Brave Day

Well, it's the end of an era in Atlanta (again). The Braves released Tom Glavine today, in a shocking move. GM Frank Wren said the move was based on performance, and that the team felt going younger was a better move. They then enforced that motive by finally announcing they will be calling up uber-prospect Tommy Hanson on Saturday to start against the Brewers.

But, they weren't done there. The Bravos then traded three minor leaguers to the Pirates for CF Nate McLouth. This move comes a day after they sent Jordan Schafer down to Triple-A Gwinnette.

Now, these moves say two things. First, they say that the Braves are focused on staying in the playoff race this year, and they don't want to fall too far behind before making a move. Second, it says they are also keeping an eye on the future. Glavine is a legend, and will always have a place in Atlanta Braves history. But, he's been injury plagued lately, and you can only keep Hanson down for so long.

I like the move for McLouth. We desperately need something to happen in the outfield. McLouth isn't exactly tearing it up at a historic level (.256 AVG/9 HR/ 34 RBI/ .819 OPS), but it's a shake up. Schafer started hot, but has since gone ice cold (.204/2/8/.600), Garret Anderson has been sub-par (.261/2/16/.662 in 34 games), Jeff Franceour is up and down (.251/4/25/.632), and Matt Diaz has been average at best (.274/2/15/.773 in 32 games). Hopefully we didn't give up too much for him.

Now we just have to hope it all works out.