Collective Sigh of Relief!

The 24-year-old Braves right-hander was relieved to learn that the exam didn't show any structural damage in his shoulder.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100217&content_id=8083718&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

Here's some great news...

Jair is going in for an MRI this week. Hopefully it's just the initial soreness with the start of a new season. But the article says "soreness while throwing," which is not exactly the soreness "after throwing" that you expect with the early season.

I got a bit of a sick feeling in my stomach when I heard the news this morning. Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll have good news from the MRI.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100215&content_id=8078924&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

Calm down, the Braves aren't getting Damon

The reported offer to Johnny Damon will almost certainly not result in a new lead-off hitter for the Braves. While it would be pretty nice to have Damon for the money the Braves have offered (somewhere in the $4M range, plus $2M deferred), the Braves are simply playing the role of pawn for Scott Boras.

Here's how the game works:

Boras: "Hey Frank, Johnny wants to be a Brave."
F.W.: "Oh yeah? What's it going to cost us?"
Boras: "$8 Trillion"
F.W.: "Go to hell, Scott."
Boras: "Then make us an offer."
F.W.: "I'm thinking something more reasonable like $4M"

Boras (to Media): "Hey guys, Johnny's got an offer, and he's leaning toward becoming a Brave. Of course, Johnny prefers a two-year deal."

Boras then uses the Braves offer as leverage to force the Tigers (who need him more) to make a better offer, or lose Johnny. Said offer comes, too rich for the Braves to counter. Johnny plays in the cold, dirty city of Detroit. Braves lose again. Sound familiar? (I was planning to link last year's Furcal discussion here, but apparently my archive only goes back 1 year).

But relax, it's not the end of the world. Getting Damon would come at the expense of playing time for Diaz, Cabrera (who you just paid $3M), and most importantly Heyward. Is that a price you're willing to pay in addition to the $4M?

Pretty funny site

http://www.mattwietersfacts.com/

Wieters was last year's #1 prospect. He's out of Georgia Tech, and he's the annointed one in Baltimore.

The tie: This year's #1 prospect belongs to your Atlanta Braves. Here's to hoping Heyward lives up to the hype in the way Wieters and his predecessor 2008 #1, Evan Longoria, have.