ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Atlanta Braves have traded Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians. WKNR in Cleveland is reporting that the Indians parted with minor-league pitcher Chris Jones.

This is a salary dump by the Braves. Olney reports that the Braves will cover $10 million of Lowe’s 2012 salary of $15 million. So the Indians get an experienced starter for the bargain price of $5 million for next season.

Lowe didn’t have a great 2011 season in Atlanta as he went 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA. He’s also 38 years old. Yet Lowe eats up innings and his stats from 2005-2010 we excellent and then solid. The Indians have a strong pitching staff led by Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, with Josh Tomlin and Fausto Carmona as well (the Tribe picked up Carmona’s 2012 option today for $7 million). But injuries have hurt their depth in the rotation, and Lowe gives them an experienced starter to add to the mix.

Nobody can say that the Atlanta Braves didn’t try to send their beloved manager Bobby Cox (who decided before the year started that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2010 season) out on a high note. They played with enthusiasm, passion and urgency, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

The Braves’ mantra at the start of the postseason was “11 for 6,” which is the number of wins they needed to win the World Series (11) for Cox, who wears No. 6. Unfortunately they came up 10 wins shy, as the Giants beat Atlanta 3-2 on Monday night to take the best-of-five series 3-1 and advance to the NLCS to face the Phillies.

Cox and the Braves couldn’t have asked for a better outing from Derek Lowe, who allowed three runs (two earned) over 6 1/3 innings in the loss. He didn’t allow a hit for the first 5 1/3 innings, but Cody Ross (who went 2-for-3 tonight and singled home the eventual game-winning run in the eighth inning) took him deep in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1. Lowe was pitching on only three days of rest, yet his sinker baffled San Francisco hitters for most of the night before he hung a pitch to Ross, who made him pay for the mistake.

While you can’t take anything away from the Giants (whose starting pitching was absolutely phenomenal throughout the entire series and they got another strong performance tonight from rookie Madison Bumgarner), they were the benefactors of close calls the entire series. Every time there was a close play at one of the bags, it went in San Francisco’s favor. Before Ross singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth, it appeared as though Pat Burrell was thrown out on a Juan Uribe hit to shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who made a throwing error to second baseman Omar Infante. The throw took Infante off the bag, but replays showed that he might have kept his toe on the bag.

That said, all of those plays were bang-bang and umpires don’t have the luxury of watching instant replay in order to get the calls right. Unfortunately for the Braves, they were snake bitten by the human element of baseball in this series.

So was Cox, who received a standing ovation at the end of the game from both the fans and the Giants, who congratulated each other and then stayed on the field to celebrate the skipper’s historic career. It was a classy move and it was a well-deserved moment for the three-time NL Manger of the Year and the two-time World Series champion.

Thanks for all the memories, Bobby.

A lot has changed since last week. The Dodgers have faded and the Rangers have caught fire. The Yankees and Red Sox have been steadily winning while Tampa bas dropped off just a bit. And the Mets and Braves keep battling for first place. Here are this week’s power rankings…..

1. New York Yankees (46-27)—Not only have they taken over first place in the mighty AL East, but the Yankees are starting to put a bit of distance between themselves, and the Rays and Sox. They just have way too much talent.

2. Texas Rangers (44-29)—We knew the Rangers would hit the ball, but did anyone expect their pitching staff to be fifth in the AL in ERA, and second in strikeouts? Quick, name me two of their starters…..I know, I couldn’t either.

3. Boston Red Sox (44-31)—Like the Yanks, too much talent, and too much straight up desire to win. No wonder the chowder heads love their team.

4. San Diego Padres (43-30)—Don’t look now, but the Padres have the best record in the National League. That is not a typo.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (43-30)—I’ll give you five reasons why the Rays aren’t going away any time soon—Garza, Price, Davis, Niemann and Shields. It’s almost like a young version of the ‘90’s Braves. But being no-hit again isn’t good, either.

6. Atlanta Braves (43-31)—Speaking of the Braves, these guys are turning back the clock with guys like Chipper Jones, Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson and Billy Wagner leading the way; and with Martin Prado leading the NL in batting.

7. New York Mets (42-31)—Seriously, RA Dickey is 6-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 7 starts? It’s like suddenly the Mets can do no wrong, and they just keep winning.

8. St. Louis Cardinals (40-33)—Raise your hand if you think the Cardinals are afraid of the Reds. I see a few hands up and they’re all in Southern Ohio.

9. Minnesota Twins (40-33)—Leading a weak division once again, and there’s no reason to believe the Twins will relinquish first place any time soon. Or that Joe Mauer’s average will continue to drop.

10. Cincinnati Reds (41-33)—They might be overachieving right now, but you can’t count them out.

Some pitchers give up 1-2 home runs or more per game, while some of them are masters at keeping the ball in the park. We did a gopher ball list last year, so here is the opposite…the pitchers who give up the fewest home runs per nine innings, and therefore the guys you want in the game when the game is on the line:

1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (0.4953)—Amazingly, Rivera gave up 11 home runs his rookie year (1995) and since then, only 50. That’s 50 home runs in like 15 years, or about 3 per season. That’s just sick. No wonder the guy has so many career saves (538).

2. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (0.7141)—If only Hudson was able to stay healthy for any length of time, he’d be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

3. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (0.7221)—When you have a ball that drops like six feet before it reaches home plate, you’re not going to have a lot of hitters get under your pitches. What you’ll get are lots of ground balls.

4. Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies (0.7384)—If you’re a pitcher in Colorado, it’s sort of like being a meatball sandwich in a pizza joint. You’ll get noticed, but only when they run out of pizza…or in this case, when the Rockies aren’t hitting. Still, when you think about Cook and how he’s spent his entire career in Denver, being fourth on this list is quite an accomplishment.

5. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (0.7385)—A perfect game only added to Halladay’s Hall of Fame resume.

6. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (0.7445)—He’s always angry but always has nasty stuff, and, like Cook, he pitches in a hitter-friendly park.

7. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (0.7671)—Lucky for the Yankees, Pettitte’s career high of 27 home runs allowed was when he was with the Astros in 2006.

8. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (0.7729)—He has an impeccable nose for the strike zone, but puts enough on his pitches to keep hitters guessing and in the park.

9. Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians (0.7999)—He hasn’t pitched much in the last three years, but when he does, Jake Westbrook is very good at keeping the ball in the yard.

10. AJ Burnett, New York Yankees (0.8213)—As if the Yankees needed another guy like this in their rotation.

Source: Baseball Reference

Chances are, you need a few pitchers on your fantasy baseball roster that can eat up innings. You know, that silly rule that prevents you from loading up on closers? Well, here is a list you could use, especially if your team if floundering and you need some steady pitchers to deliver quality innings of work. This is the list of active leaders in innings pitched. Some of the names will surprise you, but certainly not all of them:

1. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies (3966 innings)—Remember when Jamie Moyer pitched for the Cubs? Yeah, neither does anyone else. He was a rookie in 1986, the year Mookie Wilson hit the ball through Bill Buckner’s legs. I know, most of you don’t remember that, either.

2. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (2984)—Though it’s early, Andy Pettitte is having a career year at age 38. And I’m just glad I had the foresight (errr, luck) to draft him for my fantasy team.

3. Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (2980)—Remember when Tim Wakefield pitched for the Pirates? Seriously, he started out there in 1992 and joined the Sox in 1995. And dude is still beloved by the chowder heads.

4. Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals (2795)—Two things are baffling. One, that Livan’s age is listed as 35. Thirty-freaking-five! Um, no. And two, that this guy is still getting hitters out with that blistering 80 mph fastball of his.

5. Javier Vasquez, New York Yankees (2532)—So this guy has banked $92 million in his career to date for losing as many games as he wins (145-144). That’s proof right there that innings eaters are worth something, but still sounds like highway robbery to me.

6. Jeff Suppan, Milwaukee Brewers (2437)—He’s relegated to the bullpen for the most part, but still racking up innings of work.

7. Kevin Millwood, Baltimore Orioles (2382)—Remember when Kevin Millwood was the fourth starter behind Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine in Atlanta? That was in 1997 but seems like it was 50 years ago.

8. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (2191)—He may have peaked a few years ago, but this guy still has some of the nastiest stuff in the game.

9. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (2124)—Through all of the injuries, it’s truly amazing that Tim Hudson has pitched that many innings. And hey, Javier, put this in your pipe and smoke it—a 153-79 career record.

10. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (2123)—This dude just keeps winning, but even he’s only got 154 wins to date. Does that seem right?

Source: Baseball Reference

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Offseason Movement: The Braves brought in former Dodgers’ starter Derek Lowe, as well as a quality (albeit aging) bat in Garret Anderson, formerly of the Angels. The club also traded for pitcher Boone Logan and signed Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

Top Prospect: Tommy Hanson, RHP
Some consider outfielder Jason Heyward the Braves’ top prospect – and for good reason. But he’s only 19 and has a couple years to go before reaching the big leagues and therefore Hanson gets the nod here. Hanson has the opportunity to crack the Opening Day roster this season, although Tom Glavine would probably have to start the year on the DL for that to happen. Hanson dominated Class-A, Double-A and Arizona Fall League hitters and so far has looked decent in spring training. He probably isn’t a future ace, but Hanson appears to be a solid No. 2 in the making.

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This past week, John Smoltz officially signed with the Red Sox and the Braves inked Derek Lowe to a four-year, $60 million deal, something Atlanta’s rival New York Mets could not match. Imagine that. But what runs deeper here is that the second and even third tier of pitchers continue to be signed and many position players remain team-less.

Less than a month before pitchers and catchers report, here are some of the big names still available: Manny freaking Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Ken Griffey, Orlando Hudson, Frank Thomas, and to a lesser extent, Kevin Millar (20 homers last season) and Orlando Cabrera. To put this in perspective, the Astros signed pitcher Russ Ortiz to a minor league deal a few days ago, the Dodgers signed reliever Guillermo Mota, the Angels inked Darren Oliver for one year, and the White Sox brought back a Bartolo Colon who is on the downside of his career. Clearly, it’s a pitchers’ market this off-season, and it’s almost mind-boggling that Ramirez has gone almost three full months without being signed.

Part of the problem here is that the big spenders (ahem, New York teams) have blown their collective load on the likes of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, etc., leaving a team like the Dodgers the likely scenario for Man-Ram in 2009, which at the end of the day is probably best for both sides anyway. But some of those other guys are going to have trouble finding work, or they are going to take a recession-friendly deal from a team they wouldn’t have signed with otherwise. It’s already happened with Pat Burrell in Tampa and Jason Giambi with Oakland.

In other more recent news, the Red Sox avoided arbitration with Kevin Youkilis on Thursday, agreeing to terms on a four-year deal. And the Dodgers finally released beleaguered outfielder Andruw Jones, who the Braves are considering bringing back for the league minimum salary. The Braves are also mulling over whether to bring back injury-plagued LHP Tom Glavine for one more season.

After losing long-time veteran John Smoltz to the Red Sox, the Braves decided to fill the hole in their starting rotation with former Dodger pitcher Derek Lowe. They also paid him $60 million.

10: I understand the desperate need for a starter and Derek Lowe’s leverage played huge roles in the decision. But don’t you find it interesting that Braves general manager Frank Wren, who didn’t want to take any “risks” with the pitching staff next season, just gave a four-year, $60 million contract to a 35-year-old?

9: Lowe is solid but not what you’d call spectacular: 68-60 with a 3.91 ERA over the last five years. He has averaged 206 innings in that span. A $15 million a year pitcher? No. But he’ll help. Given the collapse of Pompeii, Wren didn’t have much of a choice. But if Lowe starts to look his age in two years, this contract has the potential of being a Hamptonian albatross.

Sixty million is a lot of dough for a 35-year old pitcher who doesn’t have dazzling numbers, but the Braves are probably still better off with him at a cheaper rate than A.J. Burnett, who signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Yankees. Lowe is more dependable than Burnett, as well as more consistent.

But $60 million? I thought baseball GM’s were trying to cut down on ridiculous salaries?

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus takes a look at the top 20 remaining MLB free agents.

· Manny Ramirez – Dodgers
· Orlando Cabrera – Athletics
· Derek Lowe – Braves/Mets/Cubs
· Adam Dunn – Nationals
· Bobby Abreu – Reds
· Ben Sheets – Rangers
· Orlando Hudson – Nationals
· Andy Pettitte – Astros (at less than $10MM)
· Jason Varitek – Red Sox (at less than $10MM)
· Ty Wigginton – Astros
· Ivan Rodriguez – Not much of a market, may have to take a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training if he’s not signed soon. Could he end up involuntarily retired, a la Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza?
· Kevin Millar – Orioles
· Mark Grudzielanek – Padres
· Braden Looper – Brewers
· Garret Anderson, Eric Hinske, Ray Durham, Jim Edmonds, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez – All of them (with the exception of Byrd, who may retire) are drawing little to no interest and may be without a club on Opening Day.
I’m shocked both Ramirez and Abreu are still on the market, although it’s more understandable why Manny is still available – his demands (or is it Scott Boras’s demands?) are way too high.

Abreu isn’t the youngest outfielder available, but you’re telling me that no team wants to jump at the chance to acquire his bat? And if Ben Sheets could ever stay healthy he’s a 20-game winner, so it’s a little surprising his name is still out there, too.