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Atlanta Braves 2014

Started by ucahogfan, February 04, 2014, 04:04:30 pm

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gutshot

Braves will miss Kershaw and Greinke thanks to the Correia trade.  They really need to make things happen against the back end of the Dodgers rotation, and also against Jason Hammel in the series opener vs the A's. 

gutshot


 

ucahogfan

Heck of a sweep this weekend over Oakland including beating Gray on Saturday and Lester tonight.  Good to see Minor have a good start for once.  Hopefully this gets us in a groove and gets us in the postseason.

gutshot

That was better than I expected. This is exactly what makes this team so maddening. From dumpster fire to powerhouse in the blink of an eye and vice versa.

bulldog04

The Nats will not lose right now.  So frustrating

gutshot

If their (the Nats) bullpen continues to blow saves, this walk-off luck will have to run out eventually.  The Braves just need to beat up on some of the weaker teams they are about to face down the stretch.  Now is the time to avoid any more of those prolonged slumps.  The remaining schedules seem to favor Atlanta:

-The Braves have 12 more games against teams over .500 out of 37 games remaining right now.  6 vs Washington and 6 vs Pittsburgh. 

-Washington still has to go through San Francisco, Seattle, and the Dodgers...not to mention 6 with the Braves. 

-St. Louis has some cupcakes scattered around 7 games with Milwuakee and 6 with Pittsburgh.

-San Francisco has a tough road ahead with the Nats, Brewers, Tigers, and two series against the Dodgers.   

bulldog04

Serious question.  Are the Nats going to lose again?

gutshot

Sure doesn't look like it. Geez.

ucahogfan

Quote from: bulldog04 on August 21, 2014, 07:45:15 pm
Serious question.  Are the Nats going to lose again?
When do they play us again?

bulldog04

Quote from: ucahogfan on August 21, 2014, 10:05:51 pm
When do they play us again?
We have two 3 games series in September.  One starting the 8the and the other the 15th.  We need them to go in a funk before then and get the lead down to 3 or 4.  We are 1 game out of the WC right now

gutshot

Quote from: ucahogfan on August 21, 2014, 10:05:51 pm
When do they play us again?

It appears the Nats will miss Felix Hernandez and James Paxton when they play Seattle next weekend.  Awesome. 

They will get Minor, Santana, and Harang in their next series against the Braves on Sept 8-10. 

ucahogfan

Quote from: bulldog04 on August 22, 2014, 07:10:09 am
We have two 3 games series in September.  One starting the 8the and the other the 15th.  We need them to go in a funk before then and get the lead down to 3 or 4.  We are 1 game out of the WC right now
It was meant to be a joke.  We have had the Nats number the last couple of years and I was jokingly saying that we would be the next team to beat them.

Well, at least a former Brave handed the Nats a loss tonight.

gutshot

Mike Minor looks like a completely different pitcher since his skipped start. Credit Ervin Santana with showing him new grips on his pitches.

 

ucahogfan

Quote from: gutshot on August 23, 2014, 08:49:48 am
Mike Minor looks like a completely different pitcher since his skipped start. Credit Ervin Santana with showing him new grips on his pitches.
Yep, hopefully this is the Minor we are going to see for the stretch run.  I was getting worried about him.

ucahogfan

You might as well send all of the GGs for the next decade at SS to Andrelton Simmons.  That play from last night was just unfair.

jrulz83

Quote from: ucahogfan on August 28, 2014, 03:04:03 pm
You might as well send all of the GGs for the next decade at SS to Andrelton Simmons.  That play from last night was just unfair.

It was nice, sick, disgusting, or whatever phrase the cool kids are using these days.
Lenin is cautiously optimistic.

ucahogfan

Quote from: jrulz83 on August 28, 2014, 05:42:24 pm
It was nice, sick, disgusting, or whatever phrase the cool kids are using these days.
For Andrelton Simmons, it was just a routine play we see every day from him haha.

jrulz83

Quote from: ucahogfan on August 28, 2014, 05:47:45 pm
For Andrelton Simmons, it was just a routine play we see every day from him haha.

I'm sure.  :)
Lenin is cautiously optimistic.

gutshot

Quote from: ucahogfan on August 28, 2014, 05:47:45 pm
For Andrelton Simmons, it was just a routine play we see every day from him haha.

Yeah, I probably wouldn't even consider it one of his top 4 normally, but the situation made it that much better. 

gutshot

This one is my favorite Simmons play to date.  His insticts around the bag are second to none.  His ability to take a throw and apply a tag in one fluid motion are like nothing I've seen. 

http://m.mlb.com/video/v26909141/


jrulz83

Lenin is cautiously optimistic.

ucahogfan

So, what is the plan with J-Hey when his contract expires in 2015 and he enters free agency?  He is currently 1st in the NL and 3rd in the MLB in WAR according to ESPN, but most of that value is based on his defense.  He had a great season offensively as a rookie, but hasn't had another season at that level in terms of OPS.

He is in his age 24 season so he still has a long time before he declines and will be a free agent at 26 (after age 25 season), and I think he could be the 30+ HR guy that he was projected to be.  Heyward will probably be looking at a deal in the 8-10 year range at around 20M a year and I just don't know if we can give him that with a payroll that the owners don't want to take over 100M.  If they open the payroll up to 150M, we can keep J-Hey on the payroll with Freeman and Simmons.  Simmons and J-Hey might be the two of the three or four best defenders in the game along with Yadi and Alex Gordon.

Baseball Hog

I'd like to keep him but it would have to be at a discount.  I could handle something like 5/75, but he'll likely command 7/150.

 

ucahogfan

Quote from: Baseball Hog on September 01, 2014, 11:45:26 am
I'd like to keep him but it would have to be at a discount.  I could handle something like 5/75, but he'll likely command 7/150.
Freeman got 8/135 which included buying out his 3 arbitration years.  The last 5 years of his deal are all 20.5M+ a year.

I would like to throw a 6/110 at J-Hey this offseason and see if he takes it because 1 WAR is worth about 5-6M on the FA market.  J-Hey throwing up 6+ WAR and will almost certainly end up over 7 is impressive in his age 24 season.  He is easily worth 20M a year on the FA market and could be worth upwards of 25-30M depending on how teams think his defense will hold up as he gets older as well as his developing bat.

gutshot

Surely this is Rock bottom. Right?

jrulz83

Lenin is cautiously optimistic.

gutshot

The Braves have the most wins in the National League in the last 5 years.  Second most in the majors in that span (one win behind the Yankees).  It's hard to fire a manager or GM with that kind of record. I personally don't think Fredi is the problem, but somebody has to be accountable. 

I don't like Heyward in the lead-off spot, but there isn't much else to work with there.  His obsession over L-R-L-R batting order is annoying as hell, but hardly a fireable offense.  His bullpen management has improved a thousand percent since the days of Venters and O'Flaherty.   

Wren has had some bad contracts but he has also had some incredible deals and scrap heap signings, so I'm not sure how much blame he deserves either. 

I think Roger McDowell needs a raise and more recognition as one of the better pitching coaches in the game. 

That leaves the hitting coach(es).  Sure they may be low-hanging fruit, but it's hard to make an argument FOR Walker and Fletcher after watching this abomination of a season.  It's amazing how bad these hitters' approaches are with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs.  I just can't wrap my brain around it.  This is the most frustrating Braves team I have ever watched and there have been some really bad ones in the past. 

popcornhog

Quote from: gutshot on September 01, 2014, 09:54:55 pm
Surely this is Rock bottom. Right?

During the regular season I really don't follow baseball outside of the NL Central so maybe I'm missing something but y'all are just a game and a half out of the Wild Card right now. How is that Rock bottom?!
WPS

ucahogfan

Quote from: popcornhog on September 10, 2014, 11:44:36 am
During the regular season I really don't follow baseball outside of the NL Central so maybe I'm missing something but y'all are just a game and a half out of the Wild Card right now. How is that Rock bottom?!
We had just been no-hit by the Phillies on Labor Day.

gutshot

Quote from: ucahogfan on September 10, 2014, 08:12:36 pm
We had just been no-hit by the Phillies on Labor Day.

Yep. And had just finished off a stretch of 3 games with one total run.

popcornhog

Gotcha. So it was more of a damnit, we suck right now kind of comment than a literal rock bottom.

This was a fun and educational thread to read through for me.
WPS

gutshot

Ok after getting swept by what's left of the Texas Rangers, maybe the no-hitter wasn't rock bottom, after all. Lord have mercy.

pigture perfect

The Braves have not played we'll of late, but a few factors have led to the place they are right now. Losing key players before the season probably is the biggest factor. Another is the NL east being much better. Usually the other four team in the division become everyone's whipping boys. Not so much this year.
The 2 biggest fools in the world: He who has an answer for everything and he who argues with him.  - original.<br /> <br />The first thing I'm going to ask a lawyer (when I might need one) is, "You don't post on Hogville do you?"

ucahogfan

Quote from: gutshot on September 14, 2014, 05:36:30 pm
Ok after getting swept by what's left of the Texas Rangers, maybe the no-hitter wasn't rock bottom, after all. Lord have mercy.
It's all Uggla's fault!

Seriously, we had every chance to grab that second wild card with the Brewers and our offense just faded away.  I understand that several of our players are never going to walk, but this offense has too much talent to be this bad.

I would like to see us trade for a CF this offseason and just eat BJ's contract like we are with Uggla.  I don't know if anyone could have seen him be THIS bad.  We have some assets we can unload to get a decent CF.

gutshot

Quote from: pigture perfect on September 14, 2014, 08:48:25 pm
The Braves have not played we'll of late, but a few factors have led to the place they are right now. Losing key players before the season probably is the biggest factor. Another is the NL east being much better. Usually the other four team in the division become everyone's whipping boys. Not so much this year.

Offense,offense, offense. The pitching has actually been good in spite of the Medlen and Beachy injuries. No offensive contribution from BJ, Simmons, Johnson, and Uggla while he was here has been the back breaker. And the bench has been atrocious as well.  It's amazing because this is pretty much the same cast of characters that murdered the ball in 2013.

And you are right...the Mets and Marlins have given the Braves fits this season.

ucahogfan

Well, it looks like this team has given up.  Had a chance to stay in the playoff hunt, but have gone 0-5 against the Mets and Rangers the last two weekends.  There must be change this offseason and this offense has to get much better.

We are still one of the youngest teams in baseball (I think I heard earlier in the year that we were the youngest, but that has probably changed with the Cubs calling a lot of people up), but this team has a lot of experience together.  I would like to see a new CF and 3B.

gutshot

I am on the fence about the Braves ousting Frank.  On one hand there are the bad contracts and bad playoff results.  On the other hand, you have the winningest team over the last 4 1/2 years and the highest WAR among drafted players since 2007.  I'm not a sabermetrics freak, but I do see some validity in that. 

Honestly I don't see how Fredi stays.  The team didn't quit on the GM.  They quit on Fredi.  That's hard to ignore. 

PorkerOinker

Quote from: gutshot on September 22, 2014, 11:35:04 am
I am on the fence about the Braves ousting Frank.  On one hand there are the bad contracts and bad playoff results.  On the other hand, you have the winningest team over the last 4 1/2 years and the highest WAR among drafted players since 2007.  I'm not a sabermetrics freak, but I do see some validity in that. 

Honestly I don't see how Fredi stays.  The team didn't quit on the GM.  They quit on Fredi.  That's hard to ignore. 

I agree I think Fredi has to go, I like the guy, but he has just not been able to get it done. If Fredi does end up going, I think the new GM needs to fly straight to Kansas City and get Ned Yost. He has been in the organization before under Bobby and has had decent success at the Brewers and Royals, two places where  it is hard to win anything let alone have the success he has had.
"America promises equal opportunity, not equal outcomes"-Paul Ryan

jrulz83

Lenin is cautiously optimistic.

gutshot

Have to leave that decision up to the next GM I would think. Whoever fills those two positions will need to be on the same page or it isn't going to work any more than Wren and Fredi did.

gutshot

I honestly don't know which way this team is headed in the next few weeks. Piece together the rotation and flip the calendar on the offense? Trade a corner outfielder to fill the rotation? Trade both and Gattis and gear up for 2017 and the new ballpark? Hart's comments have really muddied the waters lately, probably by design. So many potential moves. Can't wait for the winter meetings.

ucahogfan

Atlanta Braves @Braves 
  ·  4h 4 hours ago   
Atlanta acquires RHP Arodys Vizcaino and 3 international bonus pool slots from the Cubs for Tommy LaStella & 1 international bonus pool slot

Very interesting trade for both the Braves and Cubs.  The Braves get back Viz who was brought up in our system before being shipped to Chicago a couple of years back.  He has gone through a lot of injuries and hasn't been healthy for a full season in a while.  While La Stella is major league ready, he will never hit for much power and the Cubs are loaded with talent in the MIF with Castro, Baez, and Russell.  It also appears that we might be big players in the international market next year which will be nice.

gutshot

That international Money is big. Sets both the Braves and Cubs up for other trades also. There's been talk of using one of the bullpen arms in a trade. For the Cubs, makes one of the middle infielders you mentioned expendable to acquire pitching.

bulldog04

So who will be our starting right fielder?  Does J Up go to RF?  Or does he get traded?

gutshot

Upton in right. Gattis in left. What a terrible outfield defense, but that's what you're lookin at now.

bulldog04

Do see a trade happening involving Jup or gattis?  We have Constanza who would be serviceable in the OF.  I'm ready for Uggla's and BJup's contract off the books.

gutshot

If they trade Upton and Gattis in favor of Constanza that is effectively punting the season. They had better get major league ready players in return, or at least some that will be ready to be competitive in a year. Can't go into a new stadium in 2017 in rebuild mode. Gattis and Upton should bring a good return. It better not be low level minor talent though. That's too much of a gamble. They have to be a competitive team by 2017 if not 16.

ucahogfan

Looks like we are using the savings from J-Hey and potentially JUpton if he is moved to pursue Yasmany Tomas to fill one of the corner OF spots.  He will probably get somewhere in the range of a 6/90 deal starting out which would be cheaper than either JUpton or J-Hey.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/102424512/braves-showing-increased-interest-in-yasmany-tomas

While Lester will almost certainly wind up a Red Sox or Cub (supposedly offered a 6/144 deal), I saw that he recently bought a home near the new stadium in Cobb County.  If he would give us a hometown discount in about the 17-18M range per, I would be ashamed if ownership didn't pony that kind of money up.  Having an ace like Lester would be nice to bring into the new stadium with the core of young players we have locked up.

Also, in the article I posted, looks like we might try to bring back Ross in a backup role.  I sure hope we do.

ucahogfan

Quote from: gutshot on November 19, 2014, 05:12:56 pm
If they trade Upton and Gattis in favor of Constanza that is effectively punting the season. They had better get major league ready players in return, or at least some that will be ready to be competitive in a year. Can't go into a new stadium in 2017 in rebuild mode. Gattis and Upton should bring a good return. It better not be low level minor talent though. That's too much of a gamble. They have to be a competitive team by 2017 if not 16.
Maybe we could flip JUpton to the Mariners for Tajuan Walker.  The Ms need a big time RH power bat and JUpton fits that mold.  He wouldn't come cheap at 14.5M and a big time prospect, but the Ms are in win-now mode and Tajuan Walker might not be 100% ready.  Walker does look like a potential ace in the near future so he would be the type of player I would like to see return.

I think Gattis would bring back a big return because of his cost control and big time power.  An AL team would love to have his power in the DH spot.  Maybe we could float him in front of the Royals who desperately need power.  In exchange, maybe we could get Sean Manaea who is a big time LHP prospect.  He was in High A this past season, but could be a fast mover and has front of the rotation stuff.  Or potentially we could get Hunter Dozier who is a good prospect at the hot corner.