Five Questions for Martin Gandy of Talking Chop

by Kyle Lobner on Jul 24, 2009 12:13 PM CDT in Interviews

In anticipation of this weekend's Brewers/Braves series, Martin Gandy of Talking Chop and I traded five questions regarding our respective teams. You can find my answers to his questions here. Here are his answers regarding the Braves.

BCB: What will it take for you to leave Javier Vazquez in Milwaukee with the Brewers?

TC: Mat Gamel AND Alcides Escobar ... both of them. But really I would say one of them would be a good starting point. I don't know your system that well, but if it were to be prospects we would probably prefer Escobar, as we could then possibly swing our current shortstopped Escobar (Yunel) for other needs.

Another option, for which I may be out of my mind here to suggest, but I had the thought a while back about a Vazquez for Ryan Braun swap. That probably made most Brewers fans sit back and say something to the effect of "heck no," but Vazquez is an elite pitcher and Braun is an elite hitter -- it seems mostly equitable to me.

BCB: How does Brian McCann, a.305/.377/.504 hitting catcher, somehow avoid being listed among baseball's best players?

TC: I'm pretty sure he doesn't play in New York, Boston, or Chicago, and he doesn't have a catchy name like Manny. Joe Mauer's in the same boat -- playing mostly in obscurity in Minnesota. McCann (like Mauer) is also a soft spoken guy, so good or bad he's not making headlines outside of the lines.

BCB: Aside from beating the Brewers this weekend, what does this Braves team need to do to keep the Phillies from running away with the NL East?

TC: We have 9 games left head-to-head with the Phils, and we've handled them pretty well so far this year, so if we can continue to beat them in our head-to-head matchups we'll close the gap some there. The Phillies are also playing lights-out right now, but will probably regress towards their mean sometime soon -- their starting pitching is
not that good and at some point it should be re-exposed like it was at the beginning of the season.

BCB: After going 36-40 in April, May and June, the Braves are 13-6 in July. What's different this month, and can we reschedule this series for a time when they're not as hot?

TC: Heck no. We always play you guys when you're hot, so maybe now we can return the favor. The Braves have finally started to hit and score runs. There are several reasons for that. We got rid of some dead weight in the lineup (see Jeff Francoeur), Martin Prado took over for Kelly Johnson and has been the hottest hitter in baseball the past month, Garret Anderson is getting lucky with some hits, Yunel Escobar is in a better position (Francoeur's old position) in the lineup to drive in runs (and he's driving them in), and our pitching broke out of a mini-funk they were in. We've been clicking on all cylinders lately -- it's nice to see. I think I've been waiting 3 years or more to say that.

BCB: As a follower of the NL East, which is more surprising: The Marlins success (49-47 as of this writing) or the Mets collapse (44-50)?

TC: I thought the Mets would collapse, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I said repeatedly before the season that they were an injury or two away from being terrible. Little did I know they would suffer 3 or 4 major injuries. Also, Omar Minaya does not know how to build a baseball team. I also said before the season that the Marlins would be good. I'm not surprised they are where they are. They have good pitching and a lot of hitting spread throughout their order.

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Braun's Contract...

Probably makes him one of the most valuable players in baseball. And Javier Vasquez is not even close to that.

by Metagen on Jul 24, 2009 12:24 PM CDT reply actions

my guess is that was before the LTD.

by Mykenk on Jul 24, 2009 12:26 PM CDT up reply actions

I stopped reading....

…after he suggested Braun was an even swap.

by badgermaniac on Jul 24, 2009 12:38 PM CDT reply actions

He's a Braves guy. That's an even swap from the Braves POV. Gotta come to grups with the fact that there's really no such thing as a truly "even" swap.

by Mykenk on Jul 24, 2009 12:46 PM CDT up reply actions

I totally disagree

I can be very objective in looking at the Brewers value. I certainly wouldnt say that Corey Hart for Roy Halladay would be a good deal.

Regarding Braun and Vazquez….looking at the reliability of hitters vs. pitchers, age, contract status, all that stuff, it is not an even swap from any POV.

I also think there are many cases of “even” swaps.

by badgermaniac on Jul 24, 2009 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions

agree with badgermaniac

that is in no way an even swap, from any POV. It’s borderline insane.

by thebigdipper on Jul 24, 2009 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, NOW it's insane. A couple years ago, maybe not so much.

by Mykenk on Jul 24, 2009 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions

No, it is insane. Maybe if they take Suppan and Hall back too, but I’m not sure I’d even consider that close to realistic. Maybe I’m being too much of a homer here, but trading a perennial all-star signed for the next 6 1/2 years for a 32 year old pitcher with 1 1/2 years left would qualify for me as just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever see a GM do.

JJ Hardy for Vazquez straight up is probably close to fair, though.

by richardhkirkando on Jul 24, 2009 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions

Maybe I’m being too much of a homer here, but trading a perennial all-star signed for the next 6 1/2 years for a 32 year old pitcher with 1 1/2 years left would qualify for me as just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever see a GM do.

No, you’re right. If Melvin made that deal, part of the return would have to be a personal security force, because half of Milwaukee would think he needs to be dragged out into the street and shot. The other half is against the death penalty, so they’d just want to beat him senseless.

"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."

by Kyle Lobner on Jul 24, 2009 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Speaking of insane:

“JJ Hardy for Vazquez straight up is probably close to fair, though.”

Important: He said he had that thought “a while back”. My guess is this is before Braun signed a below MV deal. If Braun was a player that was gonna hold out for the highest possible $$ every step of the way, trading him while young for a solid ace wouldn’t necessarily have been a terrible idea.

In present day terms, yes, it’s nuts.

by Mykenk on Jul 24, 2009 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, I took “awhile back” to mean earlier this season. Who knows.

by richardhkirkando on Jul 24, 2009 1:39 PM CDT up reply actions

hardy and a B level prospect is fair.

by BoldandBrash on Jul 24, 2009 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions

why would the Braves want a shortstop?

we have one of the best 4 or 5 in the game right now.

2009 Atlanta Braves Motto: We ♥ leaving RISP AND Omar Minaya!

by Scott Coleman on Jul 24, 2009 3:43 PM CDT up reply actions

JJ Hardy for a sleeve of saltines and a can of old Vienna sausages might be an even up trade. But for an elite pitcher? C’mon. He’s not good enough to ride pine for ATL.

by samxrm on Jul 26, 2009 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions

I think Dave Cameron

put Braun at the 7th most valuable trade piece this year. His contract is the biggest thing. He and Vasquez may very well be equal talents but offensive production that cheap is hard to come by.

by levnclf on Jul 24, 2009 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions

If the world was coming to an end after this baseball season, it would be a fair deal. But age and contract length play a huge part of this.

by richardhkirkando on Jul 24, 2009 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions

not sure about that

Vasquez will be 33 tomorrow, and is vastly outperforming most of his career numbers, (except K/9, which is significantly down). Braun is 25 and… do I even need to say it?

by thebigdipper on Jul 24, 2009 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions

doesn't have a long enough career to determine if he's outperforming his career numbers?

by Mykenk on Jul 24, 2009 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions

or is that not what you were going for?

by Mykenk on Jul 24, 2009 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions

no...

I was sort of referring to the fact that, due to the enormous leap in Braun’s OBP this season, it might suggest that he is entering his prime as a hitter, one who could legitimately give you 80-90 XBH a year for the next 6+ seasons. And while some metrics have his defense ranked as slightly sub par, there’s no reason to think he won’t be at least an average LF as well. That, coupled with his affordable contract, would make it absurd to trade him, straight up, for a Javier Vaszquez who is likely looking at a significant regression in his production as he enters his mid 30’s.

by thebigdipper on Jul 24, 2009 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions

actually

Vazquez is striking out over 10 per 9 IP this season, which is two K/9 higher than his career numbers

by was385 on Jul 24, 2009 2:44 PM CDT up reply actions

my mistake

I mistook his career number for his season number this year. still, this is all the more reason to think he is wildly overachieving.

by thebigdipper on Jul 24, 2009 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah Braun for JV just doesnt match up because of age and money, but Jair( age 23) for a Braun (25) isnt crazy and I know the Braves would have to throw in more, because Braun’s contract is beautiful. The Brew Crew needs pitching and the Braves need hitting. Both teams match up very well if you think about it.

Baseball is my life

by That a boy on Jul 24, 2009 4:40 PM CDT reply actions

i thought the same thing man. maybe something like JJ, Cody Johnson and a decent prospect…say Osuna might get it done.

Braun, McLouth and/or Schafer and Heyward for the next 3-5 years. Me likey very much.

2009 Atlanta Braves Motto: We ♥ leaving RISP AND Omar Minaya!

by Scott Coleman on Jul 24, 2009 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions

Another out there elite hitter-elite pitcher swap.

Yovani Gallardo is an elite pitcher. Todd Helton is an elite hitter. Equitable?

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Jul 25, 2009 6:57 PM CDT reply actions

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