Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves’ News 11/15
Oct 4, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher
Craig Kimbrel(46) comes into the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning of game two of the National League divisional series playoff baseball game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Morning Chop: A Summary of Atlanta Braves’ News
Braves Closer Craig Kimbrel Considering a Career Change
[Editorial Note: This a stretch, or what?]
Craig Kimbrel was left to watch the Juan Uribe’s Titanic Home Run Sent the Dodgers into the NLCS” href=”http://thebiglead.com/2013/10/08/juan-uribes-titanic-home-run-sent-the-dodgers-into-the-nlcs/”>final outs of the NLDS from the bullpen. Now Kimbrel appears to be considering a career change. The closer, who finished the season tied with Jim Johnson of Baltimore at 50 saves, Tweeted out the image above. Hopefully Fredi Gonzalez isn’t the manager at this location.
Location, location, location for the Braves in their move
ATLANTA — It is a real estate deal, as much as anything. J.C. Bradbury, an economist with Kennesaw State University, said he saw it coming late Monday afternoon when the Braves announced they had purchased property 13 miles to the north in Cobb County and were moving the team out of Atlanta after 50 years.
The Braves would use a portion of the 60 acres of land bought to build a stadium. And the rest?
When Cobb County released some details of its share of funding for $300 million of the $672 million project, the Braves released a statement calling the campus “our neighboring mixed-use development.” That is, for the club to rent out.
It is a revenue stream the Braves desperately needed. Even in an era when clubs are trying to build downtown to be closer to the business district, the Braves felt they had no choice but to move to the suburbs.
How the Atlanta Braves and Cobb County plan to pay for their new $672 million ballpark
Get your calculators. The $672 million deal between the Atlanta Braves and Cobb County, which will build a new stadium and relocate the team to the suburbs, has been broken down for all to see. As is the case any time there’s $672,000 involved — let alone $672 million — there’s a lot to look at, scrutinize and wonder about.
But first, two of the bigger points we’ve learned since the stadium’s memorandum of understanding has been made public (you can read the entire thing below):
The Braves will pay for 55 percent of the stadium, which is a higher percentage than previously reported. That’s $372 million, compared to the ~$200 million that was disclosed earlier in the week by Atlanta’s mayor Kasim Reed. The Braves will pay $280 million up front. Keep in mind, they’re owned by Liberty Media, which is worth $33.94 billion as of September.
Cobb County’s contribution then is $300 million. The county is paying $24 million up front and financing the other $276 million over 30 years through revenue bonds. The provided bond breakdown shows only two new taxes — one for rental cars, one for hotels. It also shows where the money will come from each year to repay the loan. Note: None of this will be put to a vote.
The Braves’ Move From Atlanta Is An Affront To Baseball And Democracy
[Editorial Note: Can you say, uninformed?]
Leave it to the Atlanta Braves, which gave America John Rocker and the “Tomahawk Chop,” to become the first baseball team in years to abandon its city.
The announcement earlier this week caught just about everyone by surprise. It’s not uncommon for professional sports franchises to relocate. But they don’t usually do so until they’ve spent years threatening to move if they don’t get X, Y and Z.
Turner Field, the “baseball stadium for the ages” that the Braves are suddenly desperate to flee, isn’t even 20 years old. Meanwhile, Cobb County, which is promising to build them a new one, may be affluent, but you’d never know it by the state of county finances: Its schools superintendent has suggested moving a “large portion” of high-school classes online to help close an $84 million budget gap.
Mark DeRosa Retires
Mark DeRosa announced his retirement Wednesday, after a 16-year career in which he played for eight teams, played six positions, hit exactly 100 home runs, and made approximately $29 million.
DeRosa was not a great player — he was worth 10.5 WAR in 16 years, basically all of it between 2006 and 2009 — but he was good enough to hang around for long enoughto surprise Carson Cistulli, and one of the greatest Ivy Leaguers ever. He’s the kind of player who rarely gets written up by he retires. So I’m writing about him.
Mark DeRosa was a 7th round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in 1996. That was a famously awful draft: the first six picks were Kris Benson, Travis Lee, Braden Looper, Billy Koch, John Patterson, and Seth Greisinger. The most successful player taken in the first round was Eric Chavez, whose career was greatly diminished by injuries; it says something that he was the least snakebit player taken in 1996.
DeRosa was the Braves’ eighth pick of the day, after their first-round bust A.J. Zapp and their supplementary round pick, Jason Marquis. (By WAR, the Braves’ most successful player from the 1996 draft was a draft-and-follow taken in the 53rd round, Marcus Giles.)