It’s about time for the national media to start recognizing 26-year old lefty swinging Brian McCann as one of the best catchers in all of baseball. He has played in 115 games for the Braves this year and he is 108 of 384 (.281 avg, .873 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 19 homers, 70 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. McCann has now played in 726 games in his six years with the Braves and he is 731 of 2,507 (.292 avg, .857 OPS) with 317 runs scored, 110 homers, 459 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. If the Braves are going to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies a big reason will be the play of Brian McCann.

38-year old closer Billy Wagner maintains that he is going to retire after this season. He has pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Braves this year and he is 7-2 with 30 saves, a 1.68 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. Wagner has only given up 32 hits in 53 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 77 batters showing that he is still very much on his game. Wagner is #5 all-time saves in major league history with 415 of them. He is 9 saves behind John Franco who has the most saves in history as a lefty. Wagner would like to ride out into the sunset along with Bobby Cox after winning the World Series. Only time will tell if that happens or not.

The Braves have placed 33-year old righty swinging 1B Troy Glaus on the D.L. with a sore right knee. Glaus has played in 115 games for the Braves this year and he is 95 of 397 (.239 avg, .749 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 16 homers and 70 RBIs. When Glaus is ready to go out on a short rehab assignment he will go back to playing 3B with the idea of him helping the team in September.

The Braves have acquired 34-year old righty swinging 1B Derek Lee from the Cubs for 19-year old righty starter/reliever Robin Lopez, 23-year old righty reliever Tyrelle Harris and 22-year old lefty reliever Jeffrey Lorick. Lee played in 109 games for the Cubs this year and he was 105 of 418 (.251 avg, .751 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 16 homers and 56 RBIs. He has now played in 1,790 games in his 14 years in the majors and he is 1,806 of 6,398 (.282 avg, .865 OPS) with 1,009 runs scored, 309 homers, 995 RBIs and 102 stolen bases. Lee will be a huge improvement defensively for the Braves at 1B and he will also provide better offense too as Troy Glaus has been slumping as of late.

Robinson Lopez came into this season as the Braves’ #16 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Lopez pitched in 24 games (16 starts) in A-ball this year for the Braves and he was 3-8 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Tyrelle Harris pitched in 30 games (1 start) for the Braves this year in A+AA-ball and he was 1-2 with 6 saves, a 2.90 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He whiffed 60 batters and only allowed 38 hits in 49 2/3 innings this year showing what kind of stuff he has. Jeffrey Lorick pitched in 27 games (4 starts) for the Braves in A-ball this year and he was 3-6 with 4 saves, a 2.24 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

These were not cream of the crop type of prospects for the Braves so I really like this move for them as they are pulling out all the stops to try to send Bobby Cox out with a ring.

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez, outfielder Rick Ankiel and righty reliever Kyle Farnsworth are new to the Braves but they aren’t helping them much as of yet. Gonzalez has played in 30 games for the Braves so far and he is 26 of 108 (.241 avg, .719 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. Rick Ankiel has played in 15 games for the Braves and he is 9 of 47 (.191 avg, .543 OPS) with 7 runs, 0 homers and 3 RBIs. Ankiel has already whiffed 19 times in only 47 ABs for the Braves. Kyle Farnsworth is also pitching below par since coming to the Braves. He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Braves and he is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. There is still plenty of time for Gonzalez, Ankiel and Farnsworth to turn things around.