Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
812 comments Add your comment
DAP
February 23rd, 2009
3:01 pm
PIZZAROThe braves don’t have enough horses to win more games that the Mets or Phillies.
you are clearly confused.
C-man
February 23rd, 2009
3:02 pm
If Garrett is Ole and Josh is Arn, does that make Frenchy Tully Blanchard?
David O'Brien
February 23rd, 2009
3:02 pm
Flange1: Bennett and Acosta are not out of options.1
PTBNL
February 23rd, 2009
3:02 pm
From MLB:
Angel fan here and a GA fan. You guys will love GA. He has been criticized for not hussling in the out field but its just his calm and collective demeanor. He is a smart player and takes perfect routs to the ball. He doesn’t need to hussle cause he reads the ball well and gets there and always makes the plays. He makes things look easy. He is a great run producer and I feel he will have a breakout year with 90 RBI’s and 20 homeruns minimum. I think it will benefit Casey Kotchman to have GA around and Kothcman will do offensively for the Braves what he started to do for the Angels last year. I’m going to follow the Braves this year cause you guys are putting things together and it will be an exciting year.
getnathan
February 23rd, 2009
3:04 pm
Kotchman needs to put up .275 20-90 with over 40 doubles for Braves to be in it.
Francoeur needs to put up similar numbers, although he won’t have the doubles or the average.
Anyone expecting 25 HR from Garret Anderson is seriously dreaming.
High Heat
February 23rd, 2009
3:05 pm
If Diaz isn’t on the roster who’s going to be the emergency catcher?
dogsbrekky
February 23rd, 2009
3:05 pm
PIIZZANT – I suggest a check up for you and your other NY Mucil’s mates come September, your sypmtoms will be tightness around the shoulders leading to the neck and THROAT region, learn how to swallow otherwise you may just “CHOKE ON IT AGAIN”.. boo hoo…. Mets cannot win anything with their nancy pancy line up, no heart, no clutch …….
Blair
February 23rd, 2009
3:05 pm
Dave, you mentioned how well Hoss and Mac were hitting. No surprises there, those two are pretty much a given. But…how has Frenchy hit?
Ryan
February 23rd, 2009
3:06 pm
your crazy PIZZARO, you remind me of Tim Kurikjin from ESPN saying we didnt shore up our rotation enough to keep up with the mets and phils and i think thats a complete joke. i’m being a honest baseball fan and not being optimistc and saying it will be a dog fight all the way to the end but to automatically put us in the 4th spot is rediculous…
Paul
February 23rd, 2009
3:09 pm
Dave, great stuff as always, not sure if you’ll see this or not, but I was wondering about the future payroll flexibility of the Braves going into the season? It’s kind of understood that if teams start slowly and have a hard time selling tickets in this economy, there might be some impact players from underachieving teams on the trade block. Can the Braves move money around or add to the payroll if they need to trade for that RH, power hitting OFer? Off the top of my head, Magglio Ordonez might be available, and maybe an Aubrey Huff, Brian Giles, or Rick Ankiel. Do you get any sense that the Braves signed Garrett Anderson with their last $2.5 mill, or did they put some money aside to make improvements during a season where teams might feel financially compelled to shed salaries (as has happened at this years’ NBA trading deadline)? With their stacked (and stocked) farm system, they should be able to get a MLB veteran or two without having to surrender a top (or even Triple A) prospect in return. Thanks, Dave!
ease19
February 23rd, 2009
3:10 pm
Blair – Question of the day goes to you sir!
BO JR.
February 23rd, 2009
3:10 pm
PIZZARO: the only team in the east that could be the marlins. there pitching could be the best. we know they will hit. Mets and Phillies could have bad years . BRAVES, Marlins, Phillies, Mets, Nationals. Mets could be in for a very long year. Reyes, Wright Beltran, Santana, Maine, K Rod and the guy from Seattle. Dont seem like enough.
Andrew
February 23rd, 2009
3:11 pm
i know its only batting practice,but its good to hear that Kotchman was hitting some deep balls.
Luke L.
February 23rd, 2009
3:11 pm
Dave,
I am with Blair, How has Francouer been hitting? I personally am pulling for him. My son and I met him when he was playing at AA. He actually told us that McCann had hit his first Major League homerun earlier that day. Jeff was brought up shortly after. This occured in Jackson, Tn. when the MS Braves were playing the West Tn. Diamond Jaxx.
flange1
February 23rd, 2009
3:11 pm
Thanks DOB! I cannot keep the options thing straight….I could have sworn that Blanco was out of options last year, but I promise I won’t go all Thorman on you!!!
Chop Chop, you forgot about Gene Anderson…The ORIGINAL Anderson with Ole…..
The_Superhoo
February 23rd, 2009
3:13 pm
Any word on when there’ll be an official announcement on Anderson? Do we have to wait till he gets there to be sure?
Jim
February 23rd, 2009
3:13 pm
If the outfield is J. Anderson, G. Anderson, Diaz, and Francouer, then Infante will definitely not be traded! He is the only option to spell J. Anderson in CF, and may play against certain or most lefthanded pitchers.
Mark
February 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm
DOB,
What do you think about the Braves, as of right now, making the only way you can buy the tickets to the Red Sox and Yankees games through a ticket package. Not only are they doing that but also are making these tickets more expensive. Thats pathetic. I can’t find the 4 game flex plan that I got last year. Only 6 game flex plan where most of the games are during the week. For some of us who live outside of GA this is crazy. The thing closest to the 4 game flex pla is the 9 game flex plan. During tough times like this it makes me cringe at the business practices that they are displaying.
PIZZARO
February 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm
DAP–If you go position by position the Mets are stronger in most of them. I’ll give the braves the edge at cather and 3rd(barely). The Mets possess more team speed. As for the rotation: Santana over Lowe, Maine and jurgens are even, Perez over Vasquez, Pelfrey over your Japanese import until he proves he can win in the states. Sanchez, Putz and K-Rod are as good as your best 3 out of the bullpen.
Shut up DOB
February 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm
STILL NO OFFICIAL WORD OF ANDERSON’S SIGNING
champ
February 23rd, 2009
3:18 pm
Paul,
Do you know the difference between right and left? Off the top of my head at least two of those players are left handed.
DWW
February 23rd, 2009
3:18 pm
Did J. Anderson ever play infield? I would like to see him and schaffer both make the team some how. I’m not a huge blanco or prado fan, but i’m sure one of them will make the team.
Catfish
February 23rd, 2009
3:19 pm
Frenchy is the key to this season. Barring any major injuries, if Frenchy hits, the Braves will contend. We need 100 RBI out of him and he should be hitting clean up if he was only more patient.
Original Jon
February 23rd, 2009
3:19 pm
Why dont you shut the hell up Shut up DOB, it is being reported on every major site, go check it out, because I seriously doubt sites like ESPN want to look like morons for jumping the gun on information
toga party
February 23rd, 2009
3:21 pm
flange1, DOB has posted this a couple times lately. It’s the list of current Braves who are out of options. Hopefully everyone will copy it down eventually to avoid a Thurman-esque spring training position discussion:
J Anderson, OF
B Boyer, RH
M Gonzalez LH
D Lowe RH
A LeRew RH
G Norton util
D Ross C
R Soriano RH
P Stockman RH
tjara03
February 23rd, 2009
3:21 pm
Shut up DOB
February 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm
STILL NO OFFICIAL WORD OF ANDERSON’S SIGNING
Here are some more sources:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090222&content_id=3865664&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/02/22/anderson.braves.ap/index.html
Its all over the place! Holy crap man! Have some faith!
toga party
February 23rd, 2009
3:23 pm
*Thorman, obviously.
GSU-Lee
February 23rd, 2009
3:26 pm
Original Jon
“Why don’t you just shut the hell up Shut Up DOB…”
Honestly, that made me laugh
Ryan
February 23rd, 2009
3:26 pm
Vasquez is way better than Oliver Perez. Javier being back in the NL is a huge plus…. Javier will pitch 200+inn and be in top 5 in SO’s, also he doesnt walk 100 batters like Oliver.
Graham
February 23rd, 2009
3:27 pm
toga party,
Isn’t Thorman with Milwaukee now? I thought he signed a minor league contract back in December.
C-man
February 23rd, 2009
3:27 pm
Infante’s also the back-up shortstop. He’s not going anywhere.
DAP
February 23rd, 2009
3:28 pm
PIZZARO position by position is a stupid way to evaluate teams, and id disagree with your assessments most of the time anyways…listen, the braves have the horses. they can definitely score runs and the pitching is very solid(definitely more solid than the mets’ staff).
The_Superhoo
February 23rd, 2009
3:28 pm
Graham,
he was just comparing the discussion that occured on Thorman back then.
Chop Chop
February 23rd, 2009
3:28 pm
I didn’t forget Gene, flange1. He was before my time and, well, I figured that more people would know who Arn is.
(Yes. I put too much thought into a blog post. I don’t care. Any excuse to talk wrestling is fine with me.)
Blog of 100 comments only
February 23rd, 2009
3:29 pm
Ms. Smith’s 7th Grade Computer Classes at ACME Middle School continue to run the AJC’s blogs for them so only 100 posts are allowed at a time. SORRY FOR THIS LEARNING EXPERIENCE but it saves the media conglomerate big cash in finally challenged times.
Graham
February 23rd, 2009
3:30 pm
Ah crap! Sorry again. Mondays are just not good days for me. “I picked the wrong day to quit drinkin’!”
PIZZARO
February 23rd, 2009
3:30 pm
I won’t argue that the Mets have lacked the toughness to close the deal in September the last couple of seasons. But that’s all you can throw my way. In the last 3 years the braves winning percentage has been .483 compared to .563 for the Mets. The bottom line is this: The Mets will be playing for the division and the braves won’t be.
DWW
February 23rd, 2009
3:31 pm
DOB
Is Frank Wren hanging around the field any during spring training? Does he do any hands on evaluations of players or does he leave that up to Bobby and his staff?
TN Jeff
February 23rd, 2009
3:32 pm
Original Jon
Ummmmmmm… the ESPN article is using the AJC as its source on the
so-called pending Anderson signing.
Here we go again? Hope not but not getting giddy just yet. Not sure
I’ll be giddy even IF the signing is confirmed.
jtb
February 23rd, 2009
3:33 pm
PIZZARO
I feel like the Braves are better than the Mets at 2nd and in left field. Also the Braves bullpen depth and rotation depth is much better than the Mets. Outside of Santana, every other rotation spot is essentially a toss up. Who is the Mets 5th starter anyways? The Mets may have bigger names on their roster, but if you look at the overall depth the Braves have, they appear to be better prepared to withstand the long season.
Catfish
February 23rd, 2009
3:33 pm
PIZZARO: The Mets will always choke. It’s what they were born to do. With all those great players, they can’t make the playoffs and when they do make it they can’t get to the series. Those batters will continue to impress this season, and the back of that bullpen may be the best in the game, but after Santana that rotation is no good.
Chop Chop
February 23rd, 2009
3:33 pm
C-man,
Frenchy reminds me more of “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell. After last year, I don’t think he’s fit to be a member of the Horsemen. He’s got to step up his game if he wants to be a member of the most dominant stable in the history of professional wrestling.
Catfish
February 23rd, 2009
3:34 pm
jtb: Great minds must think alike.
Original Jon
February 23rd, 2009
3:34 pm
PIZZA RO How in the heck can you say the bottom line is that? You dont know anything do you? Braves have a better all around starting staff, 1-5 than the Mets do, and our pen has more depth. If anything, Mets better hope for a 3rd place finish or wild card.
Catfish
February 23rd, 2009
3:35 pm
Ole Anderson is not really dead.
Original Jon
February 23rd, 2009
3:36 pm
TN Jeff Regardless of where they got it from, they still put it on their site, didnt they?
PIZZARO
February 23rd, 2009
3:38 pm
Ryan–”Vasquez is way Better than Perez”?? Perez over the last two years is 25-17 with an avg ERA of 3.89 while Vazquez is 27-24 with a 4.21 ERA. Those numbers prove you incorrect my friend.
Ryan
February 23rd, 2009
3:38 pm
JTB
I Totally agree man…
by the way i think its great there thinking about putting Jose “cant hit” Castillo in the leadoff spot… lol
PTBNL
February 23rd, 2009
3:39 pm
Hmmm Pizzaro, does that mean that if you had come here 3 years ago and a Braves fan had said to you, “the Braves have won the division for the last 14 years… bottom line is… The Braves will be will be winning the division and the Mets won’t” then the Braves would have won the division again? Hmmm Strange how thing have a way of changing… no matter what we say and no matter what happened in the past. If I understood the “debate” it is about this year. Not the past.
C-man
February 23rd, 2009
3:39 pm
MLB.com verified the report independently as well. This ain’t Griffey, Part Deux. Anderson’s a Brave.
C-man
February 23rd, 2009
3:40 pm
Unless he flunks the physical, that is.
The_Superhoo
February 23rd, 2009
3:40 pm
I THINK he’s a Brave. But, Griffey, Furcal, and Smoltz were “Braves” too.
Hanie
February 23rd, 2009
3:42 pm
PIZZARO, Vasquez has pitched in the American League a better offensive league. So if you factor that into the argument. One could argue that Vasquez has been a better pitcher.
flange1
February 23rd, 2009
3:43 pm
Toga,
Thanks for the list! I will copy it so it does not vanish!
Chop Chop,
The Andersons were my all time favorite tag team (seconded only by a bit the Assassins) Great old school tag team wrestling is one of my favorite things in the world!!!!
Ryan
February 23rd, 2009
3:45 pm
Hanie
Thats a point i forgot to add thanks
PIZZARO your wrong atleast Vasquez BB/9 is in the low 2’s your Oliver averages 5 walk per 9 inn and Perez hits more batters and hitters have a higher OBP vs him.
WILD BILL
February 23rd, 2009
3:47 pm
Here is the lineup dudes 1. Josh A. 2. Escobar 3. Chipper 4. McCann 5. Garret A. 6. Frenchy 7. KJ 8. Kotchman and Skip says watching from above BRAVES WIN BRAVES WIN BRAVES WIN! LMAO OCTOBER BASEBALL IS BACK BABY!
BO JR.
February 23rd, 2009
3:48 pm
I did some research on Oliver Perez. Take away his games against Braves and hes out of baseball. he want win those games this year. he will be with his buddie Odalis.
SoDak Brave
February 23rd, 2009
3:48 pm
Does anybody know how Frenchy’s new swing is looking. Heaven’t been able to be on the blogs all day and with most of the posts getting deleted I haven’t seen anything.
Fischerking04
February 23rd, 2009
3:48 pm
I read that Kawakami just started pitching against live Braves hitters. So DOB, have you gotten any reaction from the Braves players about what they thought of his stuff?
phinbarr
February 23rd, 2009
3:49 pm
I don’t know if someone else has posted this (lousy 100 comments), but here’s a source who thinks G Anderson will have a positive impact on Kotchman. Now that would be a nice fringe benefit, huh?
http://lylemspencer.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/02/anderson_braves_good_fit.html
Gary
February 23rd, 2009
3:49 pm
Hey PIZZARO, If you want to we can compare the lineup:
LF – Garrett Anderson vs Daniel Murphy – Adv. Braves
CF – J. Anderson/Schafer vs Beltran – Adv. Mets
RF – Francouer vs Church – Adv. Braves(with solid Francouer) Adv. Tie(with 2008 Francouer)
1B – Kotchman vs Delgado – Adv. Mets
2B – Johnson vs Castillo – Adv. Braves
SS – Escobar vs Reyes – Adv. Mets(for now)
3B – Jones vs Wright – Adv. Braves(slightly)
C – McCann vs Scneider – Adv. Braves
SP1 – Santana vs Lowe – Adv. Mets(Slightly)
SP2 – Maine vs Jurrjens – Adv. Braves
SP3 – Perez vs Vasquez – Adv. Braves(Slightly)
SP4 – Pelfrey vs Kawakami – Adv. Mets
SP5 – Redding vs Glavine – Adv Braves
CL – Rodriguez vs Gonzales. Adv. Tie
SU – Putz vs Soriano – Adv. Mets
SU – Sanchez vs Moylan – Adv. Tie
Manager – Cox vs Manuel – Adv. Braves
So lets see, that is Advantage Braves 5-3 on the everyday and a tie with the pitching as the advantage goes to the Braves in the rotation and the Mets for the bullpen. Braves coaching is much better than that of the Mets.
TnBrian
February 23rd, 2009
3:52 pm
PIZZARO, you sound a little worried, which is obvious by your over confident attitude about your Mutts. Hey, they’re going to have an improved team, but Atl. will be much better too. If somebody like yourself is that confident in predicting a MLB season, than they have never been shot down with the reality that injuries and a million other things can go wrong for a team through 162 games. The Marlins? Ok…
mbatl
February 23rd, 2009
3:54 pm
So, John Smoltz doesn’t get the respect (i.e., money) that he thinks he deserves, and spends a month talking to every media outlet with a microphone about how mistreated he was.
Meanwhile, Trevor Hoffman has exactly the same thing happen, and takes out a full page ad in the SD newspaper, thanking the fans, teammates, coaches and , yes, front office for the great times. That’s class.
VolBrave
February 23rd, 2009
3:57 pm
*DOB*
I would really like to hear any sort of update on WILL OHMAN. Has he decided where he’s going to sign?
Brandon O
February 23rd, 2009
3:57 pm
mbatl
Thanks, that shows that Smoltzie has little to no class and its all about him.
ncscoots
February 23rd, 2009
3:58 pm
mbatl, obviously Hoffman needs to get up on some PED’s for the ego. Dude just ain’t self-obessed enough to be a big-leaguer.
RC
February 23rd, 2009
3:59 pm
Gary, I’m as big of a Braves fan as anyone, but some of your comparisons are way off.
Francoeur vs. Church (with 2008 Francoeur?) – Advantage Mets
Chipper vs. Wright – Even
Rodriguez vs Gonzales – Advantage Mets
I’d also say Santana vs. Lowe is more than a “slight” advantage for the Mets.
Elmer
February 23rd, 2009
3:59 pm
Schafer will end up in center before too long; it’s the power factor.
JOE
February 23rd, 2009
4:00 pm
i’m fine letting mets fans be the cocky fans they are… i’d rather the braves fly under the radar and shock everyone this year. keep talking Pizzaro, at least that’s one thing the mets are good at.
BO JR.
February 23rd, 2009
4:01 pm
Gary. saw your lineups dont see Delgado beating out Kotch. hes had 3 good months out of last 24
Steve from OH
February 23rd, 2009
4:02 pm
mbatl, CC Sabathia did the same thing in Cleveland after his trade to Milwaukee.
DWW
February 23rd, 2009
4:03 pm
RC
How are chipper and wright even?
DWW
February 23rd, 2009
4:04 pm
And Gary
If moylan returns to form: adv braves
Blair
February 23rd, 2009
4:07 pm
Ease and Luke-thanks, hope that means I get a reply from Dave.
And I really, really hope the reply is “he’s been tearing it up” or something to that effect. I think he’s too good a talent to not bounce back.
Catfish
February 23rd, 2009
4:07 pm
Smoltz scenario: John Smoltz may be my favorite sports figure of all time but his personality couldn’t allow him to leave the Braves without saying how he truly felt when it came down to how he was treated. I can’t say that I blame him for being upset and jumping on the Red Sox offer. But I think when all is said and done he understands the Braves situation. It sucks that baseball has to be a business while simultaneously being a game. If it wasn’t a business, players would never go to new teams at the end of their careers and good players would never get traded.
Frank Wren
February 23rd, 2009
4:09 pm
Gary- RC beat me to critiquing your post. I mean Gonzalez and Rodriguez as even – Are you delusional?
The Santana/ Lowe one is laughable. Even Maine/JJJ is a little premature.
Listen, I’m not big on this around the horn type of ratings but if you insist on doing it try to have some level of objectivity.
Oh yeah and how about adding a rating for GM’s?
CaliChopper
February 23rd, 2009
4:09 pm
DOB, haven’t heard much about Medlin yet. Is he not having a good showing yet or is he just being over shadowed by Tommy H. and the new starters?
BO JR.
February 23rd, 2009
4:10 pm
Not to curse Frenchy, but I still remember Joe Charbneau And even Brad Kommisk
Gary
February 23rd, 2009
4:12 pm
RC, understood, but I don’t think I am way off. Ryan Chruch will never be better than Francouer and he seems to have those concussion issues. Chipper and Wright are not even. Chipper is better defensively and is a more complete hitter than Wright. The only advantage Wright has is his ability to stay healthy, but that is never a given.
While I regard Santana as having the advantage over Lowe, he is not a given either. He had a decent season in NY last year, but the last two years have been nothing like the previous 4 he put up. Hence the reason I put slightly.
And though Rodriguez put up 60+ saves last year. Let’s look at how much his stuff has declined in the last 2-3 seasons and one can see that he is not as dominant as many feel. Gonzales, just before his injury, was just as good as K-Rod. He is fully healthy now and was solid after returning last season.
mbatl
February 23rd, 2009
4:12 pm
Catfish, I didn’t mean to stir up the whole Smoltz debate. Just meant to submit my opinion and have it be accepted as correct and final.
JMar
February 23rd, 2009
4:16 pm
A LOT of homer in there Gary. Not only do I think you’ve given too much credit to the Braves in some areas, but by giving each side a point, your analysis says that Garrett Anderson + J. Anderson/Schafer is equal to Daniel Murphy + Beltran. When the Braves have a victory in the head to head, it’s slight (with the exception of McCann over Schneider). Beltran, Putz, Santana, K-Rod, and Reyes are likely to be significantly superior to their competition, and I think Wright and Delgado will be also.
Bubdylan
February 23rd, 2009
4:16 pm
mbatl, nice point. I can’t believe he’s still going on about it. Just silly. His general perspective on stuff is way, way more self-inflated than I ever figured him for. Oh well. I got in an argument on another board the day after Smoltz’s strike-out game last year. The dude was basically saying that John was a big-time self-promoter who just had enough sense not to let it show too often, and that he could be counted on to throw those discount contracts in the clubs’ face if things ever went South. I could track the guy down and eat crow, but I don’t wanna.
getnathan
February 23rd, 2009
4:16 pm
Gary
I’d say Moylan is better than Duaner Sanchez
Pelfrey is better than Perez, neither are better than Vazquez.
K-Rod has an edge on Gonzalez.
Cox better than Jerry Manuel. Frank Wren better than Omar Minaya (and a lot less discriminatory).
Bubdylan
February 23rd, 2009
4:17 pm
Damn I hyphenate a lot.
Original Jon
February 23rd, 2009
4:18 pm
Fischerking04, he has actually pitched against hitters 2 times now.
getnathan
February 23rd, 2009
4:18 pm
When Santana beats the Braves, then come to talk to me. Santana pitched well against Atlanta, but did not win a game.
BravoJon
February 23rd, 2009
4:18 pm
The fact that PIZARRO and his buddies are spending so much time on this blog tells you all you need to know about how confident they are about their team. Sounds like a little worry to me.
Gary
February 23rd, 2009
4:20 pm
Right JMar, and you are not a homer Mets fan with your post?? Wright and Delgado significantly superior to their competition. That’s not being a homer? Pot calling the kettle black there isn’t it bud?
Gene
February 23rd, 2009
4:21 pm
The Braves are a long way from the 1990’s, but they are going to play some good baseball and could make the playoffs. I like Josh Anderson and hope that he gets some good playing time. I will take the other Anderson any day over Griffey. Griffey is a good guy and a great player, but his flirtation with the Braves left a bad taste.
Bubdylan
February 23rd, 2009
4:22 pm
Hey, the blog’s fixed. Smart way to have it, too.
mbatl
February 23rd, 2009
4:23 pm
Hey! Pagination is working! Will probably take some getting used to, but it’s blog progress!
chipperchop
February 23rd, 2009
4:25 pm
pizzaro,
Why don’t you wait for the season to begin before you crown the Mets anything. The Phillies aren’t going away, and this is the same mistake you Mets fans make every year, before imploding at the end of the season. The Braves had no chance last year thanks to the fact that the entire pitching rotation as well as most the BP were injured last year. That is not the case this year. We have the best depth in the rotation this year, as well as some exciting minor leaguers knocking on the door, close to making the team. The season hasn’t started yet. I strongly suggest you wait and see what happens. Personally, I like the Phils for a repeat.
John Quest
February 23rd, 2009
4:26 pm
On ESPN radio this AM, Colin Cowhered said the best season ticket value in MLB was in Atlanta, based on the Braves product and who they play. About $4200 for box seats between 1st and 3rd. The new yankee stadium is $26K for the same seats.
ncscoots
February 23rd, 2009
4:27 pm
Catfish, I didn’t mean to stir up the whole Smoltz debate. Just meant to submit my opinion and have it be accepted as correct and final.
As any right-thinking American knows it SHOULD be, LOL.
Lunatic Fringe
February 23rd, 2009
4:29 pm
I see they mad a “fix” to the blog—mult-page, but at least you can see old posts
RC
February 23rd, 2009
4:29 pm
Gary,
Fair points. Although I’d say that even with Santana’s regression, he’s still a league above Lowe. As for K-Rod vs. Gonzo, the health plays a factor, plus the fact that Gonzo hasn’t had as much experience in a pressure cooker environment yet (Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly been in the midst of a pennant race). But I’ll agree from a pure talent level they are close to even. And while I agree that Chipper is a more professional hitter than Wright, the 3 factors that even things out for me are a) Wright’s health b) Wright’s power and c) Wright’s speed on the basepaths. I’d also say that are probably close to even in the field, although I agree that Wright didn’t deserve the Gold Glove over Chipper 2 years ago. But you’ve got to expect some regression from Chipper both in the field and at the plate with age, while Wright should continue to get better. Just really hard to argue one over the other in my opinion.
ease19
February 23rd, 2009
4:30 pm
Blair – In the immortal words of Phil Stockman singing the immortal words of George Michael, “Gotta have faith, faith faith.”!
coachrob
February 23rd, 2009
4:30 pm
Guys, Infante is not going anywhere. He signed a multi-year deal. He can play pretty much any position, and play above average at them all.
I have been saying all off season GA is the perfect fit for us. I see him playing in at least 125 games, and will PH in most of the games in which he doesn’t start. He might not be the prototypical 4 hitter, but he has 20-25 HR in him and that translates into gap/doubles power for sure. Also, remember who will be hitting in the 5 hole: B. McCann. He will see some good pitches. I’d put our 3-4-5 guys (when healthy) up against anybody’s when it comes to consistency.
As for the pitching staff, it is our best in quite a while. The starters posses inning eating capabilities which is priceless. I believe Vazquez will have his best season yet after getting out of the hell which is the Ozzie clubhouse. I also think Lowe is a legit number one starter. His work ethic, leadership and double play producing sinker will be a perfect fit. The bullpen will benefit greatly from this and it will be the deepest and best one we’ve had, potentially ever. The greatness of the bullpen will hinge on whether or not Soriano will man up and finally pitch significant innings. I will go on record here and predict 45+ saves for Gonzo. A hard throwing lefty closer is invaluable. I’m geared up for a return to the top for our beloved Braves. Let’s get to chopping folks!!!
mikey
February 23rd, 2009
4:31 pm
Pizzaro = “In the last 3 years the braves winning percentage has been .483 compared to .563 for the Mets. The bottom line is this: The Mets will be playing for the division and the braves won’t be.”
Wow. That was probably the greatest defense of any argument of all time. It’s like me saying, well, the Braves won the series in ‘95 so the’yll be competing for the series and the Mets wont be. Who cares what they did the last 3 years, both teams made significant upgrades this offseason.
Mitchell
February 23rd, 2009
4:33 pm
DOB, slow down!
I need some time to catch up.