Atlanta Braves 2014

[PorkerOinker]

Unless we pull off a miracle, this season is probably going to be a wash, sadly to say.  Can't remember a team EVER losing two Cy Young candidates pre-season and still making the playoffs.  Honestly, I just hope to see a lot of guys grow (Teheran, Heyward, Wood, etc.).

Who knows though, if our offense can manage to be a top 5 in the NL we'll have a shot.

I think they have a very good chance of making the playoffs, just won't be deep enough pitching wise to make it deep into the playoffs.

[Hog1966]

Can't remember a team EVER losing two Cy Young candidates pre-season and still making the playoffs.

Honestly I can't remember any team losing two top starters for the year during pre-season period.

What Atlanta does have going for them is unless there's major improvement from last years bottom 3 in the East, it will be only a two horse race between them and Washington. And agree about the offense, we certainly can't afford to have two starters bat below the Mendoza line again this season!

[AirForceHog]

Nice start for Teheran. Bats weren't there. Happy opening day!

[Hog1966]

Great game for Wood last night, we'll really need a lot out of him this season. The bats awoke as well, especially Freeman's!

[gutshot]

Couldn't ask for a better pitching performance from the patchwork rotation through the first 6 games. The offense? Not so much.

[Hog1966]

The offense? Not so much.

True, I shouldn't have opened my mouth after that one game. I'm still hoping BJ Upton comes back this year but so far 3 hits, 0 HR, 11 SO, and .120 BA 

[gutshot]

He looks completely lost, again.  I see zero difference in his swing from last year. Dude is getting blown away with 89 mph fastballs down the middle of the plate.

[ucahogfan]

That throw that Simmons made after slipping is just unfair.  No other SS maybe in baseball history could make that throw.

Plus, excellent first outing by Santana tonight.  There is talk that he could be a potential Cy Young candidate now that he is in the NL.

[ucahogfan]

Big time sweep of the Nats this weekend and we are 5-1 against them this season so far.  The offense came alive this weekend and it looks like JUpton might go on another one of his month long tears.

[ucahogfan]

Great time for Uggla to hit his 1st 2 HRs of the season especially after ESPN released this article today:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/45988/time-for-the-braves-to-cut-dan-uggla

[b_stackhouse]

Braves are playing well. I have seen small improvements in BJ's approach/swing at the plate. Maybe that conversation with Chipper has helped. I do think he needs to be moved out of the 2 hole. I feel Simmons would be a natural fit in that spot. As far as Uggla goes, maybe this will jump start his season, but we will see. Starting pitching has been the best in MLB, but the bullpen is a cause for concerns in the early going. But hey, can't complain too much, they are in 1st place. Gonna need some other teams to beat the Nats though.

[ucahogfan]

Well, it looks like our replacements for Medlen and Beachy in Santana and Harang have been tremendous the first 3 weeks of the season (knock on wood).  Hopefully it continues.

[ucahogfan]

Interesting article on ESPN about our starting rotation:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/46191/simply-nothing-stops-braves-rotation

Also, for as much talk as the Nats get, can they actually back it up?

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/46168/nationals-cant-beat-the-good-teams

[Baseball Hog]

I was going to list the stats for our pitching staff compared to the rest of the majors but I got tired of writing #1 in MLB.  Conclusion: this staff has been stupid good without maybe the 3 best pitchers.

[bulldog04]

The two starters that got hurt couldn't pitch any better than their replacements so far.  We still aren't living up to our potential offensively.

[Hog1966]

Glad to see Kimbrel had a solid outing tonight after looking a bit shaky as of late.

[Baseball Hog]

Whats our magic number?

[AirForceHog]

Who do you send down to make room for Mike Minor coming back?

[ucahogfan]

Who do you send down to make room for Mike Minor coming back?

Move Hale who is the only starter not in the top 15 in ERA in the NL (in the top 20) and move one of those arms down.

[Hog1966]

I've been wondering which pitcher out of the pen will be sent down as well. Avilan has stunk up the joint so far, but outside of the rookie Thomas, he's our only lefty out of the pen.

[gutshot]

My money is on Schlosser merely for the fact that he was the last man added out of Spring Training.  Let him go to Gwinnett and get some starter innings over the Mitch Atkins and Zach Stewarts of the world. 

[gutshot]

And right on cue:

"To make room for LHP Mike Minor's activation from the DL tonight, RHP Gus Schlosser has been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 2, 2014"

[OnTheHillHogFan]

Hopefully Minor can be as good as he has been the past few years because you gotta think that Harang will come back down to earth.

[AirForceHog]

This losing streak is killing me. What do the Braves need to do to pull out of this nose dive? I understand that the bats need to come alive but how about line up changes. Looks like Pena in for Uggla was the first move to try to turn things around. That and the pitcher batting in the 8 spot.

[arkirish]

Pretty much guarantees that Heyward won't be here after the 2015 season. He will get close to 20 million a year.

Not if he doesn't make some serious improvement at the plate.

[arkirish]

This losing streak is killing me. What do the Braves need to do to pull out of this nose dive? I understand that the bats need to come alive but how about line up changes. Looks like Pena in for Uggla was the first move to try to turn things around. That and the pitcher batting in the 8 spot.

Fredi finally used his brain and has dropped Uggla out of the lineup. I like the use of Pena/Pastornicky at 2B...i no longer hold my breath every single time a ball is hit to second.

[Baseball Hog]

Gotta fell good to be where we are.  Had a 7 game losing streak in April/May and you're still in first place.

I think it's about time to give La Stella a look.  Dude has hit at every level.  Could be a good 7 hole hitter.

[ucahogfan]

What do y'all think of the Braxton Davidson pick?

The guys on MLB Network said a potential comp could be Freddie.  I think it was Harold Reynolds who said he was the 2nd best HS bat in the drat behind Alex Jackson.

[gutshot]

What do y'all think of the Braxton Davidson pick?

The guys on MLB Network said a potential comp could be Freddie.  I think it was Harold Reynolds who said he was the 2nd best HS bat in the drat behind Alex Jackson.

Love it.  He could be just what the doctor ordered for what I still consider a very weak position player system.  I hope they give him a legitimate shot at sticking in the the outfield before relegating him to 1st base.  One of Jason or Justin will be gone before we know it. 

[ucahogfan]

Love it.  He could be just what the doctor ordered for what I still consider a very weak position player system.  I hope they give him a legitimate shot at sticking in the the outfield before relegating him to 1st base.  One of Jason or Justin will be gone before we know it.

I definitely think he can be the LF of the future because he is clearly blocked at 1B.  He could be a replacement for whoever leaves between J-Hey and JUpton.  I think we can keep one, but not both.

[ucahogfan]

http://mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140616&content_id=80030348&notebook_id=79999836&vkey=notebook_atl&c_id=atl

Well, it looks like signing BJ Upton has been a horrible decision and will be a 15M dollar bench player much like Dan Uggla.  I liked the signing initially because he was a player who was supposed to be entering his prime of late 20s/early 30s and be a 20/20 type player for the Braves, but he has been a huge bust the first year and a half of his contract.

I like the move of bringing Bethancourt up and shifting Gattis to LF.  Makes us a better team both offensively and defensively without BJ Upton in the equation.

Also, it looks like we signed Braxton Davidson for slot which is about 1.7M.

[AirForceHog]

I'm heading up to DC this weekend to watch the Braves. I sure hope its to see them win. With the way they have been playing as of late...I'm a little nervous.

[ucahogfan]

Our Class A team in Rome has thrown 2 straight no-nos!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/braves--class-a-affiliate-no-hits-royals--affiliate-in-consecutive-games-073139055.html

[gutshot]

Our Class A team in Rome has thrown 2 straight no-nos!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/braves--class-a-affiliate-no-hits-royals--affiliate-in-consecutive-games-073139055.html

It was High A Lynchburg rather than Rome, but amazing nonetheless.  I can't wait for Sims to get to AA next year so I can get over to Pearl, MS and watch him pitch. 

[ucahogfan]

It was High A Lynchburg rather than Rome, but amazing nonetheless.  I can't wait for Sims to get to AA next year so I can get over to Pearl, MS and watch him pitch.

Dang!  My bad!  No idea where I got Rome from.  Thanks for correcting me.  And I'm excited to see Sims in Atlanta in 2016/7 or so.

[gutshot]

Well Sims followed up his no-hit performance with a clunker last night.  9 hits, 4 walks, and 7 ER in 4 innings.  I have read a few comments that say his breaking stuff has been inconsistent all season and it showed here.  He's got plenty of time to get that ironed out being in Advanced Class-A.  Hopefully so, because he hasn't shown near the dominance he showed in Rome last season.   

[ucahogfan]

Uggla has been released.  He will make 13M next year under his 5/62 contract we signed him to before the 2011 season.  He has been a huge bust.

[gutshot]

I was a big fan of the Uggla trade but enough was just enough. I hate that it didn't work out because he seems like a really good dude. I hope he catches on somewhere and revives his game.

Glad to see Chasen Shreve get the call. I saw him pitch in Double A Mississippi last year and he looked sharp but not spectacular. 88 mph with a decent change. He has added a good 4-5 mph on his fastball this year and it has made a world of difference. He has dominated the Southern League this season.

[pigture perfect]

That game tonight against the Nats was a fun one to watch. I don't see the Braves play much anymore. Used to hardly miss a game when TBS carried them all.

[ucahogfan]

Great day for the Braves in Cooperstown watching Cox, Maddux, and Glavine all go in together.  The crowd was definitely full of Braves fans.  Next year will be Smoltz's year and then Chipper in a couple years after that.

[jrulz83]

Great day for the Braves in Cooperstown watching Cox, Maddux, and Glavine all go in together.  The crowd was definitely full of Braves fans.  Next year will be Smoltz's year and then Chipper in a couple years after that.

Those three guys all earned it. Congratulations to them and Braves fans all around the world.

[ucahogfan]

Those three guys all earned it. Congratulations to them and Braves fans all around the world.

As did the other three who were inducted today.  It was one of the greatest classes in Hall history IMO.  You had three of the top five winingest managers in baseball history and it was awesome to see those three guys go into together.  They were one of the big reasons why the Braves, Cards, and Yankees were so successful during their tenures.  Two of the last 300 game winners we will ever see with the new pitch count rules and how pitchers don't throw as much as they used too and a truly elite hitter in the Big Hurt who had a career OPS of .974.  Great day for baseball as the 2013 class was pathetic.

[gutshot]

Agreed.  You won't find a better class than this 2014 class from here on out.  Great day for all of baseball, not just us Braves fans...no matter what that miserable A-hole, Keith Law says.   

[jrulz83]

As did the other three who were inducted today.  It was one of the greatest classes in Hall history IMO.  You had three of the top five winingest managers in baseball history and it was awesome to see those three guys go into together.  They were one of the big reasons why the Braves, Cards, and Yankees were so successful during their tenures.  Two of the last 300 game winners we will ever see with the new pitch count rules and how pitchers don't throw as much as they used too and a truly elite hitter in the Big Hurt who had a career OPS of .974.  Great day for baseball as the 2013 class was pathetic.

I always forget about how good Frank Thomas was. Probably because he played the bulk of his career for the White Sox and I couldn't stand listening to their announcers so I rarely could stand watching him play.

[ucahogfan]

Agreed.  You won't find a better class than this 2014 class from here on out.  Great day for all of baseball, not just us Braves fans...no matter what that miserable A-hole, Keith Law says.   

Yeah, for sure.  I don't think we will ever see a trio of managers inducted together again like we saw today.

If only Smoltz had retired in 2008 like Glavine and Maddux.  At least he was there to see them inducted.

[ucahogfan]

I always forget about how good Frank Thomas was. Probably because he played the bulk of his career for the White Sox and I couldn't stand listening to their announcers so I rarely could stand watching him play.

Yeah, so did I.  His career triple slash was .301/.419/.555.  That is insane.  The top two hitters of the last decade in Miggy and Pujols have triple slashes of .320/.397/.566 and .319/.406/.592 respectively so Big Hurt was very close to their level.  He was the epitome of money ball getting on base before money ball became in vogue.

[bulldog04]

Pete Van Wieren passed away today.  Listening to him and Skip are memories of my childhood I will never forget

[PorkerOinker]

Pete Van Wieren passed away today.  Listening to him and Skip are memories of my childhood I will never forget

Same here, sure miss the days of when TBS carried the Braves.

[pigture perfect]

Pete Van Wieren passed away today.  Listening to him and Skip are memories of my childhood I will never forget

I feel the same. I loved he and Skip. RIP Pete.

[OnTheHillHogFan]

Much needed win tonight over the Nationals. The game will be on ESPN again tomorrow night. 7 eastern vs the Dodgers.