The Atlanta Braves organization sure has been full of excuses lately, all of which have been countered by the players they’ve attempted to sign.
The latest player to criticize the team is possibly one of the best players ever to don a Braves uniform for the past two decades: John Smoltz.
First, we saw the catastrophe between the Braves and Rafael Furcal that turned into embarrassment for the Braves. But the situation with Smoltzy is going beyond embarrassment.
Braves CEO Terry McGuirk told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the Braves offered a fair compensation package to Smoltz, considering he is coming off major injury. He said it was in the $10 million range.
The Red Sox offered Smolts $5.5 million in base salary plus $5 million more in incentives. After McGuirk spoke, Smoltz’ hand was forced to clear the record with a statement released today.
“There were large discrepancies between the offer from the Braves and offers from other teams. “I have always loved the city of Atlanta, and it will always be my home. I will cherish my 21 years with Bobby Cox and all my Braves teammates. I continue to wish the Atlanta Braves nothing but success in the future.”
What a disaster, one that likely will spell doom for the Braves organization, certainly for this year and likely for more. Unable to sign any worthy player to a deal, the Braves go into the 2009 season with basically no power hitter and no true ace in the lineup. The best player on the team remains a third baseman who never plays an entire season and who is in his late 30s. The rest of the group are a bunch of no-name minor leaguers who are lucky to be playing in the MLB.
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