Sports Page Atlanta

According to Tim Dierkes over at MLB Trade Rumors (who cited Mark Bowman of MLB.com) the Braves have signed 37-year-old, Mexican League pitcher Elmer Dessens.

Dessens was slowed by an injury this Spring and eventually cut by the Pirates, then wasn’t good enough, upon become healthy, to pitch in the majors. So, in true “Jake Taylor” form (What movie guys???), Dessens went to Mexico to pitch… the Triple-A Mexican League.

It’s true, Dessens is 10-2 in the Mexican League, but he has a 4.03 ERA in 19 starts. Can anyone guess what the equivalant MLB ERA will be? This is gonna get ugly?

Dessens is expected to join the Braves later this week for the final month of the season.

With our two 40+ year-old, future Hall of Fame veterans out for the season, I can understand the need for veteran leadership on the staff. But, Elmer Dessens??? He’s got a career 44% winning percentage (48-61) and had only made 140 starts in 11 big league seasons.

Here are a couple of questions that I have:

1. Was Dessens the best that the Braves could do from all of the pitchers on the waiver wire,  in Mexico, or in the Minor Leagues?
2. Is the “veteran” approach really the best thing for this Braves team? Or I guess I should ask, is this approach better than calling up Chuck James to take his lumls and learn or some pitcher in the farm system who tore it up this season like Todd Redmond, Kris Medlen, or Thomas Hanson?
3. Mark Bowman over at MLB.com sugar coats Dessens achievements a bit in his article, but do Braves fans really care about his Triple-A Mexican league championship game exploits?
   

   Dessens, who has gone 48-61 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 Major League seasons, went to the Mexican League after being released by the Pirates on March 27. In 20 games (19 starts) with the Mexico City Red Devils, he was 10-2 with a 4.03 ERA.

   After going 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his final five regular season starts, Dessens went 3-0 with a 3.54 ERA in the playoffs. During the league’s championship game on Sunday, he allowed one run and five hits over eight innings.