Thursday night I was fortunate enough to be the guest of Dan Schlossberg and Chris Mascaro on Braves Banter. This episode is a bit longer than as I served as the opening act for Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Listen to our thoughts on the upcoming Atlanta Braves season. You can catch Braves Banter every Thursday at 7:00 PM ET.
Jones walking out to the field earlier during 2012 spring training. Jones expects to be there for the home opener April 13 v. the Brewers.
Braves 3rd baseman Chipper Jones had his 6th knee surgery on Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. When asked by AJC Braves beat reporter David O’Brien how he was feeling, Jones’ response via text messags read, “So far, so good,” and that he was “A little groggy.”
» Continue reading “Chipper “So Far So Good” After Knee Surgery”
2012 Atlanta Braves PreviewAtlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
1. Phillies
2. Braves (Have one of the two new Wild Card Spots)
3. Marlins
4. Nationals
5. Mets
With the Marlins doing some rebranding, don’t sit on them to be quiet, especially with what they did in the off season. Their new stadium, mascot, uniforms, and Ozzie Guillen as their manager, they might be a sight to see. » Continue reading “A Look Into the Crystal Ball”
Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones announced today that he has made the decision to retire at the end of the upcoming 2012 Major League Baseball season. The Braves and Jones have expressed interest in rejoining the organization in a yet-to-be-determined capacity after 2012.
With all the “will he or won’t he” talk surrounding Chipper Jones, it is no surprise that the soon to be 40 year old in his 19th season has chosen to put the talk to rest. Chipper has always been known as a team first guy- changing positions, taking less money, and now, allowing his team to plan for the future.
It has been clear over the last few seasons that expecting a full 162 from Chipper was just not reasonable. This with the uncertainty on the left side of the infield, made it clear that the Braves needed a plan, even if it was a back up plan. This way the veteran glue of this team goes out on his own terms and still puts what they need in the forefront.
If by hits you mean by the Braves opponents or the less than pleasant news that seems to come daily, yes the hits do indeed keep coming. With Tim Hudson out until at least May and Jair Jurrjens still having shaky outings, the Braves young arms have been called upon to grow up quickly. We won’t delve back into Delgado and Teheran just yet, other than to say, it has not been as bad as the first day out. The latest news has the number 2 pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino out for 12 months after Tommy John surgery Tuesday. Vizcaino avoided surgery in 2010 by adhering to six weeks of rest. This time he was not so lucky, and Dr. James Andrews was forced to surgically repair the flame throwers ulnar collateral ligament.
As mentioned earlier, Jurrjens is now sporting an ERA of over 10. All the news is not as dark as this for the pitchers. Mike Minor has solidified his spot in the rotation by throwing 14 scoreless innings. It may be too early to tell if what we are seeing out of this Braves pitching staff is cause for alarm, but it does make me want to close my eyes and not open them until opening day. Then again, few of us can turn away from a train wreck!
There is a reason why no pitcher has given up six home runs on six hits in a regular season game. No pitcher would still be in a game to give up that many home runs. Which is why there is no reason to panic about an outing from Julio Teheran that was a train wreck at best. Since it was the first appearance of spring, David Ross continued to call for pitches that Teheran could not locate. Randall Delgado’s four runs in the the first did nothing for the aesthetics of this opening weekend eye sore.
It may be that the two top prospects are not ready for major league hitters. Could that be yet another reason why the Braves did not move any pitchers from what seems overstock? Maybe, maybe not- maybe it was just a bad first day back at the office.
And before you get worried about Atlanta not taking advantage of the gale winds like Prince Fielder and company were able to, save your anxiety until at least May. If you won’t listen to me, it may calm your nerves to know that Dan Uggla hit a home run today. Just as with the ugly, keep a level and somewhat objective head when looking at spring games, and just enjoy the fact that baseball is back!
