"I think we need him," Jones said. "I think we need him to be a contender in the East. We need him...

"I think we need him," Jones said. "I think we need him to be a contender in the East. We need him from Day One."

Chipper Jones on our Future RF.

6 months ago justincredubil02 23 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Good to see Chipper's lobbying for the man without a nickname

Chip’s right though, we need Heyward starting Opening Day. How dumb are we gonna feel if we miss out on the playoffs by one game because we waited to bring up Heyward for a few weeks?

The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a f***in' potato."

by alligatorimpersonator on Mar 10, 2010 12:07 PM EST reply actions

How dumb are we to think that Heyward will have a 18+ WAR value this season?

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Mar 10, 2010 2:03 PM EST up reply actions

ha I had a feeling someone might say that,

but people sometimes misuse WAR. WAR doesn’t determine an actual win of a ballgame, it just shows a players worth (1 WAR is about 10 runs, I think). Say Heyward hits a game winning double, or scores a run that proves to be the difference in one game and we get a win. That won’t count as “1 WAR”, but it will count for a win.

The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a f***in' potato."

by alligatorimpersonator on Mar 10, 2010 2:24 PM EST up reply actions

So would a Melky single.

Playing games like this is beyond unreasonable. We cannot assume that Heyward would have hit that HR in the 6th inning that we needed when Melky grounded out instead.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Mar 10, 2010 4:32 PM EST up reply actions

No, but it sure would have been an exciting at bat..

"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host

by bwellnjonesco on Mar 10, 2010 5:28 PM EST up reply actions

no, you can't assume that,

but you can’t help but wonder what could’ve happened. The bottom line is to put the best team on the field as often as you can because that’s going to maximize the amount of wins a team gets.

The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a f***in' potato."

by alligatorimpersonator on Mar 10, 2010 6:27 PM EST up reply actions

as often as you can

Wouldnt that mean sending him down for a couple of weeks so we can get a whole extra YEAR out of him?

"If I have asthma, they won't let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, then what’s this all been about?? What am I working toward??"

by Doghnut on Mar 10, 2010 6:49 PM EST up reply actions

It depends on what your plan is with him

The plan should be to get the man signed long-term before he ever hits free agency. If the plan is to keep him while he’s cheap and then to let him walk before he earns any real money, then yes, keep him down.

I can understand keeping him down for 2 weeks. 2 months, though, is just asking to be second-guessed later.

by Bronn on Mar 10, 2010 7:16 PM EST up reply actions

I am a fan of the 2 week thing.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Mar 10, 2010 7:48 PM EST up reply actions

I am not. At all.

by fandave on Mar 10, 2010 10:35 PM EST up reply actions

Not having Heyward for 2 weeks is preferable to not having him for a whole year.

We can’t assume that he is going to sign a contract. He will arguably be the best player in the game when his FA years come around. Let’s not pretend that he doesn’t know that fact.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Mar 10, 2010 11:30 PM EST up reply actions

We also can presume...

what type of player he will be in six years. If there is a chance that he gives us one extra win the first two weeks, I say go for it. Remember, that the two weeks only buys us a fourth arbitration year as opposed to a free agent year. If he is all he is cracked up to be, the difference in salary between a fourth arbitration year and a free agent year won’t be that much; they estimate that a third arbitration year is approximately 80% of free agent salary, so even if he is a $20 million dollar player by then, we are only talking about $4 million (and that is conservatively assuming that a fourth arbitration year is still only 80%), and well, the Braves can afford that. If the extra win he might get us is the difference between the playoffs and not the playoffs, we’ll make the money back anyway.

Remember, the issue isn’t another year of Heyward; if we pay him market value, we can keep him as a free agent. The issue is the salary difference between fourth year arbitration and free agency, which just isn’t that much.

by cavebird on Mar 11, 2010 12:55 PM EST up reply actions

I haven’t looked at it like that. That is a great point.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Mar 11, 2010 1:03 PM EST up reply actions

The Rockies were .9 WAR better than the Braves last year

And finished 6 games ahead. The Braves were 0.7 WAR better than Philadelphia last year, but finished 7 games behind. The Braves were 3.9 WAR better than the Cardinals last year.

WAR =/= Wins. Imagine if the Braves miss the playoffs by one game-can you say that the .4 WAR difference Heyward might make over 10 games would not translate into one more win? I can’t, and you can’t.

by Bronn on Mar 10, 2010 6:08 PM EST up reply actions

Agreed.

The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a f***in' potato."

by alligatorimpersonator on Mar 10, 2010 6:28 PM EST up reply actions

Chipper isn’t exactly going way out on a limb here.

On the other hand, maybe he’s concerned that Wren could still elect to hold him down on the farm temporarily for future arbitration and free agency qualification reasons.

by fandave on Mar 10, 2010 12:17 PM EST reply actions

If he doesn't break camp with Atlanta

I predict a full scale revolt and riot at the Turner Field.

by Mountngrown on Mar 10, 2010 1:04 PM EST reply actions

People have to actually show up at Turner Field for a riot to break out.

"My God! Good news fans, the Braves are showing signs of life for the first time in weeks. As a matter of fact, they appear to be beating the crap out of each other."

by bravos1984 on Mar 10, 2010 7:32 PM EST up reply actions

Braves 2005 was the most underrated season.

by romone_braves91 on Mar 10, 2010 10:04 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe Chipper should just work on his swing and not try to play GM.

Here are Pujols's stats: 1.000/1.000/4.000/5.000. That's right. He is batting a thousand, with a thousand OBP (naturally), and every hit has been a home run, and thus his OPS is a perfect 5.000.

by TradeAndruw on Mar 10, 2010 4:41 PM EST reply actions

There’s an importance of the feelings in the clubhouse. Some type of correlation exists between that and the team’s success. Chipper is making the team’s judgment that they will be pissed if Heyward isn’t playing. Put that in a stat, mother peakers…

"Hey Fat Kid...the monster is right behind you! RUNNNN!!" -The Host

by bwellnjonesco on Mar 10, 2010 6:12 PM EST up reply actions

Awesome comment.

by fandave on Mar 10, 2010 10:38 PM EST up reply actions

He’s not trying to. Never heard anything to suggest Chipper isn’t already a hard worker. Chipper is just being honest about his feelings(always loved that about him) about the Braves prospects w/ & w/o Heyward.

by FitzFan on Mar 12, 2010 3:57 AM EST up reply actions