This is a great pick up for Atlanta, not only does it give a sense of completion for the off-season for the Braves, but also shores up what was planned to be a platooned Left Field.
A quiet pickup that was in response to the missed acquisition of Ken Griffey, Jr, Braves GM, Frank Wren, inked the lefty who will presumably split time with Matt Diaz. This platoon will have Diaz hitting against left handed pitchers and G. Anderson hitting against right handed pitchers.
I, dear readers, am a big fan of this deal. We do not lose prospects via trade, it looked like the Braves were pursuing Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher, outfielders for the New York Yankees, and it's a player that is older and I view that as a positive. A huge reason people were excited about Griffey was for him to be an on the field leader to go alongside Chipper Jones. Those two, along with the newly signed Tommy Glavine, are the three "old men" of the team. Chipper for the infield, G. Anderson for the outfield and Tommy Glavine for the pitchers. All three guys are vets who play smart and well enough to stay in the game as long as they have.
The interesting thing will be to see if Garret Anderson is chosen to platoon, he hits both righties and lefties well. I'm thinking that the season will start with Matty D and Garret platooning, but if G. Anderson turns it on, Diaz could be just a bench bat. Garret Anderson will more than likely bat 4th when he's in, and when Matty Diaz is in, Brian McCann will hit 4th.
However, Chipper Jones has said that Jeff Francoeur will be hitting in the clean-up spot. We'll just have to wait for time to tell.
More to come in the near future.
So, as always dear readers, pray for the pitching, be proud of the Tomahawk Chop, and if you need a smile, just remember when Sid slid.
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