Breaking down the NL East: Atlanta Braves
This will be the first in a series of articles reviewing the off seasons of the Phillies National League East rivals. The first team up is the Atlanta Braves. This off-season Bravos GM John Schuerholz had another active winter in an effort to start another streak of division titles.
Position Players:
Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones will anchor the left side of the Braves infield and bat second and third respectively. Behind the backstop, Brian McCann will call the balls and strikes. First and second base are a bit of a question mark. After the departure of Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche the Braves are left with prospects Martin Prado and Scott Thorman. In the outfield Andruw Jones will patrol center centerfield with Jeff Francoeur playing in right. The Braves will platoon Ryan Langerhans and Craig Wilson in left field. The Braves should have a good defense between Renteria, Francoeur, and the Jones’s. Andruw Jones who is in a contract year looks poised to have another monster season. It also seems unlikely that Jeff Francoeur can have another good season if he keeps striking out at such a high rate. The strength of the Braves offense will depend on the success of rookies Prado and Thorman.
Starting Rotation:
After the always-dependable John Smoltz, the Braves have a few question marks in their rotation. Mike Hampton will look to bounce back from injury plagued last season. Tim Hudson will also look to rebound from pitching really poorly. The Braves will also look for Chuck James to continue his development and hope Kyle Davies can live up to his potential. The starting rotation is the weak link in the Braves chain.
Bullpen:
The Braves bullpen was pathetic last season. This year it should be much improved. Veteran Bob Wickman will close out games. Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez who both arrived in trades this off-season, will serve in late inning roles for the Bravos.
Prediction:
In 2007 Atlanta will go as their starting pitchers and young players go. If Hampton, Hudson, and James pitch well and their youngsters play okay, then the Braves will be in competition for another NL East title. The Phans Blog official prediction is that the Atlanta Braves will finish second in the NL East with 86 wins.
Sources:
Picture of Andruw Jones from decaturdaily.com
5 comments:
My wife is a Braves fan, so I will now go punch myself in the head.
Don't beat yourself up man. Just don't let her get to the kids. Children are the future.
It is odd to call the Braves a sleeper. I don't think they are but with how much attention the Phils and Mets are garnering, no one is talking about the Bravos. After 14 years of torture, it is an odd feeling going into 2007 as the Braves being potential spoilers.
And Carson, if your soon to be born baby grows up rooting for Atlanta, you have failed Philadelphia.
When Mazzoni left they lost the best pitching coach ever. That leaves the Braves with a pitching staff that has yet to prove that they can get the job done.
You guys seen the game, unbelievable, braves is my best team in the MLB. I wish I could go to watch all their games but ticket prices this season are getting very pricy. Brokers made the game hard to attend. Well talking about Brokers. I found a new web site where you can compare Atlanta braves ticket brokers, the site is
http://www.ticketwood.com/mlb/Atlanta-Braves-Tickets/index.php . Well I hope this will be helpful for you guys. Go Go braves. Keep me updated Great blog!!!
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