March 2008
Ruben Gotay Snagged Up from Mets
The Braves claimed IF Ruben Gotay from the Metropolitans. He’ll start the season as our utility infielder guy along with Martin Prado. When Infante comes back, there will be a battle of mediocre backup infielders. Gotay’s D isn’t very good, but he hit a little for the Mets off the bench last year and had a .351 OBP in 190 ABs, so he gets on base now and then. He’s not particularly fast and was beaten out by Marlon Anderson and Damon Easley, so take from it what you will. Over at MetsBlog there is a general malaise about Gotay, though some are a little peeved that he’s coming to Atlanta. There is talk that Omar and Willie Randolph hated Gotay. In other news, Scott Thorman cleared waivers after managing to pass by 29 MLB teams like a stone in a cloud and land in Richmond to start the season. Good luck during another season in the minors, Thor. May you fill that massive hole in your swing.
What Will Happen in 2008?
I was driving through town and saw a palm reader/psychic off the side of the road.
It caught my eye just as I was zooming by. I usually don’t visit seers of any sort but I felt an urging, perhaps even a premonition, to go inside. So I quickly made a U-turn and swung in and admitted I wasn’t even sure what had brought me there.
The fragile, old, yet wise looking, Madame Sartusi assured me there were other forces at work and I had arrived exactly as expected. I sat down, laid a crisp $10 bill on the table and said “First, tell me why I’m here”.
Sartusi replied “You are here to tell me what you already know and to have me confirm the truth of the visions you’ve been having. Please… speak. “
I confessed that, yes, I had been having visions. And I couldn’t explain them. At her prompting I finally let out what I had been holding inside. She assured me it would be cathartic and she could confirm whether these prognostications would come to pass or not.
“The first vision I have is of Chipper Jones. He’ll be batting third and playing third as usual but this time for the better part of the season. And I have this feeling somehow he will be the starting All-Star at third baseman for the first time in many years. And we will finally forget 2002 where he somehow attempted to play left field. I know this seems far fetched because of the admiration David Wright has acquired, but I know that if only he can stay healthy, he’ll hit for better average, have more home runs, and commit fewer errors. As long as Chipper’s feet are safe in his Japanese engineered cleats and he doesn’t hit any Pirates on the base paths in this Opening Series at home, I know he can do great things.”
“Go on…” she said. “There’s more”
“A lot more.” I gasped.
“Mark Teixeira will win the MVP this year and just when I learn to spell his name without Google, he’ll be a much richer man with another baseball team with much deeper pockets. But at least he’ll be wearing a World Series ring at that time.”
“These are bold predictions you make.”
“I know, Sartusi, but I can’t help what I see.”
“I also see Mike Hampton pitching the entire year without injury. Somehow, the curse has been lifted and he’ll win 15 games for us.”
“What about Glavine and Smoltz, and this Tim Hudson you have?”
Not realizing she was a Braves fan, I shockingly replied,
“They too will be impressive. Smoltz will make his debut on April 6th against the Mets…and win. Glavine will win 10 games at least if not more and Hudson will be our ace.”
“There is still more, my friend. Continue.”
“Thanks. Soriano will be good as closer perhaps 30+ saves, Gonzalez will come back before the end of the year, Moylan will be our top situational relief pitcher, we won’t miss Yates all that much, Ohman and Ring will both be lefties out of the pen and Resop will be included there as well. Escobar will come close to if not topping Giles’ Braves’ doubles record while hitting .375. Kelly Johnson will a sensational table setter. We will see Jordan Schaffer in CF before the end of the year after Kotsay is released. Diaz will hit .335. Julio Franco will not play for the Braves, even if he wants to. Thorman will be traded along with Bryan Pena leaving room for Corky Miller to play backup catcher and Omar Infante as the backup infielder at any position once he’s healed.”
I took a breath. She looked at me with her steel blue grey eyes probing me as though studying my face for truth. Her grey whispy hair just barely veiled her eyes as she listened intently.
“The Braves, the sleeper in the NL East, will surprise everyone with a 2008 NL East pennant win sparking yet another string of division titles. The Mets will win the Wild Card and Braves will prevail as not only NL Champions but World Series Champions once more.”
“Don’t you say that every year?”
“I didn’t say it last year, Sartusi, we had Mark Redman as a starting pitcher.”
“True, but you still thought they’d be in the playoffs”
“Touché”
“That will be 50 dollars, please.”
JB in ATL
Worst Braves Ever
Since 1991 we’ve had a few individual stinkers.
Think Dan Kolb, Rico Brogna, or the Ken Caminiti Experiment. They make you cringe, right?
With today’s minor swap around before the season starts, it got me
to thinking about trades that went down since 1991. When I think of
giving up Jermaine Dye to pick up Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart…my
stomach still turns.
John Schuerholz of course is not any longer pulling the strings from
the GM position. And while we celebrate his genius and welcome Frank
Wren in his stead, what would it be like if the 2008 Braves were
represented by JS’s most forgettable acquisitions?
So here’s my “Scream Team” if you will of trades and pick ups
John has made between 1990 to 2007. Although there were some good
surprises (Julio Franco, Jarret Wright), and big time pickups (Tex,
Madd Dog, Crime Dog, Sheff) there were also some that left us
scratching our heads.
Worst Schuerolz Starting Rotation
Mark Redman- 2007, 0-4, 11.63 ER. Even the name strikes fear
in the hearts of Braves fans. Let’s hope when the Rockies come to town
he’s starting against us and has his typical Turner Field performance.
Jorge Sosa- 2006, Though he was exceptional in 2005 that was
all we got out of him because the next year was abysmal. He became a
3-10 pitcher with a 5.46 ERA giving up 20 HR’s in 87.1 innings
Albie Lopez- 2002 I still can’t say his name without
laughing, this fifth starter in 2002 was 1-4 w/ 4.37 ERA. Only started
4 games before getting demoted and came in relief during blowouts.
Denny Martinez- 1998 True, he wasn’t the worst ever but what
makes 1998 bad for Denny is the potential for success he had and the
measley 4 games he won (and 6 losses) in 91 IP’s and 4.45 ERA.
Mike Hampton- 2005 I’ve inserted the 2005 version of Hampton
because it’s been his worst year as a Brave so far 5-3 w/ 4.23 ERA.
When the Hampton Years are over he will have one of our best win
percentages, never a losing season (yet) and a great talent. So far he
is 32-20 with Atlanta. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll
know he’s our highest paid pitcher ever, with 2 1/2 seasons missed. I
think that says it all. To date, we’ve paid him $44+ million to sit on the bench since 2005. Ouch.
Starting Rotation Record- 12-27
Worst Schuerholz Bullpen
Chris Reitsma- 2005 15 of 24 SVO’s, 3-6 W-L. The would be set up, would be closer, just didn’t give us confidence coming out of the pen.
Dan Kolb- 2005 The year Smoltz returned to the rotation our
closer was 3-8 w/ 7 blown saves and 5.93 ERA. Kolb went right back
where he came from after his short stint in the ATL.
Danys Baez- 2006 Came over from LA to bolster the bullpen and
instead he pitched a lousy 10 innings, 5.40 ERA, didn’t win a game,
didn’t get a save. See ya, Wilson.
Adam Bernero- 2005 4-3, 6.51 ERA he gave up 35 runs in 47 innings.
Bullpen Record- 10-33
Worst Schuerholz Outfield
RF Raul Mondesi- 2005 A free agent acquisition in 41 games
Raul hit .211 BA, 4 HR’s, 17 RBI’s. A far cry from 1997’s .310, 30 HR’s
87 RBI’s. $1 million not very well spent.
CF Kenny Lofton- 1997 This a tough one. You could argue AJ
last year qualifies with his .222 BA (in spite of 26 HR’s and 94 RBI’s,
his lowest since ‘99, the situational hitting and the 138 K’s are
blaring.) The Lofton Era made you really miss Marquis Grissom. The
worst part of this center fielder isn’t even that it’s Kenny Lofton.
It’s the fact that David Justice and Marquis Grissom were both dealt
away to pick him up. Although he hit .333 he had a career in low steals
at that point with 27 and was gone the following year.
LF Barry Lamar Bonds- 1993 Though never “officially” a Brave,
he was a Brave in principle through a trade with Pittsburgh that fell
through at the last minute. Although we would’ve had the 7 time MVP and
supposed all time HR leader… I can’t imagine seeing one of the most
reviled players in baseball history wearing a Braves uniform for any
amount of time even if he would’ve left for free agency first chance he
got. This one is a hypothetical but it’s a move Schuerholz would’ve
made and some would say it would’ve been a great move. However, it
would’ve cost us Greg Maddux so… you be the judge.
Worst Schuerholz Infield
1B Rico Brogna- 2001 He hit .248 in 74 games, 3 HR’s 21 RBI’s, -12.3 BtRun
(dishonorable mentions to Craig Wilson, Scott Thorman, Nick Esasky)
2B Brett Boone- 1999 I picked Brett because he didn’t get
good until post-Atlanta. His ‘99 .252 BA isn’t that impressive either.
Plus we haven’t had a really awful 2B’man in a long time.
3B- Ken Caminiti- 2001 Although he played first base in his
forgettable half season with the Braves, he was a natural third basemen
and this is my dream team of bad players so I’ll stick him wherever I
want. The former MVP played 64 games, hit .222 6 HR’s and 16 RBI’s.
SS- Willy Aybar- 2006 The stats aren’t too bad. 115 AB’s .373
BA. It’s the underperforming liability (AWOL, drug problems etc.) he
turned out to be. We didn’t get our money’s worth.
That rounds out my selections of worst Braves acquisitions (and one that could’ve been). Feel free to leave your suggestions.
Projected finish: Last Place, 44-118
Keep Choppin’
JB in ATL
2008 Outlook: Tom Glavine
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It’s nearly here.
The return of the prodigal son, or Judas as he was once
known after signing with the Mets. Tom Glavine and his glorious,
corner-painting Hall of Fame arm.
But this isn’t the same Glavine we remember from the
2002 playoffs where he only managed 2.2 innings in Game 4 against the
NL Champion Giants before he got the hook in his last appearance with
the Braves. That Glavine went 18-11, had a 2.96 ERA and was an
All-Star. In case you weren’t paying attention, here’s what he did
while he was playing for those other guys.
He was terrible in 2003, with a 9-14 record and a 4.52 ERA for a
horrible, last place Mets club that finished 34.5 games behind the
Braves and was 11-14 in 2004 though his ERA went down to 3.60 for a
Mets team that finished 25 games behind the Braves. In 2005 he sniffed
.500 at 13-13, and the Mets finished only 7 games behind our last
division title winner. 2006 was the only season he really made it work
for the Mets, finishing 15-7 and making the All-Star team. It was the
only playoff appearance Tommy made with the Mets and he lost Game 6 in
the NL Championship Series.
2007 gives us some idea of what we can expect and what we can’t from
Tommy. He was pretty good until September, and then he was famously
bad. With the progression of the season, the numbers show that Tom got
tired. He threw more pitches for the Mets in 2007 than any other year
he was in New York.
His numbers look great until he gets to the 75-100
pitch count and the opponent BA goes up to .324. Tommy still has that
propensity to give up a lot of runs in the 1st, a trait that has
haunted him his entire career. He walked 2.88 batters per start so his
control wasn’t what it’s been and his WHIP was 1.41 which tells us to
expect lots of baserunners. A staggering 85% of the time, if a hitter
took a swing at a pitch, they made contact.
He’s not blowin’ anything by anybody. One thing Tom
learned with the Mets is to pitch inside a little more, and it’ll be
interesting if that trend continues in his return to the Braves.
Tom is going to need a lot of run support which, fortunately, our
offense is ready to supply . I hope Bobby uses the deep rotation to
give Tom a few days off to avoid getting overworked. and if he pitches
less than 200 innings this year, I think that’ll be a good thing.
It seems reasonable to expect 13 wins and a reliable
5-6 innings, much like Greg Maddux has done in his latter days for the
Dodgers and Padres. There is a good chance Tom could also struggle this
year so Braves fans should temper their expectations and hope to be
pleasantly surprised if Tom is consistently good. We’ll find out on
Monday. I wish I could be there to welcome him back.
~BH in LA
————
2008 Starting Rotation Outlook Series -
Hampton Hinders Houston
BravesBlog.net
Mike Hampton.
Just when we all wondered if you’d even pitch a single game in 2008 you make yet another impressive start in Spring Training that somehow fools us Braves fans into thinking we actually want you to pitch this year.
After a five inning performance earlier in the week and a six inning display this afternoon with only 2 runs and 4k’s… we Atlantans may be foolish enough to have the audacity of hope.
Sometimes I wish he would just **** right now so when he’s hurt again at least our high aspirations aren’t crushed so badly.
Here’s the conundrum for us in Atlanta. The Catch-22 if you will:
If Hampton keeps having Spring starts like this we may get really fired up about our starting rotation. We may start thinking positively about Mike Hampton. We may even believe we have a good, solid, deep rotation because our number 4 starter is the guy who was leading the league in ERA before his first DL tenure. We may be glad that the highest paid pitcher on our payroll is en route to gathering 15+ wins for us this year, giving us a solid lefty to follow Glavine. We may actually think our starting rotation will be the surprise of the NL East while everyone else has been talking Santana and Martinez.
Then, Mike Hampton will be tying his sneakers after an impressive 7 inning gem in mid April, walk to the Braves parking lot and trip; breaking his arm, and ending his 2008 campaign prematurely. Leaving us once again disillusioned and stricken with the kind of luck that makes you think the Red Sox curse had really done nothing more than wander south and make us waste money.
It will be heartbreaking of course to see our Braves dollars once again spent disproportionately on the Braves bench.
However, if it turns out Hampton’s Big League return after a hiatus that extended back to 2005 is not as good as we bargained for… well at least we won’t be too upset when he’s inevitably injured again. We just have to deal with the huge expense we put into the Hampton Project and find yet another unprepared stopgap starter to help us hobble through the rotation.
We could however, end up with Hampton pitching well into September and taking us into October but there’s still very few of us who believe that is a certainty.
I apologize for being such a pessimist. My verdict is simply still not out. I am encouraged to see such great starts. But we in Atlanta all know how imperative it is that Hampton stays healthy all year long. We also know with Mike Hampton nothing is a given.
I guess the point is, when Hampton has good starts, like the one he had today, I don’t know how to feel. It’s not the same as seeing a young gun come out firing giving us promises of a bright future.
It’s kinda like getting a date with Marcia Brady. You’re excited that she said “yes” but now you’re just waiting to hear her say “Something suddenly came up” the day before the big dance.
When Hampton does well I remain very cautiously optimistic. Of course 2008 for MH most likely will not be the fatalistic sink or swim scenario I played out in this post. We may very well have a great #4 starter this year. I’m just not gonna get my hopes up too high until maybe after October is over and the Braves (including Mike Hampton and his weighty contract) are all wearing matching rings.
In Other News; Jair Jurrjens
Jurrjens’ last start was forgettable but lengthy. He did go five innings, meaning Cox is probably getting him some inning work so he’s properly primed and groomed for the number 5 slot. The downside is the 10 hits and 4 ER’s. He did, however, have a minimal walk count (just one in 5 innings, which is what I like to see in a starter). He notched 3K’s and didn’t give up a HR.
So though the numbers don’t look too amazing in this start, I’d say that Jair getting some more innings and showing some good control is encouraging.
Smoltz Update
There’s talk of John starting 2008 on the DL. It could be backdated so he wouldn’t miss a full 15 days, and hopefully only one start. While we’d like Smoltz there for Opening weekend, we’d rather have him all year long and healthy later. Hopefully this is no cause for too much worry. I downplayed his missed start last week but he may just need more time to rest the ol’ bones.
Keep Choppin’
JB in ATL
You Might Be a Braves Fan if…
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You never felt stupid doing the Tomahawk Chop.
You can still picture exactly where Chief Nocahoma’s teepee used to be when you walk through the “Green Lot”.
The words “Dale Murphy has been traded to Philadelphia” make you cry.
The words “Tom Glavine is now a Met” make you cry.
The words “Braves are World Champs!” make you cry.
You still love Ted Turner in spite of how crazy he could be because you know the Braves wouldn’t be where they are today if it weren’t for him.
You argue to death with any true baseball fan about how many more WS championships the Braves would’ve had if they had won 14 consecutive divisional titles during say…the ’80’s… or ’70’s… or really anytime prior to the ridiculous playoff system we have now where second place teams have an equal shot at World Series rings.
You can remember chanting “Bobby, Bobby, Bobby…” at least one of those 135 times.
You’ve ever dressed up like a hot dog to go to the Ted.
You’ve ever worn a chef’s hat to go to the Ted.
The words “Tom Glavine is now a Brave…again” make you cry.
You’re convinced Mike Hampton is made of glass.
You’re convinced John Smoltz is made of steel.
You’re convinced that back to back MVP seasons, 7 All Star appearances, 5 Gold Gloves, 740 consecutive games (11th longest in MLB history), 4 Silver Slugger awards, a Roberto Clemente Award, Lou Gehrig Award, 398 HR’s, 1266 RBI’s, has got to be good enough for the Hall of Fame. But it doesn’t matter you don’t get to vote.
You believe Braves vs Mets is every bit as good if not better than Red Sox vs Yankees.
You also believe the same about Braves vs Phillies.
You remember where you were and what you were doing on April 8th, 1974.
You remember where you were and what you were doing when Sid slid. Which reminds you of when Barry Bonds was skinny.
You remember “The Catch”.
You wish you were coaching third when Lonnie Smith rounded second in Game 7 in the Metrodome. Not so you could’ve directed him better, but so it wouldn’t be such a far walk to go right up and pop him in the face.
You think Kent Hrbek is a criminal.
You remember where you were and what you were doing on October 21, 1995.
You know what the numbers 3, 21, 35, 41, 44, mean.
You know what the numbers 29, 47, 10, 6 will also mean someday soon.
You currently own, or have owned, a foam Tomahawk.
The number 14 makes you cry.
The number 715 makes you cry.
The word “asterix” means something to you.
The number 755 still means something to you.
You remember The Launching Pad.
You remember the fire of ‘93 and “Welcome to Atlanta, Crime Dog!”
You hate that the Marlins won two World Championships after winning the Wild Card and then promptly sold each player from those championship teams.
You know what a “Lemmer” is.
You think every Braves game, for the rest of time, no matter what should always be broadcasted on TBS.
You still know exactly where Poncey was and where the Magnolia once stood, which doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a Braves fan but you’ve spent a lot of years in Atlanta.
You named one of your pets “Murphy”.
The words “new streak” are inspiring to you.
The words “Opening Day” give you goose bumps.
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The Art of The Scorecard
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Reyes takes the hill tomorrow night to try
and improve his stock for a roster spot. And we’ll get to that. We’ll
talk about Reyes, his performance, and his campaign for Atlanta 2008
after we see how he fares against the Astros (who have had the Braves’
number this Spring).
In the meantime, I’d like to talk about
something we here at BravesBlog.net are proud to showcase as one of our
great baseball passions.
The Scorecard.
Ask most baseball fans and they’ll tell
you they haven’t even touched a scorecard. (Nor have they ever known
you can grab your last minute cards at the program stand for $1 w/ a
complimentary pencil).
So many fans have passed attendances at
exciting home openers in April, do-or-die playoff victories in October,
or even
“middle-of-August-seemingly-meaningless-Wednesday-night-playing-the-last-place-Nationals”
games… all without documenting a single play. What a travesty.
For me, JB, scorekeeping is a joy.
It’s a way to enjoy the game on a more
intimate yet transcendent level. Whether I’m seated just behind the
Braves dugout or up in the 405 bleachers with the skyscrapers, jotting
in each play and noting each detail of the game is an experience that
is on a level only other scorekeepers could understand. But allow me
to try and convey.
My scorecards are my journals that
document games, lineups, players past and current, attendance numbers,
statistics, amazing plays, and all the myriad of captured experiences
that are somehow better for me than the bombardment of digital pictures
by which we now relive days at the ballpark. Somehow, I’m taken back in
time; perhaps because the art has come so close to extinction that many
see it as archaic. I’m taken to an era where I can enjoy the finer
aspects of the game and try to tune out all the loud and obnoxious
“jumbotron” prize winning games between innings.
My scorecards have been filled out in
Philadephia, Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, Rome (GA), and of course
time and again at Turner Field.
My scorecards have mustard stains, beer
stains, rain drop stains, creases, eraser marks, pencil scratches to
cover errors (on my part), doodles, commentary, folds, smudges, and my
various attempts to duplicate each visiting teams’ logos.
My scorecards have recorded blowouts (both
by the Braves and upon the Braves), come from behind wins, home
openers, wins during tight pennant races, three game sweeps, extra
inning marathons, double headers (another lost art), pitching duels,
almost no-no’s, heartbreaking losses, and games that I used my card
more as a fan to cool myself in the hot Atlanta sun rather than a
document I will cherish.
My scorecards each have their own
characteristics and my fingerprints all over them. They are a tangible
objects with my handwriting (and sometimes my wife’s) and my drawings
and notes by which I can relive each game play by play.
There’s something entirely different for
me about looking at one of my old score cards as opposed to a photo I
snapped. Not that photos don’t mean something. But a scorecard is my
own imprint on the game. It’s something I create as I watch. While a
photo is something that everyone who visits that same game can
effortlessly snap in a second, my scorecards are my memories that I
actively played a part in designing. They are labors of love as I try
to get each detail correct and tenderly take them home with me, as mint
conditioned as possible, to place in my Braves’ shoebox.
As you can tell, scorekeeping is so much
more than filling in boxes so I’ll know whether Chipper’s 0-4 or 3-5 as
of the eighth inning. It’s about one of the many things that makes
baseball so beautiful to me.
So if you catch me at a game and my head
is down after a brilliant double play, it’s only because I’m scripting
“4-6-3 !!” on my scorecard.
Keep Choppin’
JB in ATL
Hampton Progresses Yesterday
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A good day at the ballpark for Braves fans. Mike Hampton wrapped up his outing injury-free after 4+ having only given up 2 hits and a run. He had three strikeouts. If Hampton can give us 20 starts and pitches like he’s capable, we have the deepest rotation in the East. I say 20 starts has about 20% chance of happening. If not, we’re still pretty good. A nice situation to be in. Let’s hope Hampton continues to progress.
C’mon Yuney!
We’ll get used to hearing that pick-me-up shouted from the dugout whenever our young shortstop steps up to the plate.
It pained me to see Fookey go to LA after 2005…
and I’ll admit I was a little sad to watch Renteria pack his bags and head north this past offseason.
But I definitely think we’re richer in the middle infield with Yunel Escobar stepping in to start full time.
If you’ll recall, all the 25 year old Cuban did last year when filling in for the injury riddled Renteria was hit .326 in 94 games and proved to be a veritable doubles machine with 25 of them last year.
Decent speed, doubles production, and he can hit for average; that’s exactly what I’d like to see in the number 2 spot this year.
With 11 errors in three different positions (although he was .977 at shortstop his natural spot) there’s a little room to grow.
However, if you ask anyone who watched Yunel around the diamond in ‘07 they can tell you he’s got the talent, the promise, and the energy to make Braves fans want to keep him around the clubhouse for a long time.
Side Note: I was lucky enough to see Yunel play in Single A ball up in Rome in 2005, while Chipper was on one of his rehab stints. I remember thinking back then that I was sure we’d see him hustle up to Atlanta rather quickly. It’s pretty neat to have the chance to see a kid from early in his career in Rome move up to an everyday starting spot in Atlanta.
I’ve never before been given the opportunity to see our farm talent develop until these past few years now that our Single A team is just in Rome. I’m looking forward to next year when we have the Gainesville Braves so we can just head up 85 and see how our Triple A boys are doing on the farm.
End of digression.
With a lot of heart and and real competitive fire, Escobar makes this generation of the Braves’ middle infield an exciting one to watch. Needless to say, for me it’s gonna be fun to see “Yuney” in his first full season at short. Who else is excited?
Count down to Home Opener: 16 days
Keep Choppin’
JB in ATL
The ‘Pen
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I suppose “Coxsy” is doing a lot of running his fingers through his hair these days as he looks over his potential Opening Day roster and figures out who stays and who goes in the 2008 bullpen.
What if I were making the 25 man roster, you ask? Well, here’s how I’d handle the pitching situation before March 31st.
I’d say of the guys on the bubble (Yates, Boyer, Resop) first we keep Yates who, with only 2ER’s this spring (the five walks might not factor if he can just shake the rust off) is looking pretty good as a right handed middle reliever. Boyer is out of options but Cox has given him some chances lately and been he’s holding his own (2IP’s 0ER’s 1H’s 3K’s against the Tribe on Tue. night.) If Jair Jurrjens gets a starting spot, which doesn’t seem unusual, he’s not in the bullpen but he should be a lock either way. James may end up going to Richmond (soon to be Gainesville) so he’s not in just yet but also not out of options so I’m ok with sending him down as a possible 5th starter if Jurrjens is too young to handle it. Peter “Thunda from Down Unda” Moylan who really shined in ‘07 will be back along with Manny Acosta (as set up man).
My prediction for the ‘pen:
Soriano-closer
Acosta-setup
Yates- 6th & 7th inn. relief righty
Ohman- lefty relief, specialist
Moylan- possible setup, middle relief, specialist
Ring- lefty relief, specialist (iffy)
Boyer- relief/inning killer
Starting Five:
Hudson
Smoltz
Glavine
Hampton (maybe)
Jurrjens
So you’ll have to say goodbye to Reyes, James, Ridgway, Bennet, Carlyle, Lerew, Resop, and possibly Ring (I put him in there because I want two lefties in the pen). Five of the aforementioned started in ‘07. Unfortunately, Ring, Resop and Boyer, are out of options so this is their last chance with the Braves. In truth I’m really rootin’ for Boyer to stick around. He’s an Atlanta guy and been with us a few years and I think he’s got some talent when in good health. I’m also going with two lefties because I like having more than just one option if I need that arm to come in for situations.
Well, Coxsy does have his hands full. It’s nice to have some good talent to sift through. It’ll be interesting to see who we take into April. But there’s my prognostication. Please feel free to share yours with me as well.
Keep Choppin’,
JB in ATL
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