Braves News World

Got $400 million under your mattress? If so, you could be the proud owner of one of the most successful baseball franchises in recent history! Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. has announced it is shopping the team around. Parent company Time Warner has been facing increasing pressures, from the likes of shareholders such as activist Carl Icahn, to enhance shareholder value by selling different units of the company. The company is also seeking to sell its regional cable television network Turner South in the transaction. Turner Broadcasting purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and maintained ownership of the team until the company’s sale to Time Warner in 1995.

Atlanta Falcons owner (and Home Depot co-founder) Arthur Blank has been widely rumored as the most likely buyer for the team. Methinks this could be a positive development as the new ownership should loosen up the purse strings a bit. They surely can’t be any worse than TW (whose initials also stand for “Tight Wads").

The Braves have signed 38-year-old catcher Todd Pratt to a one-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Early Friday afternoon, the Braves announced that they had signed Pratt to a one-year contract. He will serve as a backup to the 21-year-old Brian McCann. Pratt posted a .251 batting average with 7 home runs and 23 RBIs in 175 at-bats last season with the Phillies.