No. He was only clearly deserving one this season, though Simmons, Maybin and Grilli at least deserved consideration. But if you compare offensive numbers, those two fall well short of others at their positions, and Grilli's secondary numbers aren't as strong as some 20-save guys.

Don't know. Folty's got the stuff, but a bit erratic still to be thrust into role right now, IMO. For future, yes, he has that potential. But not right now at big-league level.

Gotta see what they do at least in next week. I mean, they're 5-1 in July with a series win vs. Nats. What if they go 5-1 rest of way before break and are, say, 2 games out of 1st place at break? Doesn't matter that the division is weak -- it's the division they are in, thus they only have to finish ahead of teams in that division to make the playoffs.

More likely to win the division than wild card, because the second-place teams in West and Central are more likely to win the wild-card spots, at least at this point. Division race is not settled, by any stretch. Nats just haven't shown they are all that.

No, Freeman updated us on Thursday. he's not on this trip, so we're not getting daily updates from him.

Just that they've been trying for at least 8 months, and so far no takers.

Ozzie Albies.

It's been two weeks. Not 30 days. Slump began in Washington. No, they're not concerned about a 12-game slump, when he hit .309/.389/.426 over his previous FIFTY GAMES

Then if you've given up, can you please stop asking? All due respect, i understand the interest, but if we had more updates on him, why would we keep that to ourselves? We'd all like to have some sort of scoop on him. He's still not playing in games. Could happen any time, as soon as the convoluted paperwork is all done. Sorry, I'm not privvy to any more than that. it's not a baseball matter, it's more a governmental matter, so we don't get details. And as I'v said before, it's pretty much a lost season at this point for him. You shouldn't expect him to make an impact this year after missing that much time. And people forget, since Day 1 we've described this guy as more a fourth-outfielder type. More ink and words have been spent discussing him than any fourth-outfielder type in some time. Or at least since Jordan Schafer.

If you want me to make you happy and say he could be fired, no, I'm not going to. Would make no sense to not fire him after last season, but fire him after this year's team surpasses all expectations that pundits locally and nationally had entering the season. If they finish .500 and he gets fired, after not getting fired following the 2014 season? Zero sense.

Don't know, they'd have to gauge whether the huge impact he's made in clubhouse and on team morale -- and I'm not exaggerating or overemphasizing that by any stretch -- has taken hold enough with current team to continue, whether others have picked up on it and would keep this team playing and competing and fighting till the end of every game, even if he weren't here. Ask anyone on the team. Anyone. They'll all tell you he's had more of an impact that far surpasses any statistical deficiency. That, and he still is a bit threat against lefty pitchers.

No, and if there's one thing we've learned with this new front office, is that it's folly to try to predict their personnel moves a week in advance, much less four months in advance.

I think he's a very good pitching coach. Period.

We're more than halfway through the season and they're five games out of first place. How could they not have a chance? The Nats have done something to make you think they're a lock to win the divsion? The Mets have. No, and no.

Very impressed by him. More than I expected. Better stuff than I had envisioned, and tougher, more composed on mound. He's really good. I'm never convinced when I hear a young guy is polished, throws mid-90s consistently but also has a full repertoire of pitches, until I see it. And I've seen it. Not a finished product, but far more advanced and with hgher upside than some other Braves prospects we've seen this year and in recent years.

None.

Won't surprise me. They've waited this long, might as well wait till the end trying to get another $200,000 or whatever they're looking for.

Struggling on mound hasn't been an issue in a while, other than Teheran on road and a couple of relievers (not the key guys). And what team doesn't have at LEAST 1-2 inconsistent starters? Braves have a 2.67 ERA in their past 18 games, and a 10-8 record, most of that without Freeman in lineup. They are in a pretty good spot, if you ask me. Bullpen's not nearly as bad as some have made it out to be. Had a terrible month earlier, but Johnson, Grilli are better than many teams' 1-2 guys, and Avilan, though not a great situational lefty, is a solid reliever who can pitch an inning at a time.

Hitting well in Triple-A doesn't mean much, really, at this point. Third year in Triple-A, we know he can hit well there. It's about being steady behind the plate, eliminating most of the passed balls and mental lapses, and calling a better game, working well with pitchers.

They will be big in the international market going forward. That's already started this year, with Gordon Blakeley and his team landing three highly-pursued guys in the past week. Those trades for the international-slot money were done to fit those guys in under this year's allotment, without going over and paying big taxes. But Braves can and will make more such trades. Won't surprise me at all if they go ahread after Maitan. But so will other teams, some willing to go over the limit and pay the big penalties or even lose ability to sign a big-money international FA the following year.