Luvofthegame
09-29-2006, 11:57 PM
Starter might be untradeable if form doesn't return
By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
09/29/06
The Braves' 2007 starting rotation will have an ace, John Smoltz, who is still elite but will be 40 years old.
It will presumably include at least two left-handers who could each win 15 games, although Chuck James will have less than a full season in the majors and Mike Hampton is coming back from two surgeries and will have gone 20 months between starts. It may or may not include lefty Horacio Ramirez, who could be traded.
And then there's the Big Question Mark. Because despite all those concerns involving the other starters, none is more important or harder to predict than Tim Hudson. And that's not the way it was supposed to be.
After coming from Oakland in a December 2004 trade, he was to be the leader and most reliable pitcher in the Braves' rotation, having posted a 92-39 record and 3.30 ERA in 183 starts with the Athletics. The Braves gave him a four-year, $47 million contract extension before he threw his first pitch in 2005 spring training.
But instead of reliable, he's been erratic and often mediocre or worse for the Braves, compiling a 27-21 record with a 4.23 ERA in 64 starts, including a career-worst 13-12 with a career-high 4.86 ERA this season.
"I never had a year like this," Hudson said, "and I've never looked forward to an offseason like this one — not because it's been so bad, but because I'm going to rededicate myself, get in the weight room, get stronger. It's been a tough year for me, embarrassing. I feel like I've let my teammates down and the organization and fans."
If the Braves could find a team to pick up the remaining $33 million the 31-year-old is guaranteed over the next three seasons, plus give Atlanta some younger talent, they might have already traded Hudson.
They still might, if the right offer comes along. But it seems less likely given general manager John Schuerholz's stated offseason priority.
"We're going to strengthen our pitching staff ," Schuerholz said. "That's goal No. 1. We're going to do everything we possibly can to return our pitching, from top to bottom, to the standards that were set around here for the last 15 years. That's our goal. And we believe we can do that."
It's a Catch-22 with Hudson. The Braves want to rebuild their pitching, which faltered badly during a season in which their run of 14 consecutive titles ended.
Hudson could be the nucleus of that project, if he returns to the form he displayed in Oakland. But if they hang onto him and he continues to muddle along, he'd become more difficult to trade after next season.
His salary jumps from $6 million in 2007 to $13 million in both 2008 and 2009, with a $12 million option for 2010 and $1 million buyout.
"He'll come back and be on top of his game," said Hampton, who missed the 2006 season after reconstructive elbow surgery and knee surgery, but has worked out with the Braves since spring training.
Hampton and the Braves watched Hudson limit the Mets to four hits and one run in six innings Wednesday in his last start of the season.
"That was him," said Hampton, who saw Hudson throw the sinker and split-finger fastballs that made him so effective in Oakland. "I think it's got to be comforting to have a start like that, leave on a positive note.
"His stuff is definitely still there."
Hudson said his problems stemmed mostly from an inability to make adjustments in games. He said he got used to being on cruise control in Oakland, where things came easily for him most nights.
When he ran into mechanical difficulties he didn't adjust fast enough. He said he's worked with first-year pitching coach Roger McDowell to recognize those problems and understand how to make adjustments.
Why'd it take so long, fans and others might ask? No answer, really.
Another source of his frustrations has been diminished velocity.
"This year my best heater [fastball] was 91 [mph]," Hudson said. "I'm usually at 91-93 [mph] and my best heater's 95."
Is he just getting old? Is the undersized pitcher breaking down from tremendous torque he generates with his hips, which orthopedist Dr. James Andrews said was greater than any pitcher he's tested at his clinic?
Hudson doesn't think so. He thinks it has to do with his winter workouts. Two years ago he did high-intensity work focused on core muscles in an effort to avoid a recurrence of side strains that plagued him in 2003-04.
But after another stint on the disabled list for a side strain in 2005 with the Braves, Hudson backed off and took it easy last winter.
That strategy has failed him, so he plans to find a happy medium this winter and get back to the workouts he followed earlier in his career, lifting weights and strengthening his entire body.
"I've got a lot of motivation," Hudson said. "I want to come back next year and get back to what I was."
Perhaps it was nothing, but it was interesting when Schuerholz spoke of next season and mentioned two starters.
"We have an optimistic view of this," he said Wednesday. "Mike [Hampton] is coming back, and John [Smoltz] is at the front of the rotation. We've got some important pieces in place."
Schuerholz was asked, "And Hudson?"
"And Hudson," Schuerholz said.
By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
09/29/06
The Braves' 2007 starting rotation will have an ace, John Smoltz, who is still elite but will be 40 years old.
It will presumably include at least two left-handers who could each win 15 games, although Chuck James will have less than a full season in the majors and Mike Hampton is coming back from two surgeries and will have gone 20 months between starts. It may or may not include lefty Horacio Ramirez, who could be traded.
And then there's the Big Question Mark. Because despite all those concerns involving the other starters, none is more important or harder to predict than Tim Hudson. And that's not the way it was supposed to be.
After coming from Oakland in a December 2004 trade, he was to be the leader and most reliable pitcher in the Braves' rotation, having posted a 92-39 record and 3.30 ERA in 183 starts with the Athletics. The Braves gave him a four-year, $47 million contract extension before he threw his first pitch in 2005 spring training.
But instead of reliable, he's been erratic and often mediocre or worse for the Braves, compiling a 27-21 record with a 4.23 ERA in 64 starts, including a career-worst 13-12 with a career-high 4.86 ERA this season.
"I never had a year like this," Hudson said, "and I've never looked forward to an offseason like this one — not because it's been so bad, but because I'm going to rededicate myself, get in the weight room, get stronger. It's been a tough year for me, embarrassing. I feel like I've let my teammates down and the organization and fans."
If the Braves could find a team to pick up the remaining $33 million the 31-year-old is guaranteed over the next three seasons, plus give Atlanta some younger talent, they might have already traded Hudson.
They still might, if the right offer comes along. But it seems less likely given general manager John Schuerholz's stated offseason priority.
"We're going to strengthen our pitching staff ," Schuerholz said. "That's goal No. 1. We're going to do everything we possibly can to return our pitching, from top to bottom, to the standards that were set around here for the last 15 years. That's our goal. And we believe we can do that."
It's a Catch-22 with Hudson. The Braves want to rebuild their pitching, which faltered badly during a season in which their run of 14 consecutive titles ended.
Hudson could be the nucleus of that project, if he returns to the form he displayed in Oakland. But if they hang onto him and he continues to muddle along, he'd become more difficult to trade after next season.
His salary jumps from $6 million in 2007 to $13 million in both 2008 and 2009, with a $12 million option for 2010 and $1 million buyout.
"He'll come back and be on top of his game," said Hampton, who missed the 2006 season after reconstructive elbow surgery and knee surgery, but has worked out with the Braves since spring training.
Hampton and the Braves watched Hudson limit the Mets to four hits and one run in six innings Wednesday in his last start of the season.
"That was him," said Hampton, who saw Hudson throw the sinker and split-finger fastballs that made him so effective in Oakland. "I think it's got to be comforting to have a start like that, leave on a positive note.
"His stuff is definitely still there."
Hudson said his problems stemmed mostly from an inability to make adjustments in games. He said he got used to being on cruise control in Oakland, where things came easily for him most nights.
When he ran into mechanical difficulties he didn't adjust fast enough. He said he's worked with first-year pitching coach Roger McDowell to recognize those problems and understand how to make adjustments.
Why'd it take so long, fans and others might ask? No answer, really.
Another source of his frustrations has been diminished velocity.
"This year my best heater [fastball] was 91 [mph]," Hudson said. "I'm usually at 91-93 [mph] and my best heater's 95."
Is he just getting old? Is the undersized pitcher breaking down from tremendous torque he generates with his hips, which orthopedist Dr. James Andrews said was greater than any pitcher he's tested at his clinic?
Hudson doesn't think so. He thinks it has to do with his winter workouts. Two years ago he did high-intensity work focused on core muscles in an effort to avoid a recurrence of side strains that plagued him in 2003-04.
But after another stint on the disabled list for a side strain in 2005 with the Braves, Hudson backed off and took it easy last winter.
That strategy has failed him, so he plans to find a happy medium this winter and get back to the workouts he followed earlier in his career, lifting weights and strengthening his entire body.
"I've got a lot of motivation," Hudson said. "I want to come back next year and get back to what I was."
Perhaps it was nothing, but it was interesting when Schuerholz spoke of next season and mentioned two starters.
"We have an optimistic view of this," he said Wednesday. "Mike [Hampton] is coming back, and John [Smoltz] is at the front of the rotation. We've got some important pieces in place."
Schuerholz was asked, "And Hudson?"
"And Hudson," Schuerholz said.