Braves Reach a New Lowe

Maybe just maybe, this is the start of a small turn around for the Atlanta Braves. As a fan I could sit here and make snide remarks towards Frank Wren, and the rest of the front office for the Braves, but I won’t.

In an off season that has been marked by a failed Jake Peavy trade and the loss of John Smoltz, the signing of Derek Lowe means the Braves have solid stability in their rotation.

At first, I wasn’t overly excited with the Derek Lowe signing. Signing a 35-year old pitcher to four years at $15 mil per doesn’t exactly set my world on fire. There are still guys out there who would be cheaper. The inconsistent Ollie Perez and the injury prone Ben Sheets are readily available.

Wait; reread what I just wrote above. The words inconsistent, and injury prone are seen there. The Derek Lowe signing makes sense now. Derek Lowe provides veteran leadership to a rotation that last year was marked with inconsistency, and injuries.

For the last seven seasons Lowe has averaged around 200 innings, and 15 wins, again consistency something that the Braves need.

The Braves rotation isn’t anything scary to face, but it’s solid. Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Kenshin Kawakami, and the mix of Tom Glavine, and Jorge Campillo as a fifth starter. Don’t forget the eventual return of Tim Hudson to the rotation. Sure we don’t have a guy like Johan Santana or Cole Hamels like fellow rivals the Mets and Phillies have, but still an all-around a solid rotation.

Now the question is; are the Braves contenders or pretenders now with Derek Lowe?

Last season Lowe finished with a 14-11 record, but had a nice 3.24 earned run average. Lowe also did that with a team that at times offensively challenged. This season he’s joining a Braves team, that for the last two seasons has been a top ten offense, with injuries to Chipper Jones, and a struggling Jeff Francoeur.

A guy with good stuff like Derek Lowe needs an offense around him to score runs, so Atlanta may be the place for him to end his career in a winning fashion.

After missing the postseason for the last three seasons, getting a guy like Derek Lowe makes sense. The Braves may not have the team to fight for the division, but they have the team to stay competitive all season, and possibly fight for the Wild Card.

If Atlanta can get one more power bat, then maybe I’ll change my tune a bit, but until then I’ll be happy with the team the Braves have.