As bad as he's been this year, it's still great to have Diaz back.

I guess. Carrying a 3rd catcher gives you a better right handed bat than Diaz in Ross. But I always liked Matty.

True, but at least for September (as I assume the Braves will call up Boscan tomorrow), they'll have both Ross and Diaz available. They'll also have Helms, who has been terrible this year, of course.

EDIT: Actually Helms has been pretty terrible for the last five years. I didn't realize that.

You guys in Atlanta hear anything about the PTBNL? The Pirates ate some money in the deal, so I'd suspect it might be someone at least a bit above the proverbial warm body.

I dunno - Diaz is signed for '12 too ... this is partly ATL taking a bad contract.

wrong thread

Matt Diaz is 33 and has been in/around the majors since 2003?!? I'd have guessed 29ish and a rookie in 05 or so.


This seems a worthwhile move for the Braves, and Diaz should come in handy for the late push. I suppose this is the official nail in the coffin on the Pirates run at 500 this season. It sure was fun while it lasted.

Dropping Diaz is not going to hurt Pitt's odds of going 19-8 (or better). Will they miss his 74 OPS+ or his glove?

I dunno - Diaz is signed for '12 too ... this is partly ATL taking a bad contract.

He's due what, $2M next year? That's more than you'd like to pay for a crappy bench guy, but if the Pirates are covering half, that's not much more than you'd give a veteran NRI who made the team in spring training.

Dropping Diaz is not going to hurt Pitt's odds of going 19-8 (or better).

They have to go 19-5, IMO, because they simply don't win in Miller Park.

People tend to blame the Meals call for triggering the decline, but the Pirates did come back and win the next day. To me, the killers were (a) losing the last game in Philadelphia, surrendering a 5-3 lead in the eighth when Jose Veras gave up a bomb to Raul Ibanez; (b) Starlin Castro's HR off Chris Resop after Charlie Morton had been brilliant for seven innings, giving the Cubs a 1-0 win in the third game of that set; (c) coming back from 4-0 down the following day against the Cubs with a six-spot, only to have the pen blow the game again in the 8th. That last loss, in particular, cut the heart out of the team IMO; they were just awful in the San Diego series that followed.

These are games that the Pirates should be winning, or at least being competitive. They're not playing the cream of the NL down the stretch, except for Arizona and Milwaukee (and maybe the Cardinals, although they're looking less and less like a quality team these days).

-- MWE

Vlad/9: Yeah, but he's guaranteed it.
Has it been announced how much $ PIT is covering?

Mike/10: Well, I don't see it happening regardless. Still, more baby steps by the Pirates; I'm (prematurely) happy for you guys.

Jim Powell tweets: "Since June 15, Matt Diaz is hitting .388 with a .436 OBP vs LHP." Hello, Jason Heyward's caddy.

People tend to blame the Meals call for triggering the decline, but the Pirates did come back and win the next day. To me, the killers were (a) losing the last game in Philadelphia, surrendering a 5-3 lead in the eighth when Jose Veras gave up a bomb to Raul Ibanez;

I agree about the Meals call. Just a note, though, to add that the last game in Philly was also trade deadline day. The Pirates are a weird team whose season has run from August 1 to July 31 for years, and I think they might have hit a mental wall right there.

Jim Powell tweets: "Since June 15, Matt Diaz is hitting .388 with a .436 OBP vs LHP." Hello, Jason Heyward's caddy.

Awesome! That little factoid can join Sea Bass's nearly .500 slugging percentage with the Jays in the Braves growing collection of 'small sample size flukes that fooled our front office into trading for a guy who's not any good'. There's plenty of room on the shelf by Rick Ankiel's 68 PAs with Omaha last season.

Awesome! That little factoid can join Sea Bass's nearly .500 slugging percentage with the Jays in the Braves growing collection of 'small sample size flukes that fooled our front office into trading for a guy who's not any good'. There's plenty of room on the shelf by Rick Ankiel's 68 PAs with Omaha last season.

Alternately, rational people could admit that as of right now Matt Diaz is a better hitter vs LHP than Jason Heyward, and that Heyward's defense doesn't make up the gap.

Awesome! That little factoid can join Sea Bass's nearly .500 slugging percentage with the Jays in the Braves growing collection of 'small sample size flukes that fooled our front office into trading for a guy who's not any good'. There's plenty of room on the shelf by Rick Ankiel's 68 PAs with Omaha last season.

'

The Braves seem to be a remarkably good team for this supposedly large collection of not so good players Wren has been busily acquiring.

Picking up Matt Diaz is a lot like SF picking up Pat Burrell last year. What the hell could it hurt, really?

#15 It's not like Diaz hitting LHP is news. The guy is a career .330/.369/.512 hitter vs LHP.

Now it is tough to carry a platoon player these days, but it looks like a luxury the Braves could afford.

#16- The farm system is cranking out players (Heyward, Freeman, Minor, Beachy, Venters, Kimbrel, even Prado and McCann), so they are in pretty good shape right now. As long as that continues Wren's adventures in acquiring players from other organizations can be overcome.

People who complain about Fran Wren are living in a fantasy world where being one of the best GM's in the game doesn't seem to make a difference in your opinion of the manager. Good god, the guy has done nothing but win trades left and right.

Good god, the guy has done nothing but win trades left and right.

This being so close to the phrase 'a fantasy world' is quite appropriate.

But...truce! The reason I quit on the Braves this season was because I got tired of having this exact argument (Edit: well, that and watching Alex Gonzalez makes me want to steer into traffic). My bad for getting sucked back in. Feel free to have the last word, I'm sure it will be awesome.

Matt Dee-azz is still in the league?

Huh.

Vlad/9: Yeah, but he's guaranteed it.
Has it been announced how much $ PIT is covering?

I heard a rumor that it's seven figures, but I really can't stress enough how unreliable that particular piece of information is.

I.e. you could probably do just as well by picking a number at random and going with that.

The reason I quit on the Braves this season was because I got tired of having this exact argument (Edit: well, that and watching Alex Gonzalez makes me want to steer into traffic).

Alex Gonzalez makes me want to steer into traffic too, but why would you quit on a team having their best year since 2004?

It was before the season. After years of frustration, the Gonzalez trade pushed me 90% of the way there, the ridiculous Uggla extension finished it. I gave them 30 years, life is too short for Frank Wren. It's been liberating, I'm not going back while he's there.

Cool. I'll enjoy the most fun Braves team to root for since '95 without you.

One more loss tonight. Again, a winnable game where the offense simply didn't cooperate.

Eight more losses for 19 straight.

-- MWE