fox Sports get their sports writers from randomly grabbing one of the "million monkees banging away on a million typewriters."

Twinsfest was totally sweet! We got to meet/have pictures with Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and the hottest of the hotties, Joe Nathan.

Then we saw the Bulldogs kick some Gopher ass. YEAHHHHHHHH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!! I love hockey soooooooooooo much!

What? No Chili Davis?

Tony O. is cool. As a kid, i went to his hitting school for 2 years. Later, i ended up playing in a band with his son Rick. It was short lived, but still kinda neat.

Er, that was me.

Chili Davis, LOL, Nope no Chili. If he had been there I could have added him to my list of form current/former Twins that were at Twinsfest that I saw play for the Giants. Dan Gladden, Juan Berenguer & Terry Mulholland. I never saw Joe Nathan actually play for the Giants.

It's almost like the Giants and Twins are "Sister" teams with the way they swap players back and forth.

I am making post #2000 on this board.

Tony O. is so nice! And Harmon Killebrew was such a gentleman. He asked my name and how I was doing and shook my hand. I was so excited!

That's cool Ryan that you went to his hitting clinics. If I ever have any spawn, I'd for sure have them go to clinics run by pros/former pros. I wish I'd had that opportunity.

Oh AJ remember Senor Smoke was not there.

Good to meet you the other night, Sailor! You rock!

Here is something that caught me off-guard and is something a LOT of players should look into doing:

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/a...s_atl&fext=.jsp

Chipper is willing to restructure his contract to keep the team competitive, IE resigning Hudson before he even throws his first pitch as a Brave. Chipper has a large contract, but is happy in Atlanta and wants to give the team a chance to retain some of the players. You can't ask for more out of a player, in this day and age of the all mighty dollar. Smoltz did something similar before they announced the trade for Hudson. Smoltz was slated to make $12 million, plus $100k per start, coming out to be a (potential) total of $15 mill for one season. His new contract pays him $6 million this year, $8 million next and an $8 million option for 2007. If he regains his form as a dominant starter, that is a bargin.

Matt Morris also did something similar for the Card, accepting a small, one year deal so he can prove he is worth a larger contract. He even told his agent not to even talk to other teams.

Why can't more players do this? Nomar accepted a 1 year deal, as did Millwood and Juan Gone, to prove they are healthy, while Magglio is STILL out there demanding a 5 year deal. Detroit or the Cubs will probably give it to him, but i see no problem with taking less to prove you are healthy. Hell, look at what LA did with Drew! 5 years/$55 milion for a guy who has played 1 FULL SEASON?

I guess teams will do whatever it takes to make a splash, but it is nice to see some players keep their head in reality. (btw- the Braves offered a 3 year deal to Drew.)

Anyways, if Chipper can spread his contract over more years, as opposed to dollars, that is a nice statement to the team and its fans. And maybe deep down inside, he realizes he won't be the MVP he once was. If that were the case, besides helping the team financially, that is even MORE generous. Who takes less in a guaranteed contract after a subpar season? No one does. That is class right there.

I agree more players should do this, or like Brad Radke did and take a substantial home team discount. He could have gotten more elsewhere, but he took less to stay in MPLS.

Oh yeah, Jerry Rice did the same thing as Chuipper 11 or 12 years ago.

Yeah, i remember when Jerry did that. I was just saying that you don't see it from baseball players very often in the MIDDLE of a contract. Free agency is one thing, but to re-structure your contract to better your team in another. I remember when Smoltz was picking up his pen to sign with the Yankees and took a similar offer from the Braves at the last minute because he didn't want to leave the organization if he didn't have to.

I just hope Santana can at least get a 4 year deal soon with the Twinks. Fuck, keep him in the AL as long as possible, i'll tell ya what...

Yeah, I hope he stays a Twin to, I think they'll try and lock him up for a few years toward the end of the season. The Twins are smart letting it go to arbitration this year, what if last year was just a one time thing? If they signed him to a multi year deal know he could wind up to be another Jay Mays. On a side note he would look awfully good sporting grey/black/orange.