With G. Anderson added, Braves ready to play

DOB so in the end Diaz gets the short end of the stick…I hate that for him he is probably one of my favorite guys with his passion for the game that you can see in the way he plays.

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David, what has been the reaction from all the outfielders on this Anderson signing?

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In the world of The Simpson’s, Wren succeeding with all of his 2nd and 3rd choices, is called ‘pulling a Homer’.

And I like the fall back options better than the intended initial ones.

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DOB: Not sure the Braves are done yet with reagrd to outfield. With the Yankees needing help getting to Rivera, I can almost see Braves trading Soriano straight up for Nagy…salaries about the same.

With Gonzo, Moylan, Bowyer, Ascota, Bennett, Carlyle,(sp), Perez, etc., etc. in the bullpen and based on Soriano’s contributions last year, I believe it is a possiblility. But, what do I know?

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ccrider

February 23rd, 2009
10:55 am
HEY DAVE: I just heard Tim Hudson talking to the Rude Awakening crew on 680 the fan. Rude asked him about the Griffey dustup and I thought it was rather cowardly that instead of saying he jumped the gun in his reaction to the bogus story of you being the reason for Griffey changing his mind, he rambled on about “people breaking stories before their confirmed”. I might could understand his initially being upset by the story, but I find it immature of him to not own up for his mistake of jumping your case once he found out that Mays had changed his mind, not you

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KURK THE JERK KURKIJIAN has an artical on Chipper. Chipper adresses the Steroid issue. He says there are 103 nervous players out there and I’m not one of them.

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I’ll take winning over loyalty, thanks. No point in “giving the kids a shot”, when the kids haven’t given us any possible reason to believe they will be good big league players. Anderson still has a shot at proving he can win the CF job. Brandon Jones, in all likelihood, isn’t good enough to make it. Diaz has proven to be most effective in a situational role. The numbers are all there. The people that complain about moves like this are people that prefer “potential” to “production”. That is, they’d prefer to give someone with a 5% chance at being great, 20% chance of being solid, and 75% chance of being mediocre, to someone with a 95% chance of being solid, 5% chance of being a bust. I’ll take the latter.

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Anders the mets are in the same situation with Castillo as the Braves with Francouer, but I like Frenchy’s chances better since he is so young. Both teams really need them to produce this year. (Gibby from the last blog)

Yes and no. Frenchy’s chances are better, markedly so, as he is much younger and while I don’t think he’s the next Roberto Clemente as many on here thought he would be a year ago I do think he’s better than what he produced last year.

That said, the Braves do need Frenchy to pick up his game to be competitive, while the Mets got very little from 2nd last season and still were right there. Not saying it wouldn’t help to get more but I don’t think they are as dependent on Castillo as the Braves will be on Frenchy. The Mets showed that they could pick up the slack at 2nd overall within the team.

Hope that came across clear.

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Steve McP, that was a good thought, to see if the young man has the “big league poise” as that all he needs to be up here. I bet we will see he again on TV this spring.

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Folks, let’s have a dose of reality here. The GM’s job is to find the best players available given the financial constraints place before him. One would think it would be easier if they could match the Yankees and the Red Sox to be a genius than if you were in Minnesota or Pittsburgh. Folks, with the free agent markets like it is, you just have to be flexible.
The manager is supposed to get the most out of the players assigned to him. Some are better than others. Some of the best managers I have ever seen did not do so well when given player’s who did not fit their game plan. Like the Marines, “You must adapt and overcome.”
Braves have what appears to be their best lineup in 5 years. Of course everyone thought the Tigers would win it all last year too.
As for me… I’m ready for some baseball…..

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Anders you are right that the Braves probably need more from Frenchy than the Mets need from Castilla except in the case of Reyes moving to the 3rd spot in the order. If the Mets go forward with that plan, then in my opinion they need Castillo to rebound much more than the Braves need frenchy to.

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I really am looking forward to Garret Anderson. As the players are saying he is a professional hitter. I like that he doesn’t strike out a lot. We had enough of the with Andruw.

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RANDOM, don’t forget that Mc’Cann and Johnson hit lefties well.

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cvbraves — I believe Soriano’s off-season surgery has robbed him of all current trade value, and he certainly could not get the Braves Nady on his own.

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DOB: Any chance the Braves give Ohman an offer, now that all he has are 750,000 – 1 mil offers? Do you know how much he turned down from the Braves in November?

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HEY DOB IF the Bravos are in contention near August do you think the Braves really do try to activate Hudson and use him in the rotation? Also vice versa if the Braves aren’t in contention do they just keep him on the DL for the rest of the Year?

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Well, gosh, I feel so much better now that the Braves have found yet another older, broken down, injury filled career, DL filler, Anderson to their outfield. I guess they finally found some one as bad off for a job as the Braves were to fill it. If the guy can stay off the DL, call LA and ask, then he might hit .275, 15, 50 RBI, or stay on the DL five months. Yup, NL east title, NL pennate, world series here we come. Braves now have that proven bat!!! /sarcasm on

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Random, both KJ and Bmac hit lefthanders well. You are correct about power, however. But if they get the hits, could they not just play a different kind of game?

Also, G Anderson hits lefties about as well as righties….but again, probably not much power.

You may have seen something that I did not last year. I did not see that much of a disparity regarding Lefty or Righty (pitchers) but much more so home vs away.

Regarding Tex, I did not see him as being affective for the Braves in regard to games won. When he hit, he hit well, but therefore, he did not contribute to as many games as he was a detriment in. I just never saw him be much of a difference maker. In fact, if I remember correctly the Brave actually scored more runs per game after he was gone, than while he was here last year.

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DOB, could you tell us when and if the Braves will be on the radio/tv? I know they are on ESPN on Thursday at 1:05. Thanks!

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Random

I think it is hard to take a teams performance and naturally assume it will translate into the next season (hitting against lefties).

Understand that it certainly could be just as bad, but a lot has potentially changed. I think our black hole against lefties was Francoeur’s poor performance, and Diaz’ slow start, followed by his injury.

If Francoeur and Diaz return to their 2006/2007 levels of performance, I don’t think we will see a huge drop-off when facing a lefty. My point is probably influenced by my overly optimistic view, but certainly a possibility.

While neither of those guys ever walked much, they both were very clutch against lefties before, and Frenchy was one of our better hitters in the clutch before 2008.

While a right handed bat would have been nice, I think Nady and Ludwick were the two primary ones that were possibly available. With Garret Anderson, at least we didn’t have to give up KJ or another valuable piece to get him.

As Ben also states, McCann and KJ are both decent hitters against lefties.

I think the interesting thing of the spring will be the development of some of the youngsters that could make the battle for the rotation an interesting one.

Mark me down as expecting Morton, Reyes and Hanson to all do well in the spring.

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Braveheart…That would be awesome.

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DOB -

After seeing Soriano pitch this morning, what do you make of the comments from CVBraves at 10:54am? He has a point there…we are a bit loaded on pitchers……then again – thats NEVER a bad thing after last season. Interested to know your thoughts.

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epinephrine

i checked anderson career splits, and he is a little better 2nd half, but not way better. i hope he does not start out to slow, but will welcome a 2nd half surge from him.

im also disappointed about how he will apparently be used. i think diaz should get plenty of chances to hit. oh well.

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Dave, What about Mark Redman received for Tyler Yates? How does he look? Who was move off the 40 man to make room for Glavine and G Anderson.

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Format back to normal now. That was odd.

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Another few games for Diaz would come when we play inter-league games, I know Chipper is often DH in those, but Anderson would also fit that bill. I think we have 9 games under AL rules this season

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quick thought, would you say that “if” Jeff “i’ll swing at anything” Francour hits .350 with the bases loaded, the Braves would have made the playoffs?

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Pepperidge Blogs Remembers

from 20 Nov 08:

DAP: “by the way, when youve got a lineup full of guys who hit the same vs. lefties and righties, it really doesnt matter that much. the braves have several lefties already that hit the same or even better against lefties. mccann, johnson, kotchman.”

R: Well, you’re right as far as you go about these three players.

However, as a team, the 2008 Braves slugged 40 points higher against RHPs than against LHPs, and the 2008 team OPS against RHPs was .771, but only .715 against LHPs.

The Braves really DO need to add someone who will kill LHPs.

DAP: “so if the braves get a lefty LF, it wont be terrible, as long as they are someone like abreu or ibanez [or GAnderson?], who hits lefties well.”

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braveheart – why didnt i think of that. then if they could bat back to back would be even better. maybe dob could could use a few lines for his introductory story when this guy actually has a bravos hat on.

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Dave,
Any radar guns near Soriano? How’s he looking? The bullpen has me worried this year with all the injuries and lack of lefties. It could be a great pen… but there’s a lot of question marks that need to get straightened out.

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Braveheart -Hard to Earn is one of my favorite albums of all time.

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if and when g anderson will add a legit bat to bring up when we go into american league parks along with diaz. it also makes the bench stronger as diaz will be available to pinch hit when not starting and vice versa. they are both legit major league hitters, not a premium on the bench the last few years. now i can only hope that if g anderson makes contact it isnt to start double plays as i would rather see a strikeout. sadly at druws worst he brought both entities into play. glad to see he has the capcity to deliver with men on and in the clutch late innings. maybe it will be cntagious.

so glad we missed on so many players that folks got upset about. only sorry about smoltz though his acid is beginning to get old. geez, he got his money only maybe the braves end up in the playoffs and red sox dont. it is possible if the yanks come back and the rays hold their own. wouldnt that be interesting? wren has made an awesome comeback from that debacle.

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It must be very disappointing to the minor leaguers that have been invited to camp to know that there is no spot available on the roster for them. Regardless of how well they play they will be relagated to Gwinnett or Pearl City. I cannot remember a time when all of the spots were taken before ST began. In my opinion the Braves history is one of holding their minor leaguers back for too long. Look what happened when because of numerous injuries they were forced to bring up McCann and Francouer. They both made the jump from Double AA to the majors in fine fashion. In my opinion Hanson and Morton are ready to be starters in the major leagues. In my opinion it was a mistake to sign one of these two (KK or Glavine). There should have been a spot available for our best 5th pitcher coming out of ST.

The 5th pitcher would have been either Hanson, Morton, Campillo, Reyes or Parr, most probably. Our starting pitchers in Gwinnett will be the envy of several major league teams.

What does Schaefer have to do in ST to take the centerfield spot from Anderson? Don’t get me wrong, I like Anderson very much and think that he adds a dimension (speed) that is sorely lacking but Schaefer could be a real difference maker.

Sometimes when there is a log jam that holds minor leaguers back they get stale and lose their edge. I hope this doesn’t happen to the several invitees that are ready to play in the Bigs.

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Garretts a good signing. I hate it for Diaz because I like him too but the fact is, we can’t sit and wait for players from last year or the year before to step up. Diaz had some tremendous slumps. I can smell the Braves not being done yet on the trade front. We have alot of extra people that other teams might be interested in. A bunch of relivers come to mind. Plus it should be realized that Diaz is a liability in the field.

Anderson
Yunel
Chipper
Anderson
BMac
Johnson
Casey
Frenchy

sounds good to me. I believe we’re putting a better team out there this year than last year when everyone had us going to the world series.

Our big question marks come down to Josh Anderson and Frenchy. We will go as they go. Everyone else is pretty consistent. We should see Yunel batting well over .300 hitting in front of Hoss.

Yunel, Hoss, GAnderson,BMac, Johnson and Kotchman can all hit over .300 and Frenchy can too if his head is on correct.

Smoltz stays at home and watches us in the playoffs.
Fate is a mean mistress.

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Anderson’s HR production is declined in the last few years.

His best year (at least in the HR production) was in 2000 when he hit 35. He’s also hit 29 twice. Once in 2002, and again in 2003.

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——- Braveheart -Hard to Earn is one of my favorite albums of all time. ——-

Me too. Guru is criminally underrated as a rapper. There haven’t been many rappers who combined a great sounding voice with really deep lyrics the way he did. Honestly, I feel like the voice/lyrics combo with dj premier’s beats made him top 5 of all time, but he never gets anywhere close to that kind of recognition for whatever reason. Just never made enough hit songs I guess.

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Good point Jerry I agree with you the braves need frenchy and josh anderson to perform good in order for the braves to compete well.

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“If Morton and Reyes do well, then the Braves may not be finished trading ”

Many people, Braves fans or otherwise, look longingly for a core of pitchers like “Maddux, Glavin, and Smoltz” Yet when we get some very good prospects and they begin to show promise, we want to trade them? For some reason I just don’t see that much in Jo Jo, but if he blows the opposing hitters away, I sure would not trade him! Morton on the other hand is someone that seems to have very good possibilities. And by the same token, if he is blowing hitters away this spring, I certainly would not want the Braves to trade him. Quality pitching is not easy to come by. Look at what the Braves had to go through this year to get pitching and they still did not get a true ace.

I am not complaining about the Braves’ pitching. It seems to be pretty solid. But I sure would not mind having Hanson to live up to expectation and Morton to live up to possibilities, all in a Brave uniform.

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DOB, is Ohman going to sign with anyone? The last thing I read on him, he’s NOT being offered the premium money he thought he would get. I know the Braves have a tight budget, but if Ohman signs a one year deal for $1MM with somebody…….I would think the Braves would be kicking themselves.

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As for Tommy “Gun” Hanson, we’ve got to go with Tommy Gun by The Clash as his music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZkS2rRd3G8

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If Garret Anderson puts up the stats he did last season, Braves will be in great shape, stay in contention, and have another clutch hitter on their team (besides Greg Norton).

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Braveheart,

Thanks for the Tommy Gun link! It made my day!!!

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TennesseePaul

Gary matthews, jr. Why can’t we get players like that?

(Joke for those who don’t understand that question). Braves had Gary Matthews, Jr pre-stat explosion.

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jimmy a –

Wren tried to use 2.5 mil on Smoltz, and that’s why he’s no longer with the team.

However, I do agree with you with your premise though that they should have done what it took to keep Smoltz.

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Jeremy Vachon, Matt and others who want to know, the Braves broadcast schedule is available on their official website. Here’s the link:

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/schedule/broadcast.jsp?c_id=atl

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Lew – Yes, that is what I was getting at as well…

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Let me rephrase my last comment @ 12:02 p.m….

Anderson’s HR production HAS declined in the last few years.

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I think it comes down to this would you rather have Smoltz or Garrett and Glavine. Really a tough call but personally I like the flexibility Garrett provides by not having to rely on two young guys to play CF and LF.

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While I’m not saying the Braves are world-beaters, I think you can argue that this team is an improvement over last year (at least the post-July version).
There’s nobody with as much pop as Tex, but if we get anything, I mean anything, from Kotchman, Frenchy and G. Anderson, the offense will be interesting.
Sigh…
If only Booby would play a little station-to-station ball, we’d be just fine…

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I officially have a man-crush on Jason Heyward

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Anders February 23rd, 2009 12:09 pm
In an off season that just won’t end for Frank Wren, apparently he inadvertently signed Garrett Morris rather than Garrett Anderson. When reached for comment Morris said ” Base-aa-ball has beeen berry berry gooood …..to me.”

THAT’S FUNNY RIGHT THERE…….I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE…..THAT’S FUNNY

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Frank from KS…maybe the Braves should just make you the GM since you are smarter than everyone else in the organization!

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getnathan: “If Garret Anderson puts up the stats he did last season, Braves will be in great shape, stay in contention, and have another clutch hitter on their team (besides Greg Norton).”

Ironically, it may be GAnderson’s acquisition that causes and/or allows the Braves to trade Norton.

PTBNL: “both KJ and Bmac hit lefthanders well. You are correct about power, however. But if they get the hits, could they not just play a different kind of game?

“you have not answered my question. Is Slugging the end all, be all? Could the Braves not play a different game when facing lefties?”

Sorry, I thought it was a rhetorical question.

History is the answer — the Braves were unable to overcome their weak OPS against LHPs last year (.715 v .771 against RHPs) or, I think, the previous two seasons — why would you think they could in 2009?

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getnathan, yes, I would. First, the odds of everyone else staying healthy the whole season is not very likely. The odds of them all staying healthy and also being effective is even less likely. We do have some unknowns in our starting rotation.

Also, I would not trade for someone that might help us to win a couple more games this year at the expense of someone who could help us win quite a few games in the next several years. We don’t HAVE to keep the pitchers that make up our starting rotation right now. If these young guys are great, trade the money pitchers and keep the cheap ones! There are just many options that could be before us.

Yes, ease, that is part of what I am saying; a part that I did not express. Sure, if we have a glaring need that would help us to win quite a few more games if we filled it, we could look at trading for them. But again, I would be very careful in doing so. Consider that if we had not done the Tex trade there is a not too small possibility that in a couple of years (maybe 3) we could have had a starting rotation that rivals some of the 90’s rotations.

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DOB, How is Soriano doing?
Is he throwing like we all know he can, or being meek about it?
For the most part, I’ve liked his results in games, but I’ve been turned off by his amost lazy attitude. IMO, he could still raise his game.

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I will go out on a limb and say Braves will contend for NL east/wildcard this season, and have the experience in the rotation and lineup to probably outlast the other contenders.

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Random – I can’t see them trading Norton because for one, they really wouldn’t get much value for him and secondly, the roster position GA would be taking would have been B. Jones or Blanco. I don’t see Schaffer up until after the point there he wouldn’t be a super 2 for arbitration (May 15/20?). Think what Tampa Bay did with Longoria.

All these moves have, at the least, created organizational depth. With injuries, slumps, etc. the team needs 30 to 35 players capable of performing at a major league level for the season.

From a rotation standpoint having Reyes and Morton at AAA will help their development. Not to mention Bennett and/or Carlyle will probably will begin the season there as well. Throw in Nunez and a couple other non-roster/prospects that could come out of the pen, the depth there is much better than last year.

With Schaffer and Blanco at AAA, there is some depth in the outfield. But catcher and infield depth is lacking …

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Wayne in Utah (12:30 pm): “While I agree that a lot has NOT changed, to say that NOTHING has changed is not correct either. (I am not even counting Ross in the equation).

“So, I will choose to believe we have made some changes to the positive on facing lefties.”

Sorry, bud — you admit that the personnel has not significantly changed. You’re just hoping that the same RH guys the Braves had last year do better this year.

And you cannot even say that your expectations of individual players have changed — they were high last year also.

Nothing has changed to make the Braves hit better against LHPs.

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A big part of our problem against LHP pitching was that our everyday right-handed hitters – Escobar and Francouer – were awful against lefties in 2008. Those two need to pick it up against LHP, given that we’ve got so many lefties in our lineup.

Both of them hit LHP very well in 2007, so there’s hope.

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DOB, If you are the reason we didn’t get Griffey Jr, I guess that you are the reason we got Anderson….Just kidding. It has been a crazy off season. I’m not counting on Anderson until he actually signs but I think Anderson is a better choice than Jr even though Jr has more power potential. I would still like to see Diaz get some at bats versus left handers. He hits too good against lefties not to get that chance. It seems like the Braves are set. I agreed with all the decisions Wren made except Smoltz. I think Smoltz will do better than Glavine. Can’t wait until opening day. Go Braves!

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i think if Soriano show good signs in spring we should try and deal him and his 6.1 million contract then go and sign Ohman for 2 yr 5 mil , Soriano is a beast when healthy but he makes more than most of our bullpen combined and i’d rather ohman over Soriano, Ohman shut down the LH’s and has setup and closer stuff to fill in. what do yall think??? we could get a few prospects for Soriano, bank around 5 mil after the trade and go sign ohman??

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Frank from KS-Actually Anderson’s HR totals have NOT declined the past several years. They declined from 03 to 04 and have remained quite steady since then.

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Hey jmart 1951:

An absolutely brilliant post at 11:59 am; especially the first paragraph. Everybody should re read it.

My only area of disagreement is you don’t go far enough. I would have left two spots open in the starting rotation for internal options; (Tommy Hanson, Charlie Morton, JoJo Reyes, Jorge Campillo, James Parr).

If your read between the lines I think Chipper Jones agrees with us. When Chipper talks about going to a six man rotation to accomodate Tommy Hanson; what he really is saying is we “overhired”.

A personal observation is in order:

I did a Wikipedia search on Frank Wren. The Atlanta Braves are now the fourth organization that has employed his services.

Montreal Expos (1987), Florida Marlins (1993), Baltimore Orioles (1999) Atlanta Braves (2000).

Ol’ Frank may be worried about job security which is certainly understandable. He may feel the need to have a “sure thing” at every position and leave nothing to chance.

He probably considers the likes of Charlie Morton and JoJo Reyes to be “high risk, high yield options.” So he plays it safe whenever possible and goes with the established veteran.

I’m trying to

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So is Anderson the missing piece that’ll put the Braves into the playoffs?

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I dunno. I thought we’ve all learned that good pitching from 11 spots and excellent defense to back up that pitching wins titles.

What I’ve learned is that I shouldn’t assume that any opinion of mine is held by “all”.

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Marv Kleeman

I think you are right about Wren and the fact that he over hired with 4 veterans. (What if Hampton and Smoltz had re-upped?) We will be better in the long run with Hanson and Morton in the rotation (and maybe in the short run as well).

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I feel a little better about the upcoming season. I do like the pitching staff and I think the Braves finally have some depth in case of injuries or ineffectiveness.

As for the lineup, I think it will be okay. I like Garrett Anderson although I must admit I wanted Griffey more. But, the more I think about it I think Anderson is the better choice. He’s a way better hitter and is less injury prone.

The question is how will the lineup look. First of all I have a feeling Schafer makes the team as the everyday centerfielder with Josh Anderson filling in the second bench outfielder. I think the lineup could look something like this: 1. Schafer 2. Escobar 3. Johnson 4. Chipper 5. McCann 6. Anderson 7. Kotchman 8. Francouer

I know Frenchy won’t like hitting in the 8 hole but until he proves he can hit consistently he should be there and he will have plenty of RBI opportunities with Anderson and Kotchman hitting in front of them. I think Kelly Johnson would be a great #3 hitter and while Chipper doesn’t like hitting cleanup he is the best option there right now.

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i wouldnt worry about defense. id venture to say that the braves have excellent defense at 3 positions, above average defense at two and at least average defense at the other three. and that is being conservative. defense is not really a problem with the braves.

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Always good to have depth, injuries do happen. Braves do seem to have a number of back of the rotation guys, Campillo, Reyes, Parr, Morton. Do you see any of these guys being dealt maybe with B.Jones or Blanco? What do you think the Braves biggest weakness is? I would like to see them sign Ohman unless the current lefties show us something.

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After last season you can’t blame wren for hiring too many SP. This will allow them some flexibility during the season if someone goes down to injury or is just ineffective. The hiring of GA doesn’t say no the kids, it says not now. The baseball season is a long season and unforeseen things will happen. As soon as someone goes down to injury, those kids will have a shot to come up and see what they can do.

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I can’t wait till the season starts!! Can’t wait to see Howard, Beltran, and Delgado pound Lowe’s sinkers to a ground ball outs. Or Gonzalez catching Reyes looking on a nasty slider in the 9th inning of a one run Braves lead. Or one of Kawakami’s nasty off speed pitches fooling Hanley Ramirez.

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I agree Danga he rebuilt the rotation and we have plenty of depth. who knows Hanson will tear the minors up for a half of year and we decide to put him the the major’s rotation and trading a vetern away for prospects and freeing up money at the same time. the 2010 offseason will be interesting we have so many pitchers, Hudson, Kawakami, Lowe, Hanson, Jurrjens, Vasquez, Morton, Reyes, and whoever else emerges as a quality starter.

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Infante will also be on the bench

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…Or Garret Anderson getting a 2 run single in the 8th inning to put the Braves ahead…or Chipper Jones smacking a 3 run HR against JJ Putz and the METS to give the Braves a 7-5 lead.

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ryan for 2010, one of two thing will happen. either hudson’s option will not be picked up, or vazquez will be traded. (id bet on the latter)

this will mean two freed up spots in the rotation (since glavine will be gone) im betting that hanson is in the rotation for good at that point, and that either morton or jojo win or share a spot. if kawakami works out, the braves wont have to sign another starting pitcher for several years.

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spotts, I would guess the “declining defense” for GA has to do with diminished range in LF, which is pretty natural as a player gets into his late 30’s. And actually, according to fangraphs, he was excellent in LF in 82 games played there in 2008 – much better than he had been the previous few years.

(and, 9 assists in 82 games last year is very impressive; only 4 LF had more, and they all played a lot more innings in the OF).

I think it’s safe to say that he’s a very competent defender, just not a star.

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Why limit it to last year? Have we already forgotten Redman, Cormier and the others?

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I guess we got all that Oscar crap behind us.

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chuckw/deadjournalist (12:44 pm): “I can’t see them trading Norton because for one, they really wouldn’t get much value for him and secondly, the roster position GA would be taking would have been B. Jones or Blanco.”

Well, I don’t know who would argue that based on last year Norton wouldn’t have more trade value now than Diaz. The waters may muddy when you bring in career performance and age, but based on last year, Diaz is worth nothing in a trade. Norton would be.

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a tad early to fill in Braves bench spots — but figuring there’ll be only 5 spots (12 man pitching staff), and that Prado, Infante and Ross (or other IF/C equivalents) are a given, who among the following will fill the final two slots: Norton, Diaz, Jones, Blanco, ???

Norton and Diaz represent pretty much the same talent. Now it may be, with the Braves mere 25% RH starters (Esco/Franc) that they’ll go with two RH PHs on the bench, but you could as easily argue for greater bench diversity which imo renders one of the two (Norton/Diaz) surplus.

And like I said, imo Norton currently has greater trade value.

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I hope to never, ever remember Redman’s time as a Brave as long as I shall live. Same goes for Raul Mondesi, Reggie Sanders, and Dan Kolb.

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If frenchy doesnt suck this year he can bat 5th with mac behind him. This would keep the left right left going all the way to the 6th spot.

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DOB
How does soriano look?

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KJ should be good for at least 60 extra base hits. He is a good base runner and will get his share of triples. If he hits a consistent 290 or better, you would not want to waste him in the 8 hole. The Francouer of 2008 will hit 8th, if he returns to the Francouer of 2007, he will hit 5th or 6th depending upon whether a right or left hander is pitching. I expect KJ to hit 2nd, Yunel to hit 6th or 7th, and Kotchman to hit 8th. (Ross will hit 8th when he catches.) No matter how the lineup shakes out, the bottom of the order looks strong (if JF returns to ‘07 form). The actual lineup may take a few months to evolve until we learn about how productive KJ, Yunel, and JF will really be and how much GA has left. Also Infante should get about 25-35 starts for Chipper during the year and Diaz will spell GA at least as much.

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Gag – I just saw the name “Dan Kolb” and hissed like a vampire in pain…

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Big daddy
I like that line up

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Enter your comments here

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Dan Kolb…what a head case that guy was

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Anderson and Anderson, huh, DOB? That sounds like a good name for a law firm. Possibly for those of us (myself included) who fail to take advantage of their anger management assistance.

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And like I said, imo Norton currently has greater trade value

I could be off on this but, don’t BJones and Blanco have options left?

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A few days someone asked, who is the resident prankster in the clubhouse.. looks like it is still Maddux

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3927550&name=stark_jayson

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DOB-How’s Schafer been looking at the dish? What do you see happening in CF? I think Schafer adds more pop and he also has speed plus is better defensively in CF-a very important position.

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JMart, your 11:59 couldn’t be more perfect. I have been saying the same thing over way too many months/blogs. But just to reiterate, signing Tom Glavine was a mistake by Frank Wren and we basically didn’t improve the ballclub by adding Anderson. Big Frank I think is trying to validate his existence and save some face of late.

We have way too much starting pitching talent to add Tom Glavine as a “maybe” for the #5 slot. Pure and simple. Glavine has been inept and hurt pretty much before his last game with the Mets. We are now to assume that he will make opening day ahead of Hanson or Morton or Reyes and some how substantiate his 2 mil or more at age 43? I don’t see it. Call it what you want but Glavine until I am proven wrong is a mistake by Wren.

To be clear, Glavine has indicated from teh get go that he is only interested in a starting pitching role. Nothing else. If he couldn’t win that or play elsewhere he would retire. Nowhere has he indicated that he would take a roster spot as an insurance policy that the Braves would need him if someone got hurt. That being said, sure you never have enough pitching but if Glavine isn’t one of the starting 5 then he should retire.

Rock on…..

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big daddy

one of the better lineup proposals ive seen, provided frenchy’s spring merits him batting that high in the order.

its really a tuff lineup to fill out, because unless frenchy is like he was in ‘08, there no one bad enough to dump them in the #8 slot, no classic #4 hitter, and several players are interchangeable (i.e. escobar could easily bat third, kotchman could bat second, both escobar and kelly would be great lower in the order, ect….)

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I heard Stacey Dales was a 1st class kind of a girl.

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matt6buckeye

Carlyle and Campillo might even be in a battle for that long relief spot.

Logan and O’Flaherty will battle for LH setup role.

And, of course, the battle in CF. Diaz better step it up and maybe he platoons THERE w/Josh Anderson

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this is really starting to look like a solid all- around team. i dont see any huge weaknesses except for maybe speed on the basepath, and it sounds like josh anderson can provide that.

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Poor Stacey Dales.

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DAP (12:54 pm): “do you relaize garrett anderson is replacing gregor blanco? thats an improvement, man.”

Appreciate the perspective — I admit I had not considered it in those terms. I cannot disagree.

Still seems to me that either Norton or Diaz will be odd man out, and THAT would significantly weaken the bench.

Marv Kleeman (1:04 pm): “Hey jmart 1951:

“An absolutely brilliant post at 11:59 am; especially the first paragraph. Everybody should re read it.”

Too late, dumb-axe. If it was that good, you shoulda cut and pasted it.

What about “Editor Note: Because of technical problems, we’re temporarily limiting the display of comments to the 100 most recent” do you not understand?

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wayne in utah

im not sure if its fair to say that diaz is below average defensively. i would give him average.

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“Good to know. I’ll jot that number down. Some of us could use it (I’m including myself).”

DOB – “The incident” (as it would be called if it was a Seinfeld episode) has been bothering me (from both sides), and I appreciate the humility there.

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Josh…..if you read my comment on the last blog….I think you’ll see that I said I liked the signing of Anderson. I think we’re set up pretty good, IMO.

and Lew…..your right. I guess I should’ve said that his HR production has declined since 2000 when he hit 35.

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DOB, would be interesting to get Kotchman’s thoughts on what Garrett Anderson brings to the table since he and Garrett were teamates.
To me Garrett brings two things to the table that the Braves sorely needed to add, one his a professional hitter and maybe some of that will rub off on guys like Franceour, and two both he and Kotchman have come from a team that has won championships recently and they know what it takes to do so (Braves running out of those kind of players lately).

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I know G.Anderson had some weird sort of injury last year.anyone know what it was?I think it might of been something w/ his back.

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I met Stacy Dales briefly at a girls H.S. basketball camp in Virginia (yes, I hang around girls H.S. basketball camps whenever I can), and all I can say is, wow. Both visually and personally, a very impressive woman. I’m sure she’ll find someone that will fly her first-class…

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randomStill seems to me that either Norton or Diaz will be odd man out, and THAT would significantly weaken the bench.

i guess if you see diaz and norton as being the same player, i see where your coming from, but they arent. norton is a PH and an emergency position player. diaz is going to get chances to start in LF.

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Wayne in Utah (and Random) –

I agree with the principle that Diaz and Norton are similar player. Diaz does hold additional value as he is the emergency catcher. Norton, however, is a switch hitter which make him the most value pinch hitter on the squad, as it is today.

Keep in mind, J. Anderson is out of options and surely would be claimed. Again, Shafer not being on the 40-man roster means his clock isn’t ticketing toward arbitrations.

If Diaz and Norton both make the team (which I think they will) and think Diaz might benefit from learning from Norton. Diaz is only 30 and could have a nice career as a 4/5th outfielder/pinch-hitter for another decade.

It is so nice to debate the margins! TGI-Spring Training.

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Big Daddy

Really like that lineup. I think Anderson makes Escobar and Johnson better bc he’s a constant threat to steal once he gets on base. He might be a singles hitter, but his speed effectively makes him a doubles threat too. I also like KJ in the 3 hole. I think he’ll really benefit if he stays in the same spot all year long. Streaky, yes, but you have to think it’s a possible product of having to take so many different approaches, though of course he’d never say that.

Also Chipper is a disciplined hitter as we all know and while individually he’s most valuable at the 3 he’s the best option to hit cleanup. He knows how to change his game to fit a new role. Might not bat .364, but he’ll still rake.

I also like the balance at the end of the lineup. There are some pretty good left handers in the division and I think it’s really important to get good production out of the back end against them. I think G. Anderson plays almost everyday, but Diaz gets some regular at bats against certain pitchers, (Santana, Hamels etc.)

Also I don’t know who’s seen the ST pictures, but Diaz seriously has lost weight, and hope that he at least gets a chance to compete for a platoon role at the very least. He deserves a shot.

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Why are we discussing this already? It’s only been reported by the AJC. I think we should wait until we see Anderson in a Braves uniform and know he isn’t going to get a better deal from the Angels before discussing possible roster situations

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Remember, the Braves don’t need a No. 5 starter until April 19, so they could carry two of J. Anderson, Blanco and B. Jones until then and let them fight for the spot. Then when it’s Glavine’s turn to start, they make a roster move.

As for Garrett Anderson, he had plantar fasciitis is his feet a few years ago, but was totally healthy last year. He’s played 140-plus games in 11 of the last 13 seasons, so injury-prone ain’t one of his problems.

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hi dob,
has huddy settled down and have y’all resolved your “disagreement”?

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RMK – Hello…but all the major sporting news agencies are reporting it as well…Thats why it is being discussed.’

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And why is nobody talking about Jeff Bennett? He can be an important set up guy in the 7th when Moylan comes back.

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Graham, putting Hudson on the 60-man is just to make room on the 40-man roster, not the opening day roster.

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I think DOB is right that G. Anderson will be playing more than just against righties. Bobby loves consistent players. No matter how good we think Anderson is or isn’t, he is consistent.

Here’s the problem:

Anderson has played over 100 games in the field exactly once in the last five years (106 games in 2005). Unless he returns to his past durability (no DH in the NL to save his legs), I think we’ll be seeing some of those younger guys get a shot out there when Anderson gets hurt.

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Hey DOB, just as a physical specimen (i.e., a tall, lefty-hitting outfielder), Heyward reminds me of a young Cliff Floyd … fair?

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DAP Doesnt Bobby usually go with 13 pitchers on the roster? If so, I think O’Flaherty will be in the pen and Prado will not be on the roster.

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“And why is nobody talking about Jeff Bennett?” — getnathan

I don’t know just what there is to talk about at this point, but I agree that he’s a valuable part of our bullpen.

Take away his mediocre numbers as a starter (and if I recall, at least one of those starts was on ZERO notice, maybe when Hampton went down pre-game)… and his bullpen numbers were 80.2 IP, with a 3.12 ERA. Better than Boyer (even first half), better than Acosta.

To me, both Bennett and Carlyle are way under-appreciated.

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Wild Bill thanks for posting in all caps. It saved me the time of reading your post since I always scroll right on by any idiot that thinks that posting in all caps is ok.

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Here are your final standings for 2009: Mets
Phillies
Marlins
Braves
Nationals

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BlawgDawg , right on

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original jonDoesnt Bobby usually go with 13 pitchers on the roster?

no, he doesnt. he has done this at times during the season, if the pitchers have been over worked, and a position player goes on the DL, so that he can get an extra arm in the bullpen or something, but bobby doesnt break camp with 13…ive never known him to do that. standard for bobby is to have 12 pitchers.

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By the end of last year Jeff Bennett was the best reliever on the staff. I thought on many occasions, he could have closed for us. He was tough and had a lot of confidence. I think that Bobby is going to have a hard time not putting Carlyle in the mix too. It makes the decisions a lot tougher when you add Campillo to the bullpen.

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DOB,any word when G. Anderson will be in camp?

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cabravesfan,

Maybe so, but Cox’s comments thus far have indicated he views Anderson as a full-time player. Maybe he adjusts that after seeing how he does this spring …

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DOB – How do I get your job? Blogging/writing all day about the Bravos. I’m so envious.

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Robert(Chipper Is The Best) Regarding your 1:13pm post. I seriously doubt that Schafer is on the opening day roster unless he just totally blows Anderson out of the water with an average over .400, hits like 11 bombs and just kills it. Only way Anderson doesnt make this team is if he gets injured or traded. He is out of options and the Braves know he would have to pass through waivers before getting sent down to the minors. He has too much speed and a pretty decent bat to be let go like that. So here is your lineup with Josh Anderson

1.J. Anderson
2. Esco
3. Chipper
4. G. Anderson
5. McCann
6. Franceour
7. Kotchman
8. Johnson.
9. Pitcher spot

Only way I can see it shaking out.

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DAP,

Agree wholeheartedly on your roster. But are you then saying Acosta is sent to the minors and Stockman and Lerew are released. Both are out of options.

Chris from MD

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G.A. has worked out all winter. I read where he wants to make sure he stays in shape to get 30000 hits. At 36 I see him getting 25 hr. 110 rbi. and hitting .320 at clean up. what a steal 2.5 mill. Ibanez or Abreau want do any better. Ibanez might hit 30 since hes in philli. Griffeys biggest upside could have been he can play lf cf rf if he had to for a short time. looks like roster is set except cf and 1 spot in bullpen. i see a couple of trades comming that will bring some lower level prospects. hopefully catcher, ss.

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That’s strange “since 57″ I could have sworn the braves didn’t even play .500 ball last year. Have you looked at your line up? it’s not going to scare anyone.

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DOB, do you give Schafer at least a 50/50 chance of wining the CF job

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C-Man

True but Bobby is usually pretty good about giving his guys some rest, especially the vets…bottom line- I’m not overly concerned about Garrett’s durability and not worried if Diaz is playing left field for a streach

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What would one say is the biggest difference between Schafer and Anderson (besides the speed factor)?

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Exactly, C-man. Bobby is going to love Garret Anderson. He’s a guy that Bobby can count on. He’s consistently consistent. A real Joe Morgan player (I miss FireJoeMorgan.com, man), so to speak.

Anyway, it’s going to be hard for Bobby to resist playing a well-established player like Anderson (the same would have been true for Griffey) more than is prudent. Remember: every guy who plays hard for Bobby and earns his respect is a guy who plays a lot. Andruw couldn’t get himself out of the lineup in 2007. Francoeur could not “wet paper bag a ball with a pathetic thud” enough to get himself out of the lineup. Anderson has more cachet (he’s an All-Star) than Francoeur, so I fully expect Bobby to try to get the most, and then some, out of Garret Anderson.

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CA,

I hope you’re right, though I like Diaz, too.

As for keeping both J. Anderson and Blanco, I don’t know why you would. Blanco’s essentially a worse version of Anderson. Decent plate discipline yes, but he might have the least power of any Brave since Rafael Belliard.

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I meant bold letters…..

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D.O.B. IS Andrew Anderson?

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will see about that PIZZARO ,you must be a Mets fan…. our rotation is better than the Mets, Our bullpen is better cause of depth. u better hope your bullpen can make it to the 8th and 9th and hope your 3-4-5 spots in the rotation pan out , were simply the better pitching team.

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Catfish — After the way he hit last August/September, Kotchman doesn’t have to do much to exceed my expectations, I’ll tell you that.

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I’ve been skimming through the posts today and two postings have listed this year’s potential roster for position players and both have left out Infante. Don’t know if that’s an oversight or they’re just assuming that he’ll be dealt, but I think Infante is a valuable player on this team that pretty much has a spot locked up.

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I’d kinda like to see the Andersons in the outfield. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew could always be counted on to pick an opponent apart. If the leg was hurt, they’d work the leg. If the arm was a little sore, they’d take a crowbar to it. Ole (that’s Garret…’cuz he’s old) and Arn knew how to break a man in half.

Just ask Dusty and Sting.

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Why do people keep puting G. Anderson in the 4 spot? I dont think he is a clean up type at all.

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I am starting to think that DOB has a strong obsession going on with Heyward, hope he is not stalking the guy…Does he have big hands too?

I just watched Jason Heyward, he’s really tall, looks like he might have put on 10-15 pounds

He’s in terrific shape, not bulky but lean, narrow waist, wide back, big forearms.)….

Heyward’s in incredible shape, very little body fat.

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i think our bullpen will be
CL Gonzo
SU Soriano
7th Moylan
Mid Boyer/Acosta Battle
Long Bennet,Buddy,Campillo Battle
Lefty Boone, Ridgeway, O’Flarahty Battle

damn we have alot of depth it’s hard to choose spring will decide the winners

That

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PIZZAROThe braves don’t have enough horses to win more games that the Mets or Phillies.

you are clearly confused.

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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.

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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 …….

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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…

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Blair – Question of the day goes to you sir!

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i know its only batting practice,but its good to hear that Kotchman was hitting some deep balls.

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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…..

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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*Thorman, obviously.

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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.

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Infante’s also the back-up shortstop. He’s not going anywhere.

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Graham,

he was just comparing the discussion that occured on Thorman back then.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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jtb: Great minds must think alike.

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Ole Anderson is not really dead.

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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.

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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.

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Unless he flunks the physical, that is.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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mbatl

Thanks, that shows that Smoltzie has little to no class and its all about him.

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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.

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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.

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mbatl, CC Sabathia did the same thing in Cleveland after his trade to Milwaukee.

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And Gary
If moylan returns to form: adv braves

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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).

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Fischerking04, he has actually pitched against hitters 2 times now.

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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.

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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.

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Hey! Pagination is working! Will probably take some getting used to, but it’s blog progress!

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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.

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I see they mad a “fix” to the blog—mult-page, but at least you can see old posts

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Blair – In the immortal words of Phil Stockman singing the immortal words of George Michael, “Gotta have faith, faith faith.”!

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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.

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Pizzaro too bad youll be crying in your beer this year looking up at the braves againafter our brief 3 year absents, just like you did for 14 straight years lol

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Gary- Arguing that Santana is only slightly better than Lowe and Gonzales is on par with K-Rod just makes you look lost. No one in baseball would defend either one of those points – no one.

If Lowe is so good why was he the Braves 3rd choice? Are you saying Burnett is as good or better than Santana? Come on.

As for Church never being as good as Frenchy, you do realize that in 280 less at bats last year he had 1 more HR and only 21 less RBI’s than Frenchy? Prorated over the same number of at bats Church would have 11 more HR’s and 22 more RBI’s than Frenchy had. I think saying never might be a bit of an overstament knowing what we do at this point is all I’m saying. Neither one is a lock.Both have potential to boom or bust imo.

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RC
I agree about Wren. People are acting like Schuerholtz left the organization. He is still there advising Wren, who is doing buisness the same way John always did. We had a good off season and the farm is stronger than ever, what else can you ask for.

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Pizzaro So the Mutts have a .563 winning pct the last three years huh? Answer me this one, what’s their winning pct the last three years in September? LOL, not quite .563 now is it. How bout their winning pct in the post season those three years? You can’t blame anyone other than your CHOKING CLUBHOUSE for the Mets being viewed as they are now….CHOKERS

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I dont think we as Brave fans have anything to be concerned about and we have always had the mutts number anyway

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these chips are making me thirsty.

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Guys how is Santana above Lowe? We always seemed to do well again Santana. When he was with Minnesota, Hudson lost that game that he pitched when Bob Stinkman couldn’t keep the lead in the Metrodome. And please remember, the Braves beat Santana 3 times on the mound and another time in a game he pitched as well. So there is no advantage there. The Edge between Wright and Chipper is Chipper because there is one HUGE advantage. The Mets can’t get him out. The Braves get Wright, though. Plus, The other reason Chipper and Wright are close to even is because of Chipper’s injury history. Chipper is a better defensive 3rd baseman than Wright. I still haven’t grasped how you make 20+ errors on the hot corner and still get a gold glove but can’t change the past.I think his assessment of the Mets/Braves breakdown is on point.

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We have blogress! Both on the part of the AJC as well as the Braves/Wren. Keep up the good work.

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Absolutely mbatl…Santana is a beast.

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2 pages? 3 pages? Every time I refresh, I get a different set of posts. But, at least the guys are working on it, I guess.

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DOB – I gotta ask. Have the guys that are trying to fix this blog ever actually used a blog? I mean, it a fairly simple concept that they appear to be complicating. Hit refresh. You come back to the same place you were with any newly added posts. Repeat.

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Trade in 1 problem for another one. Seems like ever since DOB put his mug up on the top of the blog there have been problems. Hey DOB…You have mobs of teenage girls shrieking everywhere you go yet? The AJC sports page can’t handle the celeb status.

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RC…Elevated discourse doesn’t normally last long on a blog, but I commend you for giving it a go. That was a very good point, and it was a way that I had not yet looked at it.

Being a sucker for prospects…I would like to see B. Jones get some playing time, too. I think he can be a productive player, but it appears as if right now an injury is going to have occur in order for him to get some pt.

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Hey PIZZARO, If you want to we can compare the lineup:
Score- Braves—Mets
LF – Garrett Anderson vs Daniel Murphy – 6 5
CF – J. Anderson/Schafer vs Beltran – 4 7
RF – Francouer vs Church – 5 5
1B – Kotchman vs Delgado – 6 7
2B – Johnson vs Castillo – 6 4
SS – Escobar vs Reyes – 7 7
3B – Jones vs Wright – 8 9
C – McCann vs Scneider – 7 5
Bench- 6 6
Help in Minors this year- 1-5 scale 3 2
Total this category- 58 57

SP1 – Santana vs Lowe – 8 9
SP2 – Maine vs Jurrjens – 6 6
SP3 – Perez vs Vasquez – 6 5
SP4 – Pelfrey vs Kawakami – 6 6
SP5 – Redding vs Glavine – 6 4
Help in Minors this year- 1-5 scale 4 2
Total this category- 36 32

CL – Rodriguez vs Gonzales. 7 9
SU – Putz vs Soriano – 6 6
SU – Sanchez vs Moylan – 6 5
Rest of staff- 8 7
Total for category 27 27

Manager – Cox vs Manuel – 8 6

Total for Team 129 122

Braves Win, Braves Win

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B. Jones had a huge opportunity last year, and unfortunately didn’t take advantage of it – I do think he had a shoulder problem most of the time, which is real unfortunate – but he could’ve really stepped up and made a name for himself at a time when we had nothing in LF.

He may get another chance, but the field just got more crowded with the addition of GA. He’ll probably be in Gwinnett this year; just needs to work on his game and be ready if he gets another chance in Atlanta.

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Can we give this Braves/Mets comparison thing a rest? I mean, we’ve already got something to do that for us…they’re called games. There are 162 of them. After completion of said games, we will know who is better. And the best part is…they’re right around the corner!

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Nolie…Is D. Wright actually considered a good defensive 3b? The times I’ve seen him play (small sample size) he looked awful out there. Never did understand why he won those gold gloves aside from being in a huge media market.

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I just bet this was a good blog today with lots of valuable info. The only problem is I can only see comments from 3pm on. (

I’m aware that this is being addressed. Just hope it’s addressed sooner rather than later. This is perhaps the most “news” filled time of the year in MLB.

I realize this isn’t under DOB’s pay grade, just want the AJC technical guys to “get it.”

I hope the AJC IT folks are better than the IT group we have where I work. If not, this might be broken until November!

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if yiou dont like it then dont read it – noone said you had to care what other people care about

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DOB, As someone asked earlier, is there any news on who OHMAN has decided to sign with?

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Nolie…Is D. Wright actually considered a good defensive 3b? The times I’ve seen him play (small sample size) he looked awful out there. Never did understand why he won those gold gloves aside from being in a huge media market.

He’s rated as somewhat better that Chipper by most, but I posted that because GARY was saying Chipper was way better. I agree that Chipper is much better now than he was in his first go-round at third when most saber-guys considered him one of the worst in BB, but way better than Wright he is not.

Catching Ability: 80
Throwing Accuracy: 80
Arm Strength: 84
Fielding Anticipation: 75
Fielding Range: 72
Jumping and Diving: 70
CHIPPER

Catching Ability: 84
Throwing Accuracy: 80
Arm Strength: 85
Fielding Anticipation: 82
Fielding Range: 84
Jumping and Diving: 82
WRIGHT
http://sports.ign.com/articles/766/766459p1.html

John Robinson IGNSports,COM perspective which I think is pretty accurate. Chipper has always been somewhat lacking in anticipation and range.

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Well… he swapped order in the list. If I understand it correctly, he actually has the Mets being better. If you add Mets to Mets in each category and Braves to Braves. Rather than adding columns.

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Let me know when someone comes up with a rating system that makes playing the games unnecessary.

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Muts fans have predicted their team the next ‘27 Yankees for the last ten years, and they’ve done nothing in that time that’s worth wasting ink on. Let them run their fat traps right now, but when we smoke them like we do every year, they’ll run and hide like always.

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Thanks, MEB

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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/braves/2009-02-22-braves-offseason_N.htm

Has anyone posted that here today? Just talked to my dad. He was at a doctor’s office and happened to see today’s USA Today Sports section on a table. Dad said that the article was “funny.” (He’s from Atlanta and a Red Sox fan. He didn’t get on the Braves’ bandwagon when they came to Atlanta.)

It does include an interesting quote from Wren:

“We were on the attack,” Wren says. “When we set out on our offseason plan to build the club, there were a lot of guys we (decided internally to) make an offer to. I don’t know where it was coming from, but it seemed like every offer we made was in the (news) media. It teased our fans.”

So, we had leaks?

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If by some chance Hammy reads this blog, THANK YOU, for signing elsewhere.

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Hanson is the most highly anticipated Atlanta Brave since Andruw. By me anyway.

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jds, as a monkey who sits at a keyboard (not a typewriter), I’m pretty sure you’re right.

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Too bad they can’t put in an auto-refresh for the blog, but that would probably cause loading problems as well. Guess you can’t have everything.

So, who’s ready for some Braves baseball (finally)?!

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Programmers tend to like the Alkyhawl quite a bit. Y’all better keep a check on that bunch DOB, y’all might have a buncha deadbeat drunks back there…

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We’re overloaded with left-handed hitters and right-handed pitchers. And so many righties without many options.

Dob, I’m going to spring training games march 13-15. Can i extrapolate from the rotation in your blog who’ll be pitching those days? Or is it way too early to start trying that?

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Shamus, what languages do you program in?

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The Midnight Riders…doh! Thats a song too..

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DOB – What odds KU beat the Oklahoma dudes t/nite….

The basketball is so effed up this year, suspect my TARHEELS will get good at the right time in MARCH…….

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Though I haven’t stopped drinking long enough to know for sure, I might not be a drunk…

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Top 3 Tag Teams in my opinion….

1. 4 Horsemen/Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Arn and Ole)
2. Hart Foundation
3. Legion Of Doom/Road Warriors

I’m an avid wrestling fan, more so the old school or as I call it the golden days. I also love baseball and Braves being my team.

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Yeah, but Santana plays for the Mets…Ewww.

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Enter your comments here

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PIZZARO Who are you? Anders’ and Mr. Met’s love child???? Just wondering….

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Top Tag Teams

1. The Mulkey Brothers (Randy & Bill)
2. The Mod Squad
3. Rocky King and Sam Houston

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Hey Dave! It’s your big bro. Just want to say you’re doing a heckuva job with the blog. The whole family is so proud of our little Davey! (I won’t divulge our nickname for our little muffin on the blog … whoops, I just did!) Anyways, keep up the good work. You’re making your cranky old brother – and his tired catcher’s knees – happy.

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PIZZARO, atleast the braves are respected amoung their peers…all this oh were the team to beat is stupid..atleast when the phillies say it they back it up..you can tell watching games that the phillies and braves respect eachother,but when you watch both teams play the mets and interviews you’ll see that neither team respects the mets..

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Pizzaro-Yeah, we know-Santana is probably the best pitcher in all of baseball, right? He didn’t lead you to a Division win though, did he? Maybe it takes more than ONE good pitcher.

You realize that if the Mets are real lucky (weird concept there) that Santana will prove to be one of the few Free Agent signings that the Mets have made that might actually be worth what he’s been paid?

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schafer would have to absolutely explode to earn an opening day nod. the reason being is j anderson is out of options and we are only going to carry 4 outfielders. with diaz obviously being the fourth. we will give anderson a couple of months to see what he does and if he doesnt impress then schafer will be called up.

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Good old RPG…long live the AS400! So, which do you like better…the procedural languages or the OOP/OOD languages such as Java?

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1. bushwackers
2. legion of doom
3. harlem heat

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What happens to JJ Reyes this year… AAA ??
Buddy Carlyle ???

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Chop Chop

Morton’s in the Mullet Hall of Fame! Did you ever get into the FreeBirds?

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PIZZARO – I can get 6/4 on Braves over Mets, if you want to back your team I will take the same for $1k to $1500…….

if that is out of market, how about dinner at Smith and Wo, loser pays… assuming you are in NY…

“Shake and Bake”

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Listen posters, I’m just throwing my opinion out there. I’ve not attacked anyone or insulted your mothers. It’s just one guys pont of view. I just think top to bottom the Mets are a better TEAM.

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DOGs—Lets just make it a straight up bet. Who ever has the better season wins.

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PIZZARO – I love New Yorkers, my missus is one, from Queens as well, but EVEN SHE does NOT follow the “Mucils”……………

If we cannot bust your chops and Anders’, who can we ???????

“Shake and Bake”

I think your 3rd base and ours are equal, you win in CF and 1st base… a slight edge to you at SS, RF is a bad tie unless both are normal in 2009… Pitching – we got you on both I am afraid and bench we kill

2nd base – we get it……

Choking – oh oh. Mets lose there as well

Overall Braves win Braves win Braves win

“God Bless SKIP”

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Chop Chop, I’m with you… Steiner Bros. and Rock-N-Roll Express are definitely 2 of the top 3. Those were the days. I grew up watching old school NWA/UWF, and then WCW. Lost interest after WCW folded, and not it just all seems a little silly. But I have fond memories of watching the Steiners, Flair, Sting, and those guys.

Sting and Flair were by far the best because, not only were they great wrestlers… they were great actors/entertainers. I think either one of those guys could hold their own in Hollywood. Truly two of the greats.

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KC

I forgot the name of the game but Flair is apart of a brand new video game. I heard it’s interesting.

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Dogs–Where is Smith and Wo? Have you heard of Angelo Maxi’s?

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“dogs—you name the bet bro. The Mets will win more games than the braves….no question. They are top to bottom a better team. They were last year and will be again this one.”

Yeah, last year you were better than a team who lost their top 4 starters plus top two bullpen guys to injuries. *claps* Congratulations. This year should be a different story.

And the Mutts couldn’t win even with Santana, so I wonder how they would fair if they suffered the same rash of injuries the Braves did. Knowing them, probably forfeit the rest of their season.

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I sure hope there’s folks out there enjoying the MLB channel as much as I am. It’s been great to catch players I only know about, but haven’t seem play. Caught the last three innings of a 6/84 Cards/Cubs game. Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuce Sutter was on the mound late, trying to hold on to a 1-run lead.

Those guys were lean. Bruce looked about 140 lbs, everyone’s uniforms tight from the neck to the shoes, high socks and stirrups showing. Bruce’s beard was the kind that actually might conceal two owls and a wren.

Don Zimmer looked so young standing in the dugout.

Ozzie Smith looked maybe 125 soaking wet, Willie McGee, another hefty 125-type matchstick player hit a double in the 10th to complete the cycle. Eddie Mathews Sr stole second. Ryne Sandburg hit a home run to tie the game then hit a multi-run homer to win the game in extra innings.

Aaahhhhh, I do LOVE baseball!

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