Can the Braves Compete with the Phillies?

It is now well known that the Philadelphia Phillies have just signed Cliff Lee, much to the dismay of the New York Yankees. The Phillies, the four time National League East Champions, have just made their great pitching staff, which already had the defending NL Cy Young winner in Roy Halladay, awesome. The question now is are the Braves simply competing for second place in the division and the wild card?The Braves acquired Dan Uggla from the Marlins, but that pales in comparison with the Phillies addition of Lee, who was arguably the most coveted free agent on the market. With the addition of Lee, the Phillies, on paper, have a pitching staff that at least matches the ability of the Braves’ pitching staff of the 90’s.

Think about it. Smoltz, Maddux, and Glavine, compare quite favorably with Oswalt, Lee, and Hamels. For the second year in a row the Braves have watched the same division rival sign the best free agent pitcher on the market. That can’t be good news for those who Tomahawk Chop.

The problem with the Braves is obviously that they are owned by a faceless corporate entity, Liberty Media, whose CEO was just named the highest paid by the Wall Street Journal. Check the link, online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704393604575614852198144276.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop.

Gregory B. Maffei, the aforementioned CEO, had a total compensation of $87.1 million, while the Braves entire payroll, was $84 million. How can the Braves compete when the owners are headed by a man who makes more than the entire team?