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♦ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2006
Braves look for relief help, turn to Pirates
By Travis Haney
Morris News Service
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
- John Schuerholz conceded
Tuesday afternoon that the
Braves’ trade talks with a
handful of other teams have
stalled to some degree.
“It’s slowed down,” the
Atlanta GM said. “The whole
process has slowed down a
bit.”
Part of the reason?
Schuerholz and other front
office types are busy shut
tling from meeting to meet
ing and can’t get together to
discuss personnel decisions.
For instance, Schuerholz
spoke with reporters just
after accepting an award
as one of Baseball America
magazine’s 25 most influen
tial people in the game.
Q and A with racing newsmaker Brian France of NASCAR
By Don Coble
Morris News Service
NASCAR chairman Brian
France is responsible for
keeping the wheels rolling
for the nation’s most-suc
cessful racing organization.
Despite its success, he said
NASCAR remains a work in
progress.
During a recent interview,
he said the Chase for the
Championship won’t get an
overhaul during the off-sea
son, but it may see some
minor changes. He also talk
ed about other issues that
could affect the sport Here
are excerpts of that press
conference:
Question: Will there
be significant chang
es in the Chase for the
Championship?
France: We’ll be looking
at nothing new. Everything
we’ll be looking at has been
brought up by various peo
ple in the last couple years.
We’ll be looking at, is 10 the
right number, as an example.
We’ll be looking at the 400
point margin. We’ll be look
ing at, you know, the final
10 races. I think we have
the right mix, and I don’t
think we’ll be changing that,
but we’ll be thinking about
the points structure; you
know, should we add a little
more to the win in the final
10. Just various things we
think will build what we’re
hoping for, which are big
moments and a bigger stage
for the drivers. That’s what
the Chase has always been
about. It’s about showcas
ing their skills. ... So we’ll
be looking at everything to
see if we can make it a little
bit better. There won’t be
a dramatic changes because
the basic format is working
well.
Question: There were a
lot more fines and penal
ties this year. Why?
France: Well, I think the
urgency to win and how
many competitive teams,
you know, that are just going
to go to the line a little bit
harder. And sometimes, they
flop over, either accidentally
or intentionally, doesn’t mat
ter. We’ll take the kind of
action we need to take. My
sense of it is that, you know,
there’s just more teams that
are trying harder. And it’s
more competitive. So you’re
trying for every little inch I
can gain an advantage on,
and sometimes that puts us
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Despite the distractions
abounding at Disney’s
Dolphin Resort, don’t count
the Braves out of making a
deal or two by week’s end.
Of the half-dozen or so
teams the Braves continue
to barter with, Pittsburgh is
emerging as the best match
up for a potential trade.
The Pirates are interest
ed in a young, left-handed
power hitter - and Atlanta’s
first baseman Adam Laßoche
qualifies.
Laßoche, 27, hit a career
high 32 homers this past
season, but the Braves feel
that Scott Thorman, also
young and also left-handed,
is ready for everyday play
at first.
To pique Atlanta’s inter
est, Pittsburgh has arguably
the most bullpen depth of
in a position to have to react,
and when we have to, we
will.
Question: Another
thing on the Chase. Is it
safe to assume it won’t
return in its current form
next year?
France: I’d be very sur
prised. Seeing what has
gone across my desk now
from people internally and
race fans and just different
places we get ideas from,
including the media, some
of them we like, but we’re
sort of playing with. But
I want to say, changes are
one thing; adjustments are
another. Adjustments tend
to be smaller, tend to be less
dramatic, and that’s kind of
what we’re looking at. We’re
looking at adjustments, not
changes.
Question: Is 10 the
right number of drivers
in the Chase?
France: Well, there’s
no magic number. We have
zeroed in on other things,
and whether we always
thought that more than 10
might get in. It hasn’t hap
pened yet. It could happen
this year. So we’ll look at
that 400-point mark. ... But
is 10 the number? Is 12 the
number? Would we like to
see the 400-point issue come
into play? I think it would
be interesting. It would be
nice to see. Call it a wild
card if you will; some wild
card teams jump in. I think
that would add to the drama
and excitement. So we’ll
have to see how that plays
out, and if we want to make
that more attainable in the
future, that’s what we’ll be
working on.
Question: Do you pay
attention to what the
fans want in the Chase?
France: Oh, sure. We
pay attention to what peo
ple feel good about or don’t
feel good about. You know,
we take that into consider
ation. We’re not doing this
for ourselves; we’re doing
it to excite fans. I think the
most important thing is,
you know, we want to build
drama. Everybody wants
to, and any sports commis
sioner would tell you, in an
ideal world, they would like
to have a close, high-scoring
game that goes down to the
last play. We’re no different
than that. The trick for us
is, you can’t artificially do
it. So we can do things that
give teams more opportuni
any team in the majors.
The Braves have asked
repeatedly about Pirates
closer Mike Gonzalez,
but Pittsburgh GM Dave
Littlefield seems reluctant
to trade the 28-year-old left
hander - or any of his pitch
ers, for that matter.
Atlanta would love to slide
the hard-throwing Gonzalez
into the eighth-inning role
to set up Bob Wickman, with
future plans to move him
into the ninth-inning slot
after Wickman moves on or
retires.
Gonzalez converted all 24
of his save chances this past
season before being shut
down in late August after
experiencing elbow tendini
tis.
The elbow ailment isn't
thought to be a deterrent for
ties to have big moments
on a bigger stage, and all of
those things. But as we look
at that, we want to make
sure that they are earning
it, it’s performance driven.
Not just because we feel like
having 12 teams in there. ...
It has to be thought of in the
context of performance.
Question: Is it in
NASCAR’s best inter
est for CART and IRL
to solve their differences
and become a single rac
ing organization again?
France: Well, 1 don’t
know about what I’d prefer.
It doesn’t really matter. The
one thing I would like to see
is a healthy open-wheel divi
sion, or two, whatever it is.
I would like to see all form
of racing; that’s in our best
interests, because the tracks
run at most two Nextel Cup
races. They need lots of con
tent, lots of auto racing. And
so the more healthy sports
car racing is, open wheel,
you name it, the weekly
series we will get our spon
sorship, whatever is going
to be, earned by the teams
and ourselves, we’ll get that.
We’ll deliver enough value
to put enough sponsorship
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the Braves or the handful of
other teams who’ve asked
about Gonzalez.
Pittsburgh also has entic
ing middle-relief options
beyond Gonzalez - namely
workhorse veteran Solomon
Torres and lefty John
Grabow.
Torres, the 34-year-old
who appeared in a major
league-high 94 games last
year, is owed a reasonable
$2.6 million in 2007 and
$3.2 million in 2008, with
an option for 2009.
Even with all those appear
ances in 2006, Torres still
kept his ERA at 3.28. He
posted a 2.76 ERA in 78
games in 2005, a 2.64 ERA
in 84 games three seasons
ago.
Torres also converted 12
of 13 saves at the end of last
to work in our division. It’s
not about dividing it up. The
pie is big. Not only would
I like to see all of auto rac
ing healthy, No. 1, but all
of sport healthy. When one
sport, even when it’s outside
of our category, struggles or
has a major issue, that’s not
good for us. We’re all playing
to the same fan bases. So
when things are healthy and
going in a positive way in
all sports, that’s in our best
Question: Will NASCAR
look at the way drivers
have to compete while
they’re hurt just to col
lect points and stay alive
in the championship?
France: Well, you have
to pass a certain physical
level, depending on if it’s
a head injury or something
like that. We obviously will
work with the doctors and
make sure that somebody
is at a minimum level to
compete. Get in the car, go
one lap and get your points.
This always comes up when
someone is injured and has
to climb in the car. We look
at it, but, you know, we want
our drivers competing as
much as possible. And so far,
Savings!
season after Gonzalez went
down.
Grabow isn’t the power
arm that Gonzalez is, but
he would still provide the
Braves with an experienced
left-hander that it doesn’t
currently possess.
Grabow, 28, has thrown an
average of 61 innings each
of the three full seasons he’s
been in the majors. He went
4-2 with a 4.13 ERA this
past year, his best season.
Other Pirates pieces could
be in play, as well.
Atlanta was interested in
center fielder Chris Duffy,
a youngster who could hit
in the leadoff spot, but the
Pirates don’t want to lose
him. Second baseman Jose
Castillo, instead, is a more
likely pawn.
Castillo’s .258 average
we’re comfortable with the
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isn’t all that impressive, but
some in Pittsburgh think
a change of scenery might
bring about a blossoming
that isn’t possible in a los
ing environment such as the
Steel City.
For the Braves, Castillo,
25, would provide a cheap
replacement for Marcus
Giles, who is expected to be
traded soon because of sal
ary and production consid
erations.
Having Castillo would put
far less pressure on Martin
Prado, the youngster who’s
currently the leader in the
clubhouse to fill Giles’ spot.
All this said, a possible
roadblock between Atlanta
and Pittsburgh is the Pirates’
strong interest in Colorado’s
Brad Hawpe, another young
left-handed power hitter.
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