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Renteria is an upgrade over Furcal
Two years ago, panic floated through this city because the Braves let Gary Sheffield get away in free agency. I’m still not sure why. Maybe Sheffield’s regular-season numbers were so blinding that everybody forgot he went splat in consecutive Octobers.
Sheffield’s two seasons in New York have been similar to his two with the Braves. He has made a lot money, which means he can afford a lot of diamond rings, which is fortunate because he hasn’t won any with the Yankees, either.
This week, when the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped a $39 million contract into Rafael Furcal’s lap, there were similar concerns about the Braves losing another centerpiece. If Furcal did something blinding, I missed it. Maybe it was all of those playoff series the Braves won with him in the lineup.
Oh wait. That would be zero. Never mind. (They won a 2001 divisional series with Furcal on the disabled list.)
The Braves are not dismantling a championship team. Rather, they’re trying to fix a team that hasn’t won championships. That’s a good thing.
And so is this: Replacing Furcal with Edgar Renteria.
Look at the body of work, not one season. If you think of the Furcal who hit .322 after the All-Star break, remember the one who hit .254 in the first half. If you think of the 15 errors last year, don’t forget the 82 over the previous three. Which is the aberration?
If you look at the Renteria who suffered a career meltdown in his one season in Boston — 30 errors, 100 strikeouts — remember what he did to earn a four-year, $40 million contract. For most of his career, he has been all about precious metals. Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. Injuries — which he wouldn’t blame — and the obvious pressures of playing in the glare of Boston no doubt contributed to the 30 errors last season. But he had only 46 the previous three in the sane surroundings of St. Louis. Which is the aberration?
The Braves’ postseason problems can partly be traced to a lack of clutch. For most of his career, Renteria is all about clutch. His hit won a World Series for Florida in 1997. He is a career .303 hitter with men on base, .281 with runners in scoring position, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Even in last year’s down season, he hit .292 with men on base. (Furcal: .259.) “We had a significant gap to fill, and we believe we’ve done that,” Braves general manager John Schuerholz said.
Actually, he has done more than that. This Braves already have a better lineup than last year, and Schuerholz still has more payroll flexibility than he has had for several seasons.
He convinced the Red Sox to pay $8 million of Renteria’s $29 million over the next three seasons, plus the $3 million buyout of the player’s would-be fourth-year option. That’s like getting half off a Mercedes because of a scratch.
While the Dodgers have committed $39 million to their starting shortstop, the Braves will pay only $18 million for a four-time All-Star who has proven far more over his career than Furcal.
Still miss your Fooky?
Schuerholz has done it again. It hasn’t paid off in October but once. But no general manager has done a better job the other 11 months.
The restructuring of Chipper Jones’ contract saves the team $5 million next season. Julio Franco ($1 million) wasn’t offered arbitration. Johnny Estrada ($2 million) was traded to make room for Brian McCann. Dan Kolb ($3.4 million) was sling-shotted back to Milwaukee, presumably because Brewers is Latin for masochists.
There are still bodies and cash to barter for a closer. Youth now covers this lineup: McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Adam LaRoche, Ryan Langerhans, Kyle Davies.
The amusing thing about the Braves supposedly giving up the organization’s “best prospect” for Renteria in Andy Marte is that the “best prospects” are already on the roster.
Marte might have a future, but he hardly was untouchable and he still looks to be a year removed from major league-ready. And for him they get Edgar Renteria? This trade was a slam dunk.
Renteria is not a replacement. He is an upgrade.
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He's right, but I'll miss Furcal's cannon to 1B.
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Originally Posted by love_that_reefer
