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An interesting tweet this afternoon from ESPN Radio host Jim Bowden, regarding the Atlanta Braves pursuit of B.J. Upton:
Braves-Phillies in fascinating bidding war for BJ Upton with mystery team...Braves considered in slight lead with final offers due this week
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) November 25, 2012
Ah, the wonders of the "mystery team." It's going to be expensive enough bidding against the Phillies for Upton's services, but now a mystery team? Of course, mystery teams are often interjected by agents, via media types like Bowden, to push dollar figures up.
Hopefully the Braves are bidding smartly on Upton, and remembering the lessons of their bidding war against mystery teams for the "services" of Derek Lowe several years ago. It turned out that the Braves were way above any other team on their offer to Lowe.
Other tweets today have indicated that Upton will likely make a decision this week regarding who to sign with.
I'm still not sold on Upton as the right fit for Atlanta. Too much emphasis seems to be being placed on his right-handedness and future projection vis-a-vis his youth -- he's the youngest free agent on the market this season at 29. I'm skeptical that the Braves lineup can afford to add the strikeouts that Upton would bring with him, despite his power-speed combo.