Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop 11/10
By Jeff Schafer
Settlement in Cobb property owner’s lawsuit over Braves’ stadium land
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Back in August of 2014, a lawsuit was filed by owners of property near the location of the new entertainment facility and Atlanta Braves stadium. They claimed that Cobb County abused it’s power when the county approved the rezoning of the Braves’ property. As the Atlanta Business Chronicle are reporting this morning, this suit has been settled.
The suit, filed in August on behalf of Fairly Breezy LLC, which owns a 1.9-acre piece of property adjacent to the Braves site, alleged the Board of Commissioners was wrong to approve the rezoning because the application was not complete and was not as specific as required by county zoning ordinance, reports the Marietta Daily Journal. The suit also said the public was denied its due process rights.
Fairly Breezy, which has a 25,000-square-foot office building on its property, alleges in its suit that the Braves offered a “sub-market offer” on the property and threatened to wall off the property if the offer was turned down, the MDJ said. The Braves were in talks to purchase the Fairly Breezy parcel at some point, the paper adds.
Ken Rosenthal on Troy Tulowitzki
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Tulowitzki will probably still be considered the top shortstop in the league in 2015 but he may be wearing a different uniform. A few rumors have began to float about the possibility of the Colorado Rockies trading him this offseason. Tulowitzki’s hero growing up was Derek Jeter and wears the number two because of him. He’s regularly appearing at Yankees games…could he be wearing the pinstripes in 2015? Do the Braves have any chance at landing him and converting him into a third baseman?
I reached out this afternoon to Troy Tulowitzki’s agent, Paul Cohen, to ask if Tulowitzki had any reaction to my report that the Rockies were willing to trade him.
Here was Cohen’s response:
“Right now he’s totally immersed in his work and his rehab. He knows the life of a pro athlete can certainly lead to change of this nature. It happened to Gretzky, to Shaquille O’Neal, to Joe Montana. It wouldn’t be the first time a noteworthy player has moved on.
Braves Open To Bringing Back Medlen Despite Tommy John Surgery
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves and John Hart have some work todo this offseason to lockdown their starting rotation for the 2015 season. At this point we know that Julio Teheran, Alex Wood and Mike Minor will be in the rotation. Today will be the cut off for Ervin Santana to accept or decline the qualifying offer the Braves made to him last week. There’s a possibility that the Braves bring back Aaron Harang if Santana doesn’t accept. If the Braves are unable to bring either back, we may be in trouble. Kris Medlen is still recovering from his second Tommy John surgery but could be ready to return early in the 2015 season. My thinking though, he goes back to the bullpen if the Braves decide to bring him back.
While no timetable is set for his possible return from Tommy John surgery, Kris Medlen remains in the long term plans of the Atlanta Braves, who are leaning toward bringing him back for the 2015 season.
Medlen, who missed the entire 2014 season due to an elbow injury that led to his trip under the knife, is slated to make nearly $6 million if the Braves offer him arbitration, yet it’s more likely the team will present Medlen with a incentive-heavy contract. He has made considerable progress, which has given the team a bit of hope that he could be ready early in the season.