Baseball Musings: Chipper Chapped

January 08, 2009

Chipper Chapped

Chipper Jones is a bit miffed at the Braves over John Smoltz leaving:

Q. Fans are questioning why the Braves didn't offer Smoltz more money when this is an offseason when the Braves have said they had money to spend. Do you agree?
A. For Smoltzy! That's what I don't understand. That's what's frustrating. I'm trying to be as diplomatic and as upbeat as I can possibly be and it is being made very hard on me to be that way. John Smoltz has been one of the faces of this franchise for 20 years. There's no reason for him at 41 years old to be playing anywhere but here.

Q. How was he when you talked to him last night?

A. He was upset, as well he should be. You can liken it to a breakup. This organization is all we have ever known. We all have these dreams of playing our last game in this uniform and it goes back to what I've said all along. Every dog has his day. And everybody's got that day that's coming when a shot of reality sets in. The business of baseball goes on, and no matter how loyal you are as a player, no matter how much you sacrificed as a player for a particular organization, there comes a time when that organization wants to go a different direction. And that time is now for Smoltzy, and I would imagine that my time is not too far off in the distant future.

Chipper has the realities of the game down.

Posted by David Pinto at 03:47 PM | Players | TrackBack (0)

Comments

So, exactly what "sacrifice" does Chipper purport that he and John Smoltz have made for the Braves?

Posted by: WeWanttheFunk at January 8, 2009 04:03 PM

I would imagine he's talking about playing hurt, or making other decisions that might be good for the team short-term, but not in the player's long-term best interests.

Posted by: Barron at January 8, 2009 04:58 PM

They've both made actual monetary sacrifices as well. Smoltz agreed to close for a few years and took a lower base salary for it even though he still wanted to start. I believe he even turned down a few teams offering more money and a starting role to stay in Atlanta in 2004.

Chipper, on the other hand, completely reworked a contract that he already had, shaving millions off payroll to help in other areas.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2227833

Posted by: Anthony at January 8, 2009 05:09 PM

Oh come on, it couldn't have been that important to Smoltz where he played. Atlanta paid him, what, $130,000,000 or so over his career? But he's willing to leave over a guaranteed couple million even though there are a lot of performance incentives in the deal? Finishing up in Atlanta didn't matter too much to Smoltz. It was $$$ and the possibility of another ring.

Posted by: sabernar at January 8, 2009 05:23 PM

i agree, sabernar, it is the possibility of a ring with the Red Sox. And I think the Braves having been burnt last season carrying pitchers who were coming off injury, didn't want to repeat the mistake by overpaying for Smoltz. Hopefully they end up with Lowe and someone else, otherwise there will be justifiable anger at Wren.

Posted by: Yaramah at January 8, 2009 05:59 PM

Jones' and Smoltz' reactions speak to the disconnect most players have with reality. Smoltz was not traded. He left as a free agent. The Braves can not stop another team from offering a deal greater than Atlanta feels is appropriate for a player coming off surgery at age 41. If they had it would rightly be called collusion. Do some teams treat players poorly? Maybe, but the Braves don't have that kind of reputation. Comments over the years reflect that players enjoy playing in that city and for that manager.

Posted by: largebill at January 9, 2009 09:11 AM

Players are humans. They have emotional reactions to things like not getting enough "respect", and they act on these emotions. Fans are emotional, too, and they get attached to franchise icons that have made sacrifices, both physical and financial for the team they root for. Fans don't like it when you lose one of these franchise icons over a couple million guaranteed dollars.

THIS is the reality, and largebill seems to be disconnected from it. The Braves should have ponied up the dough, even if it wasn't necessarily the most efficient way to spend it in marginal wins added terms (or whatever you like to use). You lose Smoltz, not only do you lose some fans, but you also alienate other players like, for example, Chipper Jones. That discourages other players from working with you in the way Smoltz did in the past. The Braves wouldn't have stayed competitive for as long as they did unless they'd managed to get players to give them sweetheart deals, and now it looks like those days are over.

I've backed Wren during this off-season when others were slagging him for things beyond his control. But this was very poorly managed, and the responsibility lies squarely with the GM.

Posted by: mravery at January 9, 2009 10:47 AM

It's a business - ATL chose not to retain his services - based on where they are his age and injury history and where they need to be it makes perfect sense.

Posted by: bandit at January 9, 2009 11:20 AM

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