Braves Offseason

[stinger78]

I heard today that Chipper likes the new hitting coach. That’s a good start.

 

[stinger78]

@kg01, whatcha got here?

@Golden Tornadoes how ‘bout you?

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

@kg01, whatcha got here?

@Golden Tornadoes how ‘bout you?

He had me at "situational hitting"!

In all seriousness, I think he will be a great addition to the organization and be a good voice in these guys' ears. He seems to be focusing on what we complained about all year which is not swinging for the fences every pitch and only swinging at pitches you know you can hit. He has a good track record, and this might be the most talented lineup he has ever had to work with. I'm excited to see the bats in spring training and hopefully more discipline out of the hitters.

 

[kg01]

I like what I've read so far...

https://www.batterypower.com/2024/1...tim-hyers-will-stick-to-three-core-principles

Sounds like he has a plan and wants them to have a plan at the plate. Honestly, it did not appear there was much complex thought put into what they were doing the past 2 years.

Three [core principles] that I’m going to preach day in and day out is game-planning, swing decisions and our movements in the batter’s box.
Game-planning — we have so much information these days. I love information. I think that’s the art of coaching in this day and age is funnelling that information so that we have that one idea, that one thought that we can go compete in the batter’s box. I think a lot of hitters, they can only think about one thing at a time while hitting 97 mph. So game-planning is big for me. It’s taking the information, what’s the most important part [of that information] and let’s go battle.
Swing decisions — you’re only as good as the strikes you swing at. It’s basic. I think you can break that down into two groups: Chase percentage — can we eliminate some chase? — and what are we swinging at for our strengths, in parts of the zone? I think there’s some ways we can identify that to get players winging at their pitchies.
Lastly is their movement pattern. It’s the mechanics. Just watching some video and doing some studying here, I think that some of the injuries caused some players to get out of their swing. I think the mental affects the physical — some guys wanted to do more because some key players got hurt. I think we can clean up some of those patterns and get them back into their groove. Not trying to do too much, having those thoughts where it’s like “I need to get a hit” or “I need to hit a homer here” and I think that kind of messes up the physical. So we need to help get some guys back into their groove.

 

[LargeFO]

I heard today that Chipper likes the new hitting coach. That’s a good start.

He's well-respected. Probably a little bias from me since he's a Newton County boy but I'm excited.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

I heard today that Chipper likes the new hitting coach. That’s a good start.

Not that every decision we make needs to be ran by Chipper, but I think he's a great source of information and perspective for the organization. Would love to see him come back to the Braves in some capacity even if it's just in the booth. Dude is great up there and I really love when they do the players broadcast a few times a year. Super funny, engaging, and entertaining while also providing good analysis.

 

[stinger78]

Some questions:
Do the Braves re-sign Max?

Does Strider make it back before June? Acuna?

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Some questions:
Do the Braves re-sign Max?

Does Strider make it back before June? Acuna?

Reading between the lines of AA's end-of-season press conference, I'd say Max will not be a Brave next season. His projected contract to me doesn't seem to be crazy, but I'm not convinced AA would pay close to $30M a year for him. As much as it pains me to say, I'm inclined to agree with him. Max is great, but gets injured a lot, struggles to make it through the order a third time, and has a tendency to dissolve in the playoffs. If I'm paying a pitcher close to $30M, he needs to be a lockdown guy who I can throw out there in the postseason and shut the opposing lineup down.

I think AA will slow play both Strider and Acuna next year. More than likely, they will be "trade deadline additions" without actually trading for them. That's also the smart play seeing they are both under contract for a while and are cornerstones of the organization.

Questions I have been pondering:
This is Albies' last guaranteed year on his deal and Acuna's second to last guaranteed year on his deal. AA must know the importance of re-signing them, but what does he offer? Does he dare let them get to free agency and hope they re-sign?

 

[stinger78]

OK. Let us break from this discussion for a therapeutic conversation.

Let’s express our thoughts on FF’s WS HR streak. Every time I see it, I just shake my head. That is not to diminish the value of Olson, but I just shake my head every time I see a replay and wonder how we let that happen. Yes, his agent screwed us but how did we not know that and make it impossible for him to go?

Go ahead a type your replies, you guys. It will be helpful for all of us. It’s the elephant in the room given the Braves’ postseason woes since 2021.

What say you @kg01, @Golden Tornadoes, @LargeFO?

 

[kg01]

Reading between the lines of AA's end-of-season press conference, I'd say Max will not be a Brave next season. His projected contract to me doesn't seem to be crazy, but I'm not convinced AA would pay close to $30M a year for him. As much as it pains me to say, I'm inclined to agree with him. Max is great, but gets injured a lot, struggles to make it through the order a third time, and has a tendency to dissolve in the playoffs. If I'm paying a pitcher close to $30M, he needs to be a lockdown guy who I can throw out there in the postseason and shut the opposing lineup down.

I think AA will slow play both Strider and Acuna next year. More than likely, they will be "trade deadline additions" without actually trading for them. That's also the smart play seeing they are both under contract for a while and are cornerstones of the organization.

Questions I have been pondering:
This is Albies' last guaranteed year on his deal and Acuna's second to last guaranteed year on his deal. AA must know the importance of re-signing them, but what does he offer? Does he dare let them get to free agency and hope they re-sign?

Yeah, sounds like this will be another 'tough' decision to move on from a fan favorite. Don't we basically have one every year at this point?

The key is to move on a year early rather than years late. Although, the Freddie move isn't seeming to be one in the 'win' column, but it is what it is.

I really like Fried but I see the same warts you're seeing. There's some high-highs with him but there are too many duds from him.

And, to be clear, that criticism is in comparing him to other aces so it's a high bar. I am in no way suggesting he's a bad starter or that I 'want' him gone. I just think, if they have to make a move to conserve dollars, I can see where they'd see this as an area to do so.

I think it's probably likely both Acuna and Albies will not be giving hometown discounts, and I don't think they should be. Maybe they do need to start preparing for that?

 

[kg01]

OK. Let us break from this discussion for a therapeutic conversation.

Let’s express our thoughts on FF’s WS HR streak. Every time I see it, I just shake my head. That is not to diminish the value of Olson, but I just shake my head every time I see a replay and wonder how we let that happen. Yes, his agent screwed us but how did we not know that and make it impossible for him to go?

Go ahead a type your replies, you guys. It will be helpful for all of us. It’s the elephant in the room given the Braves’ postseason woes since 2021.

What say you @kg01, @Golden Tornadoes, @LargeFO?

Yeah, if you're gonna lost Freeman, I'd rather it be to the Expos (yeah, I said it) or some other team where we're not creating a super team.

 

[LargeFO]

Yeah, sounds like this will be another 'tough' decision to move on from a fan favorite. Don't we basically have one every year at this point?

The key is to move on a year early rather than years late. Although, the Freddie move isn't seeming to be one in the 'win' column, but it is what it is.

I really like Fried but I see the same warts you're seeing. There's some high-highs with him but there are too many duds from him.

And, to be clear, that criticism is in comparing him to other aces so it's a high bar. I am in no way suggesting he's a bad starter or that I 'want' him gone. I just think, if they have to make a move to conserve dollars, I can see where they'd see this as an area to do so.

I think it's probably likely both Acuna and Albies will not be giving hometown discounts, and I don't think they should be. Maybe they do need to start preparing for that?

The Freeman thing still hurts for sure.

Acuna is gonna be interesting. I think he can still be a good player, but great? 2 knee surgeries now? I don't know if he's gonna be what he probably could have been.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

OK. Let us break from this discussion for a therapeutic conversation.

Let’s express our thoughts on FF’s WS HR streak. Every time I see it, I just shake my head. That is not to diminish the value of Olson, but I just shake my head every time I see a replay and wonder how we let that happen. Yes, his agent screwed us but how did we not know that and make it impossible for him to go?

Go ahead a type your replies, you guys. It will be helpful for all of us. It’s the elephant in the room given the Braves’ postseason woes since 2021.

What say you @kg01, @Golden Tornadoes, @LargeFO?

Freeman hurts. Hurt then, hurts now, probably will hurt forever. I’ve gotten over the anger part. Angry at AA for not giving the guy a fair contract. Angry at Freddie’s agent for going against his client’s wishes and playing dirty. Angry that AA pivoted so quickly to Olsen, essentially snubbing his nose at the face of the franchise.

Now it just hurts to see him in another uniform. It hurts knowing that nobody from either side wanted this to happen, but egos and feelings got in the way. AA got too cute with this one and instead of locking Freddie up, he tried to price gouge and lost an icon.

To be clear, I’m happy for the individual success that he’s having. He’s a genuine, quality guy that deserves every bit of success he’s earning. The name on the front of the jersey disgusts me, but the name on the back makes me smile. I miss him, Braves country misses him, Freddie misses us, but sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees; and that’s exactly what happened to AA.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Yeah, sounds like this will be another 'tough' decision to move on from a fan favorite. Don't we basically have one every year at this point?

The key is to move on a year early rather than years late. Although, the Freddie move isn't seeming to be one in the 'win' column, but it is what it is.

I really like Fried but I see the same warts you're seeing. There's some high-highs with him but there are too many duds from him.

And, to be clear, that criticism is in comparing him to other aces so it's a high bar. I am in no way suggesting he's a bad starter or that I 'want' him gone. I just think, if they have to make a move to conserve dollars, I can see where they'd see this as an area to do so.

I think it's probably likely both Acuna and Albies will not be giving hometown discounts, and I don't think they should be. Maybe they do need to start preparing for that?

I would be shocked if we retain Fried, and was in the camp of trading him last offseason. We really could have used the value he would have brought back and maybe even signed him in free agency this year. He’s not an ace IMO, but he’s one of, if not the best no. 2 in MLB right now.

Albies and Acuna already gave their discount, so it’ll be a hefty price tag to keep them both. However, in light of the players we have let walk the past few years, it’s a price AA needs to pay.

 

[stinger78]

Dodgers win…

 

[stinger78]

Sigh… FF wins the WS MVP.

 

[LargeFO]

The Freeman thing still hurts for sure.

Acuna is gonna be interesting. I think he can still be a good player, but great? 2 knee surgeries now? I don't know if he's gonna be what he probably could have been.

I think he may need to morph more into power and relax on the stealing bags. For overall health.

 

[stinger78]

Acuna could be used as a DH. That would take a lot of wear and tear off his knees.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Welp, the 2024 season is now officially behind us. Teams have a 5-day exclusive negotiating window to re-sign their own free agents before they hit the open market. IMO, if we retain Fried, it'll happen before the exclusive window closes. Time for the Hot Stove to start heating up!

 

[LargeFO]

Welp, the 2024 season is now officially behind us. Teams have a 5-day exclusive negotiating window to re-sign their own free agents before they hit the open market. IMO, if we retain Fried, it'll happen before the exclusive window closes. Time for the Hot Stove to start heating up!

I'd put our odds of resigning Fried at 5%. I'd love to be wrong though.