Atlanta Braves

Every Braves fan is aware of the overload of starting pitching the Atlanta Braves have.

Having an extra pitcher is quite a luxury, however.

As of right now, the Braves have six capable starters:

Going into the offseason Frank Wren had two areas that he needed to address: The bullpen and the lineup.

With the addition of Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, and Jesse Chavez it would appear that the makeover of the bullpen may finally be complete.

The real question now is who will Bobby Cox be calling for once the starting pitchers finish their job?

The way I see it, assuming the Braves decide to go with seven relievers, as they usually do, there is a major competition to break Spring Training on the Major League roster.

I learned of the news today in my fourth-period class.

And when I saw it, I scratched my head a bit.

"So, the Braves just traded what likely would've been the second-hottest closer commodity for...Jesse Chavez?"

I'm sure many of you shared the same sentiment.

So, I did what comes natural.

I Googled Jesse Chavez.

This is what I saw: 26 years old, only one sub-three ERA year in the minors (2.22 in 11 appearances a couple of years back), and lots of home runs.

"What's this crap?!?!"

I was a bit perplexed, so I sat back and thought.

On my initial look at the Soriano/Chavez trade I nearly punched a hole in my wall.

Comparing Chavez to Soriano major stats in 2009 is extremely one sided.

Soriano had a outstanding year 2.97(ERA)/102(K)/1.06(WHIP).

Chavez had a decent year for a first year reliever 4.01(ERA)/47(K)/1.35(WHIP). Chavez has also shown a weakness for RH batters.

Why would the braves trade a highly rated veteran for a unknown?  Maybe a second look will help answer that.

What an interesting week this has been for Braves fans and front office exec's.

Rarely do the two of those entities go hand-in-hand, but this time around there is no doubt it applies.

Rafael Soriano shocked GM Frank Wren and other higher-up's by accepting arbitration and Wren was quick to announce that Soriano will be traded "well before opening day."

Considering Wren and the rest of Major League Baseball's top executives are in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings there is a reasonable expectation a deal could be done within the next 48 hours or so.

It is surprising how one minute you're considered a genius and another minute a fool.

Frank Wren has already at the very beginning pulled off two sensational signings. Yet Rafael Soriano's consideration for the offer of arbitration has everyone second-guessing.

"How could Wren sign those aging pitchers?"

"How's he going to get a bat if Soriano ties up $7 million?"

First off, relief pitchers can easily go into their mid to late 40s.  This is simply because they only throw 15 to 20 pitches an outing 40 to 90 games a year.

Well, the last two days were exciting, weren't they?

Two legitimate end-of-the-'pen options coming in.

Sure, they're 38 and 39, but Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito's track records indicate that they know what they're doing.

Wagner is sitting just a few saves short of 400 with 1,092 career Ks.

Saito sports a career 2.05 ERA that he has accumulated since turning 36 in his first Major League season with the Dodgers.

Despite their injury 'issues' (and I use 'these' for a reason), these guys are solid pick-ups.