Breaking News: Jack Wilson, former All-Star player for the Pirates, is now heading to the Braves. Matt Diaz went to the Braves, as well, today (from the Pirates) and started the game. Derek Lowe pitched stellar ball and also hit his first career homer. Lowe and Chipper Jones both homered Wednesday — their combined age is 77 — but Chipper still leads by 449 in the race. Craig Kimbrel set a rookie record with his 41st save, breaking the former record of ex-Brave Neftali Feliz.
Which one of those sentences did any of you predict at the beginning of the year? How many of you predicted that all the above things would happen on the same day?
It just happened folks. What a wild day it has been.
First off, Matty Diaz comes back to the Braves after the Braves deemed he wasn’t worth the $3 million he would have demanded in arbitration. Instead, he signed a two-year deal with the Pirates for $4 million. The Braves got some cash in the deal, but I bet they would still owe around $3 million to Diaz when it’s all said and done next year. To top it off, he started in the lineup against a tough lefty and collected a few hits … it’s like he never left.
Second, the Braves acquired Wilson. He’s still on the DL as of tonight and probably won’t play until late this weekend or next week to be honest, but where is he going to play? Who’s spot is he going to take? Are they auditioning him to take over for Alex Gonzalez after the year? Don’t get me wrong, he can be a solid player, but what I’m asking is do we really need him? It would give us the best bench in the majors, that’s for sure. Hey, at least Wilson and Nate McLouth can play together for one more month, then they’re both out the door.
As stated here, Lowe’s September success can play well for the Braves this off-season. Lets hope he can continue it.
Chipper hit another home run. I believe he will hit 500 before he retires. Care to take a wager?
Last but not least, before I head to bed for the night, Kimbrel has put up some serious stats this year. He even has more strikeouts than a couple of our starters with less than half the innings. Shall we say Cy Young and ROY?
