Braves pitchers open camp, most of lineup arrives early
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Phillies have a stable of All-Star starters and new big-ticket closer Jonathan Papelbon, and the Nationals have a bolstered rotation and hard-throwing bullpen.
But Braves pitchers think their own staff, if healthy, takes a backseat to none in the National League East.
“If we run our guys out there all year healthy, I think they’re as good if not better than anybody in the division,” reliever Jonny Venters said. “Obviously the Phillies are the Phillies, but from top to bottom I think they’re no better [pitching staff] than ours. I wouldn’t trade ours.”
The Braves had their first official workout for pitchers and catchers Monday. They will have four more before the first full-squad workout Saturday.
Much of the talk Monday was about all the early arriving position players who’ve reported to camp. The only projected lineup regulars not in camp were Michael Bourn, who has been working out with the University of Houston in his hometown, and rookie shortstop Tyler Pastornicky, who is working out and being mentored by Braves infielder Jack Wilson in California, where Wilson has an infield built in his backyard.
It’s the most early arrivers the Braves have had in camp in recent memory, and it comes after they lost 20 of the last 30 games in 2011 and blew an 8-1/2-game wild-card lead.
“They’re itching to get going,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “There’s a little different feeling in the clubhouse so far, and it’s a good feel… Guys are ready to put the uniform on and go forward.”
Backup catcher David Ross said, “I think everybody’s just excited to be back. We know we’ve got a good team. We know how good we can be, just get here and get going again. One thing about this team, everybody on this team likes each other. They like hanging out together, doing some stuff off the field. Let’s get here and get some work in, have some fun too before all the craziness starts.”
Veteran starting pitcher Tim Hudson will likely miss the first month of the season recovering from back surgery, but the Braves say their other top starters, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson, are recovered from injuries that sidelined them during the team collapse.
Hanson was in a one-car accident on his way to training camp Monday morning and was checked for a possible concussion, but sustained no other injuries. He had a rotator-cuff tear that kept him from pitching last season after early August.
Jurrjens and Phillies ace Roy Halladay were the league’s best starters before the All-Star break, but soon after a knee injury ended Jurrjens’ season.
The Braves’ 3.11 ERA at the All-Star break was the second-best in baseball behind Philadelphia’s 3.02. After the break, the Braves had a 3.97 ERA.
“The potential is there to be great,” catcher Brian McCann said of the pitching staff. “But it’s a matter of having everyone keep getting better and better.”
The Braves figure to start out with a rotation of Jurrjens, Hanson, Brandon Beachy, Mike Minor and either Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado. When Hudson returns, the fifth starter would be Minor, Teheran or Delgado, barring injury or unexpected development.
“It’s wide open,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of the fifth-starter spot. “Those three guys got some significant experience in September, which is going to help them.”
The Braves have nine starters with big-league experience including Kris Medlen, who was unbeaten in 14 starts in 2010 before blowing out his elbow. He’s penciled in for the bullpen this season, but will work multiple-inning stints this spring to be ready as a starter in case he’s needed in the rotation.
“I care about it,” said Medlen, who prefers a starting role, “but I just want to be able to pitch. We’ve got an unbelievable bullpen and I’m just going to be a contributor to that, to whatever that three-headed monster we had last year was.”
He referred to the Braves’ formidable bullpen trio of closer Craig Kimbrel, the NL rookie of the year, and left-handed setup men Venters and Eric O’Flaherty. The budget-conscious Braves have a bullpen’s that’s young but experienced.
“We’re so good at bringing guys up who are ready to play, and having a mix of the dudes who you’re paying a lot and the guys making minimum,” Medlen said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can come up and perform. It’s awesome. Everyone always doubts us because they say, ‘Who’s that?’ Well, he’s good.”
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© 2012 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
37 comments Add your comment
KSchmidt
February 20th, 2012
6:38 pm
Go Braves!
eskippy
February 20th, 2012
6:40 pm
1
bravesgrl4life
February 20th, 2012
6:44 pm
2012 is the year! GO BRAVES!!! Cannot wait for the end of March – I’m headed down to Spring Training the last weekend of games. Taking my niece on Friday night, my great-nephew on Saturday, and my sister on Sunday. May have to see if I can find a ticket for my brother-in-law even if he won’t be sitting with us. I think I hurt his feelings by inviting my sister. But my husband only got me two tickets for each game.
kangaroo Court
February 20th, 2012
6:46 pm
I heard Hanson had auto accident, is he ok?
The Braves may have to move a pitcher or two, for a power bat. It is great that we have some trade resources to do it. I am hoping we don’t have to, but you never know.
With that being said: no rent a players like Texeria, please.
AU_Grant
February 20th, 2012
6:49 pm
Great to have something to look forward to, the Braves have a chance to do great things this year. Glad to see almost all our starters in camp early, it shows that they really care and can’t wait to put last year behind them. Is Tim Hudson not going to be in camp due to his injury? I think even if he is unable to contribute physically that he could be a real asset to the young starters to have a veteran in the clubhouse early on..
Tampa Gator
February 20th, 2012
7:14 pm
1. Phillies are still too good….even with Howard being out during the first 3rd of the season.
2. The Nationals improved themselves in a major way, and might challenge the Phillies for much of the season.
3. The Braves still need a big bat in the middle of the order and playing LF…and Hudson being out early will not help the beginning of the season. I see the Braves struggling early and then getting better for a finish in the #3 spot in the division…..unless they go get that big bat in LF in the spring.
4. The Marlins will chase the Braves for #3 and make it very close to putting the Braves in 4th this year….but lack the pitching depth to overcome the Braves for 3rd.
It will be a very close race between 2, 3, and 4. Could go any way there….but the Phillies are just too good to drop out of the #1 spot…..but the Nationals could surprise everyone if the Phillies have some more key injuries. The Nationals definitely have the team for the future.
229Bravsfan
February 20th, 2012
7:16 pm
GO BRAVES!!!
Orange Brave f/k/a Billy Jack's BBQ
February 20th, 2012
7:18 pm
stellar reporting; thanks DOB.
Tampa Gator
February 20th, 2012
7:18 pm
That was my non-emotional “total Braves fan” view…….and I hope I am wrong. GO BRAVES. Plan to see them a lot this spring, especially when they come over to Tampa (Yanks), Clearwater (Phils), and Dunedin (Blue Jays). If you come down for a spring game…..the Clearwater stadium for the Phils is a great place to watch a game. So is Tampa. The Dunedin stadium is old and lacks of the conveniences of the other stadiums….but it gets you up close with the players….especially after the game.
JoshTown
February 20th, 2012
7:22 pm
GO BRAVES!
DOBY
February 20th, 2012
7:44 pm
In other words, Medlen says Braves are cheapskates.
Ken Stallings
February 20th, 2012
7:56 pm
Everyone at this level is good. But, to be successful you have to be great. The entire roster at AAA and AA are all good players. How many are able to go from good to great since this offseason?
tony
February 20th, 2012
8:16 pm
The plan for the braves is the same as its been for 20 plus years now , solid pitching and HOPE that a few guys in your lineup have CAREER OR MONSTER YEARS AT THE PLATE. Hope is not a plan!! all i hear every year is pitching wins , have you seen the lineups of the teams that have been to the world series lateley ?? the blue jays of the 90s batting lineup was INCREDIBLE , yankees, red sox, cardinals,rangers, phillies , all these teams have solid lineups from top to bottom not holes in the lineup from top to bottom… we need bats in this lineup. lets get a 3rd basemen and a left fielder with some power and this team could compete with anyone
Bravo_F 52
February 20th, 2012
8:24 pm
Call me a Medlenite I like our “can of arms”
OBX dawg
February 20th, 2012
8:26 pm
Dave, love your stuff but When are you going to address the concerns that we have regarding chipper’s weight. I wasn’t the only one to notice. He’s fat and out of shape!
Dawg Haus
February 20th, 2012
8:44 pm
It will be an exciting season in the NL East, but I like the Braves’ chances.
Mark (another one)
February 20th, 2012
8:51 pm
I’ve seen pictures of Hudson doing long toss at spring training so I believe he’s there. I am also happy to hear that Pasternicky is only missing because he’s preping in CA with a 15 year major league vet, Jack Wilson. I expect them both to report on time and be as prepared as possible.
It is a mistake if the Braves don’t consider Medlen for the rotation. He has the experience and its best to put the five best in the rotation. The season is about winning and how much better can it be than 14 wins in 14 starts?
George
February 20th, 2012
9:02 pm
Tampa Gator is about right looking forward to this season. We could finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th with 81 to 84 wins in a very close and very good division.
Delbert D.
February 20th, 2012
9:33 pm
Fat and out of shape may work. Less chance of pulling an oblique.
JAFO
February 20th, 2012
10:07 pm
RIsP
ugafan13
February 20th, 2012
10:43 pm
The sports experts were ready to hand the title to the Phils last year too and look what happened. Long season ahead but I hope the lesson from last year for the Braves is every game is important. We didn’t approach it that way last year. We trotted out D Lowe when everybody knew it was a loss when he pitched towards the end of the year! Can’t afford to give games away this year and expect to go anywhere!
Bama Fred
February 20th, 2012
11:31 pm
Every article or comment made about the always contains a bunch of if’s…..”If he stays healthy” “If he bounces back form last year” “If he makes adjustments to his swing”…….The teams success sure is relying on a bunch of If’s to happen
masivatack
February 21st, 2012
12:15 am
Lets go Braves! Get pissed! You guys CAN win the division. With Prado back healthy, Jason Heyward (still only 22 years old) learning and improving, Michael Bourne for a full season and our hard-throwing young pitching staff, I think that the braves can win it all. The Phillies are getting really old and are resembling the fat free-agent signing Yankees.
Speaking of fat, I hear everyone griping about Chipper… Well I don’t think that they know how much weight a player loses playing close to 200 games a year–spring training included. I dont hear anyone griping about Prince Feilder’s weight. The man is 40 years old and owns a career .304ba/.402obp and 454hr/1561runs/1561rbi (yes an absolutely even number of runs/rbi) in run production. He wasn’t the reason the team didn’t make the postseason last year. It was the injuries to our pitching staff.
Sick and tired of all of these miserable blog commenters. Last year sucked but that was last year. Lets all try to enjoy being fans…. isn’t that what spring is all about!!!! Get on the bus or go be Phillies fans.
MasivAtack
February 21st, 2012
12:27 am
And BTW, thank you Dave O’Brien for your coverage… Just let me know the next time you are in Athens for a show and I’ll grab you a beer. You truly are the class of the AJC and the best sports blogger on the planet. Word!
Bill Dozer
February 21st, 2012
12:40 am
Hey UGA fan 13…the Phillies DID win the division last year in a runaway. Thanks for the non-sensical post. Of course if you are 13 years old as your name suggests, maybe you can be forgiven.
reckingball
February 21st, 2012
12:44 am
The Braves can win their division. Just get some hits with RISP, the failure to not get enough of them last year, is what sunk em.
reckingball
February 21st, 2012
12:47 am
I think that baseball is an iffy kind of a game. There are always a lot of ifs with every team.
Richard Nieh
February 21st, 2012
4:19 am
Haha, Tampa Gator is totally ignored.
By the way, not only hit on RISP, their OBP was below average as well. I am so surprised that they could contend until the last day with that kind of OBP and BA at RISP.
BravesFan77
February 21st, 2012
6:21 am
It doesn’t matter about Chipper, he’ll be hurt come deer season (Archery) anyway… with most of the roster. WATCH! Braves will land some key pieces before the trade deadline. Hopefully they are not hunters and are willing to pick up the slack.
poolcue
February 21st, 2012
6:29 am
how about a player to be named later for fat freddi .didnt work last year wont work this year either.no dumb moves this year but some leadership would be nice in his last year in atl.
alanfalcon
February 21st, 2012
7:55 am
K. Medlin, E. O’ Flat., J. Venters and C. Kimbrel, oh my god, if they are only used properly could be devestating to the opposition.
Now all we need are some bats, hear yeh, hear yeh, we need some bats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe
February 21st, 2012
8:41 am
I can’t wait too much longer. My father bought me game tickets at Disney Wide World of Sports to see the Braves and my life long friend Nick Ahmed (2nd rounder) play short stop for the Braves in Spring Training. I’m very proud for him because he’s a tremendous athlete and he grew up with 2 brothers that kept him active in that small town called East Longmeadow, MA.
I live in South Orange, NJ and will have my first spring training with Nick and of course my Dad will remember him as well. Thanks Frank Wren for signing my old teammate.
Random
February 21st, 2012
9:27 am
DOB: “Hanson was in a one-car accident on his way to training camp Monday morning”
The only innocent person in a one car accident is the pedestrian.
And not always then.
Dirty Dawg
February 21st, 2012
10:56 am
I hope I ‘m wrong but Chipper looked a bit ‘fleshy’ in those pics with his kid at Spring Training…and instead of a ’six-pack’ it looked like he’s working on, at least, a pony keg under that sweat shirt…but then that’s what ST is for, ain’t it?…LOL…
Derek Lowe
February 21st, 2012
12:48 pm
Me and Tommy were racing.
bvillebaron
February 21st, 2012
1:40 pm
Tony:
I see you must have missed the news that Heyward and Freeman, both of whom are only 22, finished second in the rookie of the year race each of the last 2 years.
Red Wolf
February 21st, 2012
2:14 pm
The entire lineup, what’s left of it, should report early after they all quit on September 1, 2011.