Atlanta Braves Morning Chop for THR 9/25
Could Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd leave for Atlanta Braves?
PATRICK SAUNDERS / THE DENVER POST
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It’s all speculation for now but the word is spreading in baseball circles that Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd might consider leaving the Rockies for a front-office position with the Atlanta Braves if
John Harttakes over as Braves’ full-time general manager. O’Dowd worked under Hart in Cleveland before coming to the Rockies.
The speculation began Monday when longtime — and well-connected — baseball writer Peter Gammons wrote about the Atlanta Braves decision to fire general manager Frank Wren.
Wrote Gammons: “Understand Hart’s historic front office baseball tree. Mark Shapiro, Dan O’Dowd (who could end up with the Braves in some capacity), Josh Byrnes, Paul DePodesta, Chris Antonetti, Ben Cherington, Jon Daniels, A.J. Preller and Jerry DiPoto are all John Hart guys. And probably more.” …
Frank Wren’s 3 best moves as Atlanta Braves’ GM
Earlier this week, the Atlanta Braves fired their general manager Frank Wren. Wren, who was in the position for seven seasons, was cut after the Braves were eliminated from playoff contention.
From 2008 to 2014, the Braves made the playoffs three times and as recently as 2013, the team boasted a 96-win season (second best in the majors). But in 2014, after a hot 17-7 start, the team lost control of the division to the Nationals by mid-season. At this moment, they have a 76-81 record – tied with the New York Mets for second place.
Even though Wren’s dismissal marks a poor end to his tenure with the Braves, he pulled off several beneficial moves for Atlanta. Here are three of them.
[Editor’s note: details at the link, but the 3 mentioned are: 1. The trade for Justin Upton and Chris Johnson; 2. the Jair Jurrjens acquisition, and the Michael Bourn deadline deal. ]
Happy Hump-Day Heroics – and Half-priced Pizza, to boot!
Julio Teheran (49). Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time since September 10th – a full two weeks ago – the Braves managed to score six times and win the ballgame. Oddly enough that previous effort came with the same 6-2 final score against another worthy opponent (the Nationals). Of the 5 games Atlanta has now won in September (vs. 16 losses), four of those have come on Wednesdays. Weird, but true (the other was the 4-3, 10-inning game in Miami with the Evan Gattis home-run review).
Speaking of home runs… the Braves actually hit one last night. Justin Upton’s 2-run shot, his 28th dinger, was the team’s 7th of the month (a major-league low), which pushed Justin to 99 RBI on the year with 4 games remaining to reach the 100 milestone for the first time in his career (his previous season high was 88 in 2011). In addition to Justin, Chris Johnson, Christian Bethancourt, and Julio Teheran all had two hits apiece.
The win was absolutely welcomed, especially because it gave Julio Teheran a long-awaited ‘W’ as a reward for an outstanding season despite the disappointment of low run-support. He will finish the year with 221 innings (career high), a 2.89 ERA (career low) and a 14-13 record in 33 starts. He has developed into the frontline pitcher that scouts have promised .. and he’s still just 23 years old. Craig Kimbrel picked up a save last night (45th) after a single and an error created the save situation in the 9th.
The run-scoring woes are not absolved: last night’s outburst gives the club 48 runs for the month. September’s 29th team in run-scoring (Milwaukee) has plated 59. It would take another 23 runs in the final 4 games to match the 27th place Chicago White Sox – but only if theyfailed to score again, of course.
But we’ll enjoy it while we can. The Braves can no longer finish in last place in the NL East – hopefully they can now finish on a bit of a flourish: one more game vs. Pittsburgh, then a trip to Philly to finish up this weekend.
David Hale starts tonight in place of Mike Minor (shoulder).