Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

For Mike Gonzalez and apparently one other....and the Braves ship sinks farther down. I really hope they don't think Scott Thorman is a full time player. Although the bullpen is starting to look nice. Not a happy Braves fan, pending who the other Pirate is..

ESPN

Apparently LaRoche was asking for 3.7 mil in arby, Braves can't even afford that.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Don't overrate LaRoche.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Don't overrate LaRoche.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's a steal at 1B for 3.7 mil. Plus, they have no replacement, I'm not high on Thorman at all.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Don't overrate LaRoche.

[/ QUOTE ]

and don't underrate Schuerholz

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Mike Gonzales is an elite closer and is also a steal (4th year player).

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Mike Gonzales is an elite closer and is also a steal (4th year player).

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct, but who plays 1st base? Wickman will close this year, so the Wickman/Gonzalez/Soriano is loads better than anything they had last year. The offense is taking a huge shot w/out LaRoche and Giles in my opinion. Once Chipper gets injured, it will be a big struggle to get to the pen with the lead. I'm surely overreacting to some degree, just frustrated with a few of the moves they've made. I guess knowing that Andruw Jones is as good as gone next year is fueling my anger as well.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Marcus Giles is nothing special, and Adam Laroche will decline.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

i suck

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Don't overrate LaRoche.

[/ QUOTE ]

and don't underrate Schuerholz

[/ QUOTE ]

yup, that streak of division titles is mostly his work (give cox some props too)...so i wouldn't go off on him too much for this...

EDIT: gonzalez is a pretty solid closer...it's not like the braves got ripped off here...they're getting a pretty nice bullpen together over there, not a bad job since it was pretty bad for like the 1st half of last year...

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

He's made some terrible moves, though.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Mike Gonzales is an elite closer and is also a steal (4th year player).

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm?

And relievers are much more fungible than any other position, and their year-to-year success fluctuates drastically. LaRoche is a better short-term and long-term bet. A lot of teams are overpaying for relief pitching when smart management could get them the same results for much less.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Any above-average player is a help to the Pirates. I was excited to see them get LaRoche. Losing Gonzalez isn't that big of a deal in my opinion.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Here's a little story on Gonzo...

I'm out at a bar on Pitt campus with this chick my roomie works with when in comes walking in Gonzo & Oliver Perez. They're really out of place in this bar and I'm not so sure anyone else even knows who they are. I tell this chick who they are and she wants to go talk to them. She walks up to Gonzo and asks him how fast can he throw. He tells her he's topped out at 99mph, to which she then replies "Is that all?"

The look he gave her at this point was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

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Anyways, Gonzo was pretty solid for us last year and I'm sad to see him go. I think he has great potential if he can get a better grip on his control. There were a couple games last year that when he would come in and completely not have it. He'd walk batters and groove pitches down the middle.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

is it just me, or is this the best trade the Pirates have made in a long time?

and i'm not even sure they aren't on the losing end...

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

According to Baseball Prospectus, the best part of this trade was the Braves getting the SS prospect Lillibridge. Pirates lose again

BP post

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
is it just me, or is this the best trade the Pirates have made in a long time?

and i'm not even sure they aren't on the losing end...

[/ QUOTE ]

i'm having trouble coming up with recent significant trades the pirates haven't won. giles for bay and perez? suppan and lyon for sanchez and gonzalez? ritchie for wells and fogg? anything?

edit: i guess they didn't do that well with kendall.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
He's a steal at 1B

[/ QUOTE ]

what the hell is this supposed to mean? first base is the easiest position to fill. schuerholz understands that.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
is it just me, or is this the best trade the Pirates have made in a long time?

and i'm not even sure they aren't on the losing end...

[/ QUOTE ]

i'm having trouble coming up with recent significant trades the pirates haven't won. giles for bay and perez? suppan and lyon for sanchez and gonzalez? ritchie for wells and fogg? anything?

edit: i guess they didn't do that well with kendall.

[/ QUOTE ]

i forgot about the bay deal

i was thinking of their deadline deals last year

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
He's a steal at 1B

[/ QUOTE ]

what the hell is this supposed to mean? first base is the easiest position to fill. schuerholz understands that.

[/ QUOTE ]

No it' snot

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Aramis Ramirez?

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

I'm happy with the deal now. Lillibridge + Gonzalez for LaRoche is fine with me.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm happy with the deal now. Lillibridge + Gonzalez for LaRoche is fine with me.

[/ QUOTE ]

ME TOO, HIGH FIVE

let's go bucs! .500 in 2007!

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm happy with the deal now. Lillibridge + Gonzalez for LaRoche is fine with me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I like it a lot. I am a lot higher on Thorman than you though. The offense is doesn't look great, Andruw needs to be better than last year & Chipper can't get hurt.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
According to Baseball Prospectus, the best part of this trade was the Braves getting the SS prospect Lillibridge. Pirates lose again

BP post

[/ QUOTE ]

Man, I was hoping to be the one to break this news. PECOTA loves him and Sickels gave him a grade B. The only thing I worry about is he's a little old (23) to be getting his first crack at AA. Still, if things go well, he could be the Braves 2B by the end of this season.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Aramis Ramirez?

[/ QUOTE ]

bingo

i don't really consider the 2006 deadline deals that important. it's clear from this offseason that no one wants craig wilson anyway.

Re: Adam LaRoche traded to the Pirates....
 

Braves have signed Craig Wilson, probably be a Thorman/Wilson platoon this season. I'm even more happy now.

1 year, 2 mil.