Re: _Braves_, Bruce Marshall wrote to Terry May on 17 Oct 97:
 TM>> The Braves will be MUCH better defensively next year with Andruw
 TM>> Jones in CF and anyone but McGriff at 1B.
 BM> 
 BM> Sos does that mean bye, bye to Lofton also?
Yeah.  He was never really expected to stick beyond one year, and his poor 
play and Andruw Jones great play in CF made the decision that much easier.  
Also, Lofton will be way out of their price range.
 BM> And, can't cover the ground that Grissom does.  Let's face it, the
 BM> Braves got robbed by the Indians on that trade, let's see, 2 all-star
 BM> fielders for a weak outfielder and a minor league pitcher, great trade
 BM> there Braves.
C'mon, Bruce.  That's weak.  For one thing, the trade was never meant to be 
equal talent for equal talent.  The Braves were dumping salary, so they could 
sign Glavine and Maddux to longterm contracts, which it accomplished.
Justice was coming off a fairly serious injury that kept him out last year, 
and he was a question mark, as he is every year, with his penchant for 
getting injured.
Grissom was an All-Star in the past, but was a #9 hitter this year.
Lofton was coming off a great year and was generally considered the best 
leadoff hitter in the game, and a total disruptive force for opposing teams.  
Obviously his injury slowed him way down, but he still had a great year 
offensively.  As I recall, he was selected to the All-Star team, but couldn't 
play because of his injury.
Embree had a very good year out of the bullpen, with an ERA of around 2.5, 
despite being the Braves' only lefty in the bullpen most of the year.
So all in all, it was hardly the disasterous trade you make it out to be.
... Atlanta Braves - 1991, 1992, 1995 & 1996 National League Champions!
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