Published: June 29, 2008 09:55 pm            

Column: Braves need a better cash flow

It happened again. The Atlanta Braves on the road, losing by a run. Does that sound familiar? It should, because it’s the 23rd straight time it’s happened, dating back to last season.

In Sunday’s game, Altanta fell to the Toronto Blue Jays, 1-0. Jo-Jo Reyes’ seven inning, one-run gem was wasted because the Braves bats could not find an answer for the often-injured, often-inconsistent, yet occasionally effective A.J. Burnett, who struck out 11 Braves in just seven innings.

Just past the half-way mark of the season, the Braves are 40-43 and in fourth place behind the Philllies, Marlins and Mets.

But not to worry. There is hope for the season.

Maybe.

Although John Schuerholz is no longer the man who can make magic transformations to the club at midseason as he did by acquiring Fred McGriff in 1993 and Mark Teixeira in 2007, he did pass the wand to his right-hand man Frank Wren, who now serves as executive vice president and general manager of the Braves. Wren intends to use the inherited magic wand.

During Sunday’s television broadcast of the Braves-Blue Jays game, Wren stepped into the announcers’ booth and addressed questions about how he felt the team was performing and if he envisioned any changes to the current lineup.

After chalking up the team’s slow start to injuries and praising the young pitching staff, Wren said he was looking to add a bat to the lineup.

High-profile players with expiring contracts that play on losing teams are always the most likely candidates. Names that fall into that category this year are Matt Holliday of the Rockies, Raul Ibanez of the Mariners, Adam Dunn of the Reds, and Jason Bay and Xavier Nady of the Pirates. Any of those players could become the Braves’ new right fielder, the position Wren most likely is looking to fill.

The only reason a deal hasn’t gone down, according to Wren, is because it’s too early in the season for teams to throw in the towel.

It’s good that Wren says this, because the implication is that he’s going after a high-profile player, not someone just to keep the team afloat like, say, Mark Kotsay.

But will it be enough? Not likely.

Much like Teixeira was supposed to catapult the Braves into the postseason last season, any addition to the offense this year would not likely impact the team either. One acquisition cannot solve the Braves’ problems.

Considering what the Braves are working with at the moment, their 40-43 record is actually pretty good. The team’s lack of health is holding the Braves back, but in the cases of Mike Hampton, Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Kotsay and Tom Glavine, either age or past history served as a strong indicator that they’d be hurt anyway, so their injuries were to be expected.

Jair Jurrjens, a 22-year-old rookie acquired for Edgar Renteria this summer, leads the team in wins and ERA and has been a lifesaver, and the Braves have had several younger players like Manny Acosta, Brandon Jones and Jo-Jo Reyes make solid contributions this season.

Patching up a lineup with youth and injury-prone veterans will forever keep the Braves floating around .500. It’s good the manager is Bobby Cox, because anyone else could easily have this team 10-15 games under .500.

The only way to solve the Braves current problems is simple: Money.

For the 2008 season, the Braves’ payroll is $102,424,018, 10th among all major league teams.

A higher payroll is what the Braves need, but that wouldn’t guarantee success.

The Mariners ($117,993,982) and Dodgers ($118,536,038) have higher payrolls than the Braves, but have worse records because they wasted their money on the wrong players — Adrian Beltre and Andruw Jones, respectively. The Tigers ($138,685,197, 41-40) and Mets ($138,293,378, 40-41) have significantly higher payrolls and records similar to the Braves.

With guys like Schuerholz and Cox in the organization, it’s safe to say the money would be well spent. Think back to the glory days when Atlanta had its run of division titles. What made them so successful was having the luxury of tapping into Ted Turner’s wallet. The Braves cashed in on free agents such as Greg Maddux and rarely made the wrong move.

Could you imagine what the Braves could do if they doubled the payroll? If they did, they still wouldn’t have the highest payroll in the Bigs. That would belong to the Yankees ($209,081,579), who are in third place in the AL East with a 44-38 record, only four more wins than the Braves.

If the Braves had New York’s money, they’d have a few more than 44 wins. But until they start using their checkbook more, expect them to either float around .500, or just get worse.

        

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