Atlanta Braves Sadly Pleased With Tommy Hanson Trade

Just a few short years ago Tommy Hanson was the best thing named Tommy in Atlanta since Tommy Glavine.  His name was Tom, but you know you called him Tommy Glavine like Bobby Cox did. Hanson was to be the next great Atlanta Braves pitcher brought up from the classic farm that gave birth to careers like that of Glavine, Chipper Jones and many other favorites over the years. Unfortunately that just wasn’t to be with Hanson.

Things started out plenty great with Hanson’s career in Atlanta and it seemed like all of the P.R. he received was well placed. His fastball was potentially overpowering when mixed with his other pitches and he was a force to be reckoned with in one of the most storied pitching staffs of the past fifty years. Over the past three years however something went wrong. His mechanics are constantly a problem and could have led, among other things, to lost velocity on his fastball. Lost fastball velocity when combined with loss of control is a bad combination for any young pitcher and Hanson is no exception.

The trade is a good one for the Braves no matter what you might hear. The rotation will be fine without him and every Braves fan knows how important a strong bullpen is during this era. Even the strongest rotation maybe ever didn’t deliver more than one World Series title. A weaker rotation and a stronger rotation probably would have yielded more success then and it will now with the addition of Jordan Walden. The issues he has with his other pitches can be worked out while he blows most batters away with that 100 mph fastball.

The money the Braves freed up will help them in their chase of Shane Victorino. Sadly enough trading Tommy Hanson is a great move for the Braves all the way around.