The Braves traded David Lentz to the Pirates for saying:
 DL> Face the music, the Brave got taken to the bank on this one.
Baloney, David. The Braves, at worst, get a left-handed reliever and a year's 
worth of the best leadoff hitter in baseball (At a bargain price, I might 
add). Justice wasn't in the Brave's long-term plans so it was worth giving up 
$6 mil in salary to "rent" Loften, if that's how it turns out. The Braves 
saved $7.8 mil in salary and taxes on this deal and if they get rid of 
McGriff, they save another $4.8+ mil and if they lose Lofton, they save 
another $4.8+ mil. The WORST that can happen is that the Braves lose Lofton 
and then have over $15 mil to re-sign their top two pitchers AND find a 
replacement at left field (Plus they open up a spot in their organization for 
an outfielder to move up). They'd also shore up their outfield defense by 
moving Klesko to first by getting rid of McGriff. The long-term ramifications 
of the this deal make Atlanta the big winner. Cleveland took on the burden of 
an extra $6 mil in salary AND made an outfielder very unhappy (Giles). 
Atlanta's got the kind of flexibility that Cleveland (or any number of teams, 
for that matter) would love to have.
--- TrekEd 1.00
---------------