BravesBlast 2009 Christmas Wish List

Written by Jonathan on December 24, 2009 – 8:42 pm

Well it’s that time of the year.  The BravesBlast crew is putting together our Christmas wish list for this offseason and 2010.  While 2009 provided a lot of highlights and improvements over the year before, there are still a lot of improvements and changes needed.  So we’ll take a minute from the normal Christmas desires for Playstations and electronics and power tools to talk about one of the things we miss the most this time of year.

5.  Add another setup man. The bullpen for the Braves is going to look a little different come 2010.  Gone are the days of Soriano and Gonzo splitting time in the 8th and 9th innings.  If all goes as planned, the 2010 season will see a lot of Takashi Saito working the 8th and Billy Wagner working closing duty.  If Wagner can come back successfully from his Tommy John surgery and return to his dominant closer form, the Braves will be a lot better off than they have been.  What we’d like to see however is one more quality setup man to help bridge the gap to the 8th/9th duo.  Bobby’s known for utilizing the bullpen a good bit (no thanks to the lack of quality starting pitching we saw before the 2009 season), but it can never hurt to have quality relievers to bail out your starters if need be.

4.  More offensive threats. It’s not a big secret that the Braves lack a big-name offensive threat since the departure of Mark Teixeira.  Let’s put some numbers behind it.  Last season, the Braves hit 149 home runs, ranking 22nd out of the 30 teams in the majors.  First place?  244.  And while the Braves may have the 5th best team batting average in the National League, they have only the 10th best slugging percentage; that equates to the 22nd ranked slugging percentage in all of baseball.  Offense isn’t just hitting however.  The Braves often lack the ability to be aggressive on the base path.  2009 saw all of 58 stolen bases for the Braves; next to last in baseball.  Having a little more power in the lineup however would open up a lot more opportunities for the team.

3.  Solidify the outfield. I’ve had issues with the outfield for the Braves for awhile now.  I still agree with the decision to move Francoeur just not necessarily what we got in exchange.  I’m happy to have McLouth around until we can bring up some of our prospects (which, by the way, we have a very stout outfield in the making if we can keep out prospects around).  I’m still not thrilled about the addition of Melky Cabrera, but I’m happy with some of the other pieces we got out of that trade.  So what’s the answer?  I say try to track down another power-hitting outfielder that can help with that previous item on my wish list.

2.  Find the next Bobby Cox. I know it’s not on the mind much yet, but this is Bobby’s last season managing the Braves and, while the focus needs to be on the season at hand, the future is important as well.  So the question is, who is the best option to fill the shoes of one of the most revered managers in the game?  To be honest, my answer to that question right now is that I just don’t know.  In the end, it needs to be someone that can maintain a positive clubhouse attitude……and get thrown out of games as well as Bobby (though that may just be a personal preference).

1.  Going all the way for Bobby. With it having been decided that 2010 is Bobby’s last year at the helm of the Braves, it’s only right that we send him out with the best season possible.  The ideal situation obviously is to get out there and take it all the way, but let’s start by focusing on what needs to happen in Atlanta.  We need playoff baseball back.  After so many years of getting used to having a few guaranteed October games, things have cooled off a little.  Let’s get Bobby back to the playoffs one last time!

So there you have it.  That’s what we’re looking for out of the organization as Christmas presents to us and the rest of the Braves family.  What’s on your wish list for the Braves?

Happy Holidays Everyone!


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It Wasn’t A Lack Of Power…..

Written by Kent on July 22, 2009 – 7:32 am

….it was the “Axis Of Feeble”

If you’re one of the many fans or national sports media types who still aren’t taking the Braves seriously, there is something you need to know… You are mistaken.

You observe that the Braves have little more thunder in their lineup than they had through the first 3 months of the season, and you see no reason why they’re offensive woes won’t extend into the figurative “second half”. The trouble is… your premise is flawed.

You think the Braves have failed to score runs consistently for most of the year because they have lacked “impact power”. But the truth is that a lack of power was not the primary source of their offensive impotency in the first half. The REAL problem was having not one, not two, but THREE near-automatic outs in the lineup.

You can score plenty of runs without a single 30-homerun hitter. Just ask the ’98 Yankees. If you don’t have 2 or 3 huge bats in the middle of the order, that’s just fine, but you need to have a well balanced lineup full of quality hitters. The problem was… the Braves didn’t have either. There were three “Shaq”-sized holes in their lineup.

For the first 2-3 months of the season Jordan Schafer, Kelly Johnson, and Jeff Francoeur formed an axis-of-feeble. Like a black hole, they sucked the life out of this Atlanta offense. This underachieving trio killed rally after rally, and prevented many others from ever being sparked in the first place. It even managed to turn two of the league’s best starters, Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez, into losing pitchers for a time.

While Atlanta now has more homerun power than many think, and will likely top their first half homerun total by a wide margin, the Braves don’t have multiple mashers in the middle of their lineup. That means that, to some extent, walks, singles, and doubles have to come together in combination in order to score sufficiently and reliably. But when you have THREE members of your lineup who are virtually guaranteed to pull the plug on any potentially productive inning… how can you ever score runs consistently?

You can’t. And they didn’t.

But the Braves plugged one of those holes when they replaced Schafer with all-star Center Fielder, Nate McLouth, in June. And now, in July, they have plugged the other two holes as well. Martin Prado ripped the starting second-base job out of Kelly Johnson’s hands with his recent all-star caliber play. Then, Frank Wren and Co. replaced the floundering Francoeur with the capable right-field platoon of Matt Diaz and Ryan Church (for whom the Braves dealt “Frenchy” to the Mets).

Atlanta’s offense isn’t likely to be among the game’s very best from now until the end of the season. However, I believe this Braves lineup will surprise the naysayers in the second half. Their detractors have failed to recognize the TRUE problem. Therefore, they have yet to notice that it has been fixed. But they will be forced to take note if the Braves continue to climb the ladder in key offensive categories. Atlanta recently jumped from 11th to 8th (out of 16 teams) in the National League in runs scored, and now has the 4th best team batting average in the NL. In my view, smart money says they’ll finish higher than 8th in runs scored by season’s end.

Every single position in the Braves batting order is likely to hit for a solid average, and is capable of delivering 15 homeruns or better. Three positions can deliver 25 or more homeruns. And six of the eight positions are manned by players capable of thumping 40 doubles in a season.

Frank Wren and Bobby Cox now have the lineup they envisioned at the start of spring. There are no 30 homerun bombers… but solid hitters with pop throughout the lineup, 1-8. And more often than not, that will be enough to win behind this Atlanta pitching.

The axis-of-feeble is gone, and better days are ahead.


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Bobby Cox: 2000 Wins In Atlanta

Written by Jonathan on June 9, 2009 – 6:00 am

A walk-off single from David Ross in the bottom of the 15th inning of last night’s game marked the 2000th time in his managerial career that Bobby Cox has entered the locker room victorious.  Having spent 24 of his 28-year career as a manager in the Braves organization, Bobby finds himself fourth on the all-time list for wins by a manager with a single franchise.  He trails only Connie Mack, John McGraw and Walter Alston, who only leads Bobby by 40 games.

A quick congrats to Bobby Cox on reaching this milestone and we look forward to seeing some more wins out of him as he wraps up a great career here in Atlanta.  When he finally walks away from Turner Field and the Braves (which will likely be on his own schedule), he will be remembered as one of the all-time greats for this franchis and in Major League Baseball.


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Bobby Cox Will Never Be Fired

Written by Colin on April 23, 2009 – 2:21 pm

Let’s clear this up – I was having a conversation on Twitter about the Braves and their lack of performance when someone mentioned that – just maybe – if the Braves couldn’t perform with a well-tooled team that maybe it’s time to talk about Bobby Cox.

Say what?!

There aren’t many untouchables in the world of baseball – but Bobby Cox damn well better be one of them. He not just led the Braves to 14 straight division titles, he was GM before he was the Braves’ manager and made many of the moves to build the team he’d later lead to pennant titles. The man is a legend. He’s the originator of the Bobby Cox Waddle – on his way to more ejections than any other manager in the history of the game. He’s solely responsible for the atmosphere in the Braves’ clubhouse that is legendary amongst major leaguers. He’s Bobby Cox.

Bring it on. Tell me how we only won one World Series in 14 years of consecutive division championships. Tell me how we routinely underperform in the postseason. Talk to me about whatever you want. I don’t give a flying crap. Bobby Cox will never ever ever be fired.

Bobby Cox is the reason I love the game of baseball. I grew up watching Bobby and the Braves. He’s the only face left that’s been with the Braves I know through the thick and the thin – and it should stay that way as long as he wants to be here in Atlanta, smoking a stogie and watching over the team he has crafted over the last two decades.

He’s a living legend. He’s said he’ll retire when he’s ready. That may only be another year or two.  Take your kids to the ballpark. Get seats near the dugout. Point Bobby out to them. Listen to him cheer on his players from the dugout, waiting to go out and get tossed instead of an integral player. Land his autograph. He’s a living legend. There haven’t been that many people in baseball like Bobby. He will leave when he’s ready to go spend time with his family on his farm outside the city.

Once he retires, then we’ll talk about his replacement. Not before then.


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Bobby’s Sticking Around

Written by Jonathan on May 23, 2008 – 5:31 pm

It looks like Braves fans will get to see Bobby Cox getting ejected through at least the end of the 2009 season.  Today, Frank Wren confirmed that Bobby has been signed to a one-year contract extension.  I have a feeling that Bobby will stay on a year-to-year basis until he’s ready to retire.  At least for now we don’t have to speculate if this is the last year for the winningest manager in Braves franchise history.

Cox has 1,926 wins for the Braves (2,281 total) and is in his 23rd year as the Braves’ skipper.  He had hinted during the offseason that he may consider hanging it up at the end of this season.  I, for one, am very happy to see him sticking around.  Let’s get the boys back to the playoffs, Bobby!


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