Braves

By Andy LA

March 3, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

5th?

By Thrillhouse44

March 3, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

Thorman hitting fourth? A year ago this might have seemed like a good thing.

By Kevin

March 3, 2008 4:24 PM | Link to this

Lew in response to the Wurlitzer

Here is how I see the NL East shaking out. 1. Braves 2. Phillies 3. Mets 4. Nationals 5. Marlins. The Braves won 84 games last year. If you look back on that with the rotation that we had, it is really quite impreaaive to have won that many. At one point in the season, the only two guys who could do anything were Smoltz and Hudson. I really just feel like overall, we have added the right pieces for this year. Our bench will be so much better whether we keep B. Jones or Anderson. Assuming Javy makes the team along with Infante, our bench is head and shoulders above where it was last year where we had to count on Woodward and Wilson and Orr in key spots at times. It is also well known that our rotation is much deeper than any other team in the division. It is not AAA depth as some like to think. It is legitimate depth with huge potential upside. I also think that KJ and Yunel will give you what they us last year and that is solid defense and offense that also has potential upside. I expect Frenchy to come more into his own with about 25 homers and about a .290 to .300 average. If McCann can avoid nagging injuries, I expect him to be more like he was at the beginning of last season and in 2006 where he was a doubles machine. I think Kotsay will produce his career averages and play good defense while staying healthy. Tex is focused and in a contract year and Chipper will undoubtedly have a few snags along the way but overall, I think he will stay pretty healthy and provide that switch hitting combo like no other team in baseball has. In the end, I fully expect us to win 92-94 games and win the division win the dust settles.

The Phillies will be a strong competitor for the entire season but I think what will hinder them is rotation depth. Brad Lidge is already having issues with a knee he just had surgery on. I don’t feel that the Phillies are confident in Tom Gordon to close any ballgames so if Lidge is out for any period of time, I think they will move Brett Myers back to the closer spot. If that is the case, their rotation takes a huge hit and they will be relying on 45 year old soft tosser Jamie Moyer and an untested youngster in Kyle Kendrick along with a horrendous Adam Eaton. Even if Lidge gets healthy, I wouldn’t be too confident with him closing games in that stadium anyway. I think they will be more like we were last year where they could score plenty of runs but couldn’t put too many streaks together because of an unstable end of the rotation. I think they upgraded with Feliz but he will likely not add much above what Aaron Rowand did offensively. I don’t think Rollins will have another year like last year but I expect Howard and Utley to continue where they were. I see them winning about 88-90 games.

I can not understand why people are so confident in the Mets. The analysts have already handed them the division based on one off season move. Before they got Santana, people were killing them for their offseason moves like letting Lo Duca, one of their only players with any fire, walk; giving away their prized prospect in Lasting Milledge and overall, not getting any younger. They resign Castillo, a singles hitter who will have leg problems for the rest of his career which diminishes his value, they let Shawn Green walk who really didn’t have a bad year. He would have been nice to have around when Moises inevitably goes down. Delgado got a year older and his numbers have been diminishing for three years anyway. Glavine left, there goes 13 games. El Duque can’t even pitch right now because of bunions. They traded away any pithching depth they had for Santana. They are counting on John Maine who got crushed the second half of last year, inconsisitent Oliver Perez who can’t put two good years together, Pedro who hasn’t pitched since 2005 and Mike freaking Pelfrey who was supposed to have been an ace long ago. Add that with how many players are already injured and I just don’t see how they are the favorites.I think they will struggle all year and win 84-86 games. Randolph will get fired at the end of the season and everyone will realize that 2006 was the exception, not the rule. Their club lacks chemistry and heart and you should not underestimate that over the course of 162 games. Players will be calling each other out by July and people will not be able to jump off their bandwagon fast enough.

The Nats are just not there yet. I like what they did in the off season but I just don’t think they can compete yet. I think their starting rotation will be good but they will struggle to score runs. The Marlins are a joke and I would be furious if I were a fan with the way they turn over their players. Hanley Ramirez will be the next to go and they will continue to rebuild for the future with no end in sight for the short term.

In the end, I think it will come down to those last 12-15 games of the season where we play the Phillies and Mets. The Braves will want it more and they will take it. The best the Mets will be able to hope for is to play spoiler. All this may sound like me being a homer but I really believe everything I just wrote.

Kevin

By Andy LA

March 3, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this

I am not saying this will happen—but Frenchy is going to be looking alot like Justice if this keeps up another year. Who did we trade Justice for…Grissom(?) and…..

By Interested Observer

March 3, 2008 4:59 PM | Link to this

Lew, I don’t post very often but I just have to compete for the Wurlitzer. I think the first three spots are going to be tight, but here are my picks:

1. Braves: This is honestly not just a homer pick. I really think the Braves are the deepest team in the division this year. In my opinion, the Braves would have won last year, even with an atrocious bench, had the starting pitching not imploded, therby taxing the bullpen. This year, there is so much more depth in the rotation and the bullpen that I we shouldn’t have that problem. Plus the bench is looking to be much stronger and the Braves have the intangibles…Bobby Cox and a winning attitude.

2. Mets: It was tough choosing between the Mets and Phils here, especially considering the Mets recent injury problems. Both teams have a solid nucleus. But I’ll give the Mets a slight edge on offense and pitching. Johan Santana might be enough to slide them ahead of the Phils on the pitching side.

3. Phillies: See Above

4. Nationals: Nats are young but have a scrappy little team and a new ballpark to motivate them. Plus, Manny Acta teaches them to play the right way. His demeanor is a lot like Bobby Cox, so they will be going maximun effort all year long.

5. Richmond Braves: Ok, this is a homer pick. But the Braves have too many talented players to squeeze on a 25 man roster. Richmond is going to be getting several players who are probably better than what the Marlins are going to be fielding.

6. Marlins: I feel bad for Fredi Gonzalez. I’m sure he’ll have them giving 100%. But, when you’re rebuilding, you’re rebuilding. Fredi should line himself up a sponsorship with Tylenol!

By DAP

March 3, 2008 6:24 PM | Link to this

LEW missed the wulitzer challenge, but i gather you want our picks…im going for my 2nd wulitzer here! ok…

1. braves. duh! serioulsy though, our offense is going to be one of the top 3 in the NL. i think we will be about as tuff to stop as the phils. we have great hitters that are more consistnat than the phils sluggers! plus, our rotation will be super deep, with hampton coming back! soriano is going to be more consistant than wickman i think, and i bet we wont even need him that much, because we will win so many blowouts. the key is, i think the braves are gonna beat the teams they oughta beat this year. teams like the reds and the astros who gave us fits last year. this iwll make the difference and the braves will win the east by 4 games. they win 94.

2. phillies. the phillies offense is so good, their starters will have 5eras and still get wins. brad lidge isnt gonna work out, and they will blow alot of games with flash gordon closing. i dont think they will move brett meyers again. meyers and hamels are going to be really good, but the back end is going to be terrible. they will be like the braves were last year. 10 run blowouts one night, 1 run losses the next. they win 90 games.

3. mets. injuries will catch up with them this year. el duque wont pitch much because of injury, forcing pelfry or sosa to pitch alot of poor innings. reyes will be frusterated, wright will have a great year, but it wont be enough. santana will also have a great year, but wont be able to pull it out alone. they hover over .500 most of the year. they win 84 games.

4. nationals. they are on the way up, but most of the time they will win almost by accident. some of their young players will show flashes of brilliance, giving the nats hope for the future. (the braves WILL win on march 30) they win 80.

5. the players will be lackadasical most of the year because the organization just doesnt care that much. ramirez will be great but will go unnoticed again. they manage to win a respectable amount of games anyways. they win 75.

By Russ in Illinois

March 3, 2008 7:22 PM | Link to this

This is the first time I have posted here, but I’ve been reading regularly since last year and been a Braves fan since 67. This look at the upcoming season is quite long and I apologize for that and feel free to skip it. But, I put a lot of thought and research into it and I think it is an in depth, un-biased (mostly) look at the upcoming season with strong statistical support. Bottom line up front, I feel the Braves will prevail in a close race. I have split the post into 4 parts – Preface, Offense/Defense, Pitching, Other Factors

By Russ in Illinois

March 3, 2008 7:23 PM | Link to this

Part 1- Preface

In looking at the upcoming NL East race, I feel sure of one thing. The Phillies will not repeat. In looking back, it seems that teams that play in hitters parks don’t often even get to the playoffs (since 1966 64% of playoff teams played in pitcher friendly or neutral parks). And those that play in extreme hitters parks rarely repeat. The only teams I found that repeated were the 2002 Diamondbacks, 2005 Astros, 1999 Rangers and the 92,93 Braves. There were 20 teams from hitters parks that failed to repeat. The common factor of these teams that did repeat (with the exception of the Rangers) was GREAT pitching. DBacks had Johnson and Schilling, the Astros had Oswalt, Pettite and Clemens, and of course we all know about the Braves. I can’t explain the Rangers, but Phillies fans are welcome to pin their hopes on that one outlier as I think we can all agree that the Phillies do not have GREAT pitching. To me that leaves the Division as a 2 team race that will be very close. By the way, all 4 NL playoff teams last year played in hitters parks

By Russ in Illinois

March 3, 2008 7:28 PM | Link to this

Part 2 – Offense/Defense

Rather than compare offenses by position which doesn’t work well due to their location in the Batting order, I decided to do a full team comparison to see who would have a team edge coming into this season. All stats are from Baseball-Reference.com.

The Mets and Braves had remarkably similar numbers last year and appear to have been almost even in any statistical comparison. Their Ball Park factors were exactly the same and they played similar schedules. BA - .275, OPS - .774, Mets hit 1 more homer, Braves had 6 more Hits+Walks and scored 6 more runs. The only real differences were that the Braves hit 34 more doubles and the Mets had a net 120 SB advantage. The Braves also struck out 168 more times. Defensively there was a little greater difference, but not much. The Braves allowed 17 fewer runs, but both allowed 374 on the road. The Mets allowed 6 more Hits+Walks, but 7 fewer homers and struck out 28 more batters (about 1 a week). The Braves committed 6 more errors, but turned 16 more DPs. They both had .983 FPct and the Mets had a slightly better Def Efficiency Rating and they finished 5th and 6th in the league. The most significant difference was that the Braves allowed 22 fewer earned runs.

On offense, The Braves can expect individual improvement from Johnson, Francoeur, and McCann due to their approaching their prime baseball years. The team will show great improvement from having a full season of Teixeira and more at bats from Diaz rather that Langerhans/Harris. Chipper’s production should remain constant and with Tex replacing Andruw’s power, Kotsay needs only hit .222 to keep the team even in that regard. I fear that Escobar may suffer some ‘sophomore slump’ effect, though. So, offensively the Braves should show significant improvement.

The Mets can expect individual improvement from Reyes and Wright due to their approaching their prime years. Church is a slight improvement over Green in left and Castillo will give them better OBP but less power than the group they had at second last year. Delgado, Beltran and Alou should remain constant with their production; at their ages it would be unlikely they would improve and Alou at 41 would have to be considered a candidate to decline and Delgado may have already entered a decline phase. Schneider/Castro will probably not equal the numbers of LoDuca/Castro. Overall I see a slight improvement in the Mets offense.

The only phase of offense that the Mets will be superior is in stolen bases and that effect on offense appears to be almost negligible as evidenced by the fact that with such similar offensive numbers, the Mets didn’t scored fewer runs than the Braves despite their enormous stolen base advantage.

Defenses appear to be pretty close with the Mets having the advantage up the middle with Beltran and Castillo probably better that Kotsay and Johnson, while the Braves have the advantage on the corners, particularly Teixeira and Francoeur over Delgado and Church.

By Russ in Illinois

March 3, 2008 7:31 PM | Link to this

Part 3 - Pitching.

Without a doubt, the addition of Santana gives the Mets pitching staff quite a boost. I see their rotation as Santana, Martinez, Maine, Perez, Hernandez and the Braves with Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, and 2 of Hampton, James, Jurrjens, Reyes, Bennett and Carlyle.

In 1968 the Cardinals, with the best offense in the league (lead the league in runs scored on the road) went 24-10 in games started by Bob Gibson. As good as Santana is, he cannot expect to dominate the league like Gibson did; and the Mets offense, while very good, is not the best in the league. I think 22-12 in Santana’s starts is a reasonable expectation. Last year, the Braves were 22-12 in Tim Hudson’s starts. The point here is that both of these pitchers give their teams a great chance to win almost every time out. And while Santana has the numbers that show him to be a better pitcher than Hudson, does it really matter if you win a game 6-2 rather than 6-3. As for when they match up against each other, I invite you to look at Santana’s record last year when he went up against another teams #1.

It is difficult to compare Pedro Martinez to John Smoltz, since Pedro only pitched in 5 games last year, but I think Mets fans would be ecstatic if they could get these numbers from him: 33 GS, 222 IP, 192 K, 3.22 ERA, 20-13 Team record. These are John’s average numbers the last 3 seasons and he has shown no decline.

I think that most people (especially Mets fans) think that New York was actually the best team in the division last year and that it took an historic collapse for them not to win the division. So, I think most would agree that any stats accumulated during that fateful 17 days would have to be thrown out to get a true indication of last years performances. As of Sep 13 last year (Before the Mets collapse), John Maine had made 29 starts (16 quality), pitched 174 innings and was 14-9 (team was 18-11) with a 3.72 ERA. Tom Glavine had made 30 starts (22 quality), pitched 182+ innings and was 13-6 (team was 18-12) with a 3.95 ERA. Granted Glavine was awful in his last 3 starts during the collapse, but here are Maine’s numbers after June 30: 16 starts (5 quality), 89 IP, 6-6 (team was 9-7) with a 5.26 ERA.

It is very difficult at this point to compare the next 2 spots in each rotation since we don’t know who the next 2 spots will be for the Braves. For the Mets, at this point, it will definitely be Oliver Perez and probably Orlando Hernandez. Perez had an outstanding season last year, and except for missing a few starts in early July it is hard to find fault. He also had an outstanding season in 2004 when he was 12-10 2.99 in 30 starts for the woeful Pirates. However, he was also very bad in 2005/2006 going 10-18 6.22 in 42 starts. I could not find any record of arm injury during that time, just a broken toe. Which Oliver Perez will pitch this year? I think it is likely he will be closer to the 2007 season, but it should be noted that in his last 11 starts last year he had a 4.86 ERA in 63 innings. The Mets did however go 7-4 in those games. Hernandez only made 24 starts last year, but did very well in those starts. In his first 22 starts (team 16-6) he pitched 138 innings and only gave up 139 hits+walks (94 hits!) with 120 K and a 3.07 ERA. At this point he was probably the Mets best pitcher. He was bad after that, though; only made 2 more starts and got hammered in both. He is officially 38 years old and hasn’t thrown over 165 innings in a season since 2000. He can be very good when he is healthy, but the 10-15 games he misses may be started by the likes of Pelfrey and Sosa. The Braves last 2 positions are undetermined at this time, and is a mix of players with either little major league experience, but good minor league numbers (Jurrjens, Reyes), good season/not so good season (James), journeymen with flashes of competence(Bennett, Carlyle) or a return from injury (Hampton). Hard to tell what kind of numbers could be expected, but I think at least league average numbers (not 4-5 spot average, but all starter’s average) is a reasonable expectation since only the 2 best will get the starts and if 1 falters there will be an alternative.

Bullpens. The Braves 40 man roster contains 10 pitchers who pitched in relief for the Braves last year. Their numbers pitching only in relief were 286 2/3 IP, 2.92 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 7.79 K/9, 2.3 K/BB, 082 HR/9 IP. The Mets 40 man roster contains 11 pitchers who pitched in relief for the Mets last year. Their numbers pitching only in relief were 392 2/3 IP, 3.53 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 7.79 K/9, 2.2 K/BB, 076 HR/9 IP. The Mets bullpen was more stable last year, has more experience going into this year, gave up fewer homers and has an established, outstanding closer. The Braves are younger, had overall much better numbers and have an un-established closer who had great numbers in that role last year.

Overall the Mets’ pitching looks to be better than the Braves but it is not in the first 3 (most important) spots, but in spots 4-5. And although the Braves are very questionable there, the Mets 4-5 are far from certain. And the Braves bullpen may close that gap.

By Russ in Illinois

March 3, 2008 7:33 PM | Link to this

Part 4 – Other Factors

Injuries. Injuries can be an enormous factor in pennant races and almost impossible to predict. I would think however that advancing in age would increase the possibility of injuries and taking a look at the number of players over 29 might give you an indication of the injury risk a team might have. On their 40 man rosters, the Braves have 3 position players and 8 pitchers over 29 and the Mets have 9 position players and 7 pitchers over 29. Another cause for injuries is getting hit by pitches. During the reign of Bobby Cox, the Braves are always among the fewest hit teams in the league because, I think, their pitching is always among the fewest in hitting batters. Apparently, Bobby doesn’t allow headhunting or uncalled for retaliation and I think other managers and pitchers respect this. I have numbers back to 1997 supporting this. And one last thing, I would think that the more aggressive (SB attempts) a team is running the bases would increase the likelihood of injury.

Conclusion (Finally!) After all this, I see the Braves having the better Hitting and the Mets having better Pitching. But, it is very close and will probably result in a very close pennant race. I’ll throw this one last thing out there. Almost everyone (even some of his biggest detractors) feel that Bobby Cox is the best 162 game manager in baseball (history?). Since he returned to the Braves in 1990 he has won close pennant races 6 times (91,93,99,00,01,05) and not lost one yet. You may want to consider last year a lost race, but it wouldn’t have been a race without the Mets’ collapse. Willie Randolph, as good a manager as he may be, has lost his only close pennant race – last year.

By test

March 3, 2008 7:34 PM | Link to this

test

By Yars

March 3, 2008 7:48 PM | Link to this

How many options does Brandon Jones have left? If he has a bad spring, what do you think could happen? Does Anderson really have a chance of beating him out of a roster spot?

By lynnn

March 3, 2008 8:11 PM | Link to this

This is a test post.

By Austin

March 3, 2008 8:17 PM | Link to this

Great post Russ in Illinos*

By KC

March 3, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this

I think the best teams in the league are as follows:

1 - Braves

2 - Mets

3 - DBacks

4 - Phillies

5 - Rockies

Lew: How was your spring training trip?

By Logan23

March 3, 2008 8:58 PM | Link to this

Injury Report: Beloved broadcaster Pete Van Wieren was winged by a foul ball during a Spring training game in Port Saint Lucie today. Following a thorough examination by trainer Jeff Porter, Pete is listed as day-to-day.

Financial Suicide: Jeff Francouer had his contract unilaterally renewed for a meager $460,000. He was then whisk away by his non certified financial advisers Smoltz and Glavine for a lesson in diminishing returns by golfer Tiger Woods. Not a good day for our hero.

By TJ

March 3, 2008 9:15 PM | Link to this

Logan, how is it financial suicide? I’m sure the Braves weren’t offering top dollar, long term, to sign him now (why would they?). So Jeff could’ve taken a mediocre deal and wiped out his chance of making really big bucks, or he could do what he did: show confidence that his stock will continue to rise and that he’ll cash in later.

I don’t see it is a big issue; and even with this ‘suicidal’ deal, Jeff has banked about $4 mil so far, at age 24, so either way, he’s not in bad shape.

By The Man

March 3, 2008 9:50 PM | Link to this

The 4 playoff teams from the N.L. will be the D’Backs, Brewers, Dodgers and Braves. Truly a Braves fan but the D’Backs are my World Series pick from the N.L.

By Logan23

March 3, 2008 10:21 PM | Link to this

TJ Tongue in cheek comment.

I’ll leave the serious financial discussions to you college guys. My street wise words of wisdom were don’t play golf with Tiger Woods or by days end your going to be lighter in the wallet. Financial Suicide. Nothing more nothing less.

By TJ

March 3, 2008 10:44 PM | Link to this

Missed the point, Logan. My bad.

By Moby Grape

March 4, 2008 12:20 AM | Link to this

Anderson is the real deal. He will never be a power hitter, but is an excellent fielder and he seems extremely coachable. He will be a gap to gap hitter. His speed will enable him to beat out ground balls regularlyLew

I just don’t buy it Lew.He’s looking good now, but spring training games are nothing to base assessments on,(remember Corey Aldridge wasn’t it?) I don’t think he will ever get on base nough to be a long term starter. I’m willing to bet that he will never be more than a 4th outfielder. I guess we’ll see over the next 4-5 years.Which I don’t think he will spend in Atlanta.

By nOLIE

March 4, 2008 12:44 AM | Link to this

Russ way to go. I might not agree with it all, but it was well thought-out and presented. Gets my vote for a prize.

By nOLIE

March 4, 2008 3:24 AM | Link to this

ok, we got a debate on another board about how Chipper tore up his knee. One says lunging while running at first and one says sliding into second. I can find all kinds so references on Google but not one that tells how it actually happened. Anyone remember?

By Capt. Caveman

March 4, 2008 4:44 AM | Link to this

Dude’s — what’s up with the mega-long posting?

That’s just rididculous!!

By ncgary

March 4, 2008 4:45 AM | Link to this

running to first

By David O'Brien

March 4, 2008 7:17 AM | Link to this

THIS JUST IN: WOW, I knew Braves had an extra starting pitcher or two, but never thought they’d trade away two established starters…

Gotcha. Rub the sleep from your eyes. Relax and enjoy that cup or coffee. I’m kidding.

Good to be back. Well, other than the hours.

We’ll talk once I get to the park.

later

By chuckw/deadjournalist

March 4, 2008 7:58 AM | Link to this

Since I look to look at the margins, back to ye ole 25th spot on the roster.

Any chance that, if he continues his strong play, Joe Borchard gets a look for the 5th outfielder/back-up first baseman job?

Quick music note: I went by Elle Guru Sunday and picked up a live CD by Shaver (Billy Joe Shaver’s mid-‘90’s alt.country band with his son on guitar). It’s a great disc that is another supporting piece of evidence that Billy Joe Shaver is one of the most under appreciated singer/songwriters of the last 40 years.

By jonathan

March 4, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this

Not funny DOB!!! Too early for that!

By BA

March 4, 2008 8:26 AM | Link to this

Wow. So we allow Mets fans to post but not real Braves fans? Guess we’re feeling very Tipper Gore at the old leberal rag this morning. Does DOB have Mckinney in the car with him?

By Robert (Chipper Is The Best)

March 4, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

BA, “leberal” is actually spelled “liberal”. Mets fans are so intelligent!

By i can't take it anymore

March 4, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this

I hope the mets dont get off to a slow start this year because of their injuries. I would just hate for that to happen.

By MacdWolfpack

March 4, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this

Dave, it’s about time you got back! No offense to Carroll but management shouldn’t allow you a day off until early November. Glad to have you back!

By FJR

March 4, 2008 11:07 AM | Link to this

we need 1 more and have room for 5 more if anybody still wants in teh braves blog fantasy baseball league.

Should be a load of fun to play with a bunch of braves fans.

E-mail if you’re interested: fjrabon@gmail.com

By BillsNV

March 4, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this

FJR: What site are you playing fantasy baseball at?

By Overlord

March 4, 2008 11:28 AM | Link to this

Article on Teixeira and Boras

By Robert (Chipper Is The Best)

March 4, 2008 11:32 AM | Link to this

You know it is really astonishing me how little respect the Braves are getting. The only analyst that I have heard even acknowledge it could be a three team race in the NL East is Steve Phillips. Everybody else acts like the Braves are some sort of AAA team. Even if one thinks the Mets are the cream of the NL East crop I would think the Braves should at least be wild card contenders but people aren’t even giving them that.

I think this love affair with the NL West will prove to be disappointing for many. I don’t think that division is as good as everyone believes. The Rockies and Dodgers have pitching issues and the Padres and D-Backs have offensive issues.

Anyway, I see the Braves as a version of the ‘05 White Sox. A team that has more talent than anybody is giving them credit for and have a good mix of vets and youngsters. A team that isn’t filled with all-stars but is filled with solid productive major leaguers.

By Overlord

March 4, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this

Yahoo sports are saying Smoltz will pitch the season opener and that glavine might pitch the home opener. That leaves hudson for the 3rd game of the season.

By Overlord

March 4, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this

Tehy are also projecting the rotation as expected, Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine and Hampton (i think the order will not be like that). But at the 5th spot they put james or bennett. They do not mention Jurrjens. SNY displayed their projected rotation for the braves and they mentioned JJJ as the 5th pitcher.

JoJo is not mentioned almost anywhere.

Question is…… Is Bennett better than Jurrjens?

To me….. James should be long reliever and nothing else, at least for now.

By Efrim

March 4, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this

KC

You don’t consider the Cubs one of the best five teams in the league??? What’s your reasoning?

By KneeJerk

March 4, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this

Chipper tore up his knee lunging to first base during a S.T game with the Yanks.

By DAP

March 4, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

alot of baseball teams have ups and downs during the season. i think this could be a year for the braves alot like the white sox in ‘05. we will come out of the gate winning, and never look back. we will just keep on winning.

By Overlord

March 4, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this

Robert (Chipper Is The Best) everything you just said is pretty accurate.

Question……

If Braves go with 2 extra OFs, isnt Schafer a better option than B. Jones? To me he looks ready for party. B. Jones looks scared. What do you think?

Of course Anderson would be the other. I saw that kid fly from home to 1st yesterday 2 or 3 times. Pretty amazing speed. He makes any ground ball and adventure, he will put lots of pressure once the league learns about his speed.

By David O'Brien

March 4, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this

NEW BLOG IS UP

By Overlord

March 4, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this

Updates on chippers hamstring?

By DAP

March 4, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this

overlord the cool thing is, all those guys would be good 5th starters!. were in a pretty good situation when it comes to that. do you think we may be able to package a few of them next offseason for and established starter? oswalt? kazmir?

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March 20, 2008 11:24 AM | Link to this

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Brand new Apple ipod. Apple 2 GB iPod Nano….$60USD Apple 4 GB iPod Nano….$120usd Apple 60 GB iPod Video..$150USD Play stations+Free carrying case playstation 1 brand new at $120usd playstation 2 brand new at $145usd playstation 3 brand new at $180usd

Camcoders Price List: Sony HDR-FX1…..$2000usd Sony DCR-HC44 …$230usd Sony DCR-SR30 …$435usd Sony DCR-DVD404..$335usd Sony DCR-DVD505 .$665usd

LAPTOPS Note Book PC SONY VAIO VGN-AR11S….1GB 200Gb—$700usd SONY VAIO A217S— 100GB..$450usd SONY VAIO A3 97XP— 80GB…$400usd Apple announced the (brand new G5) iMac…….400usd (used)$250usd Dell Inspiron 6000——- $400 brand new Dell laptops Dell Latitude D505———$400 Dell Latitude D610———$460. Motorola L6…..$160usd Motorlla v3 …..$150usd Motorola v3x…$180usd Motorola v3i…..$200usd

UNLOCKED I-MATE PHONES. I-MATE Smartflip.$200usd I-MATE K-JAM ….$210usd

Unlocked sony ericsson Sony Ericsson W810i…$230usd Sony Ericsson W850i…$230usd Sony Ericsson W900i…$240usd Sony Ericsson W950i…$240usd Brand new unlocked Qtek Qtek 8500 .. $150usd Qtek S200 .. $180usd Qtek 9000 .. $250usd Qtek 8310 .. $200usd

Samsungs Samsung D900..$220usd Samsung E900..$220usd Samsung X820..$200usd Samsung Z400..$1800usd Samsung D600..$160usd

NOKIA PRODUCTS UNLOCKED. Nokia n91…$180usd Nokia n70 ..$60usd Nokia N95…$300usd Nokia N93…$250usd Nokia N73.. $240usd Nokia N92…$230usd Nokia N91…$220usd Nokia N90.. $200usd Nokia N80…$180usd Nokia N70…$160usd Nokia 8800..$200usd Nokia 9500..$180usd Nokia E61…$180usd Nokia E70…$200usd SIDEKICK 3 for just…………. $120 usd

Protop 2 Piece Hardtop for Sidekick / Tracker ………..$100 usd Original Extended Carbox Package 1989-1998……………$100 usd Original Extended Carbox Sidekick/Tracker 2 &…………$100 usd T-Mobile Sidekick 2 Danger Cell Phone………………..$100 usd AND MANY MORE OF CHOICES……………………….

Email;swissltd@myway.com,
swissdirectltd@hotmail.com swissltd@yahoo.com CONTACT NUMBER;447024051033 OR 447024039850