Lowe To Braves

The Braves signed Derek Lowe for $60m over 4 years. The Mets were offering 3 years $36m, and you wonder if they really thought that was a legitimate offer considering the Braves gave more years and more per year. The Braves came into the offseason with a laughable rotation, but come out with Lowe, Vazquez, Jurrjens, Campillo, and also newly acquired Kenshin Kawakami, with Hudson joining the team later in the year recovering from injury. Pretty darn solid rotation giving teams some different looks, although their lineup rests entirely on Chippers ability to defy age and stay healthy.

The Braves were the staple franchise in baseball for a while and they're struggling to get back to the playoffs, but this is a good start. It won't be easy in the NL East which although doesn't hold a candle to the AL East, is pretty darn good. After going to college in the midwest, you fully realize the east coast bias in sports, believe me it's probably worth complaining about if you're from there. Unfortunately for them it doesn't look like it's going to get better especially in baseball where the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Bluejays are top teams in the AL and the Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Braves can be considered top teams in the NL.