ATLANTA - Braves general manager Frank Wren and his staff will discuss looming decisions on two free agents, catcher Brian McCann and pitcher Tim Hudson, in organizational meetings which being Tuesday in Orlando. Victor Martinez Tigers Jersey . Two more players to be discussed are Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton, who lost starting jobs this season. Wren said Monday he still feels the disappointment of Atlantas NL division series loss to the Dodgers. He said the team "took a step forward" by winning 96 games and the NL East division title. "We didnt reach our ultimate goal and so Im disappointed," Wren said. "Our ultimate goal was to win a World Series. Thats why we do what we do. Division championships are nice. Winning 96 games is great, but if youre not still standing as one of the last few teams to get to the World Series, its somewhat disappointing." Wren said the Braves struggled to overcome the loss of Hudson, 38, whose season ended with a broken ankle on July 24. Brandon Beachy had setbacks when trying to return from elbow ligament-replacement surgery and didnt rejoin the rotation as expected. Wren said he will "need a little more information than we have now" on Hudsons recovery but said the right-hander "is progressing." "It would surprise me if we did not at least have some conversations with him," Wren said of Hudson. Left-hander Paul Maholm also is a free agent. Wren said the Braves have good depth in starting pitchers but said there would be room for Hudson in the rotation if he is re-signed. Candidates for the 2014 rotation could include Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, Alex Wood, Beachy and possibly Hudson. Wren said despite that depth, the rotation lacks an ace. He said there are potential aces in the farm system. Top Braves pitching prospects include Sean Gilmartin, Lucas Sims and Jason Hursh, all first-round picks, and J.R. Graham. "We recognize that is an area of need and whether we can acquire that prior to our young guys arriving here, Im not sure," Wren said. "Its very difficult to acquire." McCann, who will be 30 at the start of the 2014 season, could be difficult to re-sign. He has hit 20 or more homers in six straight seasons and is a seven-time All-Star. Wren said he is confident Evan Gattis, who spent much of the second half of his rookie season as the starting left fielder, can be a capable defensive catcher. "We saw enough of his catching skills early in the season to know that he could handle this job," Wren said of Gattis. Upton and Uggla each hit below .190. Uggla was left off the post-season roster after hitting .179 with 22 homers. Ugglas hitting woes continued following laser eye surgery in August. He hit .083 in August, .112 in September and then was left off the division series roster. "I think we made a decision who is our best 25," Wren said Monday. "He wasnt on that roster, and so we need him to perform better. Thats plain and simple. "I hope for Dans sake and our sake that he can make some adjustments with an off-season of getting used to normal vision." Wren said he believes Upton tried too hard to play up to the biggest free-agent contract in team history — five years and $72.25 million. "What I hope happened to B.J. and what Im theorizing is that he fell into the same trap that so many free agents fall into, trying to do too much and trying to justify and win over a new fan base," Wren said. "Its a deep hole that gets deeper and deeper the harder you try. Weve seen dozens and dozens of players go through it." Upton, 29, hit only .184 with 9 homers, 26 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He had three strikeouts in three at-bats in the division series. It was his fifth straight season hitting below .250, but it was a sharp decline from his 2012 season with Tampa Bay, when he hit .246 with 28 homers, 78 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. "B.J. is very talented," Wren said. "Hes young. He can do a lot of things on the baseball field. Weve got to help him get back on track. Thats plain and simple. There a reason why there were a number of clubs after him last winter. I know he didnt show it very consistently here." Manager Fredi Gonzalez said last week he expects Upton to open next season as the starting centerfielder. Miguel Cabrera Pink Jersey . -- Goalie Carey Price and defencemen Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin werent on the flight when the Montreal Canadiens left Tuesday to face the Blackhawks in Chicago. Justin Verlander Womens Jersey . -- With the season on the line once more in Oakland, Justin Verlander pitched another Game 5 gem.SACRAMENTO - Some say that living well is the best revenge. At least four players on the Raptors roster subscribe to that philosophy. When Torontos Patrick Patterson, John Salmons, Greivis Vasquez and Chuck Hayes return to Sacramentos Sleep Train Arena Wednesday, theyll be feeling a lot better about themselves than when they were last in the building, when they called it home. Its been nearly two full months since that fateful night in Los Angeles when a seven-player trade shook the foundation of the Raptors franchise. As reports began to circulate hours before tip-off, the timing of the deal caught everyone off guard. In exchange for the bloated contract and modest production of Rudy Gay - along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray - Toronto took back four veteran wild cards. Each of the four had experienced some level of individual success in the league. Vasquez and Patterson - the youngest of the four - were both coming off career seasons, one in New Orleans, the other in Houston. Hayes - a nine-year vet - had been a starter with the Rockets and Salmons, now in his 12th season, was a key contributor to playoff teams in Chicago and Milwaukee. At 34 and 30 respectfully, Salmons and Hayes immediately became the elder statesmen on a young Raptors squad. Each of them had started in at least one of Sacramentos first 18 games. They were rotation players for a team that was 5-13 at the time of the trade. "Coming from here in Sacramento, things werent that great," Salmons said, candidly reflecting back on the trade after wrapping up practice in the Kings gym Tuesday. "So when we got the opportunity to come here we just wanted to take advantage of it. Losings not fun and this team had a chance to make a run at the playoffs." Without Gay, who was shooting 39 per cent and hoisting just under 19 shots per game, most anticipated there would be at least some addition by subtraction but no one - even internally - knew what to expect from the incoming Kings players. Likewise, they didnt know what to expect from a Raptors team that had a 6-12 record prior to that game in LA on Dec. 8. "I mean you hear stuff about other teams, but the only thing you really know is their record," Salmons added. "You know their record, you know their roster but you dont know the whole story. So coming in all we saw was the record, we didnt know that the locker room was full of good guys." Toronto has gone 19-10 since the trade was made official, 19-9 since the acquired players made their Raptor debuts, good for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference over that stretch. Not only did the trade improve the Raptors bench, it made their bench. On most nights, Dwane Casey has settled into a strict nine-man rotation, using the four ex-Kings as his primary reserves. Torontos bench combined for 35 points on 52 per cent shooting in Mondays win over the Jazz. They have scored 30 or more in three of the last five contests and are averaging 26.6 points since the trade. Casey has entrusted them to be on the floor in key situations. Quite frankly, theyve earned it. "I feeel like we got four veteran, solid players that really helped us in a lot of different ways and gave us some toughness off the bench," the Raptors coach said. Victor Martinez Jersey. . "Right now, obviously [Toronto is] playing at a very high level," said Kings coach Mike Malone. "I think all four of our guys are helping them at different points." The newcomers have each put their stamp on the teams run. Often the first player off the bench, Patterson is logging fewer minutes than he was in Sacramento, yet averaging three more points per game, contributing nearly 10 as a Raptor. Hayes has carved out a niche as a reliable, savvy and hardworking stopper and rebounder. Salmons, a two-way player, has become Torontos third ball handler. Of the four, Vasquez is the only one who has seen his scoring average dip since coming to the Raptors. Still, hes not complaining. "Im in a different situation right now and Im pretty happy," said Vasquez, who has stepped in as a reliable backup to Kyle Lowry, something the team was desperately searching for early in the season. "I think winning really makes everything so much better. Id rather be in a winning program right now than going through a tough time [in Sacramento]." You would have to be naive to think that Wednesdays return to Sacramento is just another game for those four. The Kings are 11-19 since sending them to Toronto and the statement theyre hoping to make has more to do with their collective success than individual performances. "You always look forward to playing the team that traded you," said Vasquez, averaging seven points and four assists with the Raptors. "More than that its about winning. At the end of the day, whether I play well, whether I dont play well, I just want to go back to Sacramento with a win." Vasquez was only with the Kings for a couple months to begin the season. For Salmons, his connection with the Sacramento franchise goes back seven years. In 2006, the Philadelphia-native pulled out of a deal with the Raptors to sign in Sacramento. After being moved to the Bulls, then to the Bucks, Salmons eventually found his way back to the Kings but became expendable when new ownership decided to take the team in a different direction. The trade to Toronto was Salmons fifth since being drafted out of Miami in 2002 but he took this one more personally than the others. He felt slighted by an organization that he had spent most of his career playing for. "When I got traded I had mixed feelings, strong mixed feelings," he admitted. "Im not going to say I was totally mad at the [Kings] organization it was just, I dont know, it was just a little tougher this time." Now, as he and his teammates get set to make their much-anticipated return, that animosity is water under the bridge, more or less. Salmons, like the other three, is sincerely happy to be a Raptor. Winning is the best medicine. "Guys enjoy winning," said Salmons. "Theres the old saying, winning cures everything so the more we win the more people want to sacrifice to continue winning." Cheap Jerseys Wholesale JerseysWholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
