Bradley’s Buzz: Optimism abounds around the Braves!
Billy Wagner: He's not exactly a new closer, but he's the new Braves closer. (AP photo)
They’re the feel-good team of the Grapefruit League. They’re the Atlanta Braves, and everywhere you turn someone else is gushing about them.
Buster Olney of ESPN.com picks them to finish second in the National League East and to win the wild card. (Link requires registration.) Writes Olney: “The Braves look tremendous this spring. Jason Heyward looks great; Tim Hudson looks great. ‘The two best teams I saw this spring — the two teams that looked the most crisp — were the Braves and Rays,’ one evaluator said.”
And here’s Albert Chen of SI.com giving his reasons why the Braves can finish ahead of Philadelphia:
The Braves can overtake Philly if 23-year-old starter Tommy Hanson establishes himself as one of the league’s elite pitchers; if outfielder Jason Heyward has the kind of rookie year Albert Pujols had in 2001; if the old guys (Troy Glaus, Chipper Jones and Billy Wagner ) stay healthy and have solid years. That’s a lot of ifs, of course, but as GM Frank Wren says, the Braves are “without a doubt improved” a year after winning 86 games, a season in which Chipper Jones and Derek Lowe had their worst years since 2004.
Over its final 88 games, Atlanta posted the best run differential in the majors. Entering the season, the Braves are still the second-best team in the division, but with a few breaks, they may very well find themselves atop the division come September. “The division as a whole is better,” says Wren. “I expect the Mets to be healthier and therefore improved. Florida was able to keep the players it needed to and their starting pitching has a chance to be very good. And Washington has the players there to build around. This is a tougher division, but I like our chances.”
Chen on Tim Hudson:
The 34-year-old has looked sharp this spring (”He looks like he’s almost all the way back,” says a scout) thanks in part to an improved splitfinger fastball and changeup — two pitches that he’s now been able to throw consistently for the first time in several seasons. “It’s been eight or nine years since my shoulder’s felt this good,” he says. “That allows me to get into the arm slot that I haven’t been able to get into the last few years.” A comeback season from Hudson — who slots in the rotation behind Hanson, [Jair] Jurrjens, and Derek Lowe — could give the Braves the deepest rotation in the division.
Chen on Glaus:
If Glaus stays healthy, he has 25-home run potential and would be huge for a club whose biggest question mark is scoring runs. “He’s in great shape,” says Wren. “Our scouts were telling us that if he was healthy and his shoulder was back, he could help our club and the middle of the lineup. What we’ve seen so far is that he’s healthy. Seeing him make the plays at first — the off balance throws and awkward throws — he hasn’t hesitated with anything, and that tells me that his shoulder is fine.”
Gee whiz. Faced with all this optimism, I’m almost sorry I picked the Braves to finish third behind Florida and Philadelphia. Almost.
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103 comments Add your comment
ChippersLoveChild
March 29th, 2010
11:37 am
Gonna be a fun summer either way. I think the Braves, Marlins, Brewers, Dodgers, and Giants will all be competing for the Wild Card. We will see what happens!
Tech Sucks
March 29th, 2010
11:39 am
Glad you picked them to finish 3rd MB. You are usually wrong.
benchwarmer
March 29th, 2010
11:45 am
cecil34, I couldn’t agree more. Some of the problems with baseball start way at the top and I wonder who thinks the game is doing itself any favors by playing post season games in the middle of the night in November. By then who cares? Not the kids who would be the next generation of fans. And I like a day game now and then at least. My ‘old’ image of baseball was day games and I miss them.
Peter Graves
March 29th, 2010
11:54 am
Nastradamus (ET), I would agree with you that the Braves would have a good shot at the Division if everything went right — EXCEPT for the fact that Bobby Cox is still the manager – and that means that with his management procedures and lack thereof, we would have to be at least 10 games better than the other teams in order to be competitive. Our pitching should be very good but not great enough (as it once was) to overcome his incompetence.
If the Braves win it will be because of Bobby Cox not in spite of him. This is the most comical thing in all of ATL sports. Fans think Cox doesnt know the game. Thank god the people inside the organization and baseball people know otherwise.
I say again. And no one who is critical of him has dared to even respond.
If he is such a bad manager then why do his players and former players all universally praise him? Do you think they would if they knew he was so incompetent he cost the team wins?
Najeh Davenpoop
March 29th, 2010
11:55 am
Realistically, no matter how good he looked in spring training it is asking a lot for 20-year-old Heyward to be more than just a complementary player this year, and between Glaus, Chipper, and Wagner one of them is likely to miss significant time considering their ages and history. I do think Hanson is poised to become elite this year, though, and if that is the case and Hudson stays healthy (which I think he will) the Braves should have enough pitching to carry them to the postseason.
Brian from SC
March 29th, 2010
11:59 am
Don also thinks Red Auerbach, Vince Lombardi, and John Wooden could learn a few things.
Peter Graves
March 29th, 2010
11:59 am
I am quite optimistic about this roster that Frank “Epic Fail” Wreck has put together. The age of the bullpen concerns me. Saito and Wagner are almost 80 yrs old combined. That is worrisome. That and Booby’s propensity to pitch Moylan every day. Moylan’s arm may fall off this year. And, of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Booby’s propensity to blow every game with his moronic game management. If he plays for the 3 run HR every game this year, it’s going to be a long year. This roster is meant for small ball, but Booby, as usual, won’t adjust and will be waiting for 3 run bombs from McCann, Heyward, and Glaus, a strategy I suspect will produce an “epic fail.”
Have you ever watched a baseball game?
Here is a tip. Small ball doesn’t win. Never has. The problem with playing “small ball” and playing for one run is THATS ALL YOUR GONNA SCORE, ONE RUN. The teams that win play for the big inning. cox knows that. If you knew anything about the game you would too.
Matt
March 29th, 2010
11:59 am
DOB- What are realistic expectations for Heyward (a 20 year old rookie that hasn’t had more than 170 ABs above A ball, or whatever that statistic is) this year??
People are expecting him to have an Alber Pujols type rookie year. this isn’t very realistic.
Personally i’m thinking a .270/15/50 should be considered a successful rookie year.
Thoughts?
Shane
March 29th, 2010
12:00 pm
Don also thinks Red Auerbach, Vince Lombardi, and John Wooden could learn a few things.
Well said Brian. Well said.
Shane and Don
March 29th, 2010
12:21 pm
To put Bobby Cox in the same breath as Red Auerbach, Vince Lombardi, and John Wooden may be the dumbest analogy of all time. 15 times straight in the playoffs, one world series. If he was still on the bench Bobby would make the call for Charlie Leibrandt without hesitation.
Reid Adair
March 29th, 2010
12:22 pm
Albert Chen obviously doesn’t know Frank Wren very well.
Skeezix
March 29th, 2010
12:31 pm
Not long ago we focused on winning Pennants and World Series–now in the Wren era– fans get fired up over a possible second place in the Division. But what the heck, it’s spring and I’m going to be optimistic, hope for a great year for this team and that Bobby goes out a winner. Go Braves! Beat the Phillies and especially the Mutts!
fieldofdreams
March 29th, 2010
12:38 pm
What’s not to like, man? Florida will flounder, and the Phils will get the chills, in the face of our hometown Braves. You, sir, will eat your words by the end of September.
Herschel Talker
March 29th, 2010
12:42 pm
Peter Graves at 11:54:
Your question is a softball. Among other problems he has, the answer to your question is that he is a “player’s manager.” When he sticks with you through thick and thin and doesn’t bench you when you need to be benched, of course everyone wants to play for that guy. How long would it have taken for any other manager to bench Frenchy or dump Andruw from the 4 hole? When Booby dumps a guy, the damage has been done. He is the equivalent of the guy who capitulates and sells a stock at the bottom rather than getting ahead of it and selling before it’s too late. He’s reactive, not proactive, when it comes to managing players. Sure, players love you, but it doesn’t get results.
Shane
March 29th, 2010
12:42 pm
If he was still on the bench Bobby would make the call for Charlie Leibrandt without hesitation.
Your right. Because it was the right move. Puckett was something like 0-4 in that series against Liebrandt with all 4 being K’s. Any manager in his right mind would have made that move.
Shane
March 29th, 2010
12:45 pm
Your question is a softball. Among other problems he has, the answer to your question is that he is a “player’s manager.” When he sticks with you through thick and thin and doesn’t bench you when you need to be benched, of course everyone wants to play for that guy. How long would it have taken for any other manager to bench Frenchy or dump Andruw from the 4 hole? When Booby dumps a guy, the damage has been done. He is the equivalent of the guy who capitulates and sells a stock at the bottom rather than getting ahead of it and selling before it’s too late. He’s reactive, not proactive, when it comes to managing players. Sure, players love you, but it doesn’t get results.
You didnt answer the question. Do you think players former and current would universally praise Bobby Cox if they thought he was a great guy but so incompetent that he cost the team games?
The answer is no and you know it but keep spinning away.
Shane
March 29th, 2010
12:47 pm
Also you speak of Bobby being to loyal and sticking with players too long. Yet you only see the bad of this strategy not the good. He77 Glavine lost 17 games one year. Maybe a manager with less patience would have traded him as a soft tossing lefty and not stuck with him. Cox did and he got a HOFer out of it.
For every example you have of Bobby sticking with a guy too long Ill give you one were his patience with a player paid off big time in the long run.
Herschel Talker
March 29th, 2010
12:48 pm
Peter Graves at 11:59:
You’re a complete clown. This comment doesn’t even merit a retort other than merely to call you the clown that you are. How dare you steal Peter Graves moniker and then utter the drivel that you do? You clown.
Shane
March 29th, 2010
12:53 pm
Listen guys I understand its fun to sit in your armchair drinking a beer thinking that you know more about baseball than Bobby Cox but I assure you, you don’t. not even by a long shot.
The nature of baseball lends itself to these kind of criticisms. Why did you pinch hit that guy. ( Normally after he has made an out ) Why didn’t you bunt ( Again after the fact ) Why did you bring in that pitcher ( After he has given up runs )
If Bobby had a crystal ball im sure he would make the right move every time. What he does do is make very informed decisions about the game and his team. A managers job is to put his players in a position to succeed. Cox does this as well as anyone.
Shane
March 29th, 2010
12:54 pm
You’re a complete clown. This comment doesn’t even merit a retort other than merely to call you the clown that you are. How dare you steal Peter Graves moniker and then utter the drivel that you do? You clown.
thanks man. that’s when you know you’ve won the argument when the other guy goes personal. thanks for playing. Dont feel bad I used to do this to guys a lot smarter than you in my debate team days.
ChippersLoveChild
March 29th, 2010
1:04 pm
“Also you speak of Bobby being to loyal and sticking with players too long. Yet you only see the bad of this strategy not the good. He77 Glavine lost 17 games one year. Maybe a manager with less patience would have traded him as a soft tossing lefty and not stuck with him. Cox did and he got a HOFer out of it.”
This comment just isn’t the best argument. What manager makes the call on a trade? In addition, what team gives up on young pitching with loads of potential? I like Bobby and think he is one hell of a manager, but your case with Glavine to display what a genius he is doesn’t hold much weight.
HUH??
March 29th, 2010
1:05 pm
Tell me again why Billy Wagner is here and why we traded Rafael Soriano????
Shane
March 29th, 2010
1:08 pm
I like Bobby and think he is one hell of a manager, but your case with Glavine to display what a genius he is doesn’t hold much weight.
Bobby was the GM and Manager back then. He could have traded him in 10 minutes. I agree its not the best example but it is one of a bunch of them
VoiceOfReason
March 29th, 2010
1:10 pm
Debate team??????????? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHA> GASP> HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH AH AH HAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH~~!!!!!!
Shane
March 29th, 2010
1:11 pm
Most braves forget that too. IN all thier critisism of Cox they forget he was the GM that built all those powerhouse teams to begin with. Schurholz just rode in on his coattails.
Cox Drafted
Avery, Glavine, Gant, Justice, Blauser, Lemke. Made the trade for Smoltz and the list goes on and on.
Shane
March 29th, 2010
1:13 pm
Debate team???????????
Yes debate team. You know where the intelligent people gather in high school. You probably weren’t there.
VoiceOfReason
March 29th, 2010
1:18 pm
Intelligent people gathering in high school? HA HA HAH AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pete
March 29th, 2010
1:26 pm
Shane, Schuerholz did a lot more than just ride coattails. He added Sid Bream, Otis Nixon and Terry Pendleton prior to 1991, and without those 3, no way the Braves win in 91 or 92. Not to mention he acquired Fred McGriff and Greg Maddux a couple years later.
Id say those were very critical moves, to say the least!
Blue
March 29th, 2010
1:26 pm
Glaus didn’t hit even one homerun in spring training; why would there be any reason to expect he’ll hit 25 in the regular season?
Youngerthan Thatnow
March 29th, 2010
1:37 pm
I said this on the end of a blog the other day and I’ll say it again today.
Do some of you people rise up every morning and think… “who can I bash on the blog today? Bobby Cox, Frank Wren, Chipper, McClouth, Mark Bradley… oh well, let me just bash ‘em all!”
It’s d@mned if you do and d@mned if you don’t. Decision was made on Hayward (not Haywood as some basher called him) and crap… “we just gave a year of service with Hayward away”. Send him down and it would have been… “he’s ready and should be starting in right field”.
I honestly believe that some of you see what decisions have been made and go into automatic pilot and take the opposing stance. You need to find another team to follow… find a perfect one. One with a perfect manager, a perfect general manager, unlimited payroll, perfect players at every position and the entire pitching staff competing with each other for the Cy Young Award. Yep, that should be your team… and you would get to read all about them from perfect writers and journalist. And we’ll change the name of that team from the New York Yankees to the New York Perfects.
NEWS FLASH!!!! THERE’S NOT ONE LIKE THAT AND NEVER WILL BE!!!!
Next Sunday… everybody starts over and everybody is tied with everybody else and everybody hopes to make the dance. The best teams are not always the teams in the postseason. The teams that make the postseason are the ones who got HOT at the right time and held it all together long enough to finish at the front of the pack. If money would do it, we could just cancel the season and let the Yanks pick who they want to play in the WS.
And to the guy who said trade Chipper just like we did Murphy and make the way for the younger superstars coming up. The difference here is, Chipper had a down year… the year before he won the flippin’ batting title… Murphy was finished when he left here. A great Braves player and a good man… but he was finished. Chipper Jones will play until HE sees that he’s finished and at that point, nobody will have to trade him or ask him to retire… he’ll hang it up just like #20 did in Philly. I thought Mike Schmidt had a couple of good years left, but he didn’t think so and nobody had to tell him.
It’s the start of the season and the best day of the year for me. The Braves are my team win, lose or go home. It’s called “loyalty” and some of you should look it up and give it a try.
And I’ll say it again… Bobby Cox forgot more about baseball yesterday than anybody writing on these blogs, including me, will ever know.
GO BRAVES!!!
Steve
March 29th, 2010
1:39 pm
Stop whining about McLouth not being a leadoff hitter!!
McLouth OBP in his two full seasons as a starter is actually better than Furcal’s OBP as a full time starter and Braves fans thought he was a god. McLouth may not have as many SB’s, but he is averaging 20+ a year as a starter and his caught stealing percentage is one third of what Furcal’s is as a starter (meaning he doesn’t waste as many of his times on base).
When it comes to leading off, OBP and the ability to force a team to pay attention to your speed are the top two attributes to have. McLouth has both of those.
The stats that DON’T matter as a leadoff hitter. Strikeouts (an out is an out as a leadoff hitter). Batting average (means very little compared to OBP). Seriously folks, wake up and stop blaiming McLouth for the Braves funk last year. They actually woke up when he came over. If they had him, Hanson and LaRoche for the full season, we would have made the playoffs. We basically have that this year if Glaus can put up LaRoche style nubmers. McLouth is fine leading off, though Escobar, Prado or Diaz would function decently there if we decided to drop McLouth down.
Youngerthan Thatnow
March 29th, 2010
1:41 pm
HUH?? I’ll take a stab at your question.
Because Soriano was a malcontent who pitched when he wanted to and was effective when he wanted to be… a “cancer” on the team, if you will. He was traded so the team could get something of value in return… ah, anything would do.
Wagner is a competitor and a winner… nuff said.
Alex
March 29th, 2010
1:44 pm
Anybody else concerned that Glaus is hitting nothing but singles?
GO BRAVES!!!!!
Youngerthan Thatnow
March 29th, 2010
1:47 pm
And I’ll add this… if Soriano pulls this same stuff in Tampa, he’ll be gone from there before the year is over.
That organization… top to bottom, including the manager… is patterned after another team that showed up when nobody expected them to and had players that didn’t know that they weren’t supposed to win… and a manager that his players would run thru brick walls for. That team they patterned themselves after… your Atlanta Braves!
fred dre
March 29th, 2010
1:52 pm
83 wins…we’ll get’em next year,again.
KennyP
March 29th, 2010
1:58 pm
Right when i thought you wrote your first happy article in 2 years, you end it with the grumpy old man line. Perk up for once!
the dude
March 29th, 2010
2:01 pm
the picture of billy wagner is interesting because anyone who knows anything about pitching mechanics can see that is SERIOUSLY overstriding…how did be deliver this pitch without doing the splits?
Don is copying and pasting
March 29th, 2010
2:09 pm
Don: I think our pitching should be very good but not great enough (as it once was) to overcome his incompetence. What is your stance on this? I haven’t seen you mention this more than four times, so the rest of us would like to know your position on this? Thanks.
Greg Norton
March 29th, 2010
2:37 pm
My .145 batting average is ready if you need me guys. I’m clutch in the pinch hitting role.
Whopper Dawg
March 29th, 2010
2:40 pm
You are dreaming. Continue to enjoy spring training.
Herschel Talker
March 29th, 2010
3:09 pm
Shane and Peter Graves are two clowns.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
March 29th, 2010
3:24 pm
I’ve picked the Braves to finish first every year since 72′.
I’ll go with them again this year.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
March 29th, 2010
3:27 pm
I actually got on quite a hot streak beginning in 91′.
is30303
March 29th, 2010
3:35 pm
great to see so many comments – i guess we’re ready for the season to start. The real x-factor for me is Freedie Freeman. hear me out:
Sometime this season, I seen this scenario playing out: Chipper making a off balance bare handed catch and throw a lazer to Glaus.
Except Chipper lands on his hip funny. He doesn’t go on the DL but tries to play through it, making it worse or delaying his recovery so he isn’t effective in the playoffs.
Then Glaus makes a fantastic stretch to make the out on first but he hyper extends something in his knee. He isn’t a natural first baseman and that was a bit hard on him. He does not go on the DL but the injury nags on and on. So he doesn’t hit for power and can’t beat out a solid hit to the outfield.
I hope that when this happens, they swallow their pride, go on the DL and recover. The Braves will call up Freedie Freeman and put Hinske at third. Its only a matter of time that Freeman is called up and the real questions is – will he be ready.
PJ
March 29th, 2010
3:44 pm
I truly believe the Braves can win this division, but then I felt so last season despite the Phillies coming off a World Series Title. I am not counting on Chipper doing much better than he did last year, but Glaus and Heyward should exceed the production of Right Field and First Base last season despite the power numbers of Laroche in the 2nd half. Also Diaz and Cabrera should be better than Anderson was in left field.
Having said that, we will greatly miss Vazquez, but Hanson will be here for a full season and Hudson will not drop far off the production of Vazquez. Kawakami should feel more comfortable and with the offense better than last year it is doubtful that Jurrgens and his fellow pitchers will be as unlucky as they were last season, due to the lack of run production by the offense.
bvillebaron
March 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
dude:
What are your pitching coach credentials? Somehow Wagner managed to become No. 6 on the all times saves list while “overstriding”. He also has thrown over 100 mph throughout his career and even hit that figure recently in a game.
amicusterrae
March 29th, 2010
5:43 pm
Mama don’t let your kids grow up to be baseball managers.
Every know-it-all hack will bash them to death.
Mike
March 29th, 2010
9:58 pm
Mark…what is up with your constant negativity with the Braves? I used to enjoy reading your columns. This one was great because I was reading other experts opinions, then you had to ruin it with your own. Did someone hurt your feelings?
wayn-o
March 29th, 2010
11:33 pm
dammit people its HEYWARD not Heywood!!!
scottbravesfan
March 29th, 2010
11:47 pm
Bradley,
You picked the Marlins to win the division? Are you serious? Who do they have to pitch after Josh Johnson? Come on. I can understand people picking the Phillies over the Braves, but you are picking the Marlins over both of them? Good luck with that pick. I got the Phillies winning the division and the Braves taking the wild card. But Philly is no where near as good as some on ESPN are making them out to be. Their bullpen has serious questions as does their rotation after Holliday. Bobby Valentine is the only one at ESPN that seems to have any understanding about baseball and that’s sad when Bobby V is your voice of reason.