Despite what you may have heard, no team contacted general manager Frank Wren about a stretch-run trade for lefty Mike Hampton. Apparently, everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop on him.
That would be everyone except Hampton himself. He may be the only person whose heart doesn't leap to his throat when he comes off the mound to field his position, or when he takes a mighty hack at the plate. (He can still get a hit and drive in a run, and he is understandably proud of that.) Hampton is a free agent after this season and no, he is not expecting a huge contract offer from any team. But as his sinking fastball returns and his stamina increases, Hampton's prospects for pitching somewhere next season improve.
The Braves will make an appropriately modest offer; they could really use a healthy Hampton next season. They could also use a healthy Tom Glavine and a healthy John Smoltz.
Consider the alternatives, which we have had the opportunity to see this season. Only rookie righty Jair Jurrjens has made it through this season in good shape -- and he has had a couple of sub-par games in the last month due to fatigue.
Of the other rookie or young pitchers the Braves have tried this season, only righty Jorge Campillo has been any good, and he has not been very good in his last several starts because he has not adjusted to the hitters who have now figured him out.
Righty Charlie Morton and lefty Jo-Jo Reyes need to be much more consistent before the Braves will be able to count on them, and lefty Chuck James, who was supposed to be part of the rotation, will probably require shoulder surgery.
MARLINS 4, BRAVES 3: LHP Mike Gonzalez came on to pitch the ninth inning with the score 3-3 and gave up a walk, a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk, another walk and a sacrifice fly to left that allowed the winning run to score, all without an official Marlins at-bat.
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