I do believe I was right in my last blog. I said the Atlanta Braves made a good move by adding Bob Wickman. I did also say it wouldn't help them much since they don't have the pitching to get the ball to Wickman. Well, guess what? The Braves blew a save today against the Philadelphia Phillies. Do you know what inning it was in? The 8th. I don't mean to brag, but when you're right and people said the Braves had enough pitching to get the ball to Wickman, you have to say something.

     Bob Wickman was recently traded to the Atlanta Braves. Wickman is one of the best closers in the game. Lets face it, the Braves need a closer. When you've used five different guys in the closers role and you have 20 blown saves on the year, you need help. Lets face this though, the Braves don't have the guys to setup for Wickman.
     The Braves have decent pitching. Decent starters and decent relievers. However, they don't have the guys that can hold a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th. So, if you don't have the guys to hold on to 1-0 lead, how can they get the game to Wickman? That's right, they can't. The Braves can benefit from this trade, but not much. What they really need to do is go out and add another closer like guy to pitch the 8th and get it to Wickman. Say, like Scott Linebrink? Wilson Betemit has been scouted by the San Diego Padres as an everyday third baseman for them. Of course, they said Linebrink won't be moved, but if the Braves throw in a prospect....you never know. Something could happen. Maybe even Chan Ho Park could be traded to Atlanta. He's been used in the closers role before. He could benefit from moving out of the rotation.

     Josh Rabe was recently called up to the Minnesota Twins when Shannon Stewart and Tori Hunter went on the disabled list. Josh Kinney was called up at the start of July for the St. Louis Cardinals. Why is this important? They both graduated from Quincy University. No, not the Quincy in Massachusetts. The Quincy in Illinois. Quincy was once one of the largest cities in the state of Illinois. That's right. It was once bigger than Chicago AND Springfield. Al Capone stayed in Quincy every once in a while and shipped things to St. Louis. Quincy was known as the "lil Chicago" during the mob years. Josh Kinney and Josh Rabe were both big stars on the Quincy team. Qunicy University is a Division Two school in sports. Not a well known school. Why does all this matter? Because finally my town is finally being represented in Major League Baseball. Also, I may finally not get this question from people when I tell them I'm from Quincy: is that a suburb of Chicago? <-- FYI, Quincy is about 4-5 hours south of Chicago.
     Also, Neal Cotts played for the Quincy Gems one summer. The Gems are the summer league team that plays in Quincy. Also, did you know that the Cubs once had their Single A club in Quincy?

     So, Tim Purpura is a very good General Manager....at times. Sometimes, people make a mistake that they don't realize. This is one of those times. Purpura traded two prospects (B prospects, so they aren't bad, but they aren't good) for Aubrey Huff. Now, with Huff, the Astros add a much needed left handed bat. They were desperate for a lefty. They have Mike Lamb and Orlando Palmerio. Huff adds a lot to their bench. Wait, what? Tim Purpura on MLB Homeplate (XM 175), "We're going to use him in front of or behind Lance Berkman."

     That sounds like they want to use Huff everyday. Since they optioned Jason Lane to Triple-A, that means right field is open. That's a great idea. I mean, you have Willy Taverez batting second and Craig Biggio leading off. Then you use Huff in right and batting third, Berkman cleanup at first. After Berkman you use Preston Wilson in left, Morgan Ensberg/Mike Lamb in the six hole at 3B. After that, the catcher and then Adam Everett. Do you see something other than a lot of rambling? You say: I don't see anything. I say: Exactly, no Chris Burke. Burke can play all three OF spots and 2B. If Biggio is at 2B, Wilson in left and Huff in right, Burke is out of options. The only way he can play is if he and Taverez split time in center and then start at 2B when Biggio gets the day off. That's it. I have to tell you, Purpura has done this before. Remember 2004 when he added Carlos Beltran? Sure, that was a great move, don't get me wrong. Remember the trade before that trade? Richard Hidalgo to the Mets? Remember why they made that trade? To let Lane start everyday. Remember the Preston Wilson signing? All these moves have screwed a young player over every year. The Beltran trade benched Lane and the Wilson signing benched Burke. Then, when there was a little glow of light ahead for Burke, Purpura puts the lid on top of the cellar by adding Huff. How can this guy be in charge of the Astros? They might as well have Gord Ash running them. Purpura has no idea what he is doing.

     Don't get me wrong. The guy has built a National League Championship team, but still, he needs to use that money he's spending to buy a clue. Huff was definently needed by the Astros, but they should have traded one of the following players with those minor leaguers: Chris Burke, Willy Taverez or Preston Wilson. That way Burke has a place to play everyday, same with Taverez. Burke has proven himself this year. Heck, he proved himself last year.

     Come on Purpura, give the kid a shot for once.

Wanting to know how to build that World Series winner? It's not as simple as spending as much money as you can or even having the best veterans of the last decade and no youth. To build that winner you need to mix and match. You need some young blood, some proven veterans and some good minds to make things go. What I mean by some good minds is a manager that knows what he needs to do every game so he can win that game and get that much closer to the series. So, here's how you build that winner.

MANAGER: Experience
Your manager needs some experience in some way, shape or form. Maybe not World Series experience, but at least some playoff experience. It could also help if your manager was also a player at some point. That way he knows how hard it is to go out there everyday and how much pressure a player is under in the playoffs. This way he can relate to you.

PITCHING AND HITTING COACHES: Brains
Your coaches need some brains. They have know what they are doing. You can't just hire some random bums you met down at the river and begged you for money while inside of their box and their pet sock was talking to you. They need to be able to know other pitchers and hitters and tell you a plan of attack. They also need to know their own pitchers and hitters so they can help them get beter and maybe help them get some hardware.

THE TEAM: Experience, Youth and Some Fun
Your team cannot have expenses out the butt. You can't go out and pickup every 40 year old player that was good in the late 80s and early 90s. They have to be good NOW. They have to have a little experience in the playoffs and a lot of experience in strech runs.
You also have to have some young blood. No one can do it all with old veterans. Young blood keeps the team a float with it's youth and energy. Something you really need for a season that can last 7+ months. Energy.
Now, fun is what every team needs. You can't go around and have a serious team that has no fun whatsoever. It's like what the Brewers do. They have two team buses. One bus is for players that want to go on say whatever they want and not get in trouble for it. Guess what? The caoches ride this bus to and say what they want. This keeps the chemistry high and lets players be themselves and they can have a lot of fun too. The other bus is for players and coaches who don't want to speak their mind. Not many people ride that bus. You have to have some joksters. It's like with the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals. Reggie Sanders was the big jokster on that team. He was serious when he needed to be, but when he didn't need to be he made others laugh. Thats what a team needs: seriousness when seriousness is needed, but laugher the other 99.2% of the time.

There you have it. You need experience and some young blood.