Official 2007 Atlanta Braves Thread

[muscle979]

Now I know that there are like 3 Braves fans on this message board including me and 10 million New Yorkers and south Floridians posting in the Mets/Yankees/Marlins threads but I felt obligated to start this thread anyway.

Discuss the Atlanta Braves and their quest to reclaim the NL East crown that they surely must feel naked without here.

I'll start things off by saying that I am very aware that they needed pitching help in the worst way but I am not a fan of the LaRoche trade. I thought he was a pretty good player that they should have kept.

 

[NJFINSFAN1]

Now I know that there are like 3 Braves fans on this message board including me and 10 million New Yorkers and south Floridians posting in the Mets/Yankees/Marlins threads but I felt obligated to start this thread anyway.

Discuss the Atlanta Braves and their quest to reclaim the NL East crown that they surely must feel naked without here.

I'll start things off by saying that I am very aware that they needed pitching help in the worst way but I am not a fan of the LaRoche trade. I thought he was a pretty good player that they should have kept.

Sorry, I could not help myself.

I think the Braves can come in second, but they have no fire power and miss Leo.

 

[muscle979]

Sorry, I could not help myself.

http://www.triskele.com/images/highwayfeatures/CryingIndian.jpg

I think the Braves can come in second, but they have no fire power and miss Leo.

I think they can come in first but we'll see. A few things have to fall into place. They still have a little firepower. Chipper will have a month or two where nobody can stop him. If he can stay in the lineup all season that could be big. When he's hitting well he's one of the best in the league. I'm sure as a Mets fan you know that.

 

[CharlestonPhan]

you are not totally alone M979, i am a lifelong Braves fan here, even during the Biff Pocaroba years. :)

i think they have what it takes to contend still, and even win the division so long as the starting rotation does their jobs as good or better than last season. Hampton's health will be key, of course, but the bullpen should be MUCH improved, and blow far less chances than last season.

i read recently that the bullpen blew 29 leads in the 7th inning or later last year. if they fix that, that alone will makes them contenders again, if they can continue scoring 5.2 runs per game like they did last season.

i am taking a wait and see attitude on the trade, though i fear that it will be looked back on as a mistake by Schuerholz at the end of the season (think Dan Kolb trade). Laroche is just entering his prime, and Gonzalez ended the season with some arm issues, but he has supposedly been given a clean bill of health.

another concern is keeping both Smoltz and Hampton healthy for the full season.

any ideas what other factors weighed into the decision to release Giles? i read the Braves beat writers column weekly on their web page, and he basicly said it came down to not only the money issue and hinted at either a character issue or Giles causing locker room problems, which is taboo to the Cox, Schuerholz philosophy. i have also heard the speculation that Giles production has fallen off since steroid testing, and that was a factor in his release.

 

[muscle979]

you are not totally alone M979, i am a lifelong Braves fan here, even during the Biff Pocaroba years. :)

i think they have what it takes to contend still, and even win the division so long as the starting rotation does their jobs as good or better than last season. Hampton's health will be key, of course, but the bullpen should be MUCH improved, and blow far less chances than last season.

i read recently that the bullpen blew 29 leads in the 7th inning or later last year. if they fix that, that alone will makes them contenders again, if they can continue scoring 5.2 runs per game like they did last season.

i am taking a wait and see attitude on the trade, though i fear that it will be looked back on as a mistake by Schuerholz at the end of the season (think Dan Kolb trade). Laroche is just entering his prime, and Gonzalez ended the season with some arm issues, but he has supposedly been given a clean bill of health.

another concern is keeping both Smoltz and Hampton healthy for the full season.

any ideas what other factors weighed into the decision to release Giles? i read the Braves beat writers column weekly on their web page, and he basicly said it came down to not only the money issue and hinted at either a character issue or Giles causing locker room problems, which is taboo to the Cox, Schuerholz philosophy. i have also heard the speculation that Giles production has fallen off since steroid testing, and that was a factor in his release.

I don't think he had been as productive lately either. His brother is much better. I wouldn't have paid him more money, that's for sure. He was OK but his loss doesn't bother me that much. LaRoche's hurt more.

Their relief pitching was horrible last season. I remember them basically needing to build a lead of 4 or 5 runs or more to feel comfortable with a game. If their pitching improves their hitters definitely won't feel the pressure they were feeling last season. And you're right, if they could have even won half of those blown saves last season they probably would have at least got the wildcard.

I'm worried more about whether Hampton's performance will justify what he makes. I don't remember him as being anything better than average at best. I think Smoltz will come through like he always does. Hudson getting better is going to be key. I don't even know who else they're putting in their rotation right now. I know they traded Ramirez. Maybe Davies will be back. He showed some promise.

 

[NorthFloridaFin]

I think we should be fine, we still have a pretty good starting rotation. I wasn't to crazy about the LaRoche trade at first, but it will help in the long run for our relief pitching, which we need more than an up-and-down first baseman. Adam LaRoche was just so inconsistent it wasn't even funny.

I'm a little anxious to see how Francour will try to improve this year. He started picking alot better pitches to hit toward the end of the season, which brought his BA up about 10 points the last month.

 

[muscle979]

I think we should be fine, we still have a pretty good starting rotation. I wasn't to crazy about the LaRoche trade at first, but it will help in the long run for our relief pitching, which we need more than an up-and-down first baseman. Adam LaRoche was just so inconsistent it wasn't even funny.

I'm a little anxious to see how Francour will try to improve this year. He started picking alot better pitches to hit toward the end of the season, which brought his BA up about 10 points the last month.

That's true. McCann is a pretty good hitter too.

 

[Roman529]

Do the Braves have Spring Training in Orlando? I wish I could head to Clearwater to watch my Phillies. I was there in 1986, on Spring Break...baseball and babes. Good memories. :tongue:

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

I love Jeff Francoeur and think he will be very special. Obviously his biggest problem is his impatience at the plate. But I expect him to be much more patient this year, and put up better numbers.

love this video of him breaking a camera lens...

[youtube]Db0pEKqJG4o[/youtube]

 

[muscle979]

Do the Braves have Spring Training in Orlando? I wish I could head to Clearwater to watch my Phillies. I was there in 1986, on Spring Break...baseball and babes. Good memories. :tongue:

They do have it in Orlando. You should check the schedule out. You might catch the phillies down there.

 

[Roman529]

They do have it in Orlando. You should check the schedule out. You might catch the phillies down there.

Thanks...I might drive down to the Phoenix area for some Cactus League games as I can't really afford a flight to Florida.

 

[CharlestonPhan]

the Braves agreed on a deal with Oscar Villareal, avoiding arbitration, according to the Braves web site.

found it funny that the web site also posted an article on how relaxed and focused on the upcoming season John Smoltz is, the day before news of his divorce hit the media. ouch.

 

[muscle979]

the Braves agreed on a deal with Oscar Villareal, avoiding arbitration, according to the Braves web site.

found it funny that the web site also posted an article on how relaxed and focused on the upcoming season John Smoltz is, the day before news of his divorce hit the media. ouch.

Maybe they figure he'll have more time to focus on baseball now .