<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2734082Sources: Braves trade LaRoche to Bucs for GonzalezBy Jerry CrasnickESPN.comThe Pittsburgh Pirates, filling their need for a left-handed power bat, acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday for lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez, two sources confirmed to ESPN.com.ESPN.com could not immediately confirm if other players were involved in the deal. Neither team would comment and an announcement is not yet scheduled.The Pirates and Braves had been discussing a LaRoche-Gonzalez swap for weeks. Pittsburgh general manager Dave Littlefield was looking to upgrade an offense that ranked last in the National League with 141 home runs and a .397 slugging percentage.LaRoche hit 32 homers and drove in 90 runs last season and finished in a tie for seventh in the National League with a .561 slugging percentage.Gonzalez went 3-4 with 24 saves and a 2.17 ERA for the Pirates in 2006.Gonzalez should help improve an Atlanta bullpen that went 25-23 with a 4.39 ERA last season and blew a league-high 29 saves. Bob Wickman saved 18 games after coming over in a July trade with Cleveland, and the Braves picked up reliever Rafael Soriano from Seattle last month in a deal for starter Horacio Ramirez.The Braves will go into 2007 with a new right side of the infield. Kelly Johnson and Martin Prado are the leading candidates to replace second baseman Marcus Giles, who signed with San Diego when the Braves declined to tender him a contract in December. Scott Thorman, who hit five homers in 128 at-bats with Atlanta last season, could replace LaRoche at first base.The Pirates also talked to Arizona about a possible deal for Chad Tracy, and had considered Trot Nixon and several other free agents.</div>Pirates definately got a good deal here IMO. Getting a 30 Home Run, .900 OPS hitter for someone who'll be a Set-up man for the Braves.
And thank god, or else it would have involved Melky Cabrera going to Atlanta.I like this trade much more for Atlanta, who completely solidified their bullpen as one of the NL's best with Wickman/Gonzalez/Soriano. Wickman doesn't have a ton left in the tank, so Gonzalez could take over as the closer as soon as this year if he falls off a bit. LaRoche was solid but still hasn't played up to his full potential.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GaMeTiMe @ Jan 17 2007, 05:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And thank god, or else it would have involved Melky Cabrera going to Atlanta.</div>I know, and I want to keep Melky so I'm glad it didn't happen. I was just joking about it being boring if the Yankees weren't involved in some way.I'd rather have Melky than LaRoche. LaRoche would be nice, but we need Melky more.
Agreed. Even if we didn't need Melky more I still look at him as the better and more promising player.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GaMeTiMe @ Jan 17 2007, 05:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And thank god, or else it would have involved Melky Cabrera going to Atlanta.I like this trade much more for Atlanta, who completely solidified their bullpen as one of the NL's best with Wickman/Gonzalez/Soriano. Wickman doesn't have a ton left in the tank, so Gonzalez could take over as the closer as soon as this year if he falls off a bit. LaRoche was solid but still hasn't played up to his full potential.</div>He hit 30 home runs and had a .900 OPS. I'd call that living up to it all right.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (O.N.E. @ Jan 17 2007, 06:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>We got a good bat finally, but we lost our closer. Gonzo was becoming agreat pitcher.</div>You lost Gonzo, but you have Torres. Still, I think this deal is much better for the Braves. They got that one dude, I forget his name, that prospect 1B, he had baller stats last year in AAA, and I think he will be just fine replacing LaRoche, and like Venom said, Braves have easily one of the best bullpens in the NL, Wickman, Gonzalez, and Soriano. Although, I can see Soriano taking closer spot before Gonzalez does if Wickman isn't doing his job, IMO.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GaMeTiMe @ Jan 17 2007, 05:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Agreed. Even if we didn't need Melky more I still look at him as the better and more promising player.</div><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jon Vilma)</div><div class='quotemain'>I'd rather have Melky than LaRoche. LaRoche would be nice, but we need Melky more.</div>More proof Yankees Fans are dilusional.Adam LaRoche - .285/.354/.561, 32 Home Runs, 90 RBI, .915 OPSMelky Cabrera - .280/.360/.391, 7 Home Runs, 50 RBI, .751 OPSNow it's safe to assume that Melky is going to get better over time, but he's never going to get to the point where he is even matching the numbers that LaRoche is putting up now.
Going back to what Venom said, I must have missed those comments when reading, I would never expect Melky Cabrera to turn into the LaRoche player. Why do you think the Yankees are trying to shop him? Because The Boss, is, unfortunately one of the smartest men on the planet. He knows what he's doing. Prospects he keeps around, its only the good ones, the promising looking ones. That's why he is so willing to trade prospects, because he'd rather have the proven players over the non-proven ones, but the ones he can see are going to be great, he won't trade. Cabrera, he knows, he knows Cabrera won't be like LaRoche, why was he trying to trade him, and why weren't the Braves accepting? Because LaRoche is more promising.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 18 2007, 06:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>More proof Yankees Fans are dilusional.Adam LaRoche - .285/.354/.561, 32 Home Runs, 90 RBI, .915 OPSMelky Cabrera - .280/.360/.391, 7 Home Runs, 50 RBI, .751 OPSNow it's safe to assume that Melky is going to get better over time, but he's never going to get to the point where he is even matching the numbers that LaRoche is putting up now.</div>LaRoche is...... Half a Decade older than Melky! Let's compare LaRoche's Major League stats when he was 5 years younger to Melky's... Oh shit! He was still in the minors!Yeah, and Melky is a quality defender with great range and a solid arm in the outfield, whereas LaRoche is a 1st Baseman. 1st being a position that is pretty easy to find above average quality at.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jon_Vilma @ Jan 18 2007, 08:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 18 2007, 06:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>More proof Yankees Fans are dilusional.Adam LaRoche - .285/.354/.561, 32 Home Runs, 90 RBI, .915 OPSMelky Cabrera - .280/.360/.391, 7 Home Runs, 50 RBI, .751 OPSNow it's safe to assume that Melky is going to get better over time, but he's never going to get to the point where he is even matching the numbers that LaRoche is putting up now.</div>LaRoche is...... Half a Decade older than Melky! Let's compare LaRoche's Major League stats when he was 5 years younger to Melky's... Oh shit! He was still in the minors!Yeah, and Melky is a quality defender with great range and a solid arm in the outfield, whereas LaRoche is a 1st Baseman. 1st being a position that is pretty easy to find above average quality at.</div>Dude, Corner Outfielders are a Dime a dozen also, even moreso then First Basemen. And pass the crack your on if you think Melky Cabrera is even going to end up being half the player LaRoche already is.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 18 2007, 09:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jon_Vilma @ Jan 18 2007, 08:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 18 2007, 06:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>More proof Yankees Fans are dilusional.Adam LaRoche - .285/.354/.561, 32 Home Runs, 90 RBI, .915 OPSMelky Cabrera - .280/.360/.391, 7 Home Runs, 50 RBI, .751 OPSNow it's safe to assume that Melky is going to get better over time, but he's never going to get to the point where he is even matching the numbers that LaRoche is putting up now.</div>LaRoche is...... Half a Decade older than Melky! Let's compare LaRoche's Major League stats when he was 5 years younger to Melky's... Oh shit! He was still in the minors!Yeah, and Melky is a quality defender with great range and a solid arm in the outfield, whereas LaRoche is a 1st Baseman. 1st being a position that is pretty easy to find above average quality at.</div>Dude, Corner Outfielders are a Dime a dozen also, even moreso then First Basemen. And pass the crack your on if you think Melky Cabrera is even going to end up being half the player LaRoche already is.</div>So you're advocating an average fielder at first base and big-bat for the Yankees over a quality outfielder with plus speed, baserunning skills, and a quality bat who is 22 instead of 27?Lets go to rookie years eh?LaRoche: .278/.333/.488, 12 HR, 45 R, 45 RBI, 0 SB, .821 OPS Cabrera: .280/.360/.391, 7 HR, 75 R, 50 RBI, 12 SB, .751 OPSYou DON'T think Cabrera has more promise? Less power numbers sure, but Cabrera had better average, on base percentage, runs, stolen bases.... and oh yeah HE CAN FIELD!
ok, #1- OF's ARE WAY MORE EASY TO FIND THEN 1B, PERIOD!Why, when you do fantasy baseball, is it easier to find good OF's then any other freakin position? Cause theres more of them.#2-Cabrera hits in the Yankees lineup, ok, you can't compare him to LaRoche who hits in the Braves' lineup, its just not fair, last year you guys had Cano hitting 9th....stop its just not fair to compare like that.#3- Cabrera is so overrated in the field its unbelievable. Sure, LaRoche isnt amazing, but he doesnt have to be playing first base...Cabrera is not as good as you think he is man, you got way better prospects then Cabrera
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (iknobaer @ Jan 18 2007, 10:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>ok, #1- OF's ARE WAY MORE EASY TO FIND THEN 1B, PERIOD!Why, when you do fantasy baseball, is it easier to find good OF's then any other freakin position? Cause theres more of them.Actually I wait until almost the end of my draft to pick up a 1st Baseman. And I always end up with someone good like Nick Johnson. The safe isn't true for Out Fielders.Oh, and why do you think so many Outfielders with big bats get moved to 1st toward the end of their careers? It's the easy position. All those good Outfielders could just as easily be good 1st Basemen. Hell even Johnny Damon played 1st for a bit and was good at it.#2-Cabrera hits in the Yankees lineup, ok, you can't compare him to LaRoche who hits in the Braves' lineup, its just not fair, last year you guys had Cano hitting 9th....stop its just not fair to compare like that.You can't compare LaRoche who hits in the National League to Cabrera who has to hit in the American league. It's just not fair to compare the two.#3- Cabrera is so overrated in the field its unbelievable. Sure, LaRoche isnt amazing, but he doesnt have to be playing first base...Cabrera is not as good as you think he is man, you got way better prospects then CabreraThat's the point really. Throw the crappy fielder who can hit at 1st base. If LaRoche didn't play in the National League, I swear he'd be a DH. And are there better OF prospects than Cabrera? Sure. But Cabrera is a starting quality fielder (in the AL too, not the weak NL) with good range and a good arm. He'll be our Centerfielder one day if we keep him. LaRoche would be our DH after Giambi moves on. I'd rather have a future Centerfielder than a future DH, especially considering the CF is the better prospect.</div>
Why are you guys arguing over defense. That's 5% of the game. Defense isn't as important as people make it out to be
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KyleOrton18 @ Jan 19 2007, 08:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Why are you guys arguing over defense. That's 5% of the game. Defense isn't as important as people make it out to be</div>Yeah. Preventing runs in the field is stupid.
Endy Chavez was a better player Offensively and Defensively then Melky Cabrera last year. The guy has been nothing other then average so far. I understand he's a fan favorite and is Overrated Defensively because he robbed Manny Ramirez of a Home Run, but cmon man. You can't possibly be this dilusional that you wouldn't trade Melky for LaRoche right now. In a perfect world, Melky would only become what LaRoche already is, and we don't live in a perfect world.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Jan 19 2007, 05:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Endy Chavez was a better player Offensively and Defensively then Melky Cabrera last year. The guy has been nothing other then average so far. I understand he's a fan favorite and is Overrated Defensively because he robbed Manny Ramirez of a Home Run, but cmon man. You can't possibly be this dilusional that you wouldn't trade Melky for LaRoche right now. In a perfect world, Melky would only become what LaRoche already is, and we don't live in a perfect world.</div>You are comparing a power hitting 1st baseman to a speedy outfielder. Of course Cabrere will never be what LaRoche is. Are you insane? That's like saying Maurice Jones-Drew will never become what Peyton Manning already is. Of course he won't, but he'll be great at what he does.
