When I woke up this morning, I realized for the first time a Braves rotation without Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson, AND Jair Jurrjens. Is it an overreaction to the Phillies acquisition of Hunter Pence? If you think so, you might want to read the final two paragraphs of this Ken Rosenthal blog post. Why else would Frank Wren be clinging to the minor league pitchers so tightly? The Braves have a need. It's not just a right handed bat. It's a right handed bat that can hit lefties. San Francisco and Philadelphia had needs too. Those teams addressed them with two of the best names on the market, Carlos Beltran and Hunter Pence. That's how you win championships. The Braves are not a title contenders. The front office is unwilling to make the necessary moves to compete for a championship. Whose fault is it? I'll have more on that later.
On the other hand, you have the Atlanta Falcons. They had needs too. The Birds were in need of an impact player along the defensive line or in the secondary. The top free agents in those areas were Nnamdi Asomugha and Ray Edwards. The Falcons inked Ray Edwards to a 5 year deal. The Falcons had the same need on offense. The lack of "big plays" on offense in 2010 has been well documented. The top two offensive rookies who could fill that role were A.J. Green and Julio Jones. The Falcons overpaid (4 draft picks) to get Julio Jones. The Falcons are going for a title. The front office is making the moves necessary to capture the ultimate goal of every fan, player, coach, GM, and owner...a championship.
Turning the focus back to the Braves and asking the question why can't they do the same thing? Is Frank Wren scared of being burned again (Nate McLouth)? Did 2007 make the entire organization gun shy (Mark Teixiera)? In a way, yes, but, in the end, those scenarios are by products of a larger problem. You see, in Braves Country the ultimate goal of the fans is a championship. The same thing goes for the players and coaches. I get the impression the front office wants one too, but they're in "stay competitive" mode. The problem is ownership has no goal. As far as Liberty Media is concerned, the Braves are an item line on the budget. They simply don't care.
As the trade deadline nears and the Ol' Braves stand pat, don't curse Frank Wren. Don't blame the largely under performing stars in the lineup. Blame ownership. Sure, in the NFL, it's easier for a GM to go out and get the pieces he needs. There's a salary cap and, more importantly, a salary floor to maintain competitive balance. An NFL GM doesn't have to honor contracts. But, more importantly, as far as Atlanta is concerned, the Falcons have Arthur Blank and the Braves have a nameless, faceless, and soulless owner.
When the calender flips to August and the Braves have made the same old "Kyle Farnsworth/Rick Ankiel" type moves, Atlanta sports fans can be thankful for two things. Training camp is here and the Braves, once again, kept things interesting until it got here.
