Atlanta Braves Tickets - Time To Get Lowe!

It didn't happen exactly like everyone thought it would. Truth be told, many Atlanta fans were still hot under the collar about John Smoltz being shipped out to Boston. But while they were still ticked, Frank Wren, Braves general manager, was getting Lowe more and more interested. When the dust settled, Lowe had accepted a $60 million, four-year offer.

Wren believes the club had a fruitful offseason and feels most of the players are excited about going to Spring training but he's not sure they would have said the same just 10 days prior. Some have already begun to question why the Braves paid so much to sign Lowe, who is a 35-year old veteran. Word is that Lowe is the only top-caliber pitcher that could help the Braves be competitive. More importantly, however, if the Mets or the Phillies had snatched up Lowe, it's certain the Braves couldn't have stayed competitive.

"We're happy it turned out this way," Wren said. "And we're very excited that Derek has joined our staff. I think we're in a position where he's the perfect fit."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Lowe is a pretty happy camper and looking forward to Spring Training, which starts soon. "This organization wants to get back on top and back on top fast," Lowe said. "I look forward to mingling with everybody."

Rewind the time reel a week back, and many people weren't too happy to make an association with the Braves. Unsuccessful tries to win Jake Peavy, Rafael Furcal and A.J. Burnett turning into a smoldering cauldron after Smoltz announced he would be ending a 22-year relationship with the Braves to accept a more appealing offer made by the Red Sox.

Wren held on to his promise to improve the rotation and within a matter of days, he had signed Kenshin Kawakami and Lowe. Lowe, who was born in Dearborn, Michigan, made his debut into major league baseball back in 1997. Since that time, Lowe has completed three seasons with the Dodgers.

There are those who believe that the Braves still need to power up their outfield. Wren is optimistic it will happen before the regular season starts. Although it was the belief that Burnett and Peavy would have been a more perfect fit than Lowe, it was undeniable that both would have been a greater cost since Peavy would have been a minimum of $63 million.

Whats the contrast between Lowe and Burnett? Lowes averaged 15 wins and 208 innings in seven years while Burnett has managed 200 innings three times in his entire career with two of those times taking place when he was entering the free-agent market.

I hope everyone expects a lot out of me, Lowe said. Ive always loved that challenge. I want people to expect me to beat the teams in our division and if I dont, I want people to be upset.

With Spring Training and opening day just around the corner, were sure to find out.