2006 Atlanta Braves Discussion

[bravosfan]

Lot of Braves fans on here... Spring Training's underway, figured we needed one of these.


Projected Lineup
2B Marcus Giles
SS Edgar Renteria
3B Chipper Jones
CF Andruw Jones
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jeff Francoeur
C Brian McCann
LF Ryan Langerhans

Projected Bench
LF Kelly Johnson
LF Matt Diaz
IF Wilson Betemit
IF Pete Orr
C Todd Pratt

Projected Rotation
RHP John Smoltz
RHP Tim Hudson
RHP John Thomson
RHP Jorge Sosa
LHP Horacio Ramirez

Projected Bullpen
RHP Chris Reitsma
RHP Joey Devine
RHP Blaine Boyer
LHP Macay McBride
RHP Oscar Villarreal
LHP John Foster
RHP Brad Baker

Position Battles
Backup First Baseman - Diaz is being given a look, despite his lack of experience... James Jurries could play his way onto the team... Pratt has some experience at 1st...

Leftfielder - Langerhans is the favorite, but Kelly Johnson could take the spot with a good spring... Diaz is expected to be the right-handed half of the platoon, but Brian Jordan is in camp and could snag the spot....

Closer - Reitsma has the edge, but will have to fight off several candidates... Devine is viewed as the closer-of-the-future... Boyer was very effective last season before injury... Villarreal has a big-time arm, but has been limited by injuries the last couple years... Baker could be a darkhorse, as could RHP Anthony Lerew...

5th Starter - Horacio Ramirez is the incumbent, but he needs a strong spring to remain... Kyle Davies, Chuck James, and Lerew are among the challengers...


A few other notes - looks like new pitching coach Roger McDowell is getting along well so far... I won't be surprised if Langerhans or Johnson are dealt by the end of spring... Relievers Mike Remlinger, Lance Cormier, and Chad Paronto have reportedly impressed Cox early, they could find there way onto the roster... Jarrod Saltalamacchia is of course a stud, and while he's expected to start at AA, we'll likely see him in Atlanta before the end of the year. I don't know if I get bonus points for this, but I didn't even have to look up the spelling of 'Saltalamacchia'.

I think that about covers it, should be a fun season.

[TheMatrix31]

Great post, BG.

Obviously the main weakness is the bullpen, and I sure as hell hope that pickups like Remlinger, Cormier are going to shore it up. Chris Reitsma has to prove that he can be a legit closer in the league. Personally, I have my doubts, but what can you do? But either way, lots of unproven guys in there, so it might be a little rough.

The bench looks solid. It looks like we got a lot of young guys, although people that will be able to come in and fill in for a hurt starter or just to give guys a rest. I feel confident in having these guys come in and their ability to get a big hit or pinch-run. That said, I think losing Julio Franco will hurt us. His veteran leadership and seemingly never-ending ability to contribute was huge for us.

The plus side of Julio leaving is that we can finally get to see Adam LaRoche in an everyday role. He needs to get more consistent, but I believe it's there.


Saltalamacchia's nickname should already be obvious...Salty.

I, for one, hope we dont trade Kelly or Ryan. I believe the depth out in the outfield is going to be a big asset to us, seeing as how there are usually a lot of injuries and day-to-day things that happen out there.

Losing Leo is gonna be big, but I'm hoping like hell that Roger can step in and do the same sort of thing Leo did. For starters, I just hope that Horacio can get it together. Before he got hurt in 04, he was kicking some major ***, but ever since then, it's just been bad. I hope he can get some consistency, we'll need it. We also need Jorge Sosa to repeat what he did last year and not revert to his old ways. I remember early on before he started to kick it into high gear, it was painful for me to watch his starts.

That said, let's get behind this Braves team and make it 15 in a row, baby!

And oh, yeah, let's get this team out of the first round.....

GO BRAVES!

[aukevin]

I'm looking forward to seeing what Devine can do. He would look good last year for a few batters, then give up a big hit. I really hope he gets some opportunities this year.

[Tomahawk]

Article in the AJC mentions Anthony Lerew is a candidate for the closer's job and Bobby Cox said Lerew looked fantastic yesterday.

http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sp...0221notes.html

[bravosfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheMatrix31

That said, I think losing Julio Franco will hurt us. His veteran leadership and seemingly never-ending ability to contribute was huge for us.

Even though he's a Met, Julio is still the man:

"Franco, on the other hand, doesn't quite get what the angst is all about. He arrived yesterday for spring training wearing a Braves' T-shirt, of all things, and wore it around the clubhouse for an hour or so, leaving PR man Jay Horwitz in need of oxygen before he finally changed into Mets gear."

:y4:

[aukevin]

Quote: Originally Posted by BraveGamer

Even though he's a Met, Julio is still the man: "Franco, on the other hand, doesn't quite get what the angst is all about. He arrived yesterday for spring training wearing a Braves' T-shirt, of all things, and wore it around the clubhouse for an hour or so, leaving PR man Jay Horwitz in need of oxygen before he finally changed into Mets gear." :y4:

LOL, that's classic. I guess he is getting old, maybe he forgot he changed teams?

[cbgatorade0202]

Ha thatz pretty funny of Franco....Yes i read that Article on Lerew a few days ago and maybe he can become another legit young guy in our pen or Staff

I am not to worried as of right now b/c im hoping we make a decent trade to get 1 more pretty good pitcher to go in our bullpen, If Remlinger and those 2 d'back boys can just pitch half decent our bullpen should be okay , Just gotta hope whoever is Closer doesnt blow games all year long

[bravosfan]

Some of you might be interested in this: FOX agrees to buy Turner South

Quote:

Fox Cable Networks has agreed to buy Time Warner's Turner South, most likely to convert the channel from being a home of Southern-tinged entertainment to a sports-heavy operation anchored by games of three Atlanta professional teams. The pending sale, which had been expected, was announced Thursday by Fox, a unit of News Corp., and Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting System. People familiar with the deal said the transaction is worth about $375 million, nearly double what one analyst had expected. Additional details about the agreement are likely to be disclosed today.

Nothing new on the team's sale, aside from Arthur Blank reportedly breaking off negotiations recently.