Variations on a Theme

Now turning to the pitching.  Check this out.  Here are the VORP's put up by the 20 pitchers the Braves have used this season:

Smoltz - 20.8
Hudson - 18.0
Ray - 10.0
Paronto - 7.5
Remlinger - 4.6
James - 4.5
McBride - 2.6
Villareal 2.2
Yates - 1.4
Stockman - 0.7
Ramirez - -0.3
Cormier - -0.3
Davies - -1.0
Smith - -1.0
Thomson - -2.3
Moylan - -2.4
Boyer - -2.7
Sosa - -4.0
Device - -6.3
Reistma - -9.6

This doesn't tell you anything you don't already now.  Smoltz, Hudson and Ray have been good while the rest of the crowd has been replacement level or far far worse.

The Braves, in past years, showed an uncanny ability to fill out their roster cheaply.  To find decent production in the lineup (Franco, etc.) while shoring up their bullpen on the cheap.  I've been very impressed with James and I think a front three of Smoltz-Hudson-James are a good . . . well, 2-3-4 rotation. But the rest of the roster is just terrible.  And no one is putting up truly ace numbers this year.

This is another reason why I think they are eventually going to have to punt the season and see if some suckers will take Thompson, Sosa or Reitsma off their hands (Brian Cashman, there's a call for you on line 2).  I don't think there is a Millwood or a Schmidt in the minors who can step in and be their ace.  I don't think there's a Wohlers or McMichael who can step in and be the closer.  This team has a very very serious depth problem.  The front line -- Andruw, Renteria, McCann, Chipper, Smoltz and Hudson -- is championship calibre.  It's once you get past those guys, to the corner hitters, the back of the rotation and the bullpen, that the team falls apart.

Trading for one guy is not going to fix this.  The Braves are probably half a dozen players away from being a championship team.  So let's build for 2007.  Rather than empty the farm to scrape a wild card berth in 2006, let's focus on the future and build for 2007 and beyond.