...yes, Florida, from Colorado...but now the Marlins are reportedly turning around and dealing him to the Atlanta Braves.

Details still must be finalized, commish must give OK

If this goes through, the Braves will likely completely give up on trying to re-sign Tom Glavine, leaving him in a duel between the Mets and Phillies. Why, there hasn't been such excitement since the Flyers and Rangers went to arbitration over the rights to Eric Lindros.

I am just thrilled to have Mike in the rotation for several reasons, some having little to do with his ERA.

Z

I repeat. I'm glad he's a Brave.
http://www.geocities.com/mikehamptonfan/gallery.html

Are you sure this means the Braves will say "see ya!" to Glavine? It seems to me they may re-sign him and let Maddux head west, possibly to the D-Backs. When the Braves came to an agreement with Leo Mazzone (was it ever really in doubt?) I heard an interview with him in which he called Glavine the "father figure" to younger Braves; it seems unlikely daddy would go.

~Adam

While Maddux was inconsistent because of a calf and back injury, Glavine really fell to pieces at the end of the season, particularly the playoffs. For the most part Maddux still has his control, but I'm not so sure Tom has too much left in the tank. Neither is the ace they once were, but of the two, I'd go with Mad Dog. Besided Moss and Hampton are lefties and a hell of a lot younger.

Z

From what I hear, Maddux wants too much from the Braves. Consequently, they have upped their offer to Glavine, from 9 Million to 10 Millon. But you never know about these trade rumors. It's always crazy.

Although Tommy had a bad post season this year, my experience from watching the Braves over the last decade is that he's holding up better than Greg. Granted, they're both still great pitchers, but if I had to keep one, I would stick with Glavine.

The trade was approved. Hampton is a Brave.

General Manager John Scherholtz (sp?) says the Braves aren't ruling out keeping both Glavine and Maddux, but regardless, he won't say if one of them is a priority over the other.

What a nutty transaction. $36 million changing hands? Here's a deconstruction:

Explaining the Hampton trade (Tim Kurkjian, espn.com)

Second in my admiration for Hampton's face and booty only to Charlie in the Trees, I hope Mikey at least is mediocre enough to hang on for whatever year the Mets unseat Atlanta; it'll be that much sweeter...

Forget about it Bill. As long as The Braves manages to keep a fantastic pitching staff together they won't faulter in the regular season. Hampton, Moss and Marquis will be pretty good for years to come, even without Bulldog and Glavine.

Z

It remains to be see whether Hampton can regain his pre-Colorado form, and whether Moss and/or Marquis can come anywhere near the year-after-year excellence of Maddux and Glavine.

[quote]Originally posted by Bill W:
Second in my admiration for Hampton's face and booty only to Charlie in the Trees, I hope Mikey at least is mediocre enough to hang on for whatever year the Mets unseat Atlanta; it'll be that much sweeter...

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I hate when players I love go to teams I don't.

I'm not going to be happy having to watch WTBS every fifth day or so. (Maybe the Braves'll let Marcus Giles play 2nd on the days Hampton pitches so I can get a two-fer.)

That said: Hampton should bounce back quite nicely. My amateur psychoanalysis is that Hampton's such a hyper-competitive guy, Coors messed with his mind. He wasn't performing at the level he expected of himself, so it got him over-stressed. I think for a pitcher to succeed (well, not go down in flames) at Coors, the guy must be completely unflappable. Hampton, a perfectionist, was completely flappable.

I think the Braves are taking quite a gamble on Hampton. While most people think pitching at Coors Field is what hampered Hampton the past two years, he apparently had worse numbers pitching on the road than he did in Colorado. That would indicate to me his bounceback is not quite a given, and the Braves are going to have to invest considerable time and patience restructuring his mechanics and psyche.