http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?n1=ohmanwi01&t=p&year=2009&share=2.92#304-324-sum:pitching_gamelogs

Take your pick. I like my choice but you can certainly justify any of many choices.

Illegitimi non carborundum is a mock-Latin aphorism jokingly taken to mean “don’t let the bastards grind you down”.

There are many variants of the phrase, such as

Nil illegitimi carborundum.
Non illegitimis carborundum.
Illegitimi nil carborundum.
Non illegitimi carborundum.
Nil bastardo carborundum.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Illegitimis non carborundum.
Illegitimus non carborundum est.
Nil illegitimo in desperandum carborundum
Nil carborundum illegitamae

If one of the rookies makes the team as a platoon with Diaz you still don’t have a RH hitter to follow Chipper. Nady is about the only choice to hit in the clean-up spot and satisfy Chipper or could it be Francoeur? He does hit Right and Chipper thinks he will fit the bill this year. If he is correct that will serve to solidify a lot of situations.

That will leave LF & CF up for grabs. I just don’t see Blanco with a .260 BA and .304 SLG avg making this team as an outfielder. He drew a lot of walks last year but that is not driving in runs. I would much rather believe that either Brandon Jones or Josh Anderson will wind up with the platoon job with Diaz and would likely put Schafer in CF. If they decide to send Schafer down for the beginning of the year and start J. Anderson then he will be in CF and B. Jones in Left with Diaz.

It makes sense. Who among those will Blanco beat out? None in my opinion.

Point to remember, the Braves CANNOT solve the RH hitter in the cleanup slot problem and fill the platoon slot with Diaz with the same man. So if they trade for Nady just where are they going to play him? LF, obviously and then where does that leave Diaz AND B. Jones? Blanco will be left at the starting gate with such a move and Schafer will start in Gwinnett and J. Anderson will start in CF. Any move they make is going to really complicate things. This is one can of worms alright.

Possibilities:
Frenchy RF
J. Anderson CF
Diaz/B. Jones LF

OR:
Frenchy RF
Schafer CF
Diaz/J. Anderson LF

Or:
Frenchy RF
J. Anderson CF
Nady LF

Or:
Frenchy RF
J. Anderson CF
G. Anderson/Diaz LF

And then who bats 4th when Diaz plays?

The best thing that could possibly happen would be for Frenchy to come forth and show everyone he can bat cleanup.

Almost any way you slice it Blanco is a goner.

I don’t envy Bobby Cox having to make these decisions although I don’t think he will have any trouble making them.

- HE CAN HIT. A .296 career hitter, Anderson can still put the bat on the ball. He hit .293 last year, and unlike Griffey, he can handle lefties (.290 vs. lefties / .293 vs. righties).

- HE’S STILL A SOLID RUN PRODUCER as his 84 RBI in ‘08 would attest. While he has lost much of his once considerable power, he still has pop… connecting for 15 homers last year.

- DEFENSE: Yes, his range is diminished, but not as severely as a someone else stated here in a recent post. He can still span left-field just fine. AND Anderson has made 2 errors in his last 261 games.

- SOLID PLATOON PARTNER: Anderson hit 14 of his 15 homers last year off right-handed pitching, while Diaz has shown nice pop off of lefties. Put those two in a LF platoon, and you’re likley to get the following from left field: A .300+ average, 15-20 homers, 75-90 RBI

- WHY NOT? He should fit within the Braves budget just fine. He’s still a solid player, and for 2-3 million on a one-year deal… why not???

If you’ve got Anderson/Diaz in left field, you’ve got 4 positions (LF, SS, 2B, 1B) from which you can expect a .280-305 average, 13-20 homers, and at least 65 RBI… to go along with Chipper, McCann, and Francoeur.

If you add Anderson and get a rebound from Francoeur… that’s a nice lineup folks.