Home Opener 2008!

Well the time has finally come for the 2008 Braves home opener.  After falling to the Nationals in the bottom of the ninth last night, I know we’re all ready to see the offense come alive and put some runs on the board early and often.  The offense seemed a little stifled last night, so it’ll be nice to see them break out and settled into the season.

Tonight, the Braves (0-1) kick off a three-game series against the Pirates (0-0).  Tom Glavine makes his first regular season start since returning to the Braves against Ian Snell for Pittsburgh.  Snell is coming off of a 9-12 season in 2007 with a 3.76 ERA.  It looks to be a great night for baseball with temperatures slated to be in the mid to high 50s and the rain should hold off until the overnight hours.

We’ll be heading down  to enjoy the Turner Field atmosphere since it has been a good while since we’ve been around there for a regular season game.  The game starts at 7:10 ET and I’ll be doing my best to keep up with the comments and game updates on this thread from at the game.  Baseball’s back in Atlanta for the season.  Go Braves!

Braves Fall To Nats on Walk Off

It’s a frustrating way to start a season - a bottom-of-the-ninth loss on a walk-off home run.  But Ryan Zimmerman broke a 2-2 tie with a shot that was JUST long enough to reach the first row of seats.  This was after pinch-runner Martin Prado scored the tying run in the top of the ninth from third on a passed ball.  So it’s frustrating.

But there were bright spots.  Despite giving up a couple of broken-bat hits in the first, that led to two runs, Hudson was lights out.  Chipper described him as “outstanding” and “flat-out dirty.”  But we didn’t support him with the bats - besides Chipper’s homer.  Brian McCann almost got a long ball of his own, but he came a foot or two short and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.  He’s not the speed on the team. Mark Teixeira also came about a foot shy of putting one over the fence as well.

This is the same issue Hudson had last year - had we given him just a little bit of run support, he could easily have won 20 games.  I stand by that claim.  I think this year he has a legitimate chance to do so and would be considered my dark horse for the Cy Young award.  His stuff is downright nasty and he truly deserves the #1 spot in the rotation.  In the game vs. the Nats, Hudson got a little roughed up in the first inning, but fired back with 6 1/3 perfect innings, retiring 19 straight batters.  We need to get settled in the first inning as those runs come back to haunt in the long run.

Next up, we’ll all be at Turner Field tonight for the home opener.  If you’re there, drop by and see us - we’ll be in the front row of 437.  Should be the beginning of some great baseball.  And get there early - it’s sure to be crowded.  Drop by here for in-game converstaion, too.  Last night was lots of fun.

Braves Baseball Is Back

As I sit here on the couch, watching ESPN’s tour of the Nationals new stadium, it’s finally starting to sink in that baseball is officially back.  Soon, we’ll be sitting in Turner Field watching the game and surely cursing the summer heat that seems to come out of nowhere every year.  But that doesn’t matter; it’s baseball season, folks!

Tonight we’ll get to see President Bush throw out the first pitch to kick off Nationals Park.  We’ll also see the Braves new alternate uniforms for 2008.  They’re blue-on-blue uniforms with navy blue hats with the Braves logo ‘A’ in white.

The ESPN analysts’ World Series Predictions were just on as well:
Steve Phillips - Tigers (W) vs. Mets
Eric Young - Red Sox (W) vs. Braves
John Kruk - Cubs (W) vs. Indians
Karl Ravech - Cubs (W) vs. Tigers

Is this the year for the Braves?  It all starts tonight….

Braves Rally To Down Indians

When all looked lost today and the Braves were down 4-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, the second string stepped up.  Most of the starters took an at-bat or two and got to hit the showers early, but that didn’t mean the Braves were done.

Thanks to five Braves hits and two Indians errors, the Braves rallied from the 4-0 deficit to win the game 5-4 as the game was called on account of rain.  The rally included RBIs from Corky Miller, Gregor Blanco, Brent Lillibridge, and our new favorite utility player, Ruben Gotay.  Earlier in the day, Chipper almost knocked in pinch-runner Lillibridge, but he got thrown out at the plate by right fielder Franklin Gutierrez.

Hampton started for the Braves, and he looked good.  The Indians strung three hits together in the second to score a run, but otherwise we should be once again encouraged by Hampton, who seems ready to start the season and answer any doubters who think he can’t handle the Majors anymore.  He’ll pitch well for us until he breaks his arm turning on a light switch.

Jake Westbrook is downright nasty as a pitcher - the Indians have to be thankful for him and C.C. in the division race with the Tigers.  I think the AL Central will be a very fun division to watch all year.

Next up?  Oh yeah, actual regular season games.  One, actually, against the Washington Nationals in DC, opening their new stadium.  President Bush will throw out the first pitch and it sounds like the guys are excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the first game in the new park.  Here’s hoping we torch the Nats.

‘08 Roster Nearing Completion

After last night’s loss to Cleveland, the Braves further thinned out their roster, getting ready for Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals.  Of course the most notable moves involved the ongoing battles for the limited number of backup spots on the roster.

Brent Lillibridge, impressive as he was in the first half of the spring, got sent back to AAA Richmond, where he’ll get more playing time.  I think this is crucial, since either he or Escobar will likely be trade bait before too long.  He needs to be playing all the time.  Martin Prado gets to stay in Atlanta - his first time starting the season in the majors.  Joining Prado (who played a few innings last night at first, by the way) is new acquisition Ruben Gotay, a switch-hitting contact hitter who can play second, third, and short.

In the outfield, Gregor Blanco beat out Josh Anderson for the backup job.  Anderson got out-hit by Blanco this spring (.260 to .341) and despite his speed, Bobby couldn’t find a roster spot for him.  I like Anderson though - if we have an issue mid-season with Diaz or Kotsay I’m sure we’ll see him (maybe even before Schafer, whom they might want to groom all season long).

Behind the plate, Corky Miller seems to have the backup job.  Brayan Pena is still on the roster too, but he’s out of options and conventional wisdom says he’s traded by the end of the day.  If Pena sticks around, he can pitch in at first as well.

So that leaves the five bench spots going to Blanco (OF), Gotay (IF), Prado (IF), Pena (C/1B) and Miller (C).  I’m not sure what we’ll see happen if Pena is traded - maybe Anderson comes back up?

The Bullpen is finally solid, with slots going to Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, Manny Acosta, Will Ohman, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, and Blaine Boyer.  I like this year’s ‘pen.  Lots of arms who have the capacity to be good pitchers throughout the season.

Jeff Bennett and Buddy Carlyle are still fighting for the pitching slot left vacant by Smoltzie, who will start the season on the DL (it’ll be backdated and he’ll only miss one start).  I’d give the edge to Bennett in this one - he’s been impressive, but Carlyle hasn’t put together a bad spring himself.

More as we hear it - our ears are to the ground today as we wait for the final moves to be made.

Braves Drop Exhibition To Tribe

It was great to go back to Turner Field and watch baseball.  Though the crowd was light, the evening was perfect - the sunset and great weather combined with seeing the Braves made it a great evening.  Unfortunately, the Braves dropped the game 7-1 to the Indians behind a bad fourth inning outing by Blaine Boyer.

Jair Jurrjens got the start, giving up two runs in over three innings of work.  However, one of those runs should be charged to Boyer, who did not look good at all in the fourth after he came in.  Some other quick observations:

• Yunel made some great plays defensively, including a nice leaping catch.  I’m excited to see him play a full season.
• Kotsay made a diving grab in the outfield that scared me a little bit - he seemed to catch his arm a little bit but he came up fine.
• I was impressed by Kotsay on the basepaths.  He stayed alert and stole second when the catcher simply dropped the ball.  Caught everyone off guard.  It resulted in Atlanta’s only run of the day.
• We had a “Andruw would have gotten that” moment tonight - but it was later in the game and I think Gregor Blanco was in center, not Kotsay.  So we won’t pop that counter yet.  At least not until the regular season.
• Chipper still won’t run out infield ground balls.
• Fernando Nunez looked good today.  Never heard of him before today, but he looked good.
• Acosta looks good - he’ll be an important part of our bullpen this season.
• The Kelly Johnson / Yunel Escobar double play duo this season will be fun to watch.  They’re getting in the groove and should be really smooth here soon.

Next up, Hampton starts against the Indians at 1:10 tomorrow.  The Braves will have their 25-man roster done tomorrow at some point too.  They have to have it set before Sunday’s game against the Nationals.

Gotay In, Thorman Out

Our least favorite backup, Scott Thorman, cleared waivers this afternoon and has been assigned to AAA Richmond.  Thorman had a bit of a disappointing spring and apparently had no value to any other team.  At all.  He was out there for free today and nobody wanted him.  So what are we still doing with him?

In other news, much to the chagrin of our Mets friends over at The ‘Ropolitans and MetsMerized, we picked up Ruben Gotay off the waiver wire.  He’s a switch hitting infielder with experience at 2B, SS, and 3B.  Now I’m not sure why we picked him up as we have Prado, Lillibridge, and Infante as possible backups in the infield, but his versatility and offensive potential probably led the Braves to believe he’ll be a better backup then, say, Infante.

Jair Jurrjens has been appointed the starter for Wednesday’s game against the Pirates, but he hasn’t been told he’s made the team yet officially.  Jair, I think it’s safe to say you’re on the team.

Speaking of Jair, I’m off to watch him pitch tonight’s exhibition game against the Indians.  More after the game.

Remembering Andruw

Jonathan and Charles were watching the first spring game of the year on TV a few weeks back and had a discussion regarding our new center fielder, Mark Kotsay. Now, we’re not experts, and we know we won’t miss Andruw’s bat, but we know Kotsay doesn’t have the range Andruw did.  We’re a little concerned about Kotsay’s back, too. Every time he dives for a ball, we’re afraid it’s the last time he may dive. It’s kind of like watching Mike Hampton pitch.

Now we have nothing against Mark Kotsay and we hope he has a great season. But he simply cannot match the range of the amazing Andruw Jones, who is one of the best center fielders to ever play the game. Thus, Jonathan and Charles decided to start a “Andruw Would Have Gotten That” counter. Every time we’re at or watching the game, and Kotsay doesn’t get to a ball that we all know Andruw would have caught, we’re adding one to the counter, in an attempt to quantify how much we miss Andruw in the outfield.

In our game recaps, we’ll mention how many points we add to the counter, and if you think we’ve missed one, chime in and we’ll add it to the list.

Join us this year in watching every game and saying “Andruw would have gotten that.”

Mets Down Braves In Final Grapefruit Game

The Braves are on their way to Atlanta.

After dropping their final Grapefruit league game 9-4 to the division rival Mets Thursday afternoon, the Braves pack their bags and head north. They’ll play exhibition games Friday and Saturday at Turner Field before heading to Washington DC to help open the Nationals’ new stadium.

Cox let his relievers pitch the entire game, giving Peter Moylan the start. Moylan gave up three earned runs in his inning of work. Chris Resop and Royce Ring helped make their case for the big league roster by striking out two each in their scoreless innings. Charlie Morton (whom yes, we sent down to the minors once already) pitched three innings and allowed three earned runs. He walked four.

Mark Teixeira continued his good hitting as of late, knocking in two runs on one hit and a sacrifice fly.  Matt Diaz added a two-hit game, and Chipper and Kelly Johnson doubled.  In a continuation of the recent battle for the backup infield slot, both Brent Lillibridge and Martin Prado knocked in a run.

Next up, Jair Jurrjens starts for the Braves Friday against the Cleveland Indians.  Sunday, Tim Hudson gets the start against the Washington Nationals, and Monday we’ll see our good friend Tom Glavine start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Braves’ Offense Rolling

Contrary to popular belief, and by popular belief I mean the all-time great former Mets’ GM Steve Phillips’ NL East preview on ESPN.com, the Braves are alive and well and clicking. The Braves, after losing to those Mets today, are sitting at fourth in the Grapefruit League in runs scored. Among teams in the NL East, the Braves finished ahead of all four rivals. Of course, this number doesn’t take into account the Phillies’ playground stadium. The Phillies’ spring training stadium-Bright House Field-does have a short fence, but on the right side of the field as opposed to the left at Citizens’ Bank Park.

Getting back to the team at hand though, the Braves should have little to worry about offensively from their starting nine. Yunel Escobar is hitting a cool .400 this spring after last year’s .326 (319 ABs); more importantly for Escobar, he slugged .557, second only to Chippers’ .658. Of course, this is spring training we’re talking about and stats don’t translate to the regular season, but Escobar’s work ethic and hitting discipline has never been questioned since he was drafted by the Braves.

Other surprises included included Martin Prado (.318 in 66 ABs, most on the team) and Gregor Blanco (.400 in 35 ABs), both of whom have a chance to make the team. Prado more than Blanco, but at this point I think Bobby’s seen enough from Anderson and Blanco offensively to make the decision based on defense and whether they will be proficient in all three outfield spots.

As far as the rest of the cast goes, Francoeur is projected to have a breakout year by many “experts” and fantasy gurus. McCann is healthy again and could potentially put up the numbers he put up in 2006. Teixeira hit just .188 but, again, this is Spring and isn’t really a preview of things to come. He’s been warming up as of late, anyways. Most of the players seem to be getting into form quickly, but to be successful this year, the Braves need to do better against left-handed starters. The team should have little problems manufacturing runs and may even be better with Tex in there from the get-go.

Braves Blast Nationals 10-2

Mark Teixeira blasted a 2 run home run to lead the Braves’ offense to a 10-2 win over the Nationals today.  Jeff Bennett got the start and pitched four scoreless innings, another encouragement of a bit of depth this year in the rotation.

The rest of the Braves’ infield got a piece of the action as well - Escobar and Timmons knocked in a run each, McCann got his RBI, Lillibridge knocked in two, and Prado added three.  Lillibridge and Prado are making the last bit of spring interesting as they battle for the backup infield slot.  If I had to guess, I’d say Prado has the upper hand because Lillibridge would benefit from playing full-time in Richmond.  Either he or Yunel is going to become trade bait before too long.

Will Ohman got the win, despite giving up the Nationals’ only two runs in his inning of work, in which he gave up three hits.  Soriano, Moylan, Acosta, and Ridgway all added a scoreless inning of their own on the mound, though they each walked one and struck out nobody.

Good to see the Braves’ offense moving heading into the season.  I’m glad Tex had a big day - he’s had a slow start and I for one want him to have the biggest contract year anyone’s ever had.  And then I want to re-sign him.

Yates Traded to Pirates

The Braves traded out-of-options reliever Tyler Yates to the Pirates for minor league starter Todd Redmond.  Yates lost the battle to start the year out in the big leagues and the Braves chose to trade him rather than put him on waivers in hopes he’d make it back to the minors.

Redmond went 22-21 in 70 appearances over three seasons in the minors, after being drafted in the 39th round in 2004.  The 22 year old prospect has two solid pitches - a low 90s fastball and a curve, and he’s working on his changeup.  He apparently has great control - Baseball America says he’s got the best control in the Pirates’ minor league system.   He struck out 97 batters in 160 innings last year.

We should see Redmond go to either high A ball or AA ball.  I’m impressed that the Braves are able to get a decent pitching young pitching prospect for a middle reliever out of options.  We may never hear from Redmond again, but he could also continue to develop and see the big leagues before it’s all over.  The Braves do have one of the best development systems in baseball.  Welcome to the Braves organization, Todd.  Hope you enjoy your time here.