Braves Rumors: Pettitte, Glavine, Smoltz

How about Derek Lowe 3yr/45 million

Sign Pettite 2yr/20 million

Acquire Xavier Nady

I wish I had $25MM to spend.

Pettitte? Garland? Come on FW. i know there is more out there.

Dunn i might can accept. he isnt a righty but i might can accept that. how do we bat him though?

3. Dunn
4. Chipper
5. McCann

if only Frenchy could hit then we wouldnt have to worry about this OF power bat

FineHamAbounds - Agreed. If Frank Wren doesn't do everything in his power to land Derek Lowe, then he'll pretty much be raising the white flag for the 2009 season. And so what if Dunn strikes out a ton, he also walks a ton and you can pencil him in for 40 HRs a year almost guaranteed. Here's a statistic that should get Frank Wren off of his a@@, Willie Harris, if we still had him in 2008, would have led our outfielders in HRs. Quit twinkle-toeing your way through this winter Frank and get moving!

i see no point in getting Pettitte he essentially is the same as Vazquez. we need someone better. the only plus is he is a lefty and would balance out our rotation.

I however would prefer Garland if we are gonna go down to inning eaters to fill our rotation just because he is younger and would be cheaper along with not wanting as long a deal. pettitte obviously thinks he deserves derek lowe money which i dont think we should pay.

only thing is we need someone above vazquez.

I would be willing to bet that Boras is trying his old "mystery team" negotiation tactic with the Mets. Only this time, there really is a mystery team and its the Braves. It would not surprise me one bit if we swooped in and snatched up Lowe. If not, then I agree we will not be a playoff team this year.

As for not being in on an OF, I commend Wren for recognizing the market for them would bottom-out and he can get one cheaply. Someone like Dunn might be willing to sign for 2 years with maybe an option so he can reenter the market when it and the economy come back up.

I'm thinking they passed on Burrell because he's not a good fielder and is prone to long slumps (at least from what I've heard). I think Francoeur will bounce back, but what if he doesn't and Pat hits .150 for the second half? Then their outfield sucks again, but at a higher cost.

I also think they're going to sign Glavine and Smoltz. I'd guess that they're quietly banking on Hanson to come up fairly early. Lowe would be outsanding, though.

As far as Dunn goes, I just think we'd be getting such value for him with the way the economy is affecting contracts right now. Well at least affecting the 2nd tier of players. Maybe being around a great hitter like Chipper would help Dunn learn what he needs to do in order to cut down on k's. Imagine if Dunn could bat .275...he'd be an MVP caliber player. I do expect Frenchy to bounce back big time and Kotchman to continue to get better, so Im not as worried about the offense as I am about getting that #1 or #2 type starting pitcher.

I heard Francoeur has developed into a lazy guy, on and off the field. Supposedly he has a nasty habit of not preparing for pitchers by not watching film, etc. and then walks around the clubhouse prior to the game asking the other guys what he needs to know about the pitcher.

I agree that, because of his raw talent, Frenchy will bounce back eventually. But I wouldn't count on the Braves kepping him around after this season if he doesn't perform this year.