Atlanta Braves thread!!!

[JBS]

I noticed the braves have a pretty strong following here, so i figured id get this thread going...3-1 to start the season..just a few bullet point thoughts of mine

- I hate Nate Mclouth
- Very impressed w Kimbrell as the closer
- This team could use another bat for sure
- Very happy w the bullpen overall
- Starting pitching is strong
- Hanson needs to be better
- We really need a new CF..preferably one that can swing the bat..I don't see any other position on this team where a change can be made that will also improve us offensively...not a realistic one at least
- Chipper is the man

 

[Muhast]

I noticed the braves have a pretty strong following here, so i figured id get this thread going...3-1 to start the season..just a few bullet point thoughts of mine

- I hate Nate Mclouth
- Very impressed w Kimbrell as the closer
- This team could use another bat for sure
- Very happy w the bullpen overall
- Starting pitching is strong
- Hanson needs to be better
- We really need a new CF..preferably one that can swing the bat..I don't see any other position on this team where a change can be made that will also improve us offensively...not a realistic one at least
- Chipper is the man

I was excited about Kimbrell last year when he pitched three straight games in the playoffs and had three straight 1-2-3 innings.

He is going to be a star.

Prado finally got his swing down pat on sunday. Freeman should follow soon.

Uggla looks like a monster of a 2nd basemen.

 

[JBS]

I was excited about Kimbrell last year when he pitched three straight games in the playoffs and had three straight 1-2-3 innings.

He is going to be a star.

Prado finally got his swing down pat on sunday. Freeman should follow soon.

Uggla looks like a monster of a 2nd basemen.

I hope you are right about Freeman..we need all the production we can get..

Uggla is definitely a monster @ 2nd

That venters/Kimbrell combo is going to be amazing for us..take a lead heading into the 8th and it should be a wrap..absolutely love being able to shorten games

 

[Bonecrusher#31]

I love my Braves and I'm saying anything negative about any player.......



yet.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

I wouldn't get too excited over Uggla just yet.

 

[silverbear]

How 'bout we talk about a REAL team??

I refer, of course, to the unbeaten, never even been behind for an inning this season Baltimore Orioles... the team with a team ERA of 1.0, while the starters' combined ERA is under 0.7...


Break up the Birds...

 

[Bonecrusher#31]

0


Break up the Birds...

No Way !!!!

Keep those jabronies together..

 

[RoyTheHammer]

How 'bout we talk about a REAL team??

I refer, of course, to the unbeaten, never even been behind for an inning this season Baltimore Orioles... the team with a team ERA of 1.0, while the starters' combined ERA is under 0.7...


Break up the Birds...

I think that's the first time i've ever heard "real team" and Baltimore Orioles in the same paragraph haha.

They're starting out well though.

 

[Joe Realist]

Go Phillies!

 

[silverbear]

I think that's the first time i've ever heard "real team" and Baltimore Orioles in the same paragraph haha.

That's because you're very young, LOL...

In the 70s, the Baltimore Orioles were the model for how a successful franchise should be run... their farm system was the one that everybody else copied...

Of course, that was all before Peter Freakin' Angelos... and before baseball set up their free agency rules so that the Yankees and Red Sox could buy all the free agent talent available every year (MLB's salary cap rules are a complete joke)...

As an old guy, I can still vividly remember Palmer, McNally, Cuellar and Dobson, who only did something that has never been done, before or since-- 4 20 game winners on one staff, in one season...

They're starting out well though.

Obviously, I was being playful with my original response, but I will go out on a limb right now and predict that the Birds will win 90 games this year, which might or might not make them playoff contenders... you heard it here first; I mean, they're winning games right now without any offensive contribution of note from their brand new big boppers-- Vlad Guerrero, Derek Lee and Mark Reynolds... if those guys in the middle of the order start providing the kind of power that they've shown in the past they're capable of, then this offense will be very, very good... of course, with Reynolds in the mix they're also gonna give us a ton of strikeouts... we O's fans are rooting for him to strike out less than 200 times, which would be his best in some years... but that's OK, provided he can also give the team 35-40 homers... so far, he's proven to be a fair to middling defensive 3rd baseman...

Yeah, I'm a little giddy over the Birds' start, especially after the way they finished their last 57 games last year (34-23, nearly a .600 winning percentage)... but I'm also realistic, this team hasn't been a contender in a very, very long time, and it's still operating at a distinct financial disadvantage vis a vis the Sox and Yank-mees...

 

[RoyTheHammer]

That's because you're very young, LOL...

In the 70s, the Baltimore Orioles were the model for how a successful franchise should be run... their farm system was the one that everybody else copied...

Of course, that was all before Peter Freakin' Angelos... and before baseball set up their free agency rules so that the Yankees and Red Sox could buy all the free agent talent available every year (MLB's salary cap rules are a complete joke)...

As an old guy, I can still vividly remember Palmer, McNally, Cuellar and Dobson, who only did something that has never been done, before or since-- 4 20 game winners on one staff, in one season...



Obviously, I was being playful with my original response, but I will go out on a limb right now and predict that the Birds will win 90 games this year, which might or might not make them playoff contenders... you heard it here first; I mean, they're winning games right now without any offensive contribution of note from their brand new big boppers-- Vlad Guerrero, Derek Lee and Mark Reynolds... if those guys in the middle of the order start providing the kind of power that they've shown in the past they're capable of, then this offense will be very, very good... of course, with Reynolds in the mix they're also gonna give us a ton of strikeouts... we O's fans are rooting for him to strike out less than 200 times, which would be his best in some years... but that's OK, provided he can also give the team 35-40 homers... so far, he's proven to be a fair to middling defensive 3rd baseman...

Yeah, I'm a little giddy over the Birds' start, especially after the way they finished their last 57 games last year (34-23, nearly a .600 winning percentage)... but I'm also realistic, this team hasn't been a contender in a very, very long time, and it's still operating at a distinct financial disadvantage vis a vis the Sox and Yank-mees...

90 games is alot.. but i wouldn't rule it out. Showalter is doing a nice job there.

 

[JBS]

How 'bout we talk about a REAL team??

I refer, of course, to the unbeaten, never even been behind for an inning this season Baltimore Orioles... the team with a team ERA of 1.0, while the starters' combined ERA is under 0.7...


Break up the Birds...

Do you live in MD? I'm right in Rockville

 

[silverbear]

90 games is alot.. but i wouldn't rule it out. Showalter is doing a nice job there.

Mostly, he's got the guys believing in themselves, and it's a beautiful thing to see...

 

[silverbear]

Do you live in MD? I'm right in Rockville

I live in Virginia, but I became an O's fan way back in 1965, when I was living in Hagerstown... I'm maybe 2-2 and a half hours from where you live...

 

[Patton]

- I really don't like the construction of the batting order. There's just no reason at all for Jason Heyward to be hitting 6th and Nate McLouth 2nd. Heyward's losing at bats because of it. Why would anyone want possibly the best offensive player on the team and a guy that OBP'd nearly .400 last year to lose at bats? Just really boggles my mind. This team is better than last year's, but Bobby Cox had Heyward in the right spot. The two hole was perfect. When the top of your order can't get on base, you're inhibiting your ability to score. So the guy with the near .400 OBP should be lower in the order.

- One more lineup construction grievance I had was hitting Freddie Freeman 2nd on Wed. against the Brewers. That was just a brutal decision. He didn't get on base once in the entire game and has basically struggled thus far this year. There was no logical reason to slot him there.

- Beachy over Minor looks like the right decision. Minor doesn't seem to have quite the polish of Beachy. He has more upside since he's a big, left handed pitcher, but it seems like Beachy's a better option for the team right now and it keeps Minor's service time down.

- As far as the team needing another bat, they really need someone who can tier up lefties. Everyone who plays regularly is better at hitting right handed pitching, even the righties like Uggla, Prado and Gonzalez. So basically, when the team sees a left handed starter, they are automatically worse off. This will be less of an issue, if Uggla can start raking. While he does have a better split against right handers, he can hit lefties well too. Aside from the homers, he's had a slow start though.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Obviously, I was being playful with my original response, but I will go out on a limb right now and predict that the Birds will win 90 games this year,

We will see. Buck Showalter is a great coach, but he is over-barring and high strung. He tends to make players hate him after a while. He took two teams to the brink of a World Series, but they had to can him to actually get over the hump. (Yankees and Diamondbacks)

I think he could have done better in Texas, but Tom Hicks didn't figure out he was being an idiot personal wise until after he fired Showalter.

So, you want the O's to win? Let him build the team up this year and probably at least next year, then can him. That will be your best shot.

 

[Temo]

McLouth, Uggla, and Freeman need to get it going and the Braves in general need to start stringing some hits together. I'd take 4-3 for the opening road trip, though.

 

[Patton]

I don't expect anything out of Freeman right now other than quality defense. I've liked his approach so far and I think the offense will come, but it'll be a process.

 

[DIAF]

what the......Atlanta Braves thread on a Dallas Cowboys forum?

I am first and foremost a Rangers fan, but I moved out here in the early 90s and have adopted the Braves as my 2nd favorite team. Currently I live about 3 miles from the stadium and get to about 10-15 home games a year.

Freakin' Nate McOut. And why the hell is Heyward batting sixth. blehhhhhhh

 

[JBS]

Bats finally came around last night..Braves pound Cliff Lee and move to 4-4..

This Braves pen absolutely has to be the best in baseball..if there is a better pen out there I'd like to see it..

I am so disappointed with Tommy Hanson right now..he needs to get his stuff together..

Offensively, I still think this team needs to add a big bat somewhere