McLouth, Hanson, and a 6 man rotation

Well it has been a few weeks since I last posted something probably because there has been nothing good to talk about. But I believe that has all changed. The Braves have done a lot lately to improve their productivity, some things we all like and some things that some of us may not have liked so much. We shall start with . . . .

THE MCLOUTH TRADE - I am a HUGE fan of this trade for many reasons. One we have got a solid CF locked up for a few years (CF - takin care of). I just love all that McLouth brings to the table that the Braves haven't had this year. He is fast really fast. I think he has a 92.6 (if i remember correctly) success rating in the stolen base department over the last few years. GOOD LORD! I loved it last night: two out single by Nate, sb, rbi by Escobar. Would not have happened if Kelly was leading off. He leads our team in SB and HR. Great OBP. Natural leadoff hitter. (leadoff hitter - taken care of for years). Not to mention he was an all star last year and won a gold glove. Also we did not have to give up alot. We gave up Charlie Morton (we've seen what he can do), Gorkys Hernandez (great prospect, but Schafer has a step up on him), and Jeff Locke (who has been pitching worse and worse as the season has gone). With this trade we got speed, a gold glove centerfielder, and power for 3 years. Please keep batting him leadoff.

TOMMY HANSON - Through the first three innings of sundays game, we all thought "holy crap this guy is better than I thought." Then reality set in and he let a few leave the park. But what we saw was a guy that, in the words of Jordan Holt "is sick". He has got some amazing pitches. He just can't rely on his fastball as much as he could in the minors. I was salivating the first few innings watching him. Personally, I think McCann calls a better game than Ross. So I was a little upset, not suprised, that Ross was behind the plate for Hanson. I just wonder what McCann would have called for in those same situations. We will never know. Anyway, although he gave up some blasts Tommy never lost his composure out there. I am very excited to watch him pitch and can't wait until his next start.

When I found out that we released Glavine, just like everybody else it was bitter sweet. In our heart of hearts we know that bringing Hanson up will be better for the team than having Glavine pitching for us. I don't think anybody like how it was handled except for maybe Chris Burdeshaw. Chris sent me a text saying that "they released him just to get him back for going to the mets." I do believe that the Braves made that deal with him never thinking that he would make it through rehab and the minor leauge starts. I also blieve that is was for financial reasons more than for productivity reasons. Because of this though not one person can question that Frank Wren wants to win, and will hurt some feelings if he has too. I think that everybody's confidence in Wren and the Braves organization has gone up this past week. And I like everything he has done, just may not the way he has done it. We just replaced one Tommy with another. PEACE OUT TOMMY!

Ok, we have all heard of a 6 MAN ROTATION. Japan does it, and their was talk of Boston doing it. Mitch Greer I believe is in favor of the Braves jumping to a six man rotation. I never have really liked the idea, because that is one more pitcher you need, and your ace would pitch less, etc. etc. But let look at this more closely . . . . . . just from a Braves point of view. . . . .

Our starters average what? 100-115 pitches a game, get 4-5 days off then pitch another 100-115 pitches. What Mitch was saying, and I agree, that bullpens in general are horrible. Like every bullpen the Braves have 2-3 very good relievers and the rest we put in there when the game is out of reach, extra innings, or our starter gets rocked early. (buddy c, jeff b). If we had a 6 man rotation (we will just say next year) it would look like this.

Lowe

Tim H.

Jair J

Javier V.

Tommy H.

Kenshin K.

The theory behind the 6 man rotation is this: Your starters pitch 150-160 pitches a game. Sounds like a lot but then they get a week off. You cut your bullpen down to 4 maybe 5 guys. Your pitchers go deeper into games and you have your best relievers come in and finish the job. Their are definetly some positives and negatives to this idea. Lets look at the positive's first.

Positives

- For the Braves, they would have good if not great starters 1-6. We have an enormous wealth of starting pitching depth. The Braves are truly one of the only teams that could even consider this next year.

- The bullpen. If we put this strategy in play this is what I would like the bullpen to look like. Kris Medlen, the guy has great stuff and can pitch up to 7-8 innings. He would be used if starter got rocked early or in extra inning games. Gonzalez, you will see why I chose him in a minute. Acosta, if he continues to not walk people he will do great. Eric O' Flaherty, doesn't walk anybody and he is a lefty. Moylan/Campillio, keep one of them Moylan is still not 100% (at least I hope he isn't) and Campillio when healty is a very solid pitcher. That gives you five guys. I chose Gonzo over Soriano for a couple of reasons; one is that Gonzo is a lefty ( this is why I chose O'Flaherty too) they are our only two lefties in the pen. The other reason is Soriano's salary is 6.3 million, thats almost twice as much as Gonzo. Getting rid of Bennett, Soriano, and others would free up some money for our offense. Gonzo would be our only expensive relief pitcher.

- An extra day of rest. I have no idea, but I would imagine to a pitcher that an extra day of rest is more valuable than 40 more pitches.

- In general our pitchers are very efficient. They have been going 7 innings or so with under 120 pitches. Why not let them go until they reach 150 pitches or get in some trouble.

Now let's look at some negatives . . .

Negatives

- Less starts. Our pitchers would on average be making 27 starts instead of 32. This would be a bigger deal for most teams since they only have 2-3 good quality pitchers. It is less of an issue with the Braves, but it still would mean we would have to wait an extra day for our hottest pitcher too pitch. This could hurt too if a couple of guys have been struggling.

- An extra day of rest. I know I have that as a positive too, but some pitchers to worse on longer rest. All, except Kawakami and maybe Hanson, have gotten into a 5 man routine. They do the same things the whole week leading up to a start. I am sure that the extra day would hurt some pitchers and help others.

- The bullpen. For example, last nights game. 15 innings, wouldn't be bad if you knew your were going to go 15 because Medlen can go a while. But when you, use 3 other relievers before Medlen then you run out of pitchers FAST! If the braves starters got tore up in like 3 consecutive games, then your bullpen is spent.

- The pitch count. I like the idea of pitching longer and deeper into games. But as we all know, pitchers who get stronger as the game goes on is very very rare. Once starters hit that 110 pitch mark than the fastball drops a couple mph, the breaking ball doesn't break as much, and location starts to get away from them.

There are so many positive and negatives to a 6 man rotation. My final analysis is that I like the 5 man rotation better. I know the bullpen isn't that great, but I would rather have my couple of studs going 5-6 more times a year than going and inning or so deeper into games. The Braves could pull of a six man rotation next year, but I really just don't see the point our bullpen is fairly solid, and getting healthier. I do think that Cox isn't doing Moylan a service by pitching him every freakin day, the man just had TOMMY JOHN SURGERY for crying out loud. I think that if Acosta continues to prove himself this year like he has been than we need to get rid of Soriano. I love Soriano, and I have more faith in him than any other person in the bullpen. But I think we could get us a very good Frenchy replacement for that. And I think that is more important right now for the Braves because our starters have been going fairly deep into games, Acosta and Medlen both look good, and Gonzo said he isn't 100% yet. He will be ridiculous when he is.

Well thats about all I got right now. Chipper is ridiculous, McLouth is fast, McCann is going to bat .329 by the end of the year, Frenchy is . . . well Frenchy, and Hanson is a big man. Let's go Bravos and I am feeling confident in the sweep of the Bucs. I really am, I'm not just saying that because I am a Braves fan, go look at the matchups.

KaWOWkami

What a game, what a game, what a game! I am in the minority when it comes to baseball and what I like.  I would rather watch a 1-0 game (as long as the braves win) than a 14-12 game. So this game was AMAZING!!!! Kawakami pitched poetically.  I am not too artsy, but his pitching was art in motion.  Kawakami's line: 8.0 innings, 3H, 0R, 7K, 0BB.  Yeah I will take that.  The big deal with Kenshin, when he came over, was his control.  They said he had Glavine like control, and for the first month and a half of this season I did not see it.  Tonight he had, in my opinion, the best pitching night for the Braves this year.  He handed the high powered Blue Jay's their first shutout of the season.  It was beautiful.  It's not everyday that someone can say that they out-pitched Roy Halladay.  (lebron just hit an un-freakin-believable shot) Everybody was saying, me included, give this guy till mid June to get his stuff going.  Well tonight we saw what he is capable of, and hopefully that we will see many more of these performances from this artist in the future.

That last play! Oh my gosh that last play.  I went from excitement to disappointment/irate to thrilled to laughing to myself to thinking "wait what just happened".  This all happened in about half a second.  

I believe this is will give the Braves more confidence than a 10-3 win.  They just won a 1-0 game at home.  The first time since 2004.  That's right 2004.  They won a game that nobody expected them to win, and they have Lowe and Jurrjens going these next two games.  I honestly think that we can sweep this series now.  That would be a huge boost to this club.  

That's about all I got about tonight, but I will throw out some notes:

- Chipper might be back in the lineup tomorrow; he will probably get a cortisone shot in his foot tomorrow and be good to go.

- I have never seen anyone get so owned in an at bat than Kelly Johnson in his first 2 at bats. Halladay abused him.  It was hilarious.  

- McCann went 2-2 tonight raising his average to .284 on the year.  He also had a SB and now is tied for first on the team with a total of 2.

- I gained alot of respect for Medlan after hearing him talk about his performance last night.  He took complete blame for everything and just said that he panicked and was overwhelmed.  Not great to hear, but I think this says alot about this kid.  Another year in triple A and I think he will be a great asset in the bullpen.

Question:  Who were the last 2 Braves players to win rookie of the year?

Rafael Furcal 2000 and Dave Justice 1990.

A couple good wins and one big loss

The Braves bats have looked good these past couple of games against a horrible Rockies rotation. But thats O.K it will get our confidence up going into a big weekend. Finally Jurrjens got some run support, and once again J.J. shined only giving up one run and three hits in 7 innings. Yesterday a 9 run 4th inning gave Vazquez his first win at Turner Field this year. It was great to see all of these two out hits from our boys. Tonight we have Kris Medlen making his major leauge debut against Aaron Cook who gave up 4 run in only 1.2 innings his last start. But we have to talk about the great loss that the Braves had last night.

Omar Infante looks to be out 6-8 weeks after that S.O.B. Manny Corpas hit him with a fastball that fractured a bone in his left hand. This is a brutal injury for a couple reasons.

Reason 1: Omar has been tearing it up this year from the plate batting .349. His OBP is over .400 when he hits leadoff, and he has been our only player that has done consistently well in this spot.

Reason 2: Infante can literally play every position on the field. He was our only player that could back up Schafer if he needed a day off. Now, if need be, Frenchy might have to play center and we would stick Diaz in right.

Reason 3: Omar Infante is better than Kelly Johnson in my opinion, maybe not in the field but his bat makes up for it. I fully believe that the reason Infante has been playing more and Kelly less is too see if Infante can handle everyday second base. I think the Wren was thinking about making a move for another bat by trading Johnson. Now we will just have to wait and see.

Let's look at some positives though.

Positive 1: The Braves are planning on calling up prospect Diory Hernandez from Gwinett. He is batting .355 and is considered by many to be a top 5 prospect. I hope we get to see what he can do.

Positive 2: Kelly Johnson has been coming around in the 6th spot. This is where he is most comfortable; he knows it, cox knows it, we know it. I really do have faith and confidence in Kelly at that spot in the lineup. And I really think we will be O.K. with our lineup right now.

Positive 3: This is a big weekend for the Braves. The Phils are playing in New York against a red hot Yankees team. The Mets are playing in Boston against a "Papi finally homered" Red Sox team. And the Bravos get a Toronto that may be cooling off a little. I am hoping, but not expecting the Braves to win the first game of this series (Halladay vs. Kawakami). But I really believe we can take two out of three from the Jay's ( Lowe and J.J. pitching the next two games).

I do not see either the Phils or the Mets winning their series, so the Braves could be sitting on top come Monday.

Positive 4: I like what Cox is doing with the lineup. We put up 12 runs yesterday without McCann, Kotchman, or a hot Garret Anderson starting. I like the lineup that Cox put out there Tuesday night:

Yunel Escobar

Casey Kotchman

Chipper Jones

Brian McCann

Garret Anderson

Kelly Johnson

Jeff Francoeur

Jordan Schafer

This lineup gave us 13 hits. Of course only two were extra basehits (both Kotchman doubles.) Kotchman is a doubles machine and I like him in the two hole because he is a contact hitter and does hit a lot of doubles. This means runners in scoring position for Chipper. I am not crazy about Yunel leading off, but who else are you going to put there, not . . . Kelly Johnson is very comfortable hitting 6th and always hits better when there are runners on base. With this lineup I take back my statement about wanting to move Jeff F. up in the order. I still wish he had more protection and pitchers had to throw him strikes. Maybe this will start happening because Schafer has 4 RBI the last two games, he had 4 total RBI before these two games. He still struck out 3 times last night, but he has been cutting down on the K's lately.

All in all, I think this is a solid lineup that can put up 4+ runs consistently; and that is really all we need.

Positive 5: Jo Jo got hurt last night. (thats mean but it is a positive)

Hear is something to think about. The starting rotation in general is getting into the 7th inning right? right. So I don't think we need 7 relievers in the bullpen. We use Soriano, Moylan, and Gonzo in general. The others get used like twice a week. I think we need to send Parr down and bring up Gregor Blanco or somebody that can be another utility player at least until Infante gets back. Just a thought.

LET'S GO BRAVES!

So I'm getting a little annoyed

What I am about to say is so manly and so testosterone filled that you might want to check me for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. While watching the Braves last night put the Rockies pitchers to shame, by massing a whopping five singles, I found myself utterly bored. The manly statement is as follows: In the 8th inning, I was relieved when Laura said that The Bachlorette was starting (I DVR 24 so don't freak out); I was more entertained watching 25 tools with gelled hair fight for the attention of a chick. I had almost forgotten about the Braves lack of production, and baseball all together until faux hawk tossed Jillian a baseball and then responded "I knew you were a great catch." Ok thats enough of that, so if you are still reading this by now then I assume you are really bored. Time to talk about the Braves . . . .

Ok so what is wrong with this offense of ours? To quote Chip Carey last night he is "worred about the Jekyl and Hyde offense." I still think it is a little too early to really be worried, but the time is drawing near quickly. What I am going to do with the short time I have with you today tell some problems we are having and maybe, in my opinion, give some solutions to these problems and point out the positives.




Problems:

- The braves are not getting extra base hits: The braves rank 13th in the NL with a .395 SLG%; 13th in HR (28); we rank 8th in hits and 8th in BA and 6th in OBP; this means we are getting to first alot and thats it.

- We are putting absolutely zero pressure on opponents defense. The braves are ranked last in the leauge in SB with 7 (the mets have 42), and Chip Carey said that we have hit into 32 double plays in only 36 games.

- Jeff Francouer is still bad. Stats 36 games in: .252 BA, 3HR, .272 OBP, .371 SLG ; lets compare that to 36 games in last year: .262 BA, 3HR, .310 OBP, .421 SLG. Yeah he his doing worse than last year

- Schafer continues to strugle; it's not worth even backing this up with stats.


Ok I think that is enough problems to look at right now. So how can we solve these or at least deal with them. There really is only so many things the coaches can do, but lets look at a couple of things they might could do just to mix things up.


- The Braves in general are a great contact hitting team ( we are 4th in terms of not striking out ). We have to hit and run regardless of the count. In general you want to hit and run on you know a 3-1, 2-0 count. We have to start doing this on the first pitch, on 1-0 counts shoot on 1-1 counts. I don't care we just have to start trying to move the defense, make the catcher make a throw, leave a gap at short.



- Let's continue to ride Infante out. When he gets on let him take a shot at second if he feels comfortable.


- Jeff? Ok I have been reading some and I agree with a thought I read. We need to move Jeff up in the lineup maybe even to 5th. We know that he swings at balls and pitchers give him nothing to hit, and why should they? You have him followed by the strikeout kid and then the pitcher. Where is the incentive to throw him a strike, even if he walks you still have got two pretty automatic outs following him. You move him up in the lineup follow him up with Anderson (who is looking really good lately) and Kotchman (puts the ball in play constantly). You force the pitcher to throw him good pitches. He isn't striking out as much he had been, and he is hitting pitches that are balls. Honestly I would put him 5th and tell him to take until he gets the first strike. If he hits pitches that are strikes he normally hits pretty well. I really like this idea.



- Someone needs to teach Schafer how to bunt, the dude is fast. He could bunt for a basehit every now and then. Then the infield will have to be ready for that, which opens up more holes. He isn't swinging and missing as much as he was, he is now hitting lazy pop flys that a little leauge right fielder could catch. A couple of bunt hits would get his confidence up, but a little pressure on the defense, and cause him to have to follow pitches all the way to his bat.

- Runs lately for the Braves have been at a premium, we all know this. We also know that if the Braves get 4 runs in a game we feel pretty good that our pitching will be able to hold them under that. We are hitting into so many double plays that we have got to be playing small ball. Runner on, bunt him over, got two shots at getting him in. I am not a huge fan of this philosophy, because I feel like it knocks out a chance at a big inning, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Braves start doing this earlier in the game. Because like I said all the Braves are doing is getting singles. What's easier for the Braves to do right now? Get 1 single with 2 outs left? or 2 singles with all 3 outs? Take the runs when we can get them.


OK thats about all I got right now. Just some thoughts of mine, and just letting out a little frustration. Thanks for understanding.



Notes



Glavine pitched well in his simulated game. And is supposed to start a couple of rehab starts beginning this Saturday in Gwinett. He hopes to be back the first week of June.

Hudson said he is on pace to come back by the end of August.



Kris Medlen will be making his major leauge debut Thursday night. I am really excited to watch this guy.

Home Sweet Home?

What a great road trip for Atlanta! The braves went 6-2 on their road trip against the Fish, Phils, and Mets. They should have gone 7-1 but we won't go there. The braves looked great on this road trip averaging almost 6 runs a game. I thought the pitching was great giving up 14 runs to the Phils (10 in one game; the one Reyes started) and 14 runs to the Mets (7 in one game; the one Reyes started). These are two very good lineups that the Braves held to 4 runs or less in 4 of the 6 games. FINALLY, we see what the Bravos can do when we put together pitching AND HITTING! The pitching is going to be there all year. I hear alot of people still complaining about our bullpen. I think our guys are doing great. Remember, Gonzo, Moylan, and Soriano are all coming off surgery. Moylan came back a couple of months sooner than the normal 12 month recovery period from Tommy John surgery. I am very confident in these three guys, although it seems like Moylan has an alter ego and when it steps on the mound it can't throw a strike. Buddy Carlyle is growing on me as a guy who can come in during the third inning when Reyes gets takin out, and can give you 3-4 solid innings. He may get hit, but at least he throws strikes. I still get incredibly nervous when Jeff Bennett comes in there, his ERA is low but he ALWAYS allows runners to get on. That is not healthy for anyone watching that game. Anyway I think our bullpen is going to be fine. I really think and hope that was JoJo's last start in the majors for a while. Come on, you know every time you see him starting you think "well lets go offense." Seeing Bobby getting frustrated during the fourth inning kind of gave me a hint that he might be sent back down. So who would be number 5? Tom Glavine is saying that he is feeling good and that he hopes he can be back by the end of the month. I really hope he comes back and is successful, but right now I am not holding my breath. If it were up to me I would bring up Kris Medlen out of Gwinnett. The reason I would bring him up instead of Hanson is because Tom Glavine. If Tom Glavine was done and there was no doubt that he wasn't going to come back I would bring Hanson up. Yet it seems that Glavine might be ready to go in a few weeks, so I would bring our other stud to get a little major league work. Medlen is pitching unbelievable this year, he is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA (yeah, that's right). He has only giving up 10 BB and has struck out 44 batters in 37.1 innings. Why not let him get a few games in, just to see how he does?

OK. let's talk about the Braves offense. Look what having Brian McCann and Garrett Anderson back in the lineup will do. It is forcing these pitchers to have to pitch to Chipper. I am very excited to watch this lineup in action. Anderson finally got on a little role by collecting three hits and three RBI yesterday. That is a great thing to see, he needs to get going to protect Chipper even more. I guess those glasses are working for McCann who went 9 for 21 with 5 RBI during his shortened road trip. He increased his AVG on the year by 79 pts to .274. Gosh it feels good to have him back. And look at Casey "KLU"thcman; before the road trip Casey numbers were .297, 0HR, 4RBI. Now lets take a look at Casey's stats: .314, 2HR, 15RBI; that's right 11RBI on the road trip. I think one of the unsung hero's of this road trip is Yunel Escobar. During this road trip he increased hit average 4pts, his OBP 19pts, and his SLG 25pts. Kelly is coming back around getting a few hit here and there, his average jumped 10pts this road trip. It's great to see all these guys finally all hitting together.  I just hope they can keep this going at home because . . . 

Home has not been so sweet to the Braves.  The Braves have lost their past four games at home.  The Braves started out at home this year with a three game series sweep of the Nationals, but since then they have gone just 2-11.  I am blaming this on the fact that McCann and Anderson were not in the lineup.  Another note is that Javier Vazquez is 0-3 with a 6.10 ERA at home.  Chipper said that "(He) wants to have the same intensity that we've had for the last eight days when we go back home."  I think that if that is what Chipper wants then that is what Chipper will get out of his players.  McCann and Anderson could not have come at a more perfect time.  The Braves were struggling and they had zero intensity, but I think this road trip has awaken everybody on the team and their bats.   

I am very excited now, and I can't wait to see what the braves can do during this homestead. Just get rid of JoJo and we will have 5 solid starters and our complete lineup back.  Please get rid of this man . . . . . 

 

Just a couple of tidbits:

I wish the Tomahawk chop would make a real comeback; you remember the whole stadium chopping those red foam tomahawks. 

I'm still not a fan, but at this point in time I am loving the Infante/Johnson platoon at 2nd.

Did you know that the first Braves batter at Atlanta Fulton County stadium was Felipe Alou and the last batter was Moises Alou (regular season).

  

Good Start to a Vital Road Trip

Hey lookie, lookie what the Braves found, two wins and a sweep.  I really don't consider two wins a sweep, but we will take what we can get.  The braves put together a total of 21 hits and 12 runs over the past two games.  These two wins came at a very crucial time for the Braves as they started a 8 game road trip that included the fish, phills, and mets.  The braves are looking to continue this momentum into Philadelphia tomorrow night.  The Braves should be getting Brian McCann back tomorrow night after he completed one game with Gwinett earlier this evening (1-3, 2B, BB).  I think this will be huge, giving the Braves a new burst of energy and excitement having the lineup that was scheduled for opening day.  Tomorrow JoJo Reyes faces Cole Hamels.  Hamels has been ailing a shoulder and ankle injury.  He has not yet shown what he can really do, and I hope that this trend continues for at least another outing.  It was great today to see Kelly and Schafer get a couple of hits each today with zero K's.  I am wondering what Bobby will do tomorrow night for the leadoff spot.  Kelly is hitting over .300 against lefties, but Omar Infante is batting .405 when hitting leadoff.  If it was my call I would leave Omar in why pull him when he is hot.  Anyway this is probably, if it was my guess what our lineup will look like tomorrow night:

Kelly Johnson

Yunel Escobar

Chipper Jones

Brian McCann

Garret Anderson

Casey Kotchman

Jeff Francoeur 

Jordan Schafer 

Jo Jo Reyes 

Finally getting our lineup back and in shape.  Can we just take a minute to commend Jurrjens on another stellar performance.  I am starting to think that this guy is going to be like this for years to come.  And just think the only reason we really found out what this guy could do was because every pitcher the Braves had last year had their arm fall off.  I would also like to congratulate two other Braves players.  First off, congratulations Casey Kotchman on hitting your first home run of the year.  Casey leads the Braves in extra base hits with 12 (11 2B and 1HR) And second I would just like to thank and congratulate David Ross for a great job filling in for Brian McCann.  Ross has batted .298 with 3HR and 9RBI this year.  It is great to know that if McCann has to have surgery that we will have a hitter like Ross to back him up.  The last two seasons that Ross actually played the majority of games in a season he hit 21 and 17 HR's.   Well that is about all I have right now.  I am very excited about this road trip and I hope we can steal a game from the Phills.   PEACE OUT!

The Future

As I have grown older I have come to appreciate more and more the Atlanta Braves farm system.  The Braves have consistently, for the past two decades had one of the top systems in the majors.  This has provided us many trades opportunities that have helped the Braves throughout the years.  I thought since the Braves are in a slump, and I still believe that it is too early to worry; it would be a great time to look at the future of our Bravos.  The Braves have a couple of the best prospects in the majors right now, and I am really excited to see how they produce for the Braves in the next few years.  I plan on giving a few updates on prospects every now and then so we will just start out with a couple:

Tommy Hanson - this is one of the few prospects that everybody in baseball knows.  The 6'6", 220 pounder entered the 2009 season as the 4th ranked prospect in all of baseball. Last year he pitched in Myrtle Beach and Mississippi.  He became the first pitcher in Arizona Fall League history to win the MVP by posting a 5-0, 0.63 ERA

 in seven starts.  Right now he is pitching in Gwinnett just waiting for his shot at the big show.  He has a 1.69ERA in 5 games and batters are batting under .200 against him.  However, he has gotten no run support so his record is 1-3.  The big stat that stands out at me is the fact that he has 38 K's and only 9BB in 26.2 innings.    Cox said he reminds him of Smoltz.  With a 99mph fastball and a nasty slider I can defineitly see why.  He also has a change and a curve that he can locate just as well as his fastball.  I am looking forward to many years of Hanson as the Braves ace, I just hope we get to see what he can do in the big show this year.  

Jason Heyward - is a 6'4", 220lb, 19 year old outfielder that was selected by the Braves in the first round (14th overall) pick in the 2007 first year player draft.  He was born in NJ and bats and throws left handed.  Heyward entered the 2009 season as the 5th best prospect in all of baseball ( thats right the Braves had #4 and #5 prospect in all of baseball ).  He was ranked by Baseball America as the Braves second best prospect.  I read a recent article  and I will copy and paste it because it explains Heyward better than I ever could. 

( "One major le

ague scout from a top-tier organization is so high on Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward that he said he would be willing to give the Braves anyone on his team’s 25-man roster to 

get him. "The best young hitter I’ve seen in years," the scout said. "He’ll be leading the league in home runs for 10 years onc

e he gets here." Heyward, 19, was the Braves’ No. 1 draft pick in 2007, the 14th player taken overall. He’s strong, disciplined, and smart –

 his parents, Eugene and Laura, are both Dartmouth graduates. "Let me put it this way," another major league executive said of the 6-4, 220-pound left-handed hitter. "He’s a cross betw

een Dave Parker, Darryl Strawberry and Fred McGriff. How’s that put it? He’s got a chance to be a real superstar." )

I CANNOT wait to see what he can do he plays in right but he can play any position in the outfield.  In a couple of years put him in left field, and we have a good solid outfielder which is something we haven't had since Chipper played left in 02 and 03.  Right now Heyward is batting .275 with 3HR and 10RBI in Myrtle Beach.  The kid is only 19 years old, I hope they keep him in the minors for at least another few years.  I am pretty sure they will.  

Well the Braves game is about to start and I don't want to miss that, so with that I will leave you with a little random braves stat which I will try to do from time to time:

Did You Know: That in the miracle season of '91 the highest paid player was none other than the future hall of famer Lonnie Smith with a salary of $2,041,667.00

Oh and one more thing why in the world is Kawakami pitching tonight?  He has been struggling with a sore shoulder and Jurrjens pitched 2 innings on Saturday, I think he is OK to go.  Just wondering.  And Garret Anderson is in the lineup tonight so we will see if he should have declined that rehab stint.  

A Herculean Lineup

Omar Infante
Yunel Escobar
Chipper Jones
Jeff Francoeur
Martin Prado
Matt Diaz
David Ross
Jordan Schafer
Jo Jo Reyes

If that lineup doesn't strike fear into you then I don't know what will. And this was the lineup we had yesterday against the Astros.

As a Braves fan I have always been optimistic. I have always known that "this year is our year," and I always think "naw man we got this" even when we are down 3 in the ninth with two outs and Greg Norton is at bat. I could go down every player in that lineup and tell you why he is a "great player" and why this lineup could compete with anyone in the majors. But as I step back and look at it from a non braves fan point of few, I have come to the realization that this lineup is horrible.

I don't blame Cox. The lineup that he envisioned going into this season has only played three games this year. To be 100% honest with you I am actually pleased that the Braves have won as many games during these past few weeks as they have. Think about it. Here are the facts:

1. We have had zero production from the leadoff spot:

Before Omar starting leading off (so before 5 games ago) the Braves (Kelly J.) hit .111 (dating back to April 16) with just 4BB. I could have kept going back, but I just got too depressed.

2. Jordan Schafer has struck out 30 times:

Schafer has struck out 30 times. The next highest total on the Braves is 16K's belonging to Matt Diaz. However, Shafer leads the team in BB with 16. The problem I see with Schafer is that his swing on a 0-2 count is the exact same as on a count that is 3-1. Terry P. has GOT to talk to him about this a teach him how to shorten his swing with two strikes. Look what that has done for Frenchy.

I love the kid but I bet he missed

3. We have only had our whole lineup in a game 3 times.

Garret Anderson and B Mac have both been plagued with injuries; it didn't take long for Chipper to wear off on Anderson. Chipper has had absolutely no protection behind him. I really don't think teams fear Kotchman or Frenchy. Once McCann can see again, and we at least get the presence of Garret in the lineup things should come together.

4. Frenchy is stepping up.

To me Francoeur has looked great. His average has been steady at around .285; he has 3 HR; 17 RBI. He is on pace for 20HR and 115 RBI. DRAMATIC improvement over last years disaster. Those are amazing numbers for a player that should be batting 6th. But the big thing is that he has played every game and has only struck out 8 times. This is Jeff Francoeur we are talking about, and only 8 K's. That's great to see even though he only has 4 walks. He is putting the ball in play, and is looking like he is going to get stronger as the season goes on.

5. Omar Infante could save us.

The past four games Infante has started at leadoff he is batting .500 with 2BB and 2K. I know we have to get Kelly back in there and I am not a big fan of platooning a position, but maybe Kelly should just play against lefties for a while. Kelly is hitting .308 against them this year and he hit .330 against them last year. But I have always liked Infante and I say keep him in while he is hot.


Taking all this into consideration I am very pleased with the Braves standing right now. The games are very difficult and very frustrating to watch, but we are only 2.5 games back. Hopefully we will have our real lineup in there next week (maybe by this weekend). I am still very optimistic about our Braves, but I am not as naive as I once was. Who am I kidding? This year is definitely our year.



Injury Update

Brian McCann is scheduled to come off the DL on Friday. The last I heard is that he was going to try glasses out and see if that works and he can play in them. If that doesn't work he is going to have Lasik surgery again and that would put him out a few more weeks.

Garret Anderson is eligible to play this Thursday. Cox offered him a rehab stint just to see some live pitching, but Anderson declined and said he is doesn't need to see live pitching that he is ready to play now.

Jorge Campillo will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. He will then throw a couple more sessions then start rehabbing in the minors.

Braves Rotation: Back to the Future?

Smoltz, Maddux, Glavine if those names don't make you think of the tomahawk chop, october nights, and the Leo Rock; then my friend this blog is not for you. Man those were the days, basically everynight the Braves played you had a CY Young winner on the mound. If the braves scored 2 runs we would probably still win if the offense gave us 3 or more than game over. Now I am not saying the Braves are their yet or they will ever have a rotation that includes 3 of the best pitchers ever to pitch, but I am saying that it is possible that the Braves rotation in a year or two will draw comparisons to that 90's rotation. Let's take a look at the braves rotati0n right now:

D. Lowe (2-1) 3.10
J. Jurrjens (2-2) 1.72
J. Vazquez (2-2) 3.38
K. Kawakami (1-3) 7.06
Jo Jo Reyes (01) 4.26

The Braves rotation is a very very good rotation right now. Lowe, Jurrjens, and Vazquez are all pitching great. Lowe is pitching great getting ground ball out after ground ball out. He has a great infield backing him up which is huge for a sinkerball pitcher. Jurrjens, dude J.J. is amazing. He should be 4-0. He is 4th in NL in ERA. This guy is going to be good for many MANY years to come. Vazquez is third in the N.L with 42 K's (only two behind leader Santana). When he is on he reminds me of Glavine, not overwhelming stuff but alot of movement and just painting the corners. He hasn't been hit hard at all this year, and has caught a few bad breaks. When he is on his game he is fun to watch. Kenshin Kawakami, yeah the ERA looks bad, but the guy has been pitching in the majors for less than a month. He is having to adjust not only to MLB but his whole life. He is used to a 6 man rotation anyway so his conditioning right now might not be that great. Give him till end of June, then start to worry. Jo Jo, I don't like Jo Jo and I don't know many braves fans that do. But his last outing was his best outing probably in his career (7.0IP, 1ER, 7K, 3H). I just don't see him duplicating that ever again.

Let's look at the probable rotation in a couple of months:

D. Lowe
J. Jurrjens
J. Vazquez
T. Hanson
K. Kawakami

I am all about letting Hanson get work in Gwinnett (1.69 ERA right now), but once Jo Jo loses a few more games they have to call him up. Hanson is basically a young Smoltz. Bold statement? yes. Ridiculous statement? no. They say his slider is as good as Smoltzies and his fastball reaches 99 mph. During the trading season; no team went after Hanson because they knew he was "untouchable". If all goes according to plan, Hanson will be our ace for along time.

A look at the Braves rotation opening day 2010:

T. Hudson
D. Lowe
T. Hanson
J. Jurrjens
J. Vazquez

My Lord that is nasty. I mean look at it. Look at it again. Any single one of those guys could/would be the ace on most other teams. The problem and it is a good problem is where is Kawakami. I really believe that Kenshin is going to be a solid starter in the majors. He is like 33 so he probably only has like 5-7 years left. I don't think the Braves would trade him just because we would want to keep a good relationship up with the Japanese. It would not look good for the first Japanese player in the Braves organization to be traded after his first year. Bullpen maybe? I don't know but it will be a good problem.

A year ago if you were to tell me that the braves staff in 2010 would be as good as the roatation in the 90's I would have laughed in your face. Now, it at least makes you stop and think.