Nov 17 2008
Braves making effort to bring back Ohman
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA — So the pursuit of starting pitching for the Atlanta Braves has hit a snag, now that the San Diego Padres have carried their indecisiveness to a ridiculous level and forced the Braves to move on for now from trying to trade for Jake Peavy.
But Atlanta still is working the phones in trying to bolster a pitching staff riddled and ripped by injuries in 2008.
One move the good people of Braves Nation have wanted to see is bringing back left-handed relief specialist Will Ohman, who rejuvenated his career during his first season in Atlanta. While Ohman has filed for free agency and said he plans to listen to offers from other teams, he heaped praise upon Bobby Cox and the franchise repeatedly throughout the season.
News Monday that the Braves have made Ohman an initial offer should be taken as a good first sign, one that may lead to the lefty returning to Lake Buena Vista for spring training in February.
The loyalty shown to Ohman by Cox caught up to the lefty down the stretch, as the career-high 83 appearances wore down Ohman by season’s end. But he finished 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA with one save, and was the most consistent pitcher out of the Braves bullpen.
I totally understand when a player files for free agency, he has a right to listen to other teams. And certainly, there are going to be some good offers for Ohman. He had a great season and deserves to give the other teams showing interest in him a chance to talk and make him an offer.
But I really, really hope Ohman comes back in 2009. Put him in front of Mike Gonzalez and (a hopefully healthy) Rafael Soriano, with Peter Moylan returning sometime around mid season, and you’ve got the shapings of one heck of a bullpen. Ohman is a big part of that.
Go ahead, Will, and listen to everybody else. Then come back and sign with the Bravos.
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