Should the Braves let Furcal go?

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

btw - If Marte is in the lineup why wouldn't he be at 3B? He couldn't be worse defensively than Chipper, could he? Or is the line of thinking that Chipper won't be able to get hurt at 3B like he could in the OF?

I think all the talk coming into the season was that Chipper can't (because of injury) and doesn't want to (for whatever reason) move back to the OF.

[Music2004Man]

I don't watch the Braves a lot so I don't know how well Laroche moves but what about putting Marte at 3rd, Chipper at first and Laroche in the OF?

[wake]

I think it would be better for Betemit to play short this year if the Braves have a shortstop in their organization who can produce in a year or two. Who is the braves best shortstop prospect? Yunel Escobar?

[slomo007]

Furcal defensively is great. Offensively he is not good at all. But, because the SS is the heart of the defense, I think he'll make a good signing in the offseason for someone (not the Braves).

He needs to learn how to take a walk and how to hit opposite field, rather than trying to swing for the fences every time.



Regarding the Braves' offseason, I think they should trade LaRoche and move Chipper to 1st and bring up Marte for 3b. Chipper will not play the OF again, you can practically guarantee that. Marte might, but I think Chipper would be better suited at 1b anyways.

[HOOTIE]

[quote="slomo007"]Furcal defensively is great. Offensively he is not good at all.

Furcal is better then you think. He was 6th for ss in Runs Created. And he ranked 47th in mlb in Runs Created, not too shabby. He created more then sluggers like Chavez, Edmonds, VWells, Guillen, Blalock to name a few. His RC/27 was well over the league avg, and quite a bit over the ss avg.

[Music2004Man]

I actually see a lot of similarities between Jimmy Rollins and Furcal and since Rollins just got 10 mill a year for 4 years (though I think the Phils overpaid alittle bit) Furcal will probably get a similar deal from someone.

[GSes]

Furcal imo is a BONAFIDe SUPErStar

No way the braves should let him go, I see him as one of the top 5 SS in the game. He has a great glove, great speed, and when fully healthy like in the 2nd half of 2005 he hit the crap out of the ball. The guy is a SB stud who also hits for decent/solid power. He and giles are my favorite MI combo in the game.

I don't see how any team would let a guy like Rafael Furcal walk, he should command a lot of money (one step below Tejada and Jeter money)

If the braves let him go, Furcal will be the MOST sought after free agent on the market. EVERYONE wants a superstar short stop.

[Music2004Man]

Furcal imo is a BONAFIDe SUPErStar

No way the braves should let him go, I see him as one of the top 5 SS in the game. He has a great glove, great speed, and when fully healthy like in the 2nd half of 2005 he hit the crap out of the ball. The guy is a SB stud who also hits for decent/solid power. He and giles are my favorite MI combo in the game.

I don't see how any team would let a guy like Rafael Furcal walk, he should command a lot of money (one step below Tejada and Jeter money)

If the braves let him go, Furcal will be the MOST sought after free agent on the market. EVERYONE wants a superstar short stop.

Wow, you really are a big fan of Furcal. I don't think I would say that he's a super star. I would say that he puts up solid numbers but is in the second tier for SS (with Rollins, Reyes, and Jeter). I would take Michael Young and Tejada ahead of him.

[George_Foreman]

Furcal defensively is great. Offensively he is not good at all. But, because the SS is the heart of the defense, I think he'll make a good signing in the offseason for someone (not the Braves).

He needs to learn how to take a walk and how to hit opposite field, rather than trying to swing for the fences every time.

you, sir, are living in the past.

furcal took that step this season. i'm not sure what the regular BB/AB, but last year furcal was walking once every 10 ABs. not too shabby. furcal had 58 walks last year in 616 ABs. derek jeter had 77 in 654. tejada had 40 in 654. michael young had 58 in 668. rollins had 47 in 667.

so when compared to the top SS in the game, furcal's taking a fine amount of walks. as for "swinging for the fences"... well, yeah. he still some times reverts to that form. but his OBP over the second half was .394. so even if he is trying to hit for too much power, he has still been able to get on base a fair bit of the time, which is what you really want from your leadoff hitter.

Regarding the Braves' offseason, I think they should trade LaRoche and move Chipper to 1st and bring up Marte for 3b. Chipper will not play the OF again, you can practically guarantee that. Marte might, but I think Chipper would be better suited at 1b anyways.

why the push to move chipper instead of marte? chipper has been a good defensive 3B since his move there in 2004, and marte is no gold glover, so why not move andy to first and keep chipper at 3B?

[Niffoc4]

I personally like the idea of getting Marte's bat in the lineup and playing LF, especially with only Johnson and Langerhans competing with him...
In an ideal world of course I would want to keep Furcal, but if the budget can only pay him 8 or 9 million (and that's with no other free agents... period) and someone like the Mets or Cubs offer him 12, then he should undoubtedly be allowed to leave, there are other problems on this team that MUST be addressed, and keeping one player at the expense of some bullpen help will not help this team win games... especially with Leo gone...

Also, I like the "House" quote...