Greg Maddux not offered arbitration

[brianicoleman]

Greg Maddux was not offered arbitration by the Atlanta Braves, therefor making him a free agent and no longer contracted by the Braves. Wtf were the Braves thinking? Their most consistly best pitcher on their roster, who is 11 wins away from 300 for his career, was offered nothing by John Sherholtz. This years free agents have alot more big names than have been in past years, here is a list of a couple:

Greg Maddux (predicted to go to the Cardinals)

Vladimir Guerrero (predicted to go to the Orioles)

Bartolo Colon (predicted to go to the Yankees)

Miguel Tejada (predicted to go to the Dodgers)

Ivan Rodriguez (predicted to go to the Cubs)

Keith Foulke (predicted to go to the Braves)

Javy Lopez (predicted to go to the Dodgers)

Andy Pettitte (predicted to go to the Astros)

[deceased_which_appreciates]

This is rediculous, Ivan Rodriguez played great baseball in the post season and was a major factor in the Marlins winning the series this year. Javy Lopez had a break out season this year becoming the best hitting catcher in the game. I cant tell you how many times teams set Javy up for a double play and he capitalized with a homer or extra-base hit. This just proves that the Braves cant hold onto any of their players...except Chipper, but he doesn't care.

Edited December 8, 2003 by deceased_which_appreciates

[eth3l]

Welcome to StL Mr. maddux, cant wait for your arrival!

My money is that with the money StL saved on Vina and Martinez, hart goes to 2nd, Pujols goes to first, and Maddux comes to the Gateway City!

[mattmatik]

I am a big-time Braves fan, and at first I was kind of ****ed but now, I see it differently. Historically, Javy Lopez has been average, with a few sprinkled good years. Last year was a contract year, for one. And the Braves' offense was spectacular (until the playoffs, of course). I would rather see the Braves bring up a guy like Estrada who is young and has awesome potential. Frankly, I was tired of Javy always swinging for the fences when he could have just gotten the ball over to the first base side. And his defense is lacking.

As far as Maddux goes...I don't know. He got pounded pretty damn hard the past 2 years and Russ Ortiz is the destined Ace of the pitching staff now. Plus, this gives them some money to maneuver for a few free agent pick-ups. I can't hardly argue against John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox. Year after year they somehow manage to get it done. What will be interesting is who they will pick up to get the 4th spot in the rotation (Ortiz, Hampton, Ramirez).

The one guy I really would have loved the Braves to keep was Robert Fick. I loved watching him play last year. He has passion. He's a blue collar player. Dammit!

[Labtec]

The Braves offered Maddux arbitration last year & Maddux accepted. Braves were screwed at the atribation negotiations & was forced to pay $15 million. Braves can't afford to make that same mistake again, plus they are trying to cut payroll. They can still field a competitive team with smaller payroll (look at last 2 World Series Champions Anaheim Angels & Florida Marlins, among lowest payrolls in MLB both seasons).

[CraigMack]

Maddux will win 12-14 game next year with a 4+ ERA, anyone ever heard of a 35+ year older getting better After leaving the braves? Nah, Leo Mazzone helps the pitchers more than any other coach in the game, can anyone say Tom Glavine? Sorry I cannot because I'm a New Yorker and saying his name brings me to cry. heh later neowinners

[CatnipOligarchy]

ARRRGGGH i just got even more p1ssed. i was just reading the list of players the braves didnt offer arbritration to. maddux, sheffield, lopez, castilla, Darren Bragg, Matt Franco, Roberto Hernandez, Darren Holmes, Kent Mercker and Shane Reynolds. They offered arbitration to one player, 45-year old julio franco. GIVE ME A ****ING BREAK!! jesus christ its like they are saying "12 in a row is way too many, were ready to go back to the powder blue unis of the 1980s and draw 15000 fans a game again. not only was maddux my favorite player, sheffield had the quickest bat in the league, and castilla played great defense at 3rd. ok so you cant sign any of them or lopez, who i was ready to do without anyways, wtf cant we sign kent mercker for??? he did nothing but give us experience and strong innings out of the pen late in the season and in the division series. plus, he was on the 1995 world series team, so hes got the ring and could be a clubhouse leader, a hell of a lot more of one than chipper jones's sorry ass. so of all the players to offer arbitration to, you offer it to a 45-year old first baseman who couldnt hit a triple in any park, outside of yellowstone, and thats only if the wind was blowing out. im hoping and praying that schuerholz has some brilliant plan up his sleeve and is going to somehow put another contender out on the field, but im really starting to doubt it. catnip is a very disgruntled braves fan this evening.

[Statik1]

Atlanta is going to go through a rebuilding year so now you can add the braves to the list of loseing teams you have on your sig jk it really sucks when teams go through rebuilding years!

[CatnipOligarchy]

Atlanta is going to go through a rebuilding year so now you can add the braves to the list of loseing teams you have on your sig jk it really sucks when teams go through rebuilding years!

yeah well like i said im really just hoping schuerholz has a plan with all this. we need to get millwood back. we really need to go after vlad. johnny estrada needs to step it up next year. we need to fill the newly created hole at 3rd. we need to rebuild the bench. we need to rebuild the bullpen, again. i dont really expect to get much sympathy from you people though. i know a lot of people hate the braves and are happy to see this. i'll admit im spoiled. ive been a fan my whole life, but they havent had a losing season since 1990, and i barely remember that. ive never really known much other than success... in baseball at least. i cant say the same for my other teams. argh.

[Statik1]

I dont think they would get vlad

[Veedems Veteran]

They need to start rebuilding. Maddux is a great guy and all, but he isn't the same Greg Maddux he used to be.

[CatnipOligarchy]

They need to start rebuilding. Maddux is a great guy and all, but he isn't the same Greg Maddux he used to be.

hes still better than 75% of the pitchers out there, and i'd still take him any day of the week. ive read that maddux and the devil (a.k.a. scott boras) were seeking another 15 million or so contract, and that just wasnt going to happen. i would love to have him back, and i wish the braves would have at least tried to reach a deal instead of just letting him walk away like that, but i can see some of their reasoning

[[yt]]

Damn... Can my Rockies get a good pitcher finally.. I wanna hear talk about Maddux going to Colorado lol! :)

[CatnipOligarchy]

i dont think maddux is that stupid

[mattmatik]

Just because they didn't offer arbitration to some players doesn't mean they will suck. Think about it. The only two players on the team that played on the 1995 team is Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. Yet, they have won the NL East each and every year since then. So, they must be doing something right. It doesn't mean they will suck, but it does mean Bobby Cox might actually have to manage through 162 games next season.

I do like Russ Ortiz as the #1 starter with Ramirez and Hampton. Hopefully, tha John Thomson dude is at least 10 games worth of wins.

The Braves said they want to go $20 million in cut payroll this season, so I doubt a big name free agent is in the works. We'll see what the farm teams have to offer, for sure.

[CatnipOligarchy]

Just because they didn't offer arbitration to some players doesn't mean they will suck. Think about it. The only two players on the team that played on the 1995 team is Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. Yet, they have won the NL East each and every year since then. So, they must be doing something right. It doesn't mean they will suck, but it does mean Bobby Cox might actually have to manage through 162 games next season.

I do like Russ Ortiz as the #1 starter with Ramirez and Hampton. Hopefully, tha John Thomson dude is at least 10 games worth of wins.

The Braves said they want to go $20 million in cut payroll this season, so I doubt a big name free agent is in the works. We'll see what the farm teams have to offer, for sure.

wrong, greg maddux and javy lopez were also on the team in 1995. and tom glavine was on the team through 2002. this is an even bigger shakeup than last year, and a big name free agent better be in the works when you create that many holes that fast. and with them clearing about $12m on the maddux replacement, theyve got the money now to do it, the current payroll is only about $50m or less after theyve dropped all these players.

[brianicoleman]

wrong, greg maddux and javy lopez were also on the team in 1995. and tom glavine was on the team through 2002. this is an even bigger shakeup than last year, and a big name free agent better be in the works when you create that many holes that fast. and with them clearing about $12m on the maddux replacement, theyve got the money now to do it, the current payroll is only about $50m or less after theyve dropped all these players.

about time to update the sig, eh catnip? falcons won this weekend! ;)

[IndianPimp99]

The one guy I really would have loved the Braves to keep was Robert Fick. I loved watching him play last year. He has passion. He's a blue collar player. Dammit!

Hey Soloredd, just wondering what you thought of that play in the NLDS where Fick was running to first and took a swipe at Eric Karros?

I said in the post about Colon to the Angels, that Maddux isn't the player he used to be but his agent and he want to get paid like he was. As for where he'll go, I think San Diego is the best bet. St. Louis has too much money tied up to too few players and need to spend wisely. They can't go wasting that much on a player who won't be as good now or later.