I haven't spoken about baseball in a while but I must.

Last night, there was a three-way trade between the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals, and the Oakland A's. Houston got Carlos Beltran, Oakland got Octavio Dotel, and Kansas City got a trio of prospects: Mark Teahen, Mike Wood, and Joe Buck.

Well, as you know, I like the A's and the Atlanta Braves. They are my favorite teams. I think Oakland's gem of a trade might help my Bravos. According to this San Francisco Chronicle article: A's Beane pulls off deal for much-needed closer, the A's might have to move a relief pitcher. The odd man out might be Chris Hammond.

Hammond is a familiar face to me. He was a Brave in 2002. His home is in Wedowee, AL. In fact, he was the best pitcher in the bullpen that year. If I recall correctly, he had an ERA under 1 with Atlanta. I just checked - it was 0.95 that year.

The Braves are struggling right now. They want the offensive to improve, However, I think we should go get Hammond. It's not like he would be a player new to the organization. He knows what Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone will expect. If anything's wrong with him mechanically, they'll fix it. After all, it worked in 2002 to get an ERA under 1. Plus, he'll be able to spend time at home. He enjoyed it in 2002, what's not to say it would be great again in 2004?

[♪ Listening to: "Greenline" - The Sally Zito Project]

Posted by Shawn at June 25, 2004 2:38 PM in Baseball.