Bisher Unleashed: No Thanks, Jake!

Bisher’s blog title is almost as unnerving as the myosin-free Richard Burton’s “Hammersmith Is Out!”

Sorry about Jake Peavy, a good ol’ Southern lad from Semmes, AL, (pop. about 1,500), but it was about time the Braves learned their lesson about investing in high-salaried nomads, and turned to concentrating on the development of prospects within. Look, where did John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, and a cast too numerous to mention here, come from? The farm system. From within. Home-developed.

It would seem that after the costly experiences with Mike Hampton—he never pitched a productive inning from ‘05 until ‘08—J.D. Drew, Mark Teixeira, Gary Sheffield and the list goes on, it would seem that a review of the products developed from within would convince management. John Schuerholz made a bounty of smart deals, but he kicked a few as well while developing all those division pennants. His worst, in my eyes, was giving up Adam Wainwright for one season of Drew, who was born to roam. Wainwright will be winning major league games for years after Drew is back on his acreage in Hahira.