TSN: Chipper: Braves can’t compete in free agency

Woo-hoo! I haven’t seen a Chip get this involved in other people’s biz since Chip Douglas revolted against Uncle Charley’s Irish seal soup!

Chipper on the Mets acquiring relievers Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz:

The rich get richer. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the bigger markets are crushing the smaller markets with these signings. From a Mets standpoint, they’ve had a running feud with the Phillies the past couple of years. It’s kind of weird not to be in it.

We won for 14 consecutive years, and you never, ever saw any bulletin board material. And now that these two teams are on top of the division, they can’t keep their mouths shut. Just go play baseball. It’s Cole Hamels now. It was Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Beltran the past couple of springs. These two teams are constantly going at each other verbally. You know, win with class, lose with class. Just keep your mouth shut and go play your game.

I think that the Mets have something to prove after the past couple of years, having lost big leads in September. I think their bullpen was a big part of that, especially last year, so it was imperative that they go out and make a splash with their bullpen. And they certainly did.

The Mets picked up the two best closers in the American League West for their bullpen, and they’re basically making it a seven-inning game. You’d better be winning the game after seven innings. If you’re not, you’re pretty much done.