Frank Wren's Report Card and Recap (poll included)

Frank Wren and Co. get a solid B+. I hated the Saito signing and Vazquez trade, but the Huddy, Glaus and Hinske moves could prove to be fantastic bargains. I also like the BWag signing as well.

I gave it an A-, I loved the Glaus, Hinske and the VAZQUEZ TRADE, yes i said it, i LOVED IT! Selling high on a pitcher who had a career year(with 1 year left on contract), getting a potential ace in return, plus we have Hudson and Hanson to replace him. Great, great, great move.

I posted this on a thread before, but late, so I dunno if it got any play. I believe this is accurate:

Let’s say that the reports of Wren offering $9mill ($3m per year for the 3 years remaining on Lowe’s contract) were right. Had such a trade occurred, the Braves would have been obligated to pay that $9 million in the next 18 months — not over 3 years. Ergo, $6mill would have been eaten this year. $14.5m – $6m leaves $8.5m of budget savings instead of the presumed $11.5m… which IS the savings realized when the Yankees picked up Vazquez and his entire salary.

So that trade was balanced between cost savings, projected relative performances, possibly the cost-certainty of Lowe over 3 years, and (of course) the return of players in any trade. Given that, the lousy market, and everything else, I gotta give FW high marks for that: JV’s total yield was Melky, Dunn, Hinske, Glaus, and Vizcaino… and maybe a even a mid-season helper.

Otherwise, we all complained a lot about the available bats (and face it, the pickins’ were slim outside of the unaffordables), but Glaus and Hinske probably generated the least bad vibes of all. High marks here for getting the better risks before they were snapped up elsewhere… and on budget.

I gave a B+… my concerns on the downside are Saito, and the general injury risk level. The “impact bat” just wasn’t available, and relative to the competition, the Braves are better.

I did not like the trade of Vasquez. I understand the economics, but I also remember the days when that part was left out of the equation, and it wasn’t that long ago.

I’d prefer it if they moved Lowe over Vasquez, and while I understand that the “potential” return on Vasquez could be enormous, it’s still not realized yet. Anything can happen down the road.

I guess we had to do something with the bullpen, but I’m not sure we really improved with Wagner and Saito. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

First base has been a mess for a while now, and I was hoping to see a more permanent solution. Nothing against Glaus, and I get why it was a one-year deal, but the musical chairs isn’t helping.

I like the Glaus and Hinske signings, but have really hated most of the other decisions.

I would have moved it up to a solid C if we had just traded Vazquez for Dunn and Vizcaino, and let the Yankees keep the worthless Melkman they pawned off on us. Had the Vazquez deal been a straight salary dump and we could have used the money we’ll be wasting on Melky this year for an actual productive player(either a free agent pickup or keeping KJ around for the inevitable Prado collapse), I might have even considered this offseason to be worthy of a B-.

Whoah. What a fantastic offseason.

Glaus was ok? We got him for a little over a million plus incentives, what would you have preferred?

Melky was a throw in, it was for Vizcaino.

Soriano was a calculated risk, we got Chavez over nothing like we would have gotten if we didn’t offer arb.

No real steals on the trade market (that is what gets you As), but some excellent low cost free agent signings. Wren doesn’t have a lot to work with here, its not like he sets the payroll. Hopefully, there is enough left in the tank to sneak away somebody during the season if we aren’t demolished by injuries.

It will be a great year if nobody gets hurt.

Take away Saito, add Vlad and maybe he would have had a B+. I know his defense is terrible, but he can F**K’N hit.

I wanted to give Wren a higher grade, but I just can’t right now because there are two critical positions that are injury risks – Glaus and Saito. Not only that, but I’m still unhappy about the Vazquez trade. Javy was our ace and I think he was a great mentor to Jurrjens and other players, but of course I understand why he had to be dealt.

If Glaus and Saito prove to be healthy and effective, then I give Wren an A.

I’d like to change my vote from a B to an A, simply because i just heard “Enter Sandman” on the radio, and it got me super-pumped knowing that will be blaring in the 9th inning at Turner Field this year.

when I look at that recap I can’t really find a move that I don’t think makes our team better in the short and long run.

The Vazquez trade at first didn’t blow me away, but I’m absolutely behind it now. Love Vizcaino. He was kind of hiding in the Yankees system because no one cares about the Yankee system. They sign all their players. I think next year he will emerge as a top 5 pitching prospect in the minors. Will we have 2? 4 in the top 10?

I also really like the DFAKJ move. Now Prado won’t be tempted to look over his shoulder.

Love our veteran bullpen come stretch run/playoff time. If they are still around that is.

Mainly, I gave Wren a B because the bad moves that were made were out of his hands. He couldn’t control Gonzo going to the Orioles and he couldn’t control Soriano being a dick. I would have given him an A, but that could only happen if he signed a huge bat (Bay, Holliday). He just didn’t have the money to work with though to do that—another thing out of his control.

I have been reading alot here and on other threads people complaining about keeping Lowe while trading Vasquez. The bottom line is the Braves no longer have to rely on Lowe to fill a No. 1 spot in the rotation. People fail to realize that alot of the pitchers that Lowe went up against were No.1’s. We have two kids who can be No.1’s (Hansen and JJ), a No. 1 recovering from TJ surgery (Hudson) and a guy who couldn’t beat anyone but No. 1’s last year (KK). Would most of you take Lowe against the 4 and 5 pitchers in most Nat’l league rotations? If it were the case last season I truly believe the final numbers on Lowe’s season would have been more palatable (as far as W-L).

In the Vasquez trade we got a a young 4th OF, a lefty BP guy and a great “prospect” in return. A prospect is not sure thing, or they would be called a sure thing! All anyone can do is hope that the scouts have done their jobs, the minor league staff’s do their jobs and that the player gives it all he has. The good news is that I do not believe that there is a team in either league who wouldn’t want Vizcaino in their system. After Vasquez bombs in the Bronx, his worth will drop and we can go after him at a much better price.

I gave the Braves a B and it could easily be a B+. Wren had no shot to move Lowe’s contract and Wren did what he had to do. I’ll take Lowe as a 4 or 5 any day of the week and roll the dice on a potential stud pitcher. The only thing that keeps it from the A-range is the offensive pick-ups.