Braves Current Roster

I thought I would start out on the Braves current 25 man roster.

Starting Lineup

2b - Kelly Johnson
ss - Edgar Renteria
3b - Chipper Jones
cf - Andruw Jones
c - Brian McCann
rf - Jeff Francoeur
1b -Scott Thorman / Craig Wilson ( platoon ) Thorman vs. RHP / Wilson vs. LHP
lf -Ryan Langerhans / Matt Diaz ( platoon ) Langerhans vs. RHP / Diaz vs. LHP

Bench

C - Brayan Pena
if - Pete Orr
if - Chris Woodward


The platoon is a horrible idea and has yet to achieve any kind of real success. Sticking with Thorman and Diaz everyday would be a much better solution. The bench is pretty weak with no one being a real threat in a pinch hit situation or subbing in for a resting/injured player. However Brayan Pena is certainly an upgrade over last year's backup catcher Todd Pratt. I can't figure out why the Braves picked up Chris Woodward and stuck with Pete Orr.

Pitching Rotation

rhp - John Smoltz
rhp - Tim Hudson
lhp - Chuck James
lhp - Mark Redman
rhp - Kyle Davies

DL - Lance Cormier

This year's rotation seems pretty solid with the exception of Mark Redman. Redman is absolutely horrible and doesn't belong in the Majors. Cormier should replace Redman as soon as he returns from the Disabled List. Another thing to note is another year of failure for Mike Hampton as he continues to be injured. Must be nice to get paid millions and not throw a single pitch.

Bullpen

rhp- Bob Wickman ( Closer )
lhp - Steve Coyler
lhp - Mike Gonzalez
rhp - Peter Moylan
rhp - Rafael Soriano
rhp - Oscar Villarreal
rhp - Tyler Yates

DL- Chad Paronto
DL- Tanyon Sturtze

The bullpen which was absurdly bad last year has improved enough to make the Braves a contender agian. Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano are great additions. General Manager John Schuerholz did a good job at trying to improve the bullpen during the offseason. It still needs work. The addition of Tanyon Sturtze made no sense.

Well that's it as far as the Braves team. I wouldn't be surprised to see any moves before the all-star break to improve the team. I'll be posting any trade rumors, additions and so forth in the future.