“Cautiously optimistic” is the perfect descriptor for my outlook on this season.

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I don’t want to say I expect anything, but I don’t think a wild card is out of the question. We’re definitely not rebuilding, though. Rebuilding teams don’t sign 35-year old pitchers to 15 million dollar a year contracts.

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Honestly, I see the Bravos fighting for the Division Championship. We are going to be contenders. Our youngsters are going to step up to the plate and do what’s required from them when the time comes. From the looks of the spring tranning games, there is a bright future for the Braves. GO BRAVES!!!

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Ed Boon: It is not hard at all to find stats on these guys. One example: go to atlanta.braves.mlb.com for this. You shouldn’t be looking for a newspaper to be giving you this information.

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Hey, where is the guy that said the Braves were going to stink up spring training and stink up the year now? Have we gotten so negative about a game (how many things in life can you be positive about) that we can’t see that the front office has done all it could and the guys are producing. Barring a lot of injuries, we are in it right up to the end this fall. Go Braves!!!!

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The Braves will be worst than the previous down years. They apparently do not get the physical taining they need (hence the constant injuries and long disable list each year). Pitching will improve until injuries hit. Hitting – if you look at the rooster, the Braves should have the best lineup in baseball but they fall short of expectation? WHY? They need a new hitting coach!!!

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You would not have a pulse if you were not optimistic about your team in the Spring. That’s the magic of baseball. It’s when reality sets in that tests your fanhood. With that said I’m thinking we can contend for the wildcard with a few teams and baring prolonged injury and a few guys having career years we can do it. But I see us contending in 2010.

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Very optimistic here. Remember, despite the perceived issues on offense we were 6th in runs scored last year. The problem was no pitching staff. If Moylan and Soriano are back and we don’t have last year’s rash of injuries strike again, this team will contend with anyone. My only worry is that Francoeur will continue to spiral down this year and that will drag down the offense if he stay in the lineup, particularly if Chipper misses any time.

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There are going to be some real surprises on this team: Garret Anderson, Casey Kotchman and Jeff Francoeur among them. Pitching will be solid. Get happy, ya’ll, the Braves are undefeated!

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They have strengths they really didnt have last year. Look at the pitchers they are sending to the minors. Hanson, Reyes, Parr, Campilla. These kids are good and would be great at number 5’s in any rotation. They just werent a 1-5. They were thrown into that. Will only make them stronger I think.

We have a deep club coming up, thats for sure. Schafer might not make it but look at him. Hes ready now but I agree that he will need some AAA ball first. Always a good idea. Hes there as well as the rest of the kids who have been beating the ball in spring training.

From what I hear, Glavine is not doing as well as expected but thats ok. With Reyes and Hanson doing spring like they are we might be strong going that way. I thought Glavine is over the hill anyway. Hes been done for a couple years now.

We will be in the post season. We look good. Cant wait for the season to get started.

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This is the year the Braves will regain the sparkle they once had. There are no super stars, just a roster with great potential. I know potential doesn’t always translate to success but this year it will. Old guys, young guys experienced or not will come together. Most who have been bashing Wren will be singing his praise by August.
You heard it here!

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The braves will plenty of pitching this year plenty of offense too> for the guy who said frenchy has showed him nothing well man look 0 yes 0 strikeouts and he is hitting the ball hard just for him to get his timming down now he is going to have great year youll see and so are the braves

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I cant believe they are stupid enough to continue “ALLOWING” Chipper to play in the WBC. There should be a mandate from the top !… ALL PLAYERS ARE ORDERED TO RETURN TO ORLANDO NOW !!!! Enough is enough. When will they learn ? Chipper is made of glass … We need him healthy if there’s ANY chance to make the playoffs. That go’s for the pitching staff as well !!!

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I wish the Braves would throw Glavine a big retirement party. We may get a total of 40 innings out of him this year. We can rely on these old guys. Glvine was a has been 3 years ago. As for Andrew, if we bring him back based on 15 games in the spring, then lets bring back Nick Green. He is hitting .500 at Boston.

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Ask me after the Braves’ annual June Swoon. I’m not being negative here, folks. I’m being absolutely realistic. If the Tomahawks tank in June, that’s a sign of the gas tank running down super-early with little chance of recovery down the stretch. If they have a swell June and go bonkers in interleague play, we’ve usually got something special going. May-June are the months I personally pay the most attention to because that’s when the kinks from the long winter start wearing off and we get a sense of how the team’s truly coming together.

geekboy, we await your brilliant insight here on the shiny new Chop Chick blog. Because, really, is it a CC blog if you aren’t playing manager on here?

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Well – I really liked the team coming out of spring training last year. so what do I know but here is my 2 cents anyhow.
This year I just don’t think they have enough power. The 114 win Yankee team had three players with over 20 homers. think we might only have one this year. That means we have to string together lots of hits, move runners over and steal some bases – not our strength over the years. I like our pitching staff – not overwhelming like the Mad Dog, Glavine, Smoltz years … but solid. we will keep a lot of games close but still come up on the short end. Prove me wrong Braves!

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Ask the 2008 Tigers what a great Spring Training gets you. Or the 2008 Detroit Lions who went undefeated in preseason play.

Is it a coincidence that once payroll went down so did our deep playoff runs? Bobby Cox – the greatest regular season manager of all time and the worst post season manager of all time. It will be a battle for last place with the Nats.

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I expect them to compete. I think they can win but it will take guys staying healthy and I’m not sure we can count on that yet. I’m fine with however we score runs, just score. Unfortunately I think they still don’t quite have enough offense to compete and I’d feel much better if Tim Hudson were healthy. Still they should be in it all year this year.

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I think the Braves are going to have a really good year. Our starting pitching is deeper than anyone in the league. Our bullpen will be the best if everyone stays healthy and doesn’t have any setbacks. Our starters may not be “elite”, but they are very good. They are all competitive and will keep us in the game. The fact that they all throw lots of innings, on average, every year will keep our bullpen fresh. We also play really good defense, which is essential for ground ball pitchers like Kawakami, Lowe, and Jurrjens. Our offense will lead the league in doubles and should have no trouble scoring runs. Too many times in the past we sat back and waited for the three run homer. A lot of times it never came, but when it did our bullpen would blow the lead. We will probably have a more aggressive approach this year and force the issue. I am not saying we will win the division, but we could. We also could win the wild card.

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I expect a full stadium on opening night against the Nats and a half-empty stadium the next night through September (minus the Yanks, Sox, and Cubs series).

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Can’t have hi hopes for a team when the leaders(chipper)comes to spring training out of shape,may start the season injured…We have probably the worst hitting coach in baseball who’s just sitting by hoping to become the next manager in ATL.Defensive,we’re alright,we will make our mistakes in errors as well as inexperience…But we need to be a little more aggressive at the plate while being patient waiting for their pitch….Play smart!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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One more thing …FIRE FRANK WREN,HE’S not a baseball man!He’s a company man placed in this position to oversee the operation and not too much monies spent…

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I am now and always will be a Braves fan, but it always starts out this way! Braves have pitching,(then injuries)! Players are healthy (Chipper has Opauge injury, Anderson hurts leg or something)! What ever happened to playing hurt, sucking it up and taking one for the team? We’re talking about “Big Bucks” here. Either be in shape, or be on a plane to another city! Yes! Injuries happen, but when they keep happening to the same people! I work when I’m not feeling well, and I work with injuries, and other people do too! We’re talking about some great players here, not “also rans”. We have a right to expect more! Check out the minor league players!!!!! They have a reason to play hard, and therefore play hard….But then, what do I know? I’m just a fan, who can’t afford to go to a game because tickets cost too much!!!!!

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I was searching for braves spring training records in recent years and found this article by a royals fan:

Spring Training Records: Should You Care? http://royalsauthority.com/2009/03/spring-training-records-should-you-care.html

pretty interesting, more than half playoffs teams have had a winning record in ST. I know that each team story is different every year but here are some stats. The probabilities to get inio the playoffs are better if you have an above .500 record in ST. Go Bravos!

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I like KOTCHMAN’s performance so far, and I think he’s gonna’ thrive in this line-up. I’m giving LOS BRAVOS mucho ups this season in the 86-90 catagory. Hey its spring right. They can be anything they want.

And if their win total is in that range, the NL EAST will be a dog-fight (apologies to MV 7) all season.

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My name is Chop Suey from Canton and I can see this blog is almost done. I wanted to post here before you know who gets here. He should be coming around anytime now. For now, let me say that the birds fly and the rocks roll and the rock going downhill rolls easiest. It is not too late to give me this blog and I will keep it hopping. Remember, just change Chick to Suey and the blog is mine!

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I actually got to see 1 Braves game on TV this spring, but only because it was carried on the YES Network when the Braves played the Yanks in Tampa.

With all of the stations that carry the Braves (and don’t even get me started on how annoying it is to search for each game on a different channel) you’d think they could find some airtime for games.

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The Braves will finish third in the NL East about 15 games behind the Mets. Chipper Jones is so injury prone that you can scratch him out of 60 games this year. The offense will struggle and the Braves pitching will falter in August.

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Vasquez is a lock for rotation. Why is this even in question?

I’m in the start Tommy Hanson camp. Kid has electric stuff and is the next Smoltz for Bravos!

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It’s pretty obvious that Vasquez is in the rotation, why else did we dump those prospects for him? Did Terrence Moore write this article or something?

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About Vazquez has anyone noticed what he has doen in the WBC. He is 2-0 with a .96 ERA this guy will be in the rotation he had 200 Ks last season no other braves pitcher can make that claim. you say that glavine won’t go to the bullpen but I have to believe they would be quicker to put the aging Glavine into the bullpen over vazquez.We are paying Javier 11.5 Million this year that would be outrageous for a bullpen pitcher.the 5th spot is the only one up for grabs and it is between glavine hanson and reyes.

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Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz are my top 3…wait, this isn’t 1995 is it? Dammit.

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Where does Tim Hudson fit in to this equation? Do we just assume that he won’t be back before the Braves are out of contention?

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I don’t think that it matters what the rotation is at the begining of the season, although I think that Vazquez should have at least went to spring traing after he landed with the Braves. It will go Lowe, Kawakami, Vazquez and Glavine until Tommy Hanson throws another no hitter in the minors. He should be up in “the show” no later than the all-star break.

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Pitching looks great. Big change from the staff at the end of last season. Check out the new Braves blog at http://braves.gearupforsports.com/blog Current posts on the NL East, Kelly Johnson, Chipper’s injury, Tommy Hanson, and Smoltzie.

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There is no room for Tom Glavine. I wasn’t happy last year when we got him, espcially not happy about it this year. Make him an assistant pitching coach or something. The best rotation: Lowe, Jurrjens, Vazquez, Kawakami, Reyes. Just like every year for us, the fifth starter will change every two weeks, but this is how I like the start of the season. Reyes is on fire, so why not see what he can do. I can’t wait for Hanson to come up, but knowing Bobby it will be a while. Don’t forget, Campillo is always there if we need him. We have so much depth this year all over the field. I’m ready for the record streak to restart this year. Btw, by my count we have at least 5 starting-quality outfielders based on performances this spring, did we need Garrett Anderson?

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I agree with the fact that Tom Glavine isn’t what he used to be, but it is hard to over look 300+ career wins. The best roation until injury would be: Lowe, Jurrjens, Kawakami, Vasquez, and Reyes and Glavine switching up the number 5 spot in the rotaion. With those 4 in the starting 4 of the roation, pitching is something that i don’t think the Braves need to worry about.

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Vazquez has been amazing in the WBC holding the USA to one run in the 11-1 rout. What an asanine question.

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its seems we are deep in starting pitching and if the releif guys are healthy we are deep as well with relief as well,Im guessing defense we are strong as well..biggest questions are do we have enough power to keep from loosing a lot of one run games.spring training we have shown a lot of potential,Im not so sure that we arent the best team in division all away around…we also have a very good coaching staff..lot a good…GO BRAVES in 09

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if some of you guys could actually reead and understand you would find chop chick quite informed and a good read but i know thats a big if

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Hey, wasn’t Jonathon Papelbon supposed to be Boston’s next “can’t miss” starter? If Gonzalez & crew can’t get it done in the 9th, do the Braves consider Hanson as closer at some point?

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A hard lesson but Glavine is not one of the Braves top 5 pitchers and now Wren should be embarrassed for throwing a million or more at him. Same goes for G. Anderson. The Braves have an abundance of quailty pitching and position players. There is no reason to keep signing the over the hill gang.

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Hanson is being sidelined by Glavine and I just dont see where Glavine is worth it. Can he give us 10 wins, yea maybe. Can Hanson give us 10 wins, yes and probably more like 18 if the hitters back him. Why would you do this. Because Glavine wants it. Who runs this team the braves or Glavine.

Anderson gets the centerfield job because hes out of options. Big deal, Schafer is ready and he is winning this job hands down. Just because Anderson is out of options is no reason to keep Schafer in the minors and let someone thats not as good play. Remember Anderson played last year and if he was that good we would not be looking for a centerfielder or a power bat. If Schafer wins, Schafer should come to Atlanta. Trade Anderson as Diaz and Jones are better off the bench.

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The pitching lineup should be:
Lowe, Vazquez, Jurrjens, Kawakami and Glavine. Vazquez is not even a question.
We will all be pleasantly surprised by how well he does this year. It would not surprise me at all to have him do even better than Lowe.

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Blah, Blah, Blah…..Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Chop Chick has a bottle of airplane glue hidden in that glove? Javier Vazquez has already proven himself as a veteran, 200-inning workhorse in the big leagues….he will be the #2 starter.

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So far this spring Vasquez has pitched well in the WBC. Vasquez has pitched 9.1innings 8 Hits and only 1 R and . 0.96 ERA..
He will be the #2 Starter for Bobby Cox.

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it is so disappointing as to how the braves are not on t.v. as much. i grew up from the time i was 9 years old watching the braves with mike lum and gene garber i watched the bad days to the good and the braves and their ownership seems to think the braves can’t draw a t.v. crowd and what a crock. i have so many people i know that watch the braves no matter what and i know the braves draw a crowd where ever they go. they need to get a clue and understand that the braves had a t.v. crowd long before them and will long after them. it is what it is and unless you are somebody like me who knows what time of day it is , they will never know what money they are missing out on and know what the braves mean to their fans who will be here no matter what and be here long after . they need a history lesson on the draw the braves have and quit worring about the number of times they can show sex and the city and all the other junk they show on tbs now. i make time in my busy schedule so why can’t they. enough said.

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the rotation should be Lowe Vasquez Jurrjens Kawakami and Glavine( till he gets hurt then hanson not reyes) and another thing why r people hating on G. Anderson he hit over 290 last year he is a proven veternern hell hit 290 this year. No hes not the perfect #4 spot (Texiaria was but oh well) but he is still a great hitter and he will have a better year than any other outflieder other then hopefuly Fanocoer ( i really think he is goig to bounce back big this year)

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Lowe, Vasquez, Jurrjens, Kawakami, Glavine…1st person hurt then in goes Hanson.

My concern is CF. I think Schaefer has made his case.

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Enter your comments here

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Come on Chop Chick. If it was me (and it’s not), my starting day pitcher is Jair. Now while some people will certainly disagree but I want to instill the confidence in this young kid. He’s my guy from last year and his pitching earns it. I believe.

JJ is my opening day followed by Lowe, his style is different from JJ, followed up with Vasquez and then KK. My 5th starter would be Hansen. It appears he is earning it and I would tell Glavine to go home and if we need you we’ll call. So be ready.

It will so great when at the end of the season the Bravos are in the playoffs and Smoltz is sitting at home.

I think we have 4 pitchers that can win 15 games. I really do.
All of our starters could win 15 games but that will take an offense.
Our starters, I believe, can hold teams down to 3 runs or less on a consistent basis.

Now, can our offense score 4 runs per game. It will take consistency from Kelly, Escobar and our left fielders. It will take Frenchy getting back to what he does best, his arm and his bat with RISP. Kotchamn will prove what I and alot of others have said and that’s that he is a good defender with a good bat. McCann will have his normal good year, I just hope he stays healthy. If Hoss goes down that place will be patroled by Prado and Infante. We will need good years from them too. Centerfield is just a great big question mark. Finally our bullpen should be average or better.

Braves make the playoffs this year.

TA TA Smoltzie

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Right now KK’s recent poor start (after a poor inter-squad game), lack of a good fastball and fatigued shoulder (in March?) makes him the weakest link with Glavine right there with him.

I would rather have Hanson and JOJO as the 4-5 with Lowe, Vaz, JJ as the top three.

Vaz is the most ML ready of the lot given he had to prepare for the WBC and BTW he pitched very well during it to boot.

Nostradamus you are not. It happens.

Anyway KK was an open lines to Japan deal that was made for more than to help the team win in 09.

That said I see KK and Glavine as being the two guys (all season) who will either wet the bed or get hurt opening the door for Hanson and or JOJO.

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Let’s start focusing on a cure for Frenchy, not the past. How’s he going to get better? How about a new hitting coach? Pendleton is probably a great guy, but his teaching methods are not effective. When Frenchy got here, he was a free swinging, effective hitter. Three years later his confidence, average, and power are gone. Let’s go a little further. One of the best defensive center fielders ever, Andruw Jones, was hitting for power and average beofre TP got here. Andruw struggles, and nothing is corrected. His swing evolved into one of the worst seen in the majors. Although a player is responsible for his play, I assume coaches are hired to put corrective actions in place when a players technique is really starting to break down. What has Pendleton done to help hitters become more effective? Langerhans, LaRoche, Andruw, Frenchy, etc all have struggled. One of the premier athletes in the world, Tiger Woods, has changed coaches recently and got better. Do you think Tiger would let his golf swing turn into a Charles Barkley swing? That is what Andruws looked like his last two years. The best hitting coaches the Braves have are McCann’s dad, Chipper’s dad, and Chipper. It’s time for a hitting coach change. Don’t let Frenchy’s performance slide any further.

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My two cents on the state of the Braves starting pitching.

Jair Jurrjens, good to go.

Derek Lowe, same old stalwart.

Javier Vasquez, Beat team USA, 200 innings and 30 starts coming up.

Jo-Jo Reyes, using his new change up, looks great.

Tommy Hanson, I can’t stop drooling. This kid is for real.

Kenshin Kawakami, OK until his shoulder fatigue cropped up.

Tom Glavine, missing in action. Unknown commodity at the moment.

Charlie Morton, oblique strain. Shut down until further notice.

Jorge Campillo, 13.50 ERA. Mexican league junk baller.

Jeff Bennett, ditto. 10.80 ERA and pitching his way out of a job.

James Parr, He is Lance Cormeir all over again.

Kris Medlen, intriguing but has just 17 starts.

That’s all folks.

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true andruw was hitting, but hes always had off years, and slumps…do u not remember the chant of MVP for him? and pendleton was there, and then the next year he sucked again, Andruw was never really always accountable….Frenchy was a great hitter yes, but how often in a young player do you see years straight of good hitting? every player struggles and all have there of time, but yet they always have the good….

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Here’s the quandry:

The top four in the rotation based on talent/experience/salary IS GOING TO BE Lowe/Vasquez/Jurrjens/Kawakami/Glavine and most likely in that order unless Bobby flips Jurrjens and Kawakami. Other than that, that’s how these guys stack up as far as talent goes. As for Hanson and JoJo go, Hanson is not going to be the 5th starter. The kid needs to be pitching regularly and the 5th spot in the rotation does not offer him that routine. Now if Kawakami’s shoulder for example, turns out to be more of a problem, then Hanson is the first guy in to take his spot (same goes for any other injury to the top four). But if Glavine isn’t ready to go in mid-April, you are more likely to see someone like Reyes, Campillo or even the other kid Kris Medlen take the fifth spot until Glavine is ready. Reyes and Campillo have already been up with the club, but Hanson has not, and you don’t want to start his arbitration clock, only to have to return him to AAA when Glavine is ready. Because based on talent, once Hanson comes up they will not want to send him down. And that creates a numbers problem. Lowe and Vasquez eat up too many innings and payroll to move to the fifth spot. Jurrjens has demonstrated that he is a top of the rotation starter. The only guy who might slip could be Kawakami, and that is only because we don’t know how he’ll translate to the major leagues from Japan and he’s showing a shoulder issue.

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LOWE, JURRGENS, VASQUEZ, KAWAKAMI, GLAVINE. GLAVINE will go even if his arm’s falling off. Its his last payday. KAWAKAMI’s arm MAY fall off. CAMPILLO first, and HANSON into the breach in each eventuality. Meanwhile, CAMPILLO to spot start and fill in for GLAVINE early, then long-relief after unless he’s shelled on a regular basis(which I believe will happen). HANSON brought up from GWINNETT to take over short-term then back down till needed next time. CHARLIE MORTON stays in GWINNETT for AAA seasoning with one call-up to fill-in in mid-season and put on roster in SEPTEMBER. HUDSON added to AUGUST or SEPTEMBER depending on the situation with arms and IR. He will be brought in more quickly only in event of arm disasters elsewhere. Otherwise, he will be brought along slowly this year as tune-up for 2010.

MOYLAN, SORIANO, O’FLAHERTY(for OHMAN), GONZALEZ and BENNETT/BOYER(maybe both early, but only one late) out of the pen.

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I want to rest the case for signing Adam Dunn…
I am glad that we didn’t as you should be too after watching the WBC!He stunk up the plate when a hit would have changed the outcome of the game for team usa…should we sign Pedro M to a minimum contract?

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A sign of the times??? Not a good way to advertise your product!! Hate to see a huge downturn in attendance but I bet it’s coming.

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Hi I’m Seong-Ho,Yoon living in jinhae city southkore now.

Braves have to know the five starter system is difficult for Rookie and young pitcher.　Pitcher like Tom Glavine did adjust his body for five starting system in MLB, but　Kawakami Kenshin & Tommy Hanson have no experience in MLB.

Furthurmore, Joseph Reyes failed two MLB season. Chuck Jame & Daniel Smith & Bong, Jung-Geon could be good left-hand reliever in the least. This is curse by another left-hand pitcher you can feel easily too.

And PT&GM invited Frederick Freeman & Jason Heyward ^*^ Why? for the purpose of disturbing Rafael Canizarez(1B) and Brandon Jones(OF).

May the force of Messiah be with you

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philip stockman gave up baseball? ^*^

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Big fan of the WBC or not… Vazquez is 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA… compare to Oswalt 1-1 with a 5.56 ERA and Peavy 0-1 with 14.40 ERA… not too shoddy at all?

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MIKE–Never saw it stated any better. Great job! By the way, Andrew went to Texas so he could be with their hitting instructor. That confirm anything for you?

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This is not even a debate…Leave it to Chop Chick to write irrelevant blogs…What’s next who’s going to be our starting catcher, and 3rd baseman

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The fantasy league that I am in (MLB.com) uses an entire team’s pitching staff for your pitcher. I made sure to rank the Braves’ staff high so that I could get them in the automatic draft. I have a good feeling about them-don’t let me down!!

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Start drafting position players where there are few offensive stars first. Like 2B, SS, and C. Also consider a stud 3B. If a top-flight starter is there, go with him, but there are plenty of OF, 1B, and P out there that can be taken in later rounds.

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Well breaking it down by position McCann is going to be the highest Braves that should come off your board. A catcher that can hit is a rare commidity (Especially one that can hit for avg and power). Chipper would likely be the next best selection to come off the Braves. He’s going to hit for avg., drive in some runs, and hit a few hrs. He’s still a value and can bring in big fantasy points. Kelly Johnson will also have some value considering there are not that many elite second baseman today. Yunel is an upcoming shortstop but he’ll be off the board late. Lowe and Vasquez are not elite pitchers but are a value in the middle rounds of your draft. Francour could be a big sleeper if he continues to swing the bat like he is this spring. I”ll take 15-20 hrs. .280-.300 and 100 rbis.

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I take McCann usually early in round 4 (late) or early round 5 as there is catching weakness across MLB

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Cautiously optimistic. My one major concern is the bullpen. I realize spring training results can often be misleading. However, Soriano is ailling again, Gonzo got lit up the other night and it has looked like batting practice the last couple of day when our “set-up” lefties, O’Flaherty and Logan have been on the mound. Given the way he performed last year and the fact that he is still available, I do not understand why the Braves haven’t shown more interest in Will Ohman.

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I really like Kelly Johnson. When he gets ho he is a beast. I would choose Tommy Hanson in the middle rounds IF he made the team out of spring training. Brian McCann is the best hitting catcher, but in fantasy you also need to have in mind stolen bases, something that Mac doesn’t do. Russel Martin stole 18 bases. Chipper is an awesome player but his inability to stay healthy makes him a tricky pick. Vazquez, and Lowe I’m sure are going to have great years, but there a lot of good pitchers specially starting pitchers. Jurrjens also has a lot of value. Kawakami who knows I think he is going to be great.

Although the Braves have the potential to have one of the best bulpens, things aren’t looking to good right now. Jeff Bennet struggling, Mike Gonzales is over rated and has some serious control issues(but great stuff), Rafael Soriano always has health issues, and neither Boone Logan or Eric O’Flaherty seem to be effective. I know it’s spring training but normally on the last week it’s when players start to get serious.

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1

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I don’t know why I continue to click on your awful articles. Hopefully when this liberal rag meets its inevitable end, you and your pseudo sports blog will go down with the ship. I hope you can write a resume that’s more compelling than your blog.

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I only pick a Braves player when it helps my team. I play for money not for fun.

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By the way, what’s a good nickname for Casey Kotchman? I think he will return to Angels form this year and he deserves a nickname. Kotch is way too close to crotch. Any suggestions?

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In my 12-team league, with an auto-pick draft based on my rankings, I got:
Brian McCann – round 5 (later than I expected)
Chipper Jones – round 6
Derek Lowe – round 12
Jeff Francouer – round 18 (counting on an improvement over last year!)

Other Braves drafted were:
Kelly Johnson – round 12
Javier Vazquez – round 12 (could be a good pick)
Mike Gonzalez – round 14 (for whom I traded Matt Garza)
Jair Jurrjens – round 15
Yunel Escobar – round 19
Casey Kotchman – round 23

Picking Braves much earlier than the rounds above would be over-paying, IMHO. Also, if you go after Chipper, be sure to have a good alternate 3B on your roster..

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2

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Breaking it down by position, obviously McCann is the premier fantasy catcher, but you really aren’t going to take a catch anywhere in the first 5 rounds. Kotchman is going to go undrafted in a lot of leagues. Johnson is a top 10 2nd baseman, but isn’t anyone you’re going to have to fight early for. Yunel has a lot of upside, but that only means he would be a good player to have on your bench just in case. Chipper is about #7 on the depth chart, but you know you’ll have to draft another quality 3rd baseman because he isn’t going the whole season. The outfield is weak fantasy wise; Anderson/Diaz won’t get drafted, center field is still in limbo, and Francouer truthfully is about the best value you can get, but only if you draft him in the final rounds and he bounces back. Pitching is probably the Braves’ strength in that no one is going to go real high, but you should get good “value” from our top 4 starters from their draft positions.

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I couldn’t get McCann or Chipper. I got Lowe and picked up Kawakami in a late round for the hell of it.

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You know when a Chick talks about sports and thinks she knows a thing or two about what she’s talking about, but in reality she sounds like a blabering moron wasting space on the internet, that’s Chop Chick…I really believe that Chop Chick and Jeff Schultz are in a competition to be the biggest retards of the AJC..I still think Schultz has a slight lead because he looks like tony kornheiser and Andy Dick had a retard baby

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There can be little doubt that the Braves will enjoy a much better season this year than last. Though we have some truly excellent guys on the field, this isn’t a superstar dependent lineup. Instead, the team is solid in every position. If we see the kind of teamwork we expect from Bobby Cox’s teams, it will be hard to beat the Braves on any given night. What does this mean for us in the post season? If most everyone stays healthy, it means we’ll be into the playoffs. Though a series win is a long shot – it is a long shot for EVERY team – it’s not out of the question. This is a good year to be a Braves fan.

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definately agree with puckylin there, we need to win in those contested games to advance. I also wish we had kept Ohman, but I think the bullpen last year was actually pretty good, they just got exposed later in the season when they were tired from overuse. Our innings eaters should make them MUCH better this year!

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BREAKING NEWS!!!! The mutts suck

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Dear Chop Chic,

Don’t be too excited. . . it should be written “What HAVE you excited about the Braves this season?”

Please spell check

Go BRAVES !!!

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I am excited about how well-rounded the team is. We’re not going to win 110 games this year, and we won’t have a Cy Young Performer or a hitter crush 45 HRs, but I think we’ve got a very solid squad. I think we have a team with enough depth (especially in pitching with Hanson and Medlen waiting in the wings) to absorb a few injuries. The team will be able to win more one-run ball games than it did last year because the stamina of 4 of our 5 starters and good bullpen.

The team is unproven and it may take some time for them to mature. However, I can see these Braves peaking after the All-star break and making a run at the NL wildcard. I can also see both Schafer and Kawakami being in the running for NL ROY.

I don’t think that with this rotation that we will have to endure the type of losing streaks that doomed us last season. Our starting pitching should give us an opportunity to win every game, and if there’s an arm in the rotation that becomes a liability, there’s an eager Tommy Hanson waiting in the wings.

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to the star trek movie*…wouldn’t want to upset widdle paulie.

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josh if you are a mutts fan i can understand that you are retarted but otherwise i’m sure you’re just a skinny little B!tch and you wouldn’t even think of saying those things if you were face to face with me, i would own you son!

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We need to enjoy and respect this last year of having Glavine with us. Hopefully he can be successful. He could be one of the last 300 game winners we’ll get to see pitch in person. We’ve gotten spoiled from the teams in the late 90’s that had Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, & Chipper all playing on the team at the same time- in their prime. Not many teams can say they had FOUR Hall Of Famers playing with their team at the same time. I only wish Maddux & Smoltz could have finished their careers with the Braves; we would have been better off! Lets enjoy watching Glavine finish up his HOF career in a Braves uniform and enjoy watching some of the young guys prove themselves this year!

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Excited about the potential of this TEAM of young players. Excited about McCann – the best catcher in baseball IMO – Excited about seeing Glavin pitch one more time in person (got to see both Glavin & Smoltz in person last year from really good seats & have some really good pics!) – Just want to store those memories away of the wonderful times at the TED. Go Braves !!! from a fan who knows nothing of fantasy or stats but who simply loves the game!!

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I’m amped about the whole ball of wax. Is SUNDAY. It’s baseball. GO RBI, then GO BRAVES.

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Nice to see a real pitcher back on the mound for the Braves again.

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The only Braves I have is J.Schafer. I was targeting McCann in the 4th round (I didn’t want to miss out) but somebody grabbed him 4th overall.

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As expected…Lowe and Jurjjens are quality above average pitchers. Not surprised at all by how good they were in the 1st 2 games.

Now Vaquez will take the mound on Wednesday. We’ll find out very soon just what he can bring to the table.

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Here we go again. Another season of watching the bull pin not being able to throw a strike and losing the game for the rest of the team. Bobby Cox sitting on his butt without making a change until it’s too late. He’s outlived his usefullness years ago!!!

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N8 (10:03 pm): “Coach, your 9:49 ['It’s just one game, another one run loss….. And if our Braves win 88 games and some other team wins the wild card with 89, then what?'] is dead on. Too many people want to say “it’s a long season” or “it’s just one game”.

“If we’re a serious contender and we fail by one game to get in. This will likely be the game that stings the most. Yes. The 3rd game of the year, could turn out to be THAT important.”

No, once again, as sometimes does happen, Coach is dead OFF.

You’re both emptily indulging yourselves in meaningless mental mind games, is all.

How many games will the Braves win this season that they should have lost? At least one? I’d say that’s a safe bet. In which case, it’s a push.

If you can accept an undeserved good luck win, you should accept the undeserved hard luck loss. Over a full season, it all comes out in the wash, and teams end up where they deserve to be.

It’s a simple point — the Braves are going to win a game later this season that by all rights they should have lost. It’s a wash.

If you’re going to accept a pennant based partly on “undeserved” wins, you should be prepared to lose one on account of “undeserved” losses.

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This off day would have been a little sweeter if not for the bullpen’s defecation! It has to get better. It just has to.

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The hitting is good so runs are not the issue. My concern is that we get quality starts and these guys don’t hold them.We have seen that time after time with Tim Hudson the last two years.He pitches a good game and the bullpen loses the lead and we can all remember those 1-run loses last year.I hope Bobby does not leave some of these pitchers in the game longer than he has in the past.We seem to have some good pitching in Gwinnett so we can send 1 down and bring 1 up to keep a strong staff. Go Braves!!

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Why is Cox using the bandbox excuse? The ballpark had zero to do with the Phils coming back. It wasn’t like we hit homeruns to come back. We played small ball and worked the count,

And he says the Phils lose those types of games too because of the park? Uhm, no we don’t Bobby. Your middle relief just sucks admit it and stop blaming the ball park.

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I would be surprised if that bullpen wasn’t raked through the coals after that game, if not by management and team, then most certainly by the fans they will hear from. I expect a very different bullpen come tomorrow.

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ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. THOSE TWO PITCHERS, THEY WERE NOT GOOD LAST YEAR. THIS YR. EVEN SEEMS WORSE. IF I WERE BC, I WOULD CERTAINLY NOT TAKE MY STARTER OUT AS LONG AS HE IS PHYSICALLY OK. LET UM PITCH 9 INNINGS. YOU KNOW A GAME LIKE THAT WILL WIND UP COSTING THE BRAVES. YOU WAIT AND SEE, THEY WILL MISS THE WILD CARD BY ONE GAME. THE ONE THAT THEY P####D AWAY! DISGUSTING! COULDNT HARDLY SLEEP LAST NIGHT….GEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ!

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chipper said it best, no more finishing 4th, stop the excuses, the stadium, the cold, still rusty from the time off, blah,blah. the same ones with the hoo,hum attitude is probably the ones from last year saying the 1 run losses would even out in the end, well they didn’t, did they, anyone in that clubhouse happy to take 2 of 3 should be run off, let’s just wait and see if this continues with this pen if wren does anything, or let’s bobby keep trotting out insane blaine and co.

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My problem is that middle relief blew a 7 run lead. What is going to happen when they are called in to hold a 1 or 2 run lead?

I’ll cut slack for O’Flaherty because he’s new and for Moylan because he’s just back from surgery and needs to get the rust off. He was one of our best last year. I’m fine with Campillo as a starter, but I get nervous with him relieving. Boyer did a decent job last year before he was worked to death.

The pivotal moment came, imo, when Bobby let Moylan pitch to a third batter. Moylan obviously had absolutely nothing, and keeping him out there was insane.

Better days ahead . . . maybe.

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I’m horrible. Absolutely pathetic. I worked hard all spring to come out and throw 8 balls out of 9 pitches. And to top things off my name is BLAINE

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Absolutely inexcusable performance by the pen in that last Philly game.

While I’m pleasantly surprised with the starters, and our offense…I’m afraid the pen will be an issue all year long.

It maybe the one thing (plus the shaky health of Anderson) that prevents the Braves for contending for the WC or the division.

Will Ohman should have been re-signed!

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Games like this usually happen in June which is the cruelest month for a Braves fan. I say we a letting the bad air out this month and beating the June hex. By the way Moylan was excellent in 2007, give him a chance to get his groove back before he is crucified.

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I was born in atlanta, so to keep with the young homegrown talent thing, they said I could play with brian and frenchy, just give me another chance, I’m sure I’ll let you guys down, they promised me a bobble head night in july.

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I know moylan will need time from surgery, my thing is this, why not let him pitch alot in gwinnett and get the work in, and when he’s back in form , then bring him back, rather have the rust off in AAA than here in the bigs, where it counts the most

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good point bill, there’s too much specialty this and that, pitch counts this and that, they have enough depth to let the starters still get their rest as they go along,

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because he’s bobby’s nephew, or niece for that matter

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Get some new relievers in there. There, problem solved. Starting pitching looks solid. Hitting is solid.

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amen, absolutely

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Get rid of Blaine Boyer. I have always noticed his accuracy problem. It isn’t just walking and not walking batters… I don’t think you should be a Major Leaguer when your catcher sets up outside and you throw it INSIDE, and in terms of yesterday, TWO FEET inside. Look at past games, he doesn’t hit his target. I could go out there and throw on a certain side of the plate, what are you getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for?
Plus your necklace is beyond GAY. If I see you where that at Turner Field I’m going to throw an iced lemonade at you. I’m already going to boo you regardless though…

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One good thing today, the mets lost earlier,

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Boy oh Boyer.
Oh man, why not Ohman?
What has Bennett been eatin?

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One. We HAVE to win Friday night. Two. If this bullpen can’t throw strikes, bring up the one from Gwinett.

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Middle relief was a problem last year and looks like it may be again this year. The solution is to get more innings out of the starters. So far so good in that department.

I’ll admit that I didn’t watch or hear every inning of every game and haven’t seen all the stats, but it seems to me that Kelly Johnson, Garret Anderson, and Yunel Escobar are off to a slow start?

Chippers rash of boo-boos is starting to creep in a little early this year and Brian McCann still demonstrates he doesn’t know how to protect that bear hand. If those 2 can’t start 130+ games each, we are in trouble for sure.

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CHEERS TO ALL OF YOU WHO REALIZE AS GREAT A COACH AS BC IS, HE ABSOLUTELY STINKS WITH HIS PITHCERS, NOT MAKING THE RIGHT CHANGES….AT THE RIGHT TIME!!!!!! MY GOODNESS, THINK BACK TO THE BRAVES TWINS WS…..HE STILL CANT HANDLE PITCHERS….BB, AWFUL! MOYER, AWFUL…..TRADE UM! I STILL CANT GET OVER YESTERDAY……

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Um, it takes at least 10 games to determine if someone is having a slow start. Instant communication is ruining the world. What’s next, asking if someone is in a slump after one 0-4 game? Perspective, people.

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named needs to be corrected to Blowyer as in blown games.

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I’m not sure Bobby Cox isn’t the problem. He tends to lock in on a couple of guys and use them over and over as if he were on autopilot. He’s not intuitive and doesn’t seem to have a feel for what’s going on. Moylan should have been gone yesterday after two batters, and even that would be generous. And the comment above is a good one: who says you can’t use your closer in the 7th? That’s the difference between being awake and in the moment, and Cox’s unimaginative, ritualized approach.

It may also be that the approach the Braves have taken to personnel — bringing in good corporate citizens in the Schuerholz paradigm (Soriano excepted) — doesn’t work with relievers, where confidence and attitude are at a premium.

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Same ol same ol- the Braves have lost since 1991 because of the bullpen- and more specifically because of Cox’s handling of it. He has no clue when to change pitchers and who to bring in and always stays too long with the bad ones. And the ATL fans just keep cheering him on- they are a bunch of Bobby Cox suckers!

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I wouldn’t want to be Cox’s wife after a game like that…

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I am sick of these relief pitchers. Is this how we arengoing to win play off games? Really sick sick of this and I do put some blame on BOBBY COX manage of game. He let it slip. I can’t believe he brought Moylan with runners on base right after surgery and Boyer with bases loaded. If soriano have come in to stop the bleeding we would be 3-0 today. This team is going to be in 3rd place again.

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Here is a reality check for you. Many of the pitchers in our bullpen were there last year. Last years bullpen was a disaster. We added some “inning eaters” in the starting rotation. Do not expect anyone but Derick to go beyond 6 innings per night, on average. The bullpen, which is questionable at best, will not be able to hold up. They can’t even hold up when they aren’t tired. Wednesday afternoon was nothing more than a foreshadow of what’s to come. Sorry, truth hurts, huh?

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Our bullpen is not very good. They need to call some of the kids up from Gwinnett soon if not the bullpen could end up costing us a trip to the playoffs. I know it’s only three games into the season but you got to get this stuff straight now.

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I have always been puzzled by the way Bobby Cox leaves in relievers who are not throwing strikes. When any pitcher can’t get the ball over the plate, get the hook out. Hey; on the bright-side our hitting and starting pitching looks awesome!

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OK, lets not get crazy here folks. I will take 2 out of three any day even if the one is like Wednesdays game. We need to get behind these Braves and sweep the Nats. If we dwell too long on one inning regardless of how bad we can forget about what is to come. Our pitchers were getting squeezed a bit and we were playing in a hitters park end of story. Boyer will end the season with a mid two era and we will be happy again. Forget the one inning and forget the gloomy gus attitudes and LETS GO BRAVES!!!!!!!

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Hmm…we won the series. We’re only in game 4 here, I’m not too concerned. I mean, if we win 2 out of 3 for the rest of the year we win over 100 games, and that’s a pretty good season.

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Hey, we have all these studs in AAA why not bring them up for relief and can these chumps we have. Let Boyer, Ben-it, and Campillo smell bus fumes for a while.

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NO!!!!

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Man, I wish I could comment on DOB’s article about D-Lowe pitching tomorrow. That quote down at the end gets me all fired up about the season all over again… that he’s really happy to be pitching in Atlanta and just psyched as hell to be pitching the home opener. Just to know that the Braves are loaded with optimism and excitement about this year, just like we are.

That is one rockin’ dude.

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Bennett, O’Flaherty nor Boyer are MLB quality pitchers. I was shocked that Bennett and O’Flaherty were brought north. O’Flaherty only because he throws left handed, Boyer only because he has comprimising pictures of BC and a hot woman.

Boyer has had 2 years now and has never proven he belongs. He’s fine as long as no one is on base and the Braves have a 3+ run lead. He was brought into the game on Wednesday in a pressure situation and could not handle it. He is so inconsistent, especially with his control. Walks too many hitters. The only thing Bennett is good for is a walking advertisement in a mouth cancer commercial. How ignorant he looks with that huge chaw in his cheek. Hell, just do like the rest of the players and spit. You don’t need the chaw for that. Campillo is hanging by a string too, but at least he did throw strikes form the most part. Only one BB.

The Braves need to do something NOW! The pictures of faces of the guys on the bench during the meltdown told the story. That kind of s**t is horrible for morale. If you get beat, at least make the other team do it by hitting the ball.

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Random… Your 1:41 PM post was right on. So many of these guys like Coach seem to think that the season is actually a race. In baseball, it’s not. Your talent and ability to play up to your talent determines the number of wins you end up with. Sure you can screw it up along the way and that’s why I said “ability to play up to your talent”. But really, in baseball you are only really competing against yourself. In the end, each team ends up with a certain number of wins at the end of the season based on talent. Period.

It’s not like a team can say, “Hey, there are two teams ahead of us, let’s play better so we can catch them.” Yeah, right… You only play as well as you are capable and that’s it, and sometimes even the hardest working clubs finish last.

Like you said, some games will be horrible like this one was and some games will be stolen. It all averages out. Hopefully we get more pure luck games on our side however…

Really, I think this game was just a bad game that may have been a result of early season cold arms. We all know that Moylan is coming off arm surgery. Spring training is not the real thing given that 1) Pitchers don’t always air it out knowing they could hurt themselves–geez, no sense doing that before the season even starts! 2) They play against saps who don’t belong in the majors.So who knows where Moylan is right now. It might take him a month, two months, or even the entire season to get his pin point accuracy back. As far as Boyer, well, there is no excuse there. I’ve been harping against this guy for years. Like others have said, he is really inconsistent and it is incredibly annoying.My god, next time just lob the ball in there! What is the difference between a grandslam and 4 bases loaded walks? Hummmm, not much huh? (no Boyer isn’t responsible for the entire inning–not my point).

Frankly, I will never understand the Braves philosophy. The reason they don’t have a decent pen, and have NEVER had a decent pen, is management’s attitude towards relief pitchers! They seem to think that a small core of guys is enough and damn the rest. Yeah, 95 mph unhittable ball then blast this one out of the park. Why didn’t the Braves care anything about Ohman??? Really bizarre behavior unless they know something we don’t. Hope to god that Moylan comes back, Soriano proves he can pitch, and Gonzo is the real thing this season. And geez, can we get at least one more thtn can at least put the ball over the plate and actually get someone out for a change?? PLEASE??

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PHILLIES FAN:

You worked the count. You worked the count on the three blind mice. Are you s****ing me? And MATT DIAZ almost pulled it out for the BRAVES in the ninth? Oh yeah, he worked the count, then hit a fly-ball. An out? BANDBOX. Don’t expect any generosity next time either. This is all you get.

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In a word…………….YES. Yes it can overshadow all the good work of the week. Very simply, the seed of doubt about the bullpen has been planted and they have taken root ever so slightly.

It was the ugliest of losses, but the next 6 games are going to tell a tale about our Bravos. Can they overcome the struggles vs. the Nats and how good is Florida????? If they go 4-2 or better on this homestand, all should be forgiven in Philly.

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proeye — Thanks. I agree with most all of your 1:06 am (except that I really do have hopes that Boyer will excell this year. And, hopefully, for the Braves. Just call me KC, Jr.

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Just throw strikes!!!1

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Bobby should stop yanking his starters in the middle of the game if they are doing the job. It just doesn’t seem to be in his psyche to allow a pitcher to finish a game. Some of those arms in the bullpen are a virus that will infect this team and sap its strength, just like last year. It is a scary sight to see him hop out of the dugout in the sixth or seventh inning and wave in one of the batting practice hurlers (better known ad relievers) to waste a good starting effort. I truly hope the Braves are a better team this year. But unless the bullpen can get its act together, all the great starting pitching we get will be for naught. Unless Bobby will let starters pitch and stop treating the game like Spring Training, good starters will be insufficent to overcome the scourge of the bullpen. He should know by now that some of his relievers resemble arsonists who bring gasoline to fight a fire, and keep them away from action until the game is completely out of control.

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What the braves need to do is looking into there farm system and find a guy like Tommie Hason from what i read the kid has great stuff call him up send Boyer back down to minors and figure what pitch he can throw for a Strike….and lets get someone who can throw that fastball in there to shout hitter out cuase as of now blaine is worthless along with the other sorry fellow pitcher who made that horrible 7th inning disaster!!!!!!!!!

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Cox shouldn’t have ever let Moylan stay in the game long enough to bring the tying run to the plate. It was OBVIOUS Moylan didn’t have it, and once the tying run came to the plate, every other reliever was nervous about serving up a gopher ball, so they had no control.
Had Moylan been pulled 2 batters earlier, Maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad.
I do think that game made the Phillie’s believe THEY won the series, because they obviously are still in the heads of the braves pitchers, in the pen. WHY so scared to throw a strike? With a 7 run lead, if they cant nibble, throw the dang ball over the middle, and let them HIT it! As long as they are going to pitch SCARED , they will get beat!

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For the past three years the Braves bullpen has cost them to many games that the Braves should have won. Playoffs! forget about the playoffs. I would like to see the bullpen hold a seven run lead.

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After injesting all that vitriol that is the WIZARDS, I find myself needing a doctor. Yo’ doc, where you at?

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Don’t look now but Andruw Jones is hitting .545 with 8 runs, 4 RBI, 3 2B, and 1 HR in 11 AB for Texas.

I doubt he’s actually rehabilitated (from his freeswinging ways) and I’m glad we got rid of him, but that’s more production than the entire 2008 season for LA.

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You can’t win without a strong bully…….

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To whom it may concern at the AJC,

Please accept this as my official application for the job of the “Chop Chick” blogger. I’m positive that I can inspire your readers on a continuous basis. To me, it’s inexcusable that a fan blog hasn’t been posted since April 9.

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why didn’tthe braves keep will olhman

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one column a month….I want your job!!

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Absolutely nothing.

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Enter your comments here

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One Column every 4 months…you need to get a job. About as bad as the Braves play.

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We got robbed in NYC. Beltran was dead meat at third in the ninth. Like Chipper said. Just saw the replay on ESPN, slid right into the glove. Great throw Brian and great tag Larry.

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Hi, I’m Seong-Ho,Yoon living in jinhae city southkorea now. Until now right foot on the Sea left foot on the land. ^*^

Braves don’t need special pinch hitter, Braves are not American League team, and he and Barton is for disturbance about Brandon Jones like Jordan Schafer.

Do the right things if you would not want to be victim of Black Lion from Hades.

May the force of Messiah be with you

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Maybe Jeff and the rest of the team would play better if the public of Atlanta would come out and support them. I live in California, but would give my right arm to attend their games. I see them every time they come to my area. When we lived near Atlanta we would go to all the weekend games, having to travel 90 miles whether they were winning or losing, dry or wet. As a boy I was intrigued by “Chief Knock-A-Homa” and his smoking teepee when a homerun was hit. The Braves have a prestigious historical past dating back to the late 1800s. The Atlanta area should be ashamed that they aren’t filling those seats and shaking the earth with the “chant”. The franchise should incorporate the haunting sound of drums. You want a winning team… make them a winning team and stop being a “band wagon” town.

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Why is this blog still here???? Anybody work here anymore????

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WORST…BLOGGER…EVER…

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that ain’t a bird thats a man baby!

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Good thing she’s updated the blog so often…

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Please, please, please, please DELETE this blog and/or fire the person writing it and give it to someone who cares.

One entry in TWO months?

No wonder the AJC is so far in the hole.

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Is there any doubt that Chop Chick is kin to someone employed by the AJC?

Brutal….what an exercise in futility.

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this blog sucks, no wonder this was my first and last entry. It was always lame. Anywho, CC, you suck

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