Now this is a headscratcher! Supply the team that's best positioned to unseat you with their ace pitcher in the name of trimming payroll, for a AAA catcher?? I *have* to think the Braves are counting on getting one of the Expo aces... still very strange.

The AOL Braves just gave one of their better pitchers to the closest division rival -- for nothing. Make no mistake, this was a blatant give-away. Kevin Millwood for Johnny Estrada?

I knew the Braves wanted to unload one of their starters for payroll ... but you'd think the market for Millwood would be good enough for them to get someone who could take the first base job away from Julio/Matt/John Franco. Even Travis Lee would have been an upgrade for the Braves -- lords now he's expendable and available -- and more of a return for Millwood than Mike Lieberthal's understudy.

And to trade him for nothing to a team in your own division! Didn't anyone tell the Braves that there are teams in the other five divisions desperate for pitching? Like Arizona. Or Texas. They're always willing to add payroll, even when they say they aren't.

This might be the stupidest move by the Braves since they made Chuck Tanner the manager back in the 80's.

The Braves are counting on two things. One, Millwood is not a strike pitcher, meaning he's going to need a skilled infield to repeat last season's numbers. Not sure if the Philies are that skilled to make him that good. Second, Kevin went through several years of mediocrity before bouncing back last year. Is he back for good or just visiting? Who knows? But $10 million is a lot for a maybe. If you're trying to cut payroll, that's the place to look.
The truth of the matter is the Braves traded Moss for Ortiz instead of Milwood for Ortiz. If Milwood was worth the money don't you think the Giants would have sought him instead of the kid?

Z

Well, John Schuerholz is still the GM in Atlanta. He and Bobby Cox talk about all personnel moves, I'm sure. And I'm sure Leo Mazzone has to be in contact with Cox. And the Braves are shedding payroll, so Schuerholz is definitely talking to the AOL/Time Warner/TBS/Ted Turner folks above him.

Crazy as it might seem, maybe we don't need to judge the Braves for this move quite yet. Millwood was supposed to be a superstar pitcher.... 3 YEARS AGO. Over that 3 year span, he's 35-28, 4.02 ERA, and 7.02 K/9inn. Not bad numbers for sure, but not what they were expecting. And he's 28 in a few days. He'll be a good pitcher, but who's to say that one of the recent pickups by the Braves won't be better. Ortiz is 6 months older, but has a 3.94 ERA and 6.77K/9inn. That was with Righetti as pitching coach, who is no slouch, but he's no Mazzone either. Byrd is no Glavine, but he's an upgrade from Albie Lopez or Damian Moss. Hampton... well who knows yet. And Maddux is back. Marquis will be an adequate fifth starter.

Even though they traded Millwood to a rival, I think they know what they're doing. And, I think they have a lot more moves to come. It's still early in the offseason, and there are a BUNCH of free agents still available.

According to ESPN.com the Braves tried to trade Millwood to other teams but no one else was willing to make the deal because Millwood is expected to make $10 million in 2003 in arbitration. With Maddux accepting arbitration the Braves had to dump some salary.

I generally agree that the Braves organization knows what it is doing when it comes to trades, but this one shocked just about everyone even the Phillies themselves.

Even if Millwood were to end up being a number 2 starter season next year, I still think the Phils gave up next to nothing to get him. His upside potential is worth more than his downside. The Phils will try hard to sign him to a contract before the end of next season.

[quote]Originally posted by Zman:
Second, Kevin went through several years of mediocrity before bouncing back last year. Is he back for good or just visiting? Who knows?

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It was two years good, two years struggling (part of which he was out with an injury) and then bouncing back last year.

This is from today's Phila. Daily News:

[quote] ...to try to locate the secret loophole that gives those dratted Braves an edge in yesterday's stunning trade that, on the surface, seems to be precisely what Phillies needed, we turn to a guy in Atlanta who knows a little something about pitching.

"[Millwood] understands himself as a pitcher more than ever. Put it this way: Any team that has him will be lucky to have him. Hopefully, it will be the Braves," four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the night before the trade was made.

"I thought he really turned the corner last year. I thought for the first time in his career, he actually had a game plan and was pitching good games instead of throwing games with a lot of good pitches."

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Time to correct a fallacy that Zman and Joe in Philly are repeating: it's not a done deal that Kevin Millwood will make $10 million in 2003. The press is reporting only that Millwood could be awarded as much as $10 million from arbitration. Yeah, and I could hit a $25 million jackpot at Caesars Palace, too.

Millwood's not going to making eight digits next year. The market's not gotten that high, even with the Mets overpaying for the last year or so of Tommy Glavine's career. Millwood will, however, make more than Russ Ortiz.

Lost in the Eagles hype in these parts was the news that the Phils avoided arbitration with Kevin Millwood and signed him to a 1-year contract worth $9.9 million (and more if he reaches incentives). So the $10 million figure bandied about was pretty accurate.

I still haven't decided which deal is the most stupid. Though good ridence to Glavine who was more preoccupied with making money than playing ball and who couldn't win a game in the last post season. Maddux is asking for $16 million so there might be a few dollars left for the others. I know they are trying to dump Lopez and his $6 million for this year but no one wants him. (Um... can I borrow some money?) Millwood, Spooneyburger, the list goes on. If this keeps up, which it will, the AOL Braves will not be a threat to anyone. But who cares, it's not a sport, it's a business. All about the money.