2008 NL East Preview: Atlanta Braves

So we come to the last team in the NL East - but certainly not the least - our hometown Atlanta Braves.  The Braves have not made it to the post-season either of the last two seasons and are looking to reclaim their customary spot as winner of the NL East.  To do so, they’ll need a strong starting rotation and an offense that can pick up the slack left by the departure of Andruw Jones and Edgar Renteria.  Let’s take a closer look at the Braves and see if they have what it takes.

Offense:  The Braves’ offense last year did well - 3rd in runs scored, 4th in batting average and on base percentage.  The biggest change from last season will be the loss of Andruw Jones and Edgar Renteria. Read more »

Center Field Options

So the AJC published a blog regarding the state of the center field position this afternoon.  The article speculates that the Braves may be interested in either signing former Oriole Corey Patterson or trading for Athletics outfielder Mark Kotsay.  These options are intriguing, but don’t offer the most cost-effective way to fill the gap in center.  That said, either option provides arguably a more solid solution than plugging Josh Anderson in.  I’m just not sure it’s the best way to spend a few million dollars.

Patterson is a Georgia native, Read more »

Rockie Comeback for Giles?

Former fan favorite here in Atlanta, Marcus Giles, has signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies, and will compete for the second base position in spring training. After leaving Atlanta and playing for the Padres last season, Giles posted a disappointing .229 batting average. That said, Giles batted .526 at Coors Field last year - the highest batting average at Coors among all players with above 20 plate appearances. He may be able to translate that success into a starting job next year.

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2008 NL East Preview: Florida Marlins

Continuing in our preview of the National League East in 2008, we turn now to the Florida Marlins. The Marlins won only 71 games last year, but they had a lot of young talent. Now they dumped their only “veterans” this off-season - that being 24 year old Miguel Cabrera and 25 year old Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers. Let’s take a look at the Marlins in 2008 with a roster chock full of youngsters.

Offense: There aren’t many spots in the lineup that are going to be great next season. Read more »

As The Steroid Saga Turns…

Yesterday we finally got something definitive out of the Clemens camp. As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Clemens has filed a defamation lawsuit against his ex-trainer Brian McNamee. McNamee’s lawyers have already stated however that he will be filing a counter lawsuit against Clemens, claiming that his statements in a “60 Minutes” interview are “a total lie.” If nothing else this is a welcome change from the statements Clemens made immediately after the Mitchell report was published. If you don’t remember them he basically said he deserved better treatment since he was in the public eye for 25 years, but never refused to answer any direct questions.

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2008 NL East Preview: Washington Nationals

Moving forward in the 2008 NL East Preview series, we’re looking at the Washington Nationals. The retooled and re-named Expos are beginning their first season at their new stadium in 2008 and hope that this year brings better luck in the chase for the division title. With Stan Kasten behind the helm at President, the Nationals promise to field a team that strives to compete without spending tons of money.

Offense: The Nationals offense placed dead last in 2007 in Runs scored with 673. That’s pathetic. Read more »

…and know when to fold ‘em.

I was thinking yesterday about how I admire John Schuerholz and now Frank Wren for their uncanny ability to know when to let a player walk off. It seems that, many many times, they’ve traded or let a player go despite the public outcry, only to see the player’s numbers tank over the next few seasons.

Let’s take a look at some of these players - marvel with me at the masterful mind of Schuerholz.

Johnny Estrada: The Braves traded him away after the 2005 season to let some young upstart named Brian McCann take over the catcher position. Read more »

2008 NL East Preview: The Mets

Continuing in our look at the National League East next year, we now move to the Mets. Fresh off a collapse of historical proportions, the Mets missed the playoffs last year. But next year is a new year and the Mets have no intentions of giving up their goal of obtaining the division title. Let’s dig into a slice of the Mets and see what they’ve got going for them in 2008.

Offense: The Mets have a strong backbone offensively consisting of Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Jose Reyes. Both powerful and efficient, they were second in the NL in batting average and fourth in runs scored in 2007. Read more »

Mailbag: Another arm in the ‘pen?

Cameron wrote:

Why is there so much talk about shoring up the bullpen? To my recollection, the only turd in our pen last year was Wickman. I mean, sure, there were injuries and seemingly occasional lapses in talent, but I thought that the bullpen held up pretty well considering excess work due to the 3, 4, and 5 spots in the rotation.

Cameron, you’re right - the bullpen did pretty good last year all things considered.  That said, we’ve lost Ron Mahay, Dotel, and Ascanio - three of the arms that propelled the ‘pen to a decent finish down the stretch. Read more »

2008 NL East Preview: The Phillies

This is the beginning of a series of articles analyzing the NL East. Naturally starting with last year’s division leader, let’s take a look at the Phillies in 2008.

We’ll look at five categories - offense, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching, and coaching.  At the end of the series we’ll have a predictions article, where we’ll rank each of the five categories and draw some conclusions about the division.

Offense:  The Phillies had one of the most potent offenses in baseball in 2007.  They ranked 1st in runs, slugging percentage, and OPS, 2nd in  stolen bases and on-base-percentage, and fifth in batting average. Read more »

Mailbag: Filling the Hole in Center

Katie recently wrote Mailbag and asked:

Do you think that the Braves are going to sign another CF or use one they already have (Anderson, possibly?) Pitching wise, do you think they are going to get another starter, or bullpen help?

Well Katie, this really depends on who you ask.  The AJC reported months ago that the Braves were most likely to (and they quoted Wren) trade for a veteran to fill the gap for a year or two while the prospects matured.  Now, since then we’ve acquired Josh Anderson, and he may be viewed as the answer, at least at first glance. Read more »

Top 10: Looking Forward to 2008

Happy New Year! As we roll into 2008 with a head of steam, the BravesBlast crew has compiled a list of the Top 10 things we’re looking forward to in 2008. So without further ado, the Top 10 things we are looking forward to in 2008!

#10 - Frank Wren working his magic from the front office. After working with Schuerholz for years, I can’t wait to see Wren working the trades. Hopefully he’s as masterful as Schuerholz and maybe even a little more gutsy in going for exciting trades.

#9 - Watching a healthy bullpen emerge. We should see Soriano as the closer and some decent setup work, but we want to see Soriano and Gonzales both stay healthy.

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