Mar 24, 2016; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Former Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones shares a laugh with umpire Greg Gibson (left) before the first inning of a spring training baseball game at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
The Morning Chop is our daily wrap of all-things-Braves that you might have missed… or maybe wanted to put a little more thought into.
Five weeks remain until the Atlanta Braves begin reporting to Disney World to start their 2017 campaign.
Some of the new arrivals might be a little… late.
Baby Watch Continues… but is Something Going On?
It’s hard to tell who’s more impatient for a birth at the Jones household. Chipper Jones’ fifth son was due just before the New Year, but it seems he’s holding out for a better crib or something.
The saga has been playing out on twitter… and Chipper is always entertaining:
6 days late…..@lilgeorgiapeach is a trooper!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) January 5, 2017
Contingency plans were made…
Well, with the snow coming and hopefully a baby boy in the near future, I made sure ol Betsy was fueled up! Traded in 4 wheeler. Lol pic.twitter.com/U0vrFpR3f8
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) January 5, 2017
Today would make the 10th day after Taylor’s due date. So far… no numerical update on twitter from #10 himself. Maybe that means something is moving?
We’ll keep watching.
Aug 29, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Luis Valbuena (18) sits in the dugout during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Free Agent Profile: Luis Valbuena
CONNOR BYRNE / MLBTRADERUMORS.COM
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While Valbuena has been terrific against righties, his bat has been virtually unplayable at times versus same-handed pitchers. In 530 career PAs, he has hit a meager .221/.310/.356 against lefties – including a lackluster .206/.299/.335 over the past three seasons.
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“Several” teams have expressed interest in Valbuena this offseason, his agent, Scott Schneider, said last month. The only reported suitors are the Yankees and Rays. Neither team looks like an obvious fit, though, given the options they have on hand at third, first (Valbuena’s occasional position since 2015) and designated hitter.
Clubs that could still stand to upgrade in the corner infield include the Braves, Red Sox, Athletics and Rangers. Atlanta might be the best choice, as Valbuena and right-handed-hitting third baseman Adonis Garcia would have the potential to make for a formidable offensive platoon.
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[ Ed. note: Valbuena was non-tendered by the Astros after receiving $6.1 million in 2016.
As a lefty hitter, yes – you would think there might be an obvious platoon situation available for the Braves with the RHH Garcia. And the career numbers shown above would back that up… except that you should then also quote his hitting vs. RH Pitching:
.234 / .319 / .403 / .722 with a 98 wRC+ score.
More from Tomahawk Take
That’s not a lot better. Also, in 2016, Valbuena hit better vs. LHP (.267, nine points higher than against RHP). Plus, if you think there’s something to the splits, then the biggest differential involved his home/road numbers: .286 at Houston, .234 everywhere else.
Now Valbuena was hurt last year and was limited to 292 AB’s… with 13 dingers in that limited time frame. But nine of those did come at Minute Maid Park and it is noteworthy that Houston chose not to re-sign him (though they are tight with money and they had at least a couple of other 3B options available). That said, they couldn’t move him in a trade, either.
The Braves have probably checked in on Valbuena – heck, they have on virtually anyone carrying an infielder’s glove – but we haven’t seen any concrete rumors regarding him thus far. ]
March 10th
Tim Tucker of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution tells us that March 10 is the date that Braves single-game tickets will be available for purchase.
If you think six games over the year sound about right for you, then those packages come quicker: February 7th.
If you’re really ready to jump on the Braves’ SunTrust bandwagon, 1/3rd season and full season packages are already available now.
Meanwhile, you might have an easier time in getting those tickets this year… if those behaving badly actually abide by this new law:
President Obama signs nationwide ticket-bot ban into law
BILLY STEELE / ENGADGET.COM (DEC 15)
New York already passed legislation banning the use of ticket buying bots, but President Obama has just made the ban a nationwide law. Today [DEC 15], the president signed the “Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016” which makes it illegal to use software to purchase tickets to popular events. Of course, the end goal of doing so is to resell them at a higher price. As you might expect, the law aims to give the general public a fair shot at concerts, sporting events and more that sell out quickly.
Under the new law, it is illegal for anyone to use a bot or other software to obtain more tickets than a specified limit allows or circumvent the posted rules for making a fair purchase. It also makes it illegal to resell any tickets than were bought with the help of a ticket bot. Both the person who employed the software and anyone who has knowledge of how the tickets were obtained can be held liable for the offense.
[Ed. note: I don’t know how this gets enforced, but it’s a start, at least.
If you’ve wondered how certain companies get hold of so many tickets to … well, everything that worth selling tickets for… then now you know. With some events selling out in mere hours or minutes, the general public just didn’t stand a chance… and thus faced having to pay a premium on top of a premium price to get seating.
Hopefully change is coming. But mark your calendars. ]
