Winter of discontent

Stung by defections, Braves working to rebuild staff

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- No other team in baseball has been decimated this offseason quite like the Atlanta Braves. So maybe no other team in the game needs to get on the board at the winter meetings quite like the Braves.

"We've got to get a pitcher back," said Bobby Cox, the longtime Braves' manager, "somehow."

The Braves have run off 11 consecutive division titles because of their strong pitching, but this offseason their pitching has run off on them. And the defections may not be done. The Braves are deep into negotiations with Scott Boras, the agent for their four-time Cy Young winner, free agent Greg Maddux.

For Braves fans everywhere, that's hardly comforting news.

Though there have been reports that a deal between Maddux and the Braves is close, Boras would not say so late Saturday. He is continuing to talk to several teams about Maddux and sounded as if neither he nor Maddux were in any hurry to get a deal done.

"Greg's drag," Boras said, talking about the pace of negotiations, "may be his own choice."

The Braves have offered Maddux salary arbitration, and if he accepts it and things come down to that, the Braves would be able to keep him -- at the cost of at least $15 million for 2003. (He made $13.5 million in 2002.) The Braves are hoping, of course, that they can work out something a little better, a longer-term deal that doesn't carry quite the same sticker shock.

But Boras, the man who negotiated Alex Rodriguez's $252 million deal, reportedly wants at least a five-year deal for Maddux. Considering the righty turns 37 early next season, that's a demand the Braves may not want to meet. The Braves, remember, were unwilling to go for even three guaranteed years for lefty Tom Glavine (though they eventually did), and Glavine and Maddux are about the same age. Glavine eventually signed with the New York Mets.

As badly as the Braves might need Maddux, the negotiations with Boras figure to take time. Boras and Braves' general manager John Schuerholz met Friday in Nashville, but as of late Saturday, they had not met further.

"Our issue isn't when we get something done," Schuerholz told reporters Saturday night in his suite at the gargantuan Opryland Hotel, "it's how appropriate it is when we do it."

Schuerholz wasn't talking specifically about the Maddux negotiations, but they were included in his statement. The Braves, though they weren't saying, also could be working on deals for Montreal pitchers Javier Vazquez or Bartolo Colon or any number of other pitchers.

The Braves have to address their bullpen, too, after getting slammed this offseason by the free-agent defections of lefty relievers Chris Hammond (to the Yankees) and Mike Remlinger (to the Cubs). They were part of a bullpen that was the best in baseball in 2002.

Fixing the bullpen woes, though, comes in a distant second to getting Maddux, or some top-notch pitcher, signed.

"The No. 1 priority right now is to get Maddux back on the team," Cox said. "It was tough losing Glavine and Hammond and Rem, but we found guys last year and we'll find them again."

It probably won't happen this weekend. It's becoming apparent that there won't be a lot of trades or free-agent signings during these meetings. The market is being held up by the Montreal Expos, who must cut payroll under orders from the other 29 owners and are looking to trade some of their best players. Teams are waiting to see how that shakes out before figuring out which way to go.

"Greg's situation is a little different," Boras warned. "I don't think the Montreal situation has much of an impact on him."

In addition, many clubs seem willing to wait until Friday until they really start to get worked up. Friday is the deadline for unsigned players to be offered contracts. Many teams won't offer contracts to those players, so the market could be flooded with suddenly affordable talent.

All that could affect when Maddux finally signs. If that turns out to be true, the Braves' winter of discontent could last a few more weeks. Or longer.

John Donovan is a senior writer for CNNSI.com.

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