Cody Ross joined the San Francisco Giants in August of 2010 after being waived by the Florida Marlins. He then somehow became an offensive powerhouse for the rest of the regular season and throughout the postseason. He brought in two of the team’s winning runs in the team’s three victories in the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. He hammered two homers off of Roy Halladay in the first game of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies and went on to be the MVP of that series, batting .350, as the Giants went on to win the World Series against the Texas Rangers.

That kind of offensive power didn’t stick with him for the 2011 season. He hit .240 with 14 homers and 25 doubles in 121 games for the Giants this past season. And now the 31-year-old veteran of five teams is looking for a new home.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Atlanta Braves have some interest in Ross but “would want the price to keep coming down.” The word from the AJC is that Ross “wants something in the neighborhood of the two-year, $10 million deal that Dave DeJesus got” from the Chicago Cubs. But it’s hard to see that happening.

The paper also notes that Ross is said to be talking to the Oakland Athletics about a possible deal.

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Related: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers

Jimmy Rollins just re-upped for three more years with the Philadelphia Phillies. That alone was hardly an Earth-shattering move. But it was one of significance to the Atlanta Braves.

Thanks to their epic September free fall, the Braves finished second to the Phillies in the National League East, which has been widely documented. What has gone largely overlooked is that the Braves finished closer to fourth place (12 games ahead of the New York Mets) than to first (13 behind the Phillies).

The third-place team, the Washington Nationals, should be stronger with Stephen Strasburg coming back from arm surgery and right fielder Jayson Werth possibly coming back from oblivion.

And the fifth-place team, the now-Miami Marlins, served notice that they don’t intend to remain at the bottom. The Marlins’ makeover, to coincide with their plush new ballpark, began with acquiring manager Ozzie Guillen from the Chicago White Sox. That move alone means nothing without players. But the significance was that Guillen knew the Marlins were committed to spending money to win. Sure enough, the Marlins signed shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle and closer Heath Bell. Suddenly, a team that was just 10 wins short of a winning season has to be considered a threat to at least contend for the NL wildcard.

The Mets, despite losing Reyes, figure to be stronger after overhauling their bullpen. Then there’s the aforementioned Phillies. As if winning 102 games and running away with their fifth consecutive division title weren’t enough, the Phillies signed one of the game’s dominant closers in Jonathan Papelbon. Oh, and they won 102 games with Roy Oswalt, their No. 4 starting pitcher (that’s another story) spending a chunk of the season on the disabled list and second baseman Chase Utley playing hurt.

And the Braves?

To date, their big offseason acquisition has been the signing of Robert Fish, a hard-throwing lefty. Maybe Fish will turn out to be another Eric O’Flaherty. Or maybe he’ll be a left-handed Chris Reitsma. Even if he’s Jonny Venters, Fish likely won’t have a great impact on the Braves’ bullpen because, well, because O’Flaherty and Venters will get most of the work.

The Braves entered the offseason with two glaring needs: another strong right-handed bat for the outfield and more offense at shortstop.

Unless they make a move, the Braves will address those needs with a retread (Matt Diaz) in left field and a rookie (Tyler Pastornicky) at shortstop.

Maybe they’re not done shopping. Maybe Frank Wren, the Braves general manager, is merely bluffing when he says this team, as constituted, can overtake the Phillies.

The Braves don’t have the deep pockets to compete with other big spenders. But they do have an asset — actually, a collection of assets — that even the richest teams in baseball covet. They have a treasure trove of pitchers. Young pitchers. Young dominant pitchers who could become All-Stars for a decade.

Randall Delgado. Julio Teheran. Arodyz Vizcaino. Mike Minor. All projected to be top-of-the-rotation starters. This is in addition to Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen, all established big-league starters. Medlen is the old man of the bunch. He just turned 26. That doesn’t include former Glenwood, CVCC and Auburn star Tim Hudson, who’s still going strong at 36.

The bullpen, as noted, is equally loaded. O’Flaherty, Venters and Craig Kimbrel are baseball’s best bullpen trio. Cristhian Martinez and Anthony Varvaro would be stars on most other teams.

One of baseball’s truisms is that you never can have too much pitching. An arm can go out on one pitch.

But it’s also true that you have to score runs to win, and the Braves’ lineup has too many holes to keep pace with the Phillies.

It’s time for Wren to dig into that treasure trove of pitching and deal for a legitimate right-handed bat in left field. If not, this time next year, they might be looking up at more teams than the Phillies.

– Guerry Clegg is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com

Read More: Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers

According to the LA Times, former Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson will be in on the bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with a power packed investment group. Magic will be the public face the ownership group including Stan Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, along with Mark Walter, chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, a financial services firm with $125 billion in assets. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and New York, though they have an office in Los Angeles as well.  

Johnson was asked why he chose Kasten and Walter as his partners:

“Both guys are about building a winner and making a difference in the L.A. community.”

Theses three will have a lot of dough to throw at the Dodgers and have it lined up ready to go , putting them amongst the leaders in the clubhouse if you will because of it. Kasten has even been rumored to be Bud Selig’s replacement as MLB Commissioner.  

Other possible bidders include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Southland baseball executive Dennis Gilbert, LA developers Rick Caruso and Alan Casden as well as former Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano.    

For more on the Dodgers, head over toTrue Blue LA.

Brian McCann homered twice and the Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 Thursday. 

McCann hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the seventh for his eighth career multi-homer game. Michael Bourn had a career high-tying four hits, scored two runs, and drove in a run.

Marlon Byrd homered and Tyler Colvin added a triple and a run for the Cubs, who committed four errors.

Brandon Beachy (7-2) won his fourth straight decision, recovering from a shaky start to pitch six innings. He allowed six hits, two earned runs and struck out eight. 

Matt Garza (6-10) allowed six runs — three earned — and eight hits over five innings. He struck out six. 

The Braves took three of four from the Cubs and have won 16 of their last 21 games. Atlanta won its NL-high 38th road game. 

Garza was coming off one of his best starts of the season in a 3-0 win over St. Louis last Saturday. 

After Bourn led off the game with a single, Martin Prado reached when Garza dropped a flip from Carlos Pena at first. Garza then fell behind McCann, who homered into a stiff wind in right-center and put the Braves ahead 3-0 before Garza had retired a batter. 

Prado reached on errors twice in the game, doubled, walked and scored two runs. 

The Cubs cut into the lead on Darwin Barney’s groundout in the bottom of the first. In the second, Byrd brought Cubs within a run with a homer to left. Colvin tripled into the right-field corner and scored on Geovany Soto’s dribbler, tying the game at 3. 

The Braves grabbed the lead right back with two runs in the third with help from the Cubs. Castro committed his NL-high 22nd error of the season and Garza walked Dan Uggla with the bases full. Freddie Freeman’s RBI single drove in the other run. 

The Braves tacked on a run in the fifth on Jason Heyward’s sacrifice fly and another on McCann’s solo shot in the seventh. McCann leads NL catchers with 22 home runs on the season. 

Bourn drove in a run in the eighth with his fourth single of the game, giving him his sixth career four-hit game. Bourn’s 160 hits are second in the NL to Castro’s 167. 

The Cubs have committed 108 errors this season, most in the majors. Four of Atlanta’s runs were unearned. 

NOTES: Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano was given a day off on Thursday after he was hit in the right forearm by a pitch during Wednesday’s game. Manager Mike Quade said Soriano was available for pinch-hitting duty and is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. . Braves RHP Tommy Hanson left the team and returned to Atlanta to have his ailing shoulder re-evaluated by team doctors. Hanson has been on the disabled list since Aug. 7 because of right rotator cuff tendinitis. . Manager Fredi Gonzalez said the Braves are “closely monitoring” Hurricane Irene and the effect it might have on this weekend’s series in New York against the Mets. . The Braves open a three-game series at New York on Friday, pitting RHP Tim Hudson against Mets lefty Chris Capuano. Hudson has won eight of his last nine decisions. . The Cubs will make the short trip north to face the first-place Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend, with Chicago RHP Rodrigo Lopez squaring off against LHP Randy Wolf in Friday’s opener. . Chicago’s Aramis Ramirez doubled in the eighth, his 700th career extra-base hit, and extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

Brian McCann homered twice and the Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 Thursday.

McCann hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the seventh for his eighth career multi-homer game. Michael Bourn had a career high-tying four hits, scored two runs, and drove in a run.

Marlon Byrd homered and Tyler Colvin added a triple and a run for the Cubs, who committed four errors.

Brandon Beachy (7-2) won his fourth straight decision, recovering from a shaky start to pitch six innings. He allowed six hits, two earned runs and struck out eight.

Matt Garza (6-10) allowed six runs — three earned — and eight hits over five innings. He struck out six.

The Braves took three of four from the Cubs and have won 16 of their last 21 games. Atlanta won its NL-high 38th road game.

Garza was coming off one of his best starts of the season in a 3-0 win over St. Louis last Saturday.

After Bourn led off the game with a single, Martin Prado reached when Garza dropped a flip from Carlos Pena at first. Garza then fell behind McCann, who homered into a stiff wind in right-center and put the Braves ahead 3-0 before Garza had retired a batter.

Prado reached on errors twice in the game, doubled, walked and scored two runs.

The Cubs cut into the lead on Darwin Barney’s groundout in the bottom of the first. In the second, Byrd brought Cubs within a run with a homer to left. Colvin tripled into the right-field corner and scored on Geovany Soto’s dribbler, tying the game at 3.

The Braves grabbed the lead right back with two runs in the third with help from the Cubs. Castro committed his NL-high 22nd error of the season and Garza walked Dan Uggla with the bases full. Freddie Freeman’s RBI single drove in the other run.

The Braves tacked on a run in the fifth on Jason Heyward’s sacrifice fly and another on McCann’s solo shot in the seventh. McCann leads NL catchers with 22 home runs on the season.

Bourn drove in a run in the eighth with his fourth single of the game, giving him his sixth career four-hit game. Bourn’s 160 hits are second in the NL to Castro’s 167.

The Cubs have committed 108 errors this season, most in the majors. Four of Atlanta’s runs were unearned.

NOTES: Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano was given a day off on Thursday after he was hit in the right forearm by a pitch during Wednesday’s game. Manager Mike Quade said Soriano was available for pinch-hitting duty and is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. . Braves RHP Tommy Hanson left the team and returned to Atlanta to have his ailing shoulder re-evaluated by team doctors. Hanson has been on the disabled list since Aug. 7 because of right rotator cuff tendinitis. . Manager Fredi Gonzalez said the Braves are “closely monitoring” Hurricane Irene and the effect it might have on this weekend’s series in New York against the Mets. . The Braves open a three-game series at New York on Friday, pitting RHP Tim Hudson against Mets lefty Chris Capuano. Hudson has won eight of his last nine decisions. . The Cubs will make the short trip north to face the first-place Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend, with Chicago RHP Rodrigo Lopez squaring off against LHP Randy Wolf in Friday’s opener. . Chicago’s Aramis Ramirez doubled in the eighth, his 700th career extra-base hit, and extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

CHICAGO – Brian McCann homered twice and the Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 Thursday.

McCann hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the seventh for his eighth career multi-homer game. Michael Bourn had a career high-tying four hits, scored two runs, and drove in a run.

Marlon Byrd homered and Tyler Colvin added a triple and a run for the Cubs, who committed four errors.

Brandon Beachy (7-2) won his fourth straight decision, recovering from a shaky start to pitch six innings. He allowed six hits, two earned runs and struck out eight.

Matt Garza (6-10) allowed six runs – three earned – and eight hits over five innings. He struck out six.

The Braves took three of four from the Cubs and have won 16 of their last 21 games. Atlanta won its NL-high 38th road game.

Garza was coming off one of his best starts of the season in a 3-0 win over St. Louis last Saturday.

After Bourn led off the game with a single, Martin Prado reached when Garza dropped a flip from Carlos Pena at first. Garza then fell behind McCann, who homered into a stiff wind in right-center and put the Braves ahead 3-0 before Garza had retired a batter.

Prado reached on errors twice in the game, doubled, walked and scored two runs.

The Cubs cut into the lead on Darwin Barney’s groundout in the bottom of the first. In the second, Byrd brought Cubs within a run with a homer to left. Colvin tripled into the right-field corner and scored on Geovany Soto’s dribbler, tying the game at 3.

The Braves grabbed the lead right back with two runs in the third with help from the Cubs. Castro committed his NL-high 22nd error of the season and Garza walked Dan Uggla with the bases full. Freddie Freeman’s RBI single drove in the other run.

The Braves tacked on a run in the fifth on Jason Heyward’s sacrifice fly and another on McCann’s solo shot in the seventh. McCann leads NL catchers with 22 home runs on the season.

Bourn drove in a run in the eighth with his fourth single of the game, giving him his sixth career four-hit game. Bourn’s 160 hits are second in the NL to Castro’s 167.

The Cubs have committed 108 errors this season, most in the majors. Four of Atlanta’s runs were unearned.

NOTES: Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano was given a day off on Thursday after he was hit in the right forearm by a pitch during Wednesday’s game. Manager Mike Quade said Soriano was available for pinch-hitting duty and is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. . Braves RHP Tommy Hanson left the team and returned to Atlanta to have his ailing shoulder re-evaluated by team doctors. Hanson has been on the disabled list since Aug. 7 because of right rotator cuff tendinitis. . Manager Fredi Gonzalez said the Braves are “closely monitoring” Hurricane Irene and the effect it might have on this weekend’s series in New York against the Mets. . The Braves open a three-game series at New York on Friday, pitting RHP Tim Hudson against Mets lefty Chris Capuano. Hudson has won eight of his last nine decisions. . The Cubs will make the short trip north to face the first-place Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend, with Chicago RHP Rodrigo Lopez squaring off against LHP Randy Wolf in Friday’s opener. . Chicago’s Aramis Ramirez doubled in the eighth, his 700th career extra-base hit, and extended his hitting streak to 14 games.