In 2006 the Braves suffered because their bullpen was one of the worst in the league. Their answer? Trade, trade trade, first for Bob Wickman and Danys Baez, then Rafael Soriano, and finally Mike Gonzalez. Phew, we fixed the bullpen problem.
In 2007 the Braves suffered because they didn't have enough offense, with black holes at first base and left field. Their answer? Trade for Mark Teixeira, and the problem is solved for not one, but two years. Yes, they fixed the problem.
In 2008 the Braves suffered because their starting rotation was decimated by injuries and brought the entire team down. Their answer? Trade, sign, sign, first for Javier Vazquez, then for Derek Lowe, and finally Kenshin Kawakami. Yes, it looks like that problem is fixed... but haven't we heard that before?
What is going to be that weak spot on our team which brings us down this year? Or have they finally figured it out? I've got to hand it to our front office for being one to at least try and fix these problems, but each year it seems like overkill in one area at the expense of the rest? This off-season felt the same way, with the Braves spending lavishly on starting pitching they desperately needed, but settling for a mediocre bat to fill the left field and middle-of-the-order power void.
At least this year we seem to be well stocked with starting pitching depth, a commodity that can be more easily traded. The big question will be how long the team will stick with certain players who may not be performing if the team is not winning. How long will they wait before they make a trade to upgrade that under performing position? We waited too long in 2006 before we addressed the bullpen problems. We waited too long in 2007 before we acquired offensive help. We waited so long in 2008, that we were out of the playoff hunt and there was no need to acquire anyone.
Moving quickly this year may have to buck some of the Braves traditions of loyalty and patience with their players, but to get back to their winning ways they may have to hurt some feelings. This is the question we the fans should be asking ourselves all season. Hopefully the Braves front office will ask themselves this question too. (Actually, hopefully we won't have to ask the question at all because all parts of our team will be clicking.)
0 recs | 29 comments
The offense still kinda sucks
Chipper can’t hit OPS over 1.000 forever and Heap is guaranteed to miss days. Having Teixeira for 2/3 of the season last year helped too. I guess Frenchy will regress back near average and LF won’t stink so much, but the overall offense this year will likely be worst than last year. Fortunately, the pitching and defense will be awesome and that should be enough.
I wonder if the Braves would try another mid-season trade for a bat if the offense is stinking while the team is still in contention.
VictorW - April 3, 2009
I really like our bullpen and infield. The only question marks are going to be the outfield (hopefully we can pull 3 good years out of 6 players) and the starting rotation. Lowe and Javy will be fine. I’m just a bit worried jj might regress due to too much work last year, he tailed off down the strech. Glavine could be anything from a 4.0era innings eater to a 6.0 era pitcher who cant make it 5 innings. Ken should be fine, but who knows how he will hold up to a longer season. I think Bobby will hold sp more accountable this year, especially with the AAA rotation being so strong.
All that said I feel there is a wild card team in the making heading to Atlanta this spring
heapofoatmeal - April 3, 2009
Jurrjens is almost guaranteed to regress. His HR rate was really low last season (0.53 HR/9) and I don’t think he can keep it that low, even if the park gives him a little bit of help.
VictorW - April 3, 2009
Wild Card!!!!!! We are going to be NL east champions. Really what do the Muts have after Santana( and he is feeling some of the same problems our own Huddy was feeling in his elbow last year) which ended his season. Same with the Phills their starting rotation is questionable after Hamels and he could regress after throwing 220 innings last year. Pitching wins Championships and the braves have it. We are 8 deep with guys that could go out there and give our team a chance to win Lowe, Vazquez, KK, JJ, Glavine, Jo Jo, Hanson, and who can forget Campillo.
That a boy - April 3, 2009
Good pitching beats good hitting. We have the luxury of not only a strong starting staff and bullpen, but depth. Any injury, no matter how slight, can bring up Campillo or Reyes, both quality arms. Hanson will be waiting in the wings a la David Price when we need him. In August you’ll see Tim Hudson back, essentially a deadline deal for an ace pitcher without losing players.
This team, I think, while not flashy is built to withstand a season. Everyone is going to have to pull their own weight. Has a nice mix of vets and youngsters. Not too old, not too young. LOVE the bench. Good mix of utility, switch hitters, role players, etc. If the Pen stays healthy, I think the Braves will be in the mix.
kalesi - April 3, 2009
Can't have everything
The Braves have been awesome in recent years at identifying their biggest problems, and attacking them wholeheartedly. But they can only spend so much money on free agents, and be willing to forfeit so many prospects for suitable patches in one season, so unless they want to beg Liberty Media for more money, they’re going to have to make do with what they have.
I think they’ve done well for themselves this season; the bullpen patches look to be back in place, and the SP patches are in place, so the only thing I’d say is in question is the offense. But I see no reason to be anything other than optimistic this season (I’m a proponent of pitching > hitting), considering the organizational-wide depth the organization has shown thusfar. Plenty of pitching in AAA along with Jesus, and one thing I’ve really liked all Spring Training is how well the lesser-knowns are hitting and winning a bunch of come-from-behind ballgames. The bench is looking awesome, and to reiterate, the pitching looks very promising.
royhobbs - April 3, 2009
The outfield is going to be a disaster unless the following occur
1) Francouer’s hot spring carries over to the regular season and he gets a BB:K of .5
2) Schafer learns how to adequate hit lefties and can get an OPS around .750 for the year
3) Anderson is not effective and loses his platoon job to BJONES, who does to righties what MATTYD will do against lefties
bigjoe - April 3, 2009
SWAGGA
mvandonsel - April 3, 2009
1.) I don’t think that’s unthinkable IF Francoeur can stick to this new approach/stance throughout the whole season.
2.) Just a .750 OPS? WOW, I seriously doubt his OPS will even dip below .810
3.) And you’d rather have the streaky Jones out there instead of Anderson? ok, that sounds promising
ChipperTeixeira89 - April 3, 2009
If BJONES UZR rating is any indication...
…he gives those batting gains back in droves.
volsandbraves - April 3, 2009
UZR is ridiculous.
cbwilk - April 3, 2009
If healthy...
… Soriano + Gonzalez ≥ Putz + Rodriguez
sdp - April 3, 2009
Or, even...
… Moylan + Gonzalez ≥ Putz + Rodriguez
sdp - April 3, 2009
Same Argument for Alot of other Mid Market Teams
The Braves may have done some over kill with filling needs in the last few years. With out a balance with other needs of the team for that year. But alot of middle market teams don’t have the money nor the prospects to throw around to meet every need to 100% to there liking. I still like the formula of Solid SP + Solid Defense with an average offense then having Killer offense and below average defense and SP. Braves may not win the division or make the playoff this year but acouple years down the road in 10/11/12 they will be the favorites to win it all as a team that has all the areas covered in above average in (Def+,Off+,SP+,BP+). I will take me chances with this squad this year and have the homegrown talent develop to make a run for the next several years. We are not the Yanks and can just buy every FA or send away every propsect…A fine balance between the two of signing FA and developing prospects with in that all keeps with in the budgets
Hanson-Ace - April 3, 2009
we're in it for 2010.
yeah, we are. here’s to hoping that Lowe and Vasquez can get us ALOT of Prospects from Desperate AL teams.
apoxonbothyourhouses - April 3, 2009
You think Lowe is going to be traded this year? Crazy talk.
VegasAces - April 3, 2009
power lacking
The weak spot is obviously going to be power.. again. When Chipper goes on his annual month long trip on the disabled list, this team is going to struggle to hit enough back-to-back singles to score runs and win games. Francoeur’s new batting stance is going to flop as badly as Ryan Langerhans’ did a few years back once he faces major league pitching in games that matter. The Braves will be forced to make another Teixeira like trade at the deadline if they want to seriously contend.
redwards95 - April 3, 2009
Congratulations, you are today's winner of the....
sddbaker - April 3, 2009
Francoeur is the key guy ...
Chipper was quoted as saying that it seemed that every time a situation arose that we needed a big hit, Frenchy was at the plate and we all know what he did with those chances! The loyalty to this local kid has been admirable but how much longer do they go with him if he under performs early this season? Bobby Cox, the ultimate players manager, seems to hang in there with guys forever. He did it with A Jones. I know the Francoeur went to the minors for a couple of games last year but it did not do anything except Francoeur felt slighted. If Jeff has a good year, not even a great year and the team gets more contribution from Kotchman, Diaz and G. Anderson then maybe it will be enough. We will see.
Fortune favors the brave(s) - April 3, 2009
I don’t quite understand it when everyone says that we are being too loyal to Francoeur. He had one bad season in which we did send him to the minors. He didn’t stay down for long, but injuries didn’t give us the luxury of letting him work out his problems in Mississippi. If he has a repeat of last season I am confident that FW will make a move, but it’s not like we’ve been letting him suck for years without getting rid of him. We wouldn’t have seen the postseason last year if Dale Murphy was in right field for us, and Frenchy’s down year was one of our many problems. We invested a lot when we decided to make him our first pick, and we have to try to get him going again. We’ve seen the talent. It’s there. If we’re being too loyal to anyone, I believe it’s Terry Pendleton.
tgriffith3 - April 3, 2009
They do what's possible
This organization has an amazing track record of getting done what is actually possible due to constraints of budget, and what is actually available in the Free Agent/Trade market. You say they should have done more in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Well…it’s really easy to sit back and say they should have done more, without examining what trades or free agents were actually available to them at those times. I’m not making apologies, or bashing the post, though. I’m genuinely asking the question. Over the past 3 years, what players were available and at what cost to the organization? I’d love to hear the answers.
Kulani23 - April 3, 2009
This offseason...
…is the easiest to judge. The only real regret I have is that the Braves don’t have Jake Peavy. But, I don’t regret still having Escobar and Hanson in the organization. Furcal was never serious about playing for Atlanta. The Yankees weren’t going to trade Nady or Swisher. Yes, Smoltz is a freak of nature. But, the Braves’ were absolutely right to balk at guaranteeing him money not to pitch. Derek Lowe is, and always has been through is career, more reliable than A.J. Burnett. And, Griffey chose to play for one of the worst teams in baseball. He chose vanity over a chance to win.
Wren made the best moves that were possible to make this offseason. It took a little luck to get there, though. At the time it seemed like bad luck, but now it all seems like good luck.
Kulani23 - April 3, 2009
I’m glad we don’t have Peavy.
mvandonsel - April 3, 2009
The offense in 07?
I know this is off topic, but even though we got Teixeira in 2007, th problem was not our offense; it was 3-5 starting pitchers.
Remember Schuerholz said he couldn’t find a starter so he upgraded the offense?
Glavine was brought in during the next offseason with Capillo and others stockpiled to fix that one problem, so the pattern still stands, as does the point of your thread.
parish - April 3, 2009
Depth
I really like our rotation. I think we have solid depth 1-4 and plenty of options for a production #5. I think the bullpen..COULD be really good. If you have a healthy Gonzalez, Soriano, and Moylan pitching 7-9 I think that Boyer, Acosta, Carlyle and company can slot themselves well in a early inning-mop up type role. Keep in mind that bullpen had been intact last year you wouldn’t have had guys like Boyer or Acosta showing up in the 8th or 9th inning in situations where they are not favored. By having depth Bobby can go to these guys when he wants to or shoud…rather then when he HAS to.
The offense-however-is a problem. We just don’t have a big bat outside of chipper. McCann is great…but you can’t rely on a catcher to be THE cog in an offense. The lineup will have depth-I don’t think there will be an automatic out in the lineup-but there are few game changing options Right now we basically have the same offensive player playing SS, 2B, LF and 1B (with the middle IFers posting an OPS of around .790 and Kotchman posting a career OPS of only .740-though I think he will settle in around .790 as well, and Anderson avg an OPS of .781 over the last 3 years). These are OK numbers for the middle IF but below avg for a corner player. Add to the fact that the Braves have to either expect or plan on less production from CF and RF and things don’t look good offensively. However, the Braves will have enough offense to give their pitching a chance to win it for them and will keep them in the hunt. I understand that the Braves don’t want to block the path for their younger talent but I think we have to accept that position battles will work themselves out when the time comes.
The one bright side is that the Braves have a great deal of minor league depth . So if/when one of their OFers starts to really suffer and become a drag on the team..do they make a move…or even two moves to resolve the problem That move could be bringing someone up from the minors or could include a trade for help. The Braves did it wth Mondesi. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to help-they cut him. Will the Braves do that to a good guy like Anderson or a home grown talent like Frenchy? Likewise, if the Braves have as much pitching depth in the minors as it looks like they do then will they be willing to judiciously move some of this depth for MLB offensive help? Would they trade with Detroit to get a Mags…or maybe even a Lee with the Astros if they faulter early. The bright side is that the Braves have plenty of organizational depth to go out and trade for talent. Will the Braves be willing to do wha tthey need to do to win this year?
calbers - April 3, 2009
What year was it that the Braves broke camp with Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi at the corner OF positions? I wanted to start my car in the garage with the garage door down when I heard that.
Smoltz's Beard - April 3, 2009
2005.
I die a little inside each time I think of that one.
FineHamAbounds - April 3, 2009
sdp - April 3, 2009
If we find ourselves in a race for the division around trade deadline time and need a power bat, I wonder how much trade value some of our guys have. I am curious what we could get in return for Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, or even some of our pitching prospects at the lower levels of the minors.
tgriffith3 - April 3, 2009
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