Braves trade Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton to Padres

[CF DolFan]

Guess the Braves really are mailing it in this year. I hate rebuilding but it is what it is. Good news for you though Stroke.

[Sunstroke]

With the way AJ Preller has been wheelin' and dealin', it wouldn't surprise me if he negotiated a deal to resurrect Babe Ruth and have him hit cleanup for us. Only time will tell if his boogie fever will take us to the playoffs, but I have to say that it really is nice to be somewhat relevant again.

[Sunstroke]

So far, so good on that Kimbrel trade... He's made 5 appearances, is 3-for-3 in save opps, with a 0.00 era and a 0.80 whip.

Actually, the vast majority of our big-bucks acquisitions have looked good so far.

James Shields: Two starts, two quality starts, 2.08 era, 0.92 whip
Justin Upton: Splits of .351/.405/.703 with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs
Matt Kemp: Splits of .341/.364/.512. No HRs yet, but 7 RBIs in our first 10 games

Padres are 6-4 and challenging the Rockies and Dodgers in the West. We'll see how it all plays out down the stretch, but early returns on AJ Preller's whirlwind wheelin' and dealin' offseason are pretty positive.

Edited to add: At the time of this post, the Padres, Dodgers and Rockies are the top three teams in the NL in both team batting average and runs scored.

[CF DolFan]

And to think the Braves have started off like gangbusters. I don't expect it to last, and they have fallen recently, but its fun while it lasts.