My first thought was, "Yunel Escobar must have REALLY made somebody mad." Otherwise, I don't see the logic of this deal from the Braves standpoint. Alex Gonzalez does have 17 home runs, but those have come in 330 at bats. Add to that his Dunston-like OBP of .296 (above his career average by the way), and congratulations...you've just added another outmaker to go with Cabrera and McLouth.
To be fair, Escobar has been a major disappointment with the bat in 2010, and some writers and analysts question his defense (my two cents...both are solid but not spectacular fielders). The differences are:
1) He's only 27 years old (Gonzalez is 33)
2) He's coming off three productive offensive seasons
3) He's much cheaper than the former Marlin
4) He's still drawing walks, despite the current poor batting average and lack of power (.238/.334/.284, yes .284!)
Unless Escobar is a clubhouse cancer, Braves fans are probably a little confused today. Hopefully a deal for a productive OF (perhaps David DeJesus) is just around the corner.
start printing the "My outfielder is a jewish carpenter" bumper stickers with the tomahawk on them
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