The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels pulled off a trade Friday to send former young ace Tommy Hanson to LA, for former young closer Jordan Walden. The initial reaction is that the Braves got the short end of the stick here because they gave up the starter, but because the Braves traded from a position of strength, many pundits proclaimed the Braves the victor. As the argument goes, there’s some salary calculus that deems Hanson the significantly more expensive player over the course of the respective team controlled years and the Braves have traded from a postion of extraordinary strength. Not to mention, Hanson’s drop in velocity is the biggest of red flags. Sorry to share it, but that argument is wrong and the Braves got rooked.
It’s true that Tommy Hanson has experienced a drop in velocity (He averaged 89.6 mph with his fastball in 2012), which has rendered him more league average than something to get excited about. His arm and mechanics were always question marks as h...
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December 01, 2012
