Nov 10 2008
Braves willing to part with Escobar to land Peavy
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA — Hate to break it to all you Yunel Escobar fans out there – of which I would include myself among that number – but if Jake Peavy is toeing the slab for the Atlanta Braves in 2009, the young rising star shortstop isn’t going to be turning double plays behind the ace pitcher.
That’s because for the Braves to land the services of Peavy, the 27-year-old, Alabama-bred right-hander who would vault Atlanta right back into contention in the National League East, Atlanta is going to have to give up some quality talent in return. And now that Atlanta GM Frank Wren has said publicly that top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson isn’t going anywhere, that’s pretty much seals Escobar’s fate.
Which stinks, in a way. True, Escobar is prolonged to disappear without a trace offensively for two weeks at a time. But still, he’s played just 16 months in the major leagues, hits line drives when he’s on, and is by far the best defensive shortstop this team has had since Rafael Furcal left town.
But you know what they say, and it’s true: You gotta give up something to get something. And so, that’s where we stand, on the second Monday night in November, waiting for news on Peavy to break so we can jump on it and analyze it to death and beyond. But that’s OK because, as I said, the acquisition of Peavy makes the Braves an instant contender again in what figures to be a tough, tough NL East.
Remember last winter, when we were thinking how the Dodgers and Diamondbacks were going to battle it out to 95, 96, 97 wins in 2008, and the NL East was going to be a three-way dogfight between the Braves, Mets and Phillies to 85, 86 wins. Certainly, with the wild card coming from the West, there only would be one spot available out of the East.
And we all know how that turned out. There was only one playoff team to come from the East, the eventual World Series champions from Philly. The Dodgers pulled away in the West after Arizona was unbeatable the season’s first six weeks, then stumbled through the rest of the season. L.A. was stumbling right along with them, until Manny Ramirez showed up at the trade deadline and launched one of the greatest two-month stretches ever seen.
The Mets and the Marlins were the other two teams who made it a three-team race in the East, as the Braves backslid into fourth as their pitching imploded from injury and overuse. No better salve to put on that gaping wound than Peavy, whose career ERA of 3.25 and his 27-plus starts in each of the past six seasons, not to mention his bulldog mentality and his ability to absolutely dominate, would look darn fine in a Braves’ uniform.
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Who would be a good replacement if Esco leaves?
A return of Furcal? A cheaper Reneteria? Lillibridge?
I just can’t envision who would take his place yet. but it looks all but certain that Yunel would leave to get Peavy. Not sure I like that idea.
~JB
JB: NO way it’s the Lil Bridge. Dude ain’t ready to do this 140 times a year. Furcal’s gonna want a four-year deal. Edgar? Yeah, I like that approach.
But then again, if I expand on this topic, I’ll be stealing the thunder from Wednesday’s blog, ha ha!
I hate to give up Escobar, but if you’re not dealing Hanson, you gotta give up somebody, right? And Peavy’s worth it, bro. Straight up horse this team needs.
Hope the offseason’s treating ya well. Interesting as always on this side of the fence.
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