Don't Trade Jurrjens. Don't Bump Schafer.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like. Being that it's my final semester of my undergrad, I've been occupied with, in my eyes, less important things. For instance, tonight, I could be at home watching the Braves. Instead, I have to go to class wait for updates on my iPhone regarding the status of tonight's game against the young and pumped Florida Marlins ball club.

Enough of that.

Considering I don't have the time to make each of my blog entries "pretty" with all of the flowery language that most professional writers spend time creating, I'm going to take a more informal approach to this season's blog. I'm simply gonna share my thoughts on issues regarding the Bravos in the most raw form possible. And hopefully, I will do this once a week.

Let's get to it.

Bill Shanks, the radio host for Fox Sports on 1670 AM (former ESPN radio host) boldly stated during yesterday's segment that he thinks the Braves should consider trading Jair Jurrjens, as he would prove to be a luring piece of trade bait. Shanks mentioned that JJ could be used to bring that "missing" power bat the Braves need in order to contend in the East.

I couldn't disagree more.

Normally, I take heed to Shanks's opinions on matters regarding the Braves. However, this time, I turned the radio off. The comment regarding JJ was simply ignorant.

I could relate my opinion on the matter, but a professor friend of mine said it best in an email to me last night:

"No way on earth I'd trade Jair!  The lesson of the '90s was that pitching wins, bats don't matter nearly as much--and it's much, much easier to rent a good bat for a year or even half a year because there are always bats people will deal--but far less so with really good pitchers.  And yes, with Chipper, B-Mac, Kelly, even Schafer, and a number of other guys off to promising starts, we'd be freakin' out of our minds to trade such a strong young pitcher for a bat! "

Even so, I'm not sure I'd give up a pitcher like JJ for a power bat regardless of the status of players like Chippper, B-Mac, Kelly, and Schafer. Like Dr. Chip said, bats don't matter nearly as much. 2 runs can win a ball game if the pitching shuts the opposing team down. End of story.

Moving on...

So, this year is completely different than the last 3 years in so many ways. We actually have solid depth in our rotation. After seeing our rotation at the beginning of Spring Training last year, Peter Gammons predicted that the Braves would win the World Series. His prediction was solely based on the fact that we had a rotation that appeared legendary on paper: (in no order) Smoltz, Glavine, Hudson, Hampton, and Jurrjens. Yeah, it looked nice. It looked really nice. However, the age element always made me a bit nervous. This year's rotation is so much younger. I really like this year's rotation. I love the idea of having work horses this year as opposed to future hall of famers who are fragile enough to break a limb picking up a shampoo bottle. I'm telling you folks-- Lowe, Vazquez, and Jurrjens have proven to be work horses. Lowe and Vazquez more so than JJ, but JJ is getting there. I absolutely the love the idea of having a Japanese player on our roster as well.

I think the front office does, too. I just got the clubhouse catalogue in the mail and Kawakami's face is all over it. Now, he's obviously a great marketing tool. But, my Lord, is he more than that! The dude can flat out pitch. Yes, he will give up a homer or two this year, for sure. But, when you strike out 8 batters in a game, it sort of balances itself out.

Before I wrap up this week's blog, I want to make mention my opinion regarding Schafer's place in the line-up. So many commenters on DOB's blog at http://ajc.com have said they'd like to see Bobby bump Schafer up to the lead-off spot.

Really?

 Schafer is 22 years young and is completely thriving in the non-pressured 8th spot? Why fix what ain't broke?

That's all.

Til' next time.