Saturday, March 04, 2006
Mailbag: Why just one year for Giles?
01/23/2006
Is there any particular reason the Braves only gave Marcus Giles a one-year deal? Is this a payroll issue? -- Robert B., Rockledge, Fla.
Not at all. This didn't have anything more to do with payroll than any other contract the Braves have signed with any of their players. In fact, I would have been surprised had the two parties agreed to anything more than a one-year deal.
Giles, who agreed to a one-year, $3.85 million deal last Monday, has one more year of arbitration eligibility before he can become a free agent. While he may choose to be a Brave past the 2007 season, there's also a chance he'll want to go elsewhere at that time.
So it might have not been in the best interest of the team or Giles to agree to a multi-year deal. Let's not forget Andruw Jones is also eligible for free agency at the end of the 2007 season.
There's plenty of reasons the Braves have won a record 14 consecutive division titles. One of the main ones is the fact that general manager John Schuerholz and his assistants, first Dean Taylor and now Frank Wren, have never lost sight of the future.
While building this successful business model, they've found ways to continue present success and not handcuff themselves in future seasons.
By not signing Giles to a multi-year deal, the Braves may have put themselves in a position where they have to pay him a hefty salary next year. But that's not all bad. That simply means that he's continued his early career success and had another productive year in 2006.
Had Giles opted to sign a two-year deal and basically take away his right for arbitration next year, he would have been gaining some financial security while at the same time robbing himself of some money for the 2007 season.
Of course, if Giles signed an even longer deal, he may have been locking himself in Atlanta longer than he wants to stay. Every player looks forward to being a free agent and having the chance to gain both money and the opportunity to choose where they want to be.
What will the Braves do with Pete Orr, Wilson Betemit and Kelly Johnson? What role do you think that each of them will have? -- D.A., Mobile, Ala.
It currently looks like each of them will once again have a backup role. Orr and Betemit are solid utility infielders and Johnson showed signs of being a productive offensive outfielder during his rookie season.
With Ryan Langerhans and Johnson both being left-handed, there is a logjam in left field. One of them could be traded before the season begins. But the Braves could also choose to carry both of them, as they did for most of last season.
Whatever the case, having the strongest 25-man roster possible will be even more important for big league teams this year. In other words, you're going to see a lot of starting position players taking a lot more days off this year.
With the departure of Rafael Furcal and the injury to Mike Hampton opening up some money for this year, why have the Braves not been more aggressive in going to get a proven left fielder? -- George M., Staunton, Va.
While they might not have gotten a closer or improved their strength in left field, I would say the Braves were as aggressive as they could be, while sticking to their aforementioned business model.
Let's just say they had even more financial resources. Would it have been wise for them to offer Billy Wagner a four-year contract like the Mets did? Because they can't insure anything over three years, the Braves rarely give pitchers anything more than three-year offers.
The hard-throwing Wagner will be 37 years old at the beginning of the 2009 season and has a history of arm problems. As for somebody like Jeff Conine, the Braves would have loved to have had him.
But they couldn't offer Conine a job as their starting first baseman, as the Orioles did. Nor should they have given the 38-year-old Conine the guarantee that he could play left field every day. Langerhans came into his own at the end of last season and showed signs he can be a productive everyday player.
It appears the Braves have about $6 million to play with right now. For those who want solutions immediately, there might still be free agents available to strengthen the roster.
But with a little patience, that $6 million can also allow you to acquire a $12 million talent at the All-Star break or beyond. The only risk there is making sure you stay within striking distance until that point. At last check, the Braves have done a pretty good job in that department for the past 15 years.
Last year, the Braves used an alternate uniform in a red jersey. Are they going to have the red jersey again this year and are there any other changes to the uniforms? -- Ashley P., Americus, Ga.
It appears the Braves will once again be wearing their red jerseys for Sunday afternoon home games. They haven't confirmed they'll be changing the uniforms in any other way. But one team source gave an impression that there might be another change this year.
With all of the chatter before Christmas about a possible sale of the team, there has been little to no new infoemation since the first of the year. Is there anything new to report? -- Mike S., Atlanta
The only thing to report is that like with all sales of professional teams, things are going to continue moving at a slow pace. The only new item came when Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that former owner Ted Turner isn't interested in purchasing the team again.
Whatever happened to Trey Hodges? I was looking at his Triple-A stats from a couple of years ago and he was impressive. Is he with another team? I see he's no longer with the Braves. -- Danny E., Hampton, Va.
Trey called Horacio Ramirez recently and told him that he's going to have surgery on one of the fingers in his right hand. Doctors believe that the stiffness he's been feeling in his right arm has something to do with his fingers.
Hodges, who played in Atlanta for all of the 2003 season, tried to pitch for both Triple-A Richmond and Rochester last year. But when his arm problems prevented him from throwing harder than 80 mph, the Braves were forced to release him.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
Is there any particular reason the Braves only gave Marcus Giles a one-year deal? Is this a payroll issue? -- Robert B., Rockledge, Fla.
Not at all. This didn't have anything more to do with payroll than any other contract the Braves have signed with any of their players. In fact, I would have been surprised had the two parties agreed to anything more than a one-year deal.
Giles, who agreed to a one-year, $3.85 million deal last Monday, has one more year of arbitration eligibility before he can become a free agent. While he may choose to be a Brave past the 2007 season, there's also a chance he'll want to go elsewhere at that time.
So it might have not been in the best interest of the team or Giles to agree to a multi-year deal. Let's not forget Andruw Jones is also eligible for free agency at the end of the 2007 season.
There's plenty of reasons the Braves have won a record 14 consecutive division titles. One of the main ones is the fact that general manager John Schuerholz and his assistants, first Dean Taylor and now Frank Wren, have never lost sight of the future.
While building this successful business model, they've found ways to continue present success and not handcuff themselves in future seasons.
By not signing Giles to a multi-year deal, the Braves may have put themselves in a position where they have to pay him a hefty salary next year. But that's not all bad. That simply means that he's continued his early career success and had another productive year in 2006.
Had Giles opted to sign a two-year deal and basically take away his right for arbitration next year, he would have been gaining some financial security while at the same time robbing himself of some money for the 2007 season.
Of course, if Giles signed an even longer deal, he may have been locking himself in Atlanta longer than he wants to stay. Every player looks forward to being a free agent and having the chance to gain both money and the opportunity to choose where they want to be.
What will the Braves do with Pete Orr, Wilson Betemit and Kelly Johnson? What role do you think that each of them will have? -- D.A., Mobile, Ala.
It currently looks like each of them will once again have a backup role. Orr and Betemit are solid utility infielders and Johnson showed signs of being a productive offensive outfielder during his rookie season.
With Ryan Langerhans and Johnson both being left-handed, there is a logjam in left field. One of them could be traded before the season begins. But the Braves could also choose to carry both of them, as they did for most of last season.
Whatever the case, having the strongest 25-man roster possible will be even more important for big league teams this year. In other words, you're going to see a lot of starting position players taking a lot more days off this year.
With the departure of Rafael Furcal and the injury to Mike Hampton opening up some money for this year, why have the Braves not been more aggressive in going to get a proven left fielder? -- George M., Staunton, Va.
While they might not have gotten a closer or improved their strength in left field, I would say the Braves were as aggressive as they could be, while sticking to their aforementioned business model.
Let's just say they had even more financial resources. Would it have been wise for them to offer Billy Wagner a four-year contract like the Mets did? Because they can't insure anything over three years, the Braves rarely give pitchers anything more than three-year offers.
The hard-throwing Wagner will be 37 years old at the beginning of the 2009 season and has a history of arm problems. As for somebody like Jeff Conine, the Braves would have loved to have had him.
But they couldn't offer Conine a job as their starting first baseman, as the Orioles did. Nor should they have given the 38-year-old Conine the guarantee that he could play left field every day. Langerhans came into his own at the end of last season and showed signs he can be a productive everyday player.
It appears the Braves have about $6 million to play with right now. For those who want solutions immediately, there might still be free agents available to strengthen the roster.
But with a little patience, that $6 million can also allow you to acquire a $12 million talent at the All-Star break or beyond. The only risk there is making sure you stay within striking distance until that point. At last check, the Braves have done a pretty good job in that department for the past 15 years.
Last year, the Braves used an alternate uniform in a red jersey. Are they going to have the red jersey again this year and are there any other changes to the uniforms? -- Ashley P., Americus, Ga.
It appears the Braves will once again be wearing their red jerseys for Sunday afternoon home games. They haven't confirmed they'll be changing the uniforms in any other way. But one team source gave an impression that there might be another change this year.
With all of the chatter before Christmas about a possible sale of the team, there has been little to no new infoemation since the first of the year. Is there anything new to report? -- Mike S., Atlanta
The only thing to report is that like with all sales of professional teams, things are going to continue moving at a slow pace. The only new item came when Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that former owner Ted Turner isn't interested in purchasing the team again.
Whatever happened to Trey Hodges? I was looking at his Triple-A stats from a couple of years ago and he was impressive. Is he with another team? I see he's no longer with the Braves. -- Danny E., Hampton, Va.
Trey called Horacio Ramirez recently and told him that he's going to have surgery on one of the fingers in his right hand. Doctors believe that the stiffness he's been feeling in his right arm has something to do with his fingers.
Hodges, who played in Atlanta for all of the 2003 season, tried to pitch for both Triple-A Richmond and Rochester last year. But when his arm problems prevented him from throwing harder than 80 mph, the Braves were forced to release him.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
