Nov 19 2008
With Dempster off market, Braves must land either Burnett or Lowe
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA — So for now, you know Jake Peavy isn’t coming to Atlanta, at least not anytime soon.
And now, you can cross Ryan Dempster off the list, the right-hander opting to stay in Chicago by signing a four-year deal with the Cubs.
Yep, that wish-list for a top-of-the-rotation starter is shrinking like the Christmas list of a kid who doesn’t behave. Every day, another one is erased from consideration.
If you’re the Braves, you gotta wonder what shoe is going to drop next, and whether or not it will drop in your lap.
A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe are at the top of the shrinking list of big names who occupy the Braves’ focus as we near Thanksgiving. Burnett went 18-10 in 35 starts for Toronto last season, posting a 4.07 ERA, and received a public endorsement from Chipper Jones last month as the type of lock-down, game-changer the Braves need toeing the slab every fifth day.
But the 31-year-old is receiving attention from the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and Blue Jays. Landing him is not going to be easy.
But landing Lowe won’t be a walk in the park.
The 35-year-old features the durability the Braves desperately need – dude’s never been on the disabled list. He has big-game, postseason experience. He went 13-11 with a 3.44 ERA for the Dodgers, and was lights-out down the stretch as L.A. salted away the NL West.
He takes his turn and pitches deep into games. Lowe has posted 199-plus innings pitched in five of the past seven seasons, and has won 12 or more games every season since 2002.
But of course, like Burnett, landing Lowe won’t be easy. His old team, Boston – who Lowe helped pitch to the 2004 World Series, curse-smashing title – would love to have Lowe back. You better believe the Yankees are in play, too.
So you see, all of this could have been so simple had San Diego general manager Kevin Towers taken the Braves offer and shipped Peavy to the Southeast last week. Instead, Towers had to get greedy and indecisive.
It is what it is. Time for the Braves to land either Burnett or Lowe. It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary if Atlanta fancies itself as a contender in 2009.
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