Evan Gattis will stay play a prominent role the Braves when Brian McCann returns.

The Braves sent Tyler Pastornicky back to Gwinnett to give Brian McCann a roster spot for the Braves for Monday’s game against the Reds. While the Braves are excited to have McCann’s bat and game calling back with the big league club, this leaves fans to wonder about Evan Gattis.

Evan Gattis won the NL Rookie of the Month Award for April, after leading all rookies in home runs (6), RBIs (16), and slugging percentage (.566) for that month. The 26-year-old had performed much better than anyone had thought coming into the season, thus minimizing the loss of Brian McCann. Gattis will not not be the full-time catcher when McCann returns, but his role will still be prominent with the Braves. » Continue reading “Evan Gattis’ Role When Brian McCann Returns”

Jordan Schafer had a great game for the Braves and was the catalyst for the offense.

The Braves, 3-7 in their last 10 games entering Monday, have struggled mightily on their cold road trip. They lost three of four to Pittsburgh and were swept mercilessly by Detroit. With the Nationals looming, Braves fans felt uneasy about the direction this team was heading entering play against their toughest opponent within the division.

Today’s hero was Jordan Schafer. Yes, the same Jordan Schafer who fizzled out of prospect status, got sent to the Astros, and now is back with the Braves as a 5th outfielder. The Braves have had an awful go of it with their lead off hitters since the beginning of the season. Schafer reached base four times in four appearances, including three walks. He was the table setter for the Braves 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals. » Continue reading “Braves Halt Losing Streak”

With the Braves second baseman under performing, how realistic is the trading of Dan Uggla?

Dan Uggla should have his bags packed and on standby because he’s going to get traded, right? Um, not exactly.

Let’s not get too hasty in trying to trade Dan Uggla right now.

Sure, Dan Uggla has not been the perennial .260/.350/.470 ball player that he was in Florida, but I’m going to make a case that he has still been a productive ball player in Atlanta.

The first reason is that he gets on base. Last year, Dan Uggla led all of baseball with 94 walks. That led to an OBP (on-base percentage) of .348, which was third best on the team behind Prado (2nd) and some guy named Larry (Chipper Jones). Sure, he hit .220 and didn’t have at least 27 home runs in a year in his MLB career, but is a guy not allowed to have a bad year (or two)? I remember in 2004 when Chipper Jones hit .248 and people were saying that he had lost it as quickly as Dale Murphy did. Dan Uggla is no Chipper Jones and will never be, but the point is that bad years happen to ball players. » Continue reading “So the Braves Should Trade Dan Uggla, right?”

Kevin Pate
I’m sure that no one wants to relive the Atlanta Braves poor showing tonight. Fredi Gonzalez was none too pleased and had this to say after the game, courtesy of David O’Brien‘s twitter account:

This was #Braves manager’s postgame presser: “He was pretty good, and we weren’t. And that’s about it, boys. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

— David O’Brien (@ajcbraves) April 27, 2013

» Continue reading “Atlanta Braves: The Good, the Mad, and the Double Bag UGLY…”

Kevin Pate helps us look for Atlanta’s hide and seek offense.

The Braves just dropped three of four games to the Pittsburgh Pirates, owners of 21 consecutive losing seasons. In those four losses, they managed to score just four runs. Is it time to worry about the offense? Not quite.

The Braves, recently, have been the recipients of bad luck. The biggest receiver of this unfortunate luck has been Jason Heyward, who has a BABIP (batting average of balls in play) of .114. Considering that Heyward’s career BABIP is around .300, it’s safe to assume that you should expect Heyward to gain about .200 higher in average, and expect a few more of those flyouts to turn into homeruns.

The Braves walk into Monday’s game with a BABIP of .275, which is good for 23rd in the league. Despite that statistic, » Continue reading “Where is the Braves Offense?”

After the Braves 10th straight win last night, they turn around for a 12:10 ET first pitch and head out of town again. That’s roughly a 20 hour home stand. It is probably in Atlanta’s best interest to keep moving along. Who knows, they may never lose, or they could lose today. Just keep your eyes open, and enjoy every minute of the ride.

Did you know that three of the five Braves starting pitchers have higher batting averages than Jason Heyward? Did you realize that Heyward is 4 for 39 for an .103 average, but he has seven walks and seven runs? Did you also realize that Heyward, B.J. Upton, and Dan Uggla have more strike outs than hits, and they are all batting under.175? » Continue reading “The Hits Keep Coming…For Some of the Braves”

Here it is, Opening Day! The new Braves take the field versus National League East nemesis Philadelphia. Ready or not, Braves fans will have an infield without Chipper Jones, someone other than Brian McCann behind the plate, and no daily game of “Where on the Field is Martin Prado”.

What is the same is the old reliable Tim Hudson on the mound. At 37 years old, you can count on Hudson commanding the cutter, just as you can count on the “War Eagle” for the former Auburn star. Hudson has lead by example since joining the Braves in 2005. Do not mistake his laid back nature and often comical interviews for lack of killer instinct. Anyone that has watched the veteran compete knows that while he may have us laughing of the field, on the field there are no laughing matters. (Well, there was that time he fell off the mound versus Baltimore. As someone who frequently embarrasses myself in similar manners, if you cannot laugh at yourself, you are the only one not laughing.) » Continue reading “Braves Opening Day- Something Old, Something New”

Braves fans may finally be able to take a breath and enjoy the rest of the season thanks to the guy that ended a horrific September and in return the season in 2011. Freddie Freeman not only clinched at least one playoff game for the Braves with his two run walk off home run, he also brought a glimmer of hope of a division title.

That’s right folks the team that had the most colossal collapse in team history, could make just as shocking of a come the next year. With eight games remaining, Atlanta finds itself only four games back of the NL East leading Washington Nationals, a team that has shut down their ace when they need him most. More than the loss of Starburg’s arm, Washington misses the continuity in the clubhouse. The message sent to the Nationals and their fans is that winning is not important. On top of the fact they they have proven to the world their inability to manage a pitching staff.

Freeman’s moment of glory may have taken away from two milestones: Chipper Jones tied Robbie Alomar in career hits, and Kris Medlen tied Whitey Ford for the longest games started team winning streak. In the 22 games Kris Medlen has started, even if he has gotten a no decision, the Braves have won. You cannot really blame Freddie though, it could have more to do with the fact that we are just accustomed to Medlen and Chipper carrying the team.