Opening Day Victory

A great start for the Braves as they opened their season by beating the Washington Nations 2-0. Shutting out the opposing team is also a nice little addition to the win as well. Beating Nationals Livan Hernandez is always a plus in my book too. I say this because Hernandez was the pitcher in game five of the 1997 National League Championship where he was given an alien like strike zone by umpire Eric Gregg. He went on to strike out 15 batters that game for a win. Yeah, if you don't remember this controversy, go find a clip of this and see for yourself. Strikes being called in the opposite batters box! Click on Hernadez for pitching stats and you can see that this was certainly not talents here that won the game. I can only give him credit for his continued use of the gift he received.

Here's a video I found that shows a few strikeouts of this game. About 1 minute 34 seconds in it shows one batter swinging, but what other choice did he have? Then the next batter (Fred McGriff?) watches a ball go by for a strike at least 6 inches off the plate.

- Derek Lowe struggled in the first inning a bit, but he got settled down and did well. He had over 100 pitches before he could finish the 6th inning. I think he got into a full count seven times. 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 SO was his line.

- Braves bullpen was fantastic for 4.1 innings. Kimbrel got the save.

- Chipper Jones went 2-4 with a run. He hit key double where he later scored on a Brian McCann hit. Chipper's knee looks to be causing no problem.

- McCann was 2-4 with an RBI.

- Jason Heyward was 1-2 with a walk. He had a home run in his first at bat of the season. Last year, he hit one in his first at bat of the season and of his career on opening day as well.

* The Braves have an off day tomorrow (Friday) and will continue the series vs. the Nationals on Saturday. Tommy Hanson will be on the mound for his first start of the season.

Final Spring Game!

Finally, the last of spring training games have been completed. The Braves lost 0-2 vs the Twins.

-Not a whole lot worth mentioning for this game. Or rather it really doesn't matter.

- Brandon Beachy was phenomenal again. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five. Carry this over to the season and we have a heck of a 5th starter.

- Braves are still prone to making errors. Prado made an error in left field. I'll give him a pass because he is still learning the position. Like usual, Brooks Conrad made an error. Only difference is that Conrad is not a starter (thankfully). Keep Conrad OFF the field as much as possible please. It's unbelievable how much this guy can't field.

Okay good, spring training is done. Here we go season, where games finally matter. The Braves schedule starts off pretty tough. They are away for their first six games, and then when they return home they get to play the lovely Phillies.

Derek Lowe will be opening day starter vs the Washington Nationals tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Only problem is, I have a good feeling the game is going to be a wash out with rain in the forecast. How about we get some nice lovely spring weather for a change. It's killing me!

Minnesota @ Atlanta

The Braves returned to Turner Field today after having a game rained out yesterday. Must of been a nice little break before the season opener which is less than two days away. I was able to catch the game through MLB.TV for free. Must be a little preview to get people to buy it. I do have a month of free MLB.TV that came with my PlayStation 3 game called MLB: The Show '11. It was a pre-order special offer. I'll enjoy that.

The Twins were the visiting team, and they lost 4-2 in the 10th after Mauro Gomez hit a walk off home run. Overall it was another boring spring training game.

- George Sherrill just continues to suck. He allowed a walk and a run one inning.

- Linebrink, Moylan, O'Flaherty, Venters, and Kimbrel all pitched very well. All of them combined pitched five innings, allowing four hits, one run (unearned), one walk, and striking out six. O'Flaherty and Venters both have not allowed any earned runs for the spring.

- The offense collected nine hits which isn't bad. Otherwise not a lot happened other than the walk of shot by Gomez.

* Tomorrow (Wednesday) Brandon Beachy will pitch in the final spring game. The Twins will be the visiting team again.

Starting Lineup Predictions

To make things a little bit easier on me, and more simple for the reader, I'm going to post the projected statistics of the Braves starting lineup in one article. I'm not going to have time to do full articles on each player individually. Like I did with the pitchers, I'm going to remain conservative with stats. There are a few guys who I think could potentially have much better seasons than I predict though. Jason Heyward was a rookie last year, obviously in his 2nd year of Bigs he could be even better.

I'm going to stick to a few basic stats. These are all based on a full season of play except for Chipper Jones. Here we go.

1. LF- Martin Prado

105 Runs, 33 Doubles, 2 Triples, 13 HR, 60 RBI, 7 SB, .310 BA, .350 OBP, .460 SLUG, .810 OPS

2. CF- Nate McLouth

93 Runs, 25 Doubles, 3 Triples, 17 HR, 68 RBI, 13 SB, .258 BA, .346 OBP, .445 SLUG, .791 OPS

3. 3B- Chipper Jones (130 Games) *Based on last couple seasons. Spring results not considered. Could have .300/.400/.500 line based on excellent spring.

80 Runs, 25 Doubles, 1 Triple, 20 HR, 80 RBI, 5 SB, .275 BA .385 OBP, .470 SLUG, .855 OPS

4. 2B- Dan Uggla

91 Runs, 34 Doubles, 0 Triples, 34 HR, 108 RBI, 4 SB, .263 BA, .365 OBP, .510 SLUG, .875 OPS

5. C-Brian McCann

65 Runs, 39 Doubles, 0 Triples, 23 HR, 85 RBI, 3 SB, .277 BA, .372 OBP, .490 SLUG, .862 OPS

6. RF- Jason Heyward *Where he bats in lineup could change numbers.

87 Runs, 37 Doubles, 5 Triples, 26 HR, 94 RBI, 15 SB, .289 BA, .402 OBP, .510 SLUG, .912 OPS

7. SS- Alex Gonzalez

67 Runs, 30 Doubles, 3 Triples, 16 HR, 68 RBI, 2 SB, .254 BA, .305 OBP, .410 SLUG, .715 OPS

8. 1B- Freddie Freeman *Rookie player-Basing numbers off 8th spot of batting order and minor leagues.

53 Runs, 25 Doubles, 1 Triple, 15 HR, 70 RBI, 6 SB, .283 BA, .358 OBP, .485 SLUG, .843 OPS

Braves Aquire Billy Bullock

I like this trade. The Braves got the better end of the deal I think. You'll see why.


"LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Braves acquired right-handed pitcher Billy Bullock from the Twins in exchange for left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond.

This swap of Minor League pitchers gives the Twins the opportunity to keep Diamond without having to carry him on their 25-man roster throughout the season. They would have had to do so, because they originally acquired him from the Braves in December's Rule 5 Draft.

Bullock has posted a 3.18 ERA and recorded 150 strikeouts in the 107 2/3 innings he has pitched during his first two professional seasons. Selected by the Twins in the second round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, the 23-year-old right-handed reliever soared to the Double-A level by the end of last summer.

While pitching for Double-A New Britain, Bullock worked 36 2/3 innings, recording 60 strikeouts and issuing 24 walks.

Diamond went 8-7 with a 3.46 ERA in the 27 combined starts he made for Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett last year."

From Talking Chop

Billy Bullock, a 22-year old from the University of Florida, was a second round pick in the 2009 draft. He's a big kid coming in at 6'6'' and 225 pounds. He's destined to be a late-inning reliever should he reach the Major Leagues. He recorded 27 saves and 105 strikeouts in just 74 innings last year in A and AA-ball. He was ranked as the Twins' 8th best prospect in John Sickels' most recent top-10 list, and this is what he had to say about him:

Grade B- : Could be a huge bullpen force if the command sharpens up a bit more.

Keith Law also had this to say about the deal:

Really like this move for Atlanta - Bullock > Diamond by a wide margin.

Yup, another big power arm prospect with a lot of potential.

Final Roster Is Set

So, the last of spring cuts were made, and now the 25 man roster is set for opening day.

David O'Brien of AJC writes;

- "A pair of long-time Braves minor leaguers came on strong to win bench jobs on the opening-day roster, while Joe Mather faltered and was placed on waivers and reliever Scott Proctor was released."

- "Those were among the flurry of personnel moves announced by the Braves on Sunday, when they presented an opening-day roster that included rookies Matt Young and Brandon Hicks on the bench and Cristhian Martinez in the last bullpen spot over Proctor."

- "Infielder Brooks Conrad will fill the other of three bench jobs that seemed undecided when spring training began, although manager Fredi Gonzalez said that, in his mind, Conrad was never competing for a job; he already had one."

- "Starting pitchers Kenshin Kawakami and Rodrigo Lopez were reassigned to minor-league camp along with catcher J.C. Boscan, infielder Ed Lucas and outfielder Wilkin Ramirez."

BRAVES OPENING DAY ROSTER

Infielders (6): Brooks Conrad, Brandon Hicks, Freddie Freeman, Alex Gonzalez, Chipper Jones, Dan Uggla

Outfielders (5): Jason Heyward, Eric Hinske, Nate McLouth, Martin Prado, Matt Young

Catchers (2): Brian McCann, David Ross

Pitchers (12): Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Brandon Beachy, Jair Jurrjens, Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters, Peter Moylan, Eric O'Flaherty, George Sherrill, Scott Linebrink, Cristhian Martinez

Overall I'm satisfied with the selections. I know Brooks "error" Conrad made the team, but apparently his switch hitter pinch hit abilities are too valuable. Just keep him off the field on defense as much as possible!

Phillies vs. Braves

The Phillies beat the Braves 6-1 on this sunny Sunday afternoon in Florida. I was able to catch a little bit of the game on the MLB Network channel. It was another one of those, "alright, next?" kind of games as the season draws closer. Opening Day is March 31.

- Kenshin Kawakami pitched. I'm not going to bother with posting his line. The guy is pretty irrelevant moving forward and hopefully we can move him via trade.

- Cristhian Martinez struggled a bit today. He walked one, struck out one, but allowed three runs to score in one inning. He made the team regardless over Scott Proctor so that's the good news out of his day I bet. Good news for us Braves fans as well.

- O'Flaherty and Kimbrel both pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout. I'm pretty confident about the Braves bullpen this season. Although there is one exception and that is George Sherrill's ugly spring numbers. I believe he can turn it around if he is used specifically against left handed batters.

- Nothing spectacular on the offensive side. McLouth hit a nice double off of Roy Halladay and almost had another nice hit that was barely caught. Chipper Jones was 1-3 and Jason Heyward was 1-2. The team was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base total. Can't win games leaving the runners stranded.

Former Brave Mike Hampton Retires

Mike Hampton calls it a career after 16 seasons in the Majors. This guy made a lot of money and used a lot of sick and vacation time. He had a good span during the late '90s and wasn't too shabby with a bat for a pitcher either. In 2000, he signed a monster deal with the Colorado Rockies which was an eight-year, $123.8MM contract. The Braves later traded for him after the 2002 season (no clue why) and ended up paying for the majority of his contract.

In fact, here is the exact transactions (baseball-reference):

• November 16, 2002: Traded by the Colorado Rockies with Juan Pierre and cash to the Florida Marlins for Vic Darensbourg, Charles Johnson, Pablo Ozuna and Preston Wilson.
• November 18, 2002: Traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker (minors) and Tim Spooneybarger.

He had a decent first year with the Braves in 2003 and then absolutely stunk up the joint from then on. He was injured for most of his time from 2005 till 2008. Since baseball contracts are guaranteed, he made made about $29,000,000 for missing all of 2006 and 2007! Good thing a so called "insurance policy" paid for a good portion of this.

According to baseball-reference, this guy made approximately $125,000,000 for his career. He had 2,268 innings pitched in his career, so I did a little math fun and divided his total earnings by his total innings. That comes to earning a little more than $50,000 per inning pitched.

In comparison, Greg Maddux (former Brave), who will most likely be a first ballot Hall of Famer and is regarded by many as one of the best pitchers to ever play the game (top 10), made approximately $154,000,000 for his career. He pitched 5,008.1 innings with considerably better numbers. It's almost like an insult to even compare Hampton to this legend. Divide his earnings by innings, and Maddux made about $30,750 per inning.

Hampton made out quite nicely, or rather he was vastly overpaid according to his performances.

Good Riddance!

Braves 2, Mets 8

The Braves played and lost their final game verses the Mets this spring. The Braves committed a grand total of five errors this game. Good thing none of them were made by any of the Braves starters. Go ahead, take a wild guess as to who one of the players that contributed in the error festival was...

If you thought of Brooks Conrad then I congratulate you.

I realized that I'm getting tired of spring training games. Since it's officially Sunday (1:13 AM) there is only four more days till opening day!

- Derek Lowe got hit around a bit. Not a big deal. Looks like he a little bit of an issue with control as he walked three batters in four innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs.

- Venters pitched an inning. He allowed a hit and run, however since he made one of the errors, the run wasn't earned therefor keeping his spring ERA at 0.00.

- Freddie Freeman was 2-2 with a walk.

Tomorrow the Braves will play the Phillies. Roy Halladay will be on the mound for the Phillies and the Braves will supposedly play their starters. Not a bad idea, it gets them a little more experience verses last year's National League Cy Young winner.

Split Squad Recap

Today there were two games played. The Braves split the games with a win and a loss.

The first game of the day was verses the division rival Phillies. They lost the game 3-1.

- Most be a little more Rodrigo Lopez showcasing? Anyways, he pitched five innings giving up five hits, three earned runs, three walks and three strike outs. He allowed a home run to Jimmy Rollins.

- Cristhian Martinez solidified his spring a little more by going two innings giving allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out one.

- Craig Kimbrel pitched an inning with a hit and a walk given up. Considering his ridiculous 17.42 k/9 rate last year after he was called up, he surprisingly did not strike out a batter this time.

The second game was a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Anyone who was upset about Brandon Beachy being selected over Mike Minor should be rather calm after his performance today.

- Beachy wants "Ace" status rather. He pitched six innings, giving up two hits, walking one batter, and striking out six. I think it's possible that all five of Atlanta's starting pitchers could have ERA's under 4.00.

- George Sherrill was ugly again as he allowed two earned runs in one inning.

- Eric O'Flaherty still owns an ERA of 0.00 for spring.

- Braves SS Alex Gonzalez, arguably the Braves worst everyday hitter, is having a good spring. He was 2-4 with run runs and an RBI in the lead off spot.

- Jason Heyward was 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored. I learned that he lead all rookies in merchandise sales last year. As I am typing this, I am wearing an Atlanta Braves shirt that has the number "22" and Heyward on the back of it.

- Chipper Jones blasted a three run home run, his fourth of the spring.

Well, that concludes my notes on today. Braves will face the NY Mets for Saturday's game.

ATL @ TOR

The Braves got themselves a win as they beat the Blue Jays 5-3. Mentioned in an earlier post today, Jair Jurrjens left the game early as a precautionary measure. He had discomfort in his right side.

- Jurrjens went one inning with one strikeout.

- Peter Moylan of old? He pitched two scoreless innings giving up a hit and striking out two.

- Scott Proctor does it again, this time allowing three hits, two runs (one earned) in one inning. He had a throwing error on top of his horrible performance.

- Juan Abreu who I haven't mentioned at all in game reviews, had himself a nice spring. He pitched one scoreless inning with a strike out.

- Jairo Asencio is another whom I didn't mention of. He too quietly had a nice spring. He pitched a scoreless inning.

- Dan Uggla finally hit his first home run of spring, a three run homer it was.

Tomorrow the Braves have a split squad going again. Rodrigo Lopez will face the Phillies while Brandon Beachy will face the Tigers.

Another Round of Cuts

The Braves cut five more off the roster.

The five players cut were;

• Mike Minor
• Jordan Schafer
• Diory Hernandez
• Juan Abreu
  
• Jairo Ascencio
  

All five were optioned to triple A Gwinnett.

Juan Abreu and Jairo Ascencio had terrific springs. Good to know that there are potentially good bullpen options in the minors in case somebody needs moving.

The linked article mentions:

Ed Lucas and Brandon Hicks remain for a bench spot.

Scott Proctor and Christhian Martinez remain for final relief spot.

What about Brooks Conrad? Why does this guy not get mentioned? Why does he deserve to lose games for the Braves yet again? Why do game winning home runs count but costly errors that lose games not count? He's going to have to win a handful of games in the 9th and not commit any errors this season to get my support.

What about the remaining Outfield spots? I believe Joe Mather, Matt Young, and Wilkin Ramirez still remain.

Brandon Beachy for 5th Starter

It's been rumored for a few days now but it's now official, Brandon Beachy will be the 5th starter. The Braves will go forward this season with five right handed pitchers in the rotation, which is something I have probably never witnessed before on the Braves. If they are all really good then who cares? I'm not disappointed nor really surprised at the selection, this isn't Rodrigo Lopez who got the job after all. Both Mike Minor and Brandon Beachy pitched very well and I'm sure the decision was difficult.

Mike Minor can get more time in the minors, work on solidifying his pitches and not have to face major league caliber hitters. It also sets his arbitration clock back. Plus, struggles in the Majors can cause a player to lose confidence.

Here is yet another article from TalkingChop discussion the decision.

"Brandon Beachy had a monster breakout season in 2010, and even pitched for the club in September down the stretch. He doesn't really have too much left to prove in the Minor Leagues. Beachy, 24, went 0-2 in his short stint with the Braves last year, but he was a victim of low run support. He posted a strong ERA of 3.00, and his FIP (2.48) and xFIP (3.93) show he could put up pretty similar numbers in 2011. Especially considering that two of his starts were against the Phillies vaunted offense."

Jair Jurrjens Projection

It's been a while since I did a player forecast. Honestly I don't even know if I'll get through the batting lineup before the season starts, but it doesn't matter I guess. I decided I'm not going to do any relief pitchers, bench guys and even Brandon Beachy. Relief pitcher's and utility/bench player's are hard enough because their stats usually fluctuate year to year. Beachy doesn't have a large enough sample size of stats to really go off of. Now that I say that, I might not even do Freddie Freeman. We'll see.

Jair Jurrjens is not an easy one to predict. FIP and xFip suggest he was pretty lucky in 2009 with an ERA of 2.60 in 215 IP. His WHIP was 1.21 which is pretty high for someone with an ERA that low as well.

In 2010 Jurrjens struggled. He dealt with a couple of injuries and never got it together. He compiled 116 IP and had an ugly 4.64 ERA and 1.39 WHIP to go with it.

Speaking of injuries, Jurrjens pitched today in Spring vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, but left early after one inning due to right side discomfort, but it was probably a "cramp" and he could of continued to pitched if he needed. A precautionary measure apparently is all it was.

I got a lot of different stat suggestions from fangraphs. It appears no one is really sure what to expect.

I'm going to throw something out there, perhaps something similar to his 2008 season.

11-8, 180 IP, 3.72 ERA, 130 K, 1.30 WHIP

Braves for Sale Soon?

It's possible, since the Braves are basically disposable trash to a multi-billion dollar corporation called Liberty Media, where the CEO makes more than entire Braves roster in a year. Absolutely ridiculous.

"But John Malone, Liberty Media chairman and founder, is famous for making use of tax advantages, and he has said Liberty Media doesn't consider the baseball team a strategic asset."

Money, that's what all of it is about. Anything to get more money is obviously first on the checklist. Were not talking about moving from a cardboard box to a nice house here either. It's more like how many Mansions can be bought? Whether or not there are hundreds of thousands (a million perhaps) of Braves fans who are negatively effected by this is not a concern at all. Oh no. It's just a baseball team after all!

A sale of the team could be a really bad result, or really good. Bad meaning the new owner would slash payroll significantly in order to pocket more money (like Florida Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria), or even get too involved in team management. Now, George Steinbrenner, who was the NY Yankees owner (passed to his son Hank) for years before he passed away was an example of a guy who got too involved, but when he let things go a little bit and spent like crazy the Yankees started raking in World Series titles. All George wanted was to win.

So, anytime the idea of different team ownership comes up, I get a little nervous.

Here's a little bit about it from Talking Chop.

Rodrigo Lopez, Kenshin Kawakami on Trade Block

Lopez and Kawakami have no where to go but down in the Braves system. Lets get someone to eat some of Kawakami's contract and get a couple of young players with potential. Someone has to like Lopez and his minor league contract.

Here is the latest rumors involving Braves transactions.

Braves Tie Game vs. Marlins

The Marlins visited the Braves today and the game ended up being a tie. The score was 4-4 in 11 innings. Nothing spectacular, just an average spring training game. Speaking of spring, I was rather irritated to see 6 inches of snow fall on the ground today. It is a rather depressing sight, and when you have a job that involves working outside as well, it brings my mood down another notch. I think I declare March my most hated month.

- Tim Hudson pitched six innings giving up four hits and a run. He had two walks but struck out four batters. Hudson has a 1.35 ERA for the spring.

- George Sherrill is pretty ugly this spring. Now, I assume he's not being used as a left handed specialist this spring like he will be during the season. Let's just take this as a stretch out session. Four hits, three runs, one walk in an inning of work. He has three blow saves now this spring.

- I have to mention Venters yet again. He pitched another scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

- Kimbrel has been lights out for a while as well. A scoreless inning with one strikeout for the new closer.

- Nate McLouth had a little cold streak, but he picked it up again going 2-5 with an RBI and a run.

- Chipper Jones hit a double for an RBI.

- Rookie Freddie Freeman smacked a home run in this game.

* Jair Jurrjens will make the start tomorrow vs. the Toronto Blue Jays.

Houston @ Atlanta (Tommy Hason Report)

The Astros visited the Braves today and lost 3-5. A decent game overall, and a very good one by the bullpen. In other news, Tommy Hanson got his scheduled start pushed back a few days until Wednesday due to discomfort in his back. Doesn't look to be serious.

- Derek Lowe pitched 5.1 innings giving up 7 hits, 3 earned runs, walking one and striking out five. Still a good game but not as dominant as he has been. He is human after all.

- The bullpen was tremendous giving up three hits, zero runs, and striking out seven in 3.2 innings. No walks were allowed either. Notables were Moylan, Sherrill and O'Flaherty.

- Nate McLouth was 1-4 with walk and a run scored.

- Is this a robot with Chipper Jones' skin on? Chipper was 3 for 3 today. He is hitting .420 for spring training so far. Please save some of this for the season hoss.

- Wilkin Ramirez deserves a spot on the team. He was 1-4 with two RBI and a stolen base. He is hitting .303 and has four SB for the spring.

* Kenshin Kawakami will get the nod for tomorrow's game against the NY Mets. He also has pledged $50,000 for Japan relief since that is his home country.

Three Game Coverage

Obviously, I didn't get to Friday's game. I work rather stupid hours for my particular job and I went out afterwords. I almost was going to wait till tomorrow (Sunday) to post again, but I needed to do something a little constructive to keep awake (I work Saturdays too!).

Today there was another split squad going playing two different games at once, so that makes it three games total.

Starting with Friday

Atlanta vs. NY Mets 0-3

- I hope it isn't one of those seasons where the Braves score 20 runs in one game and get shut out the next.

- Jair Jurrjens pitched in this game. He was on a roll until our favorite guy Brooks Conrad made a couple of errors, messing up Jair's rhythm. Jair pitched six innings, giving up five hits, three runs (two earned), and striking out two.

- Venters pitched a scoreless inning. He got into a little trouble at first giving up a hit and a walk, but still got out of it. His ERA remains at 0.00.

- Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning with one hit allowed and striking out two batters.

- Nothing special on the offensive side.

- Brooks Conrad has to be off the roster! I don't care how good his switch hitting pinch hitting abilities are.

Atlanta 1, Detroit 2

- Brandon Beachy really wants the 5th spot of the rotation. He pitched five scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and striking out three. He did have three walks but otherwise another good outing.

- Arodys Viscaino didn't have himself a pretty game. He blew the save and lost the game as he gave up three hits and two earned runs in a third of an inning.

- Nothing special on the offensive side here either. Only one strikeout from the team is the only real positive find.

NY Mets @ Atlanta Braves Tied 3-3

The Braves have played the Mets a lot this spring; six times total and one more to play yet.

- Rodrigo Lopez pitched 4.2 innings giving up three hits, three runs (one earned) and walking three. He had five strikeouts as well.

- Linebrink, Sherrill, and Kimbrel all through a scoreless inning with no hits given up.

- Nate McLouth has cooled off a little lately. He was 0-3 but did have an RBI.

- Chipper Jones was 1-3. He has seven doubles this season.

- Jason Heyward was 1-1 with one walk and a run.

- Brooks Conrad thought he could erase our memories of his errors by blasting a two run home run. I just shrugged it off, it was only good enough for a tie Mr. Conrad.

- Freddie Freeman was 0-4 with a throwing error to boot. Ouch!

*Derek Lowe looks to continue his great spring vs the Astros for Sunday's game.

Second Round of Cuts

Nothing big or surprising here. Just another sign that the season is getting closer! Two weeks from today to be exact.

Here's a bit from talkingchop.

"Right-handed pitchers Cory Gearrin, Stephen Marek and Anthony Varvaro were optioned to Gwinnett (AAA). The five players who were re-assigned to minor league camp include left-handed pitcher Yohan Flande, catcher Wilkin Castillo, infielder Shawn Bowman and outfielders Brent Clevlen and Jose Constanza."

WAS @ ATL

6-7 was the score as Atlanta got themselves another spring training win. Although the score doesn't suggest this, this was a good game in many ways for some of the players. There were four errors however, but only one starter committed an error and that was Chipper Jones.

- Tim Hudson pitched five scoreless innings giving up two hits and striking out five batters. That looks great, but I have to mention his four walks. He had a little trouble with control but eventually figured it out.

- Kenshin Kawakami pitched two scoreless innings with one hit allowed and a strike out. Good showcasing!

- Scott Proctor continues to pitch his way off the team (good). He pitched two thirds of an inning and 5 runs scored. Only one run was earned, so I can't fault him for the errors his teammates made that allowed for the other four runs to cross the plate. He did walk two batters as well.

- Nate McLouth continues to rake this spring going 2-4 with a run.

- Chipper is on fire, he was 2-4 with a run and two RBI. One of the hits was a home run.

- Jason Heyward with a sophomore slump this season? No way! He's hitting .440 this spring. He contributed by going 1-1 with a run, walk, and a two run home run.

- Freddie Freeman was 1-3 with a run and walk. He copied Jones and Heyward and hit a blast as well for two RBI.

Luis Salazar Update

I posted the news when Salazar was hit in the face (left eye) by a line drive foul ball off of McCann's bat. This news update came rather shocking and even disturbing to me. Things looked to be going well and he would recover, however his left eye was removed after doctors were unable to save it.

I hope that this doesn't effect McCann and his play. He was bothered by it when the incident happened, but now knowing that the man lost an eye as a result is like rubbing a little salt in the wound.


Mark Bowman explains the case in more detail.

Derek Lowe to Start Opening Day

It's well deserved I believe, but it also really doesn't matter. It's just giving a little bit of honor to the guy. Lowe was terrific at the end of the season (September) and in the playoffs, and he has had a great spring as well.

Here's an article regarding the situation.

Boston 3, Atlanta 4

The Braves won their match up vs the Boston Redsox Wednesday. Final score was 4-3. Overall a good game, the offense showed up this time collecting twelve hits total.

- Tommy Hanson allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, but then settled down and had himself a nice session. Five innings pitched, two hits, one earned run, and five strikeouts.

- George Sherrill, who the Braves signed this off season for veteran presence in the bullpen, hasn't looked too pretty this spring. Perhaps it's because he's still adjusting to being on a new team or it takes him a while to get back in shape. I still have hopes that he will be used only as a LOOGY or I believe "lefty one out guy." Basically he is a left handed specialist that will only pitch against left handed batters. Two earned runs and a walk in one inning pitched was his line today.

- Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty both pitched a scoreless inning.

- Martin Prado was 2-4 with a run.

- Chipper Jones was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Tim Hudson will pitch tomorrow vs. the Washington Nationals.

Cardinals Shut Out Braves

Wait what? The Cardinals AGAIN? Yeah, the Braves played the Cardinals and lost 0-4 for today's game. Atlanta's batters decided not to show up this spring game (tired of the Cardinals?). The pitching was actually pretty good, its the FOUR errors in the game that lead to three runs being scored. This team hasn't improved defensively I'm afraid. One of the errors was by the defensive whiz Brooks Conrad. If he makes the team this year...

- Derek Lowe pitched this time, going five innings, giving up four hits, one earned run, a walk, and striking out one. That's a good outing.

- Scott Proctor, who I don't really care for, pitched an inning, giving up three hits and three runs (unearned due to errors).

- Craig Kimbrel looks to be back in normal routine. Pitching a scoreless inning and striking out the side.

- Jonny Ventures pitched a scoreless inning. Seems to be the norm for him, as he still possesses an ERA of 0.00.

- Nothing worth mentioning in the hitting department.

* Tommy Hanson gets the start vs the Boston Redsox for Wednesday's game.

ATL @ STL

It seems as if the Braves have played the Cardinals a dozen times already this spring. The game ended up being a tie after calling it a game in the 10th inning. The score was 1-1. The Braves have allowed the least amount of runs out of all teams in spring training so far. Although some teams have played a few more games, and some have played a few less.

- Mike Minor pitched five scoreless innings, giving up two hits, striking out four and walking two. I hope he continues is spring success. I want this guy for the 5th starter.

- Kenshin Kawakami pitched two innings giving up three hits and a run. That run allowed was a home run allowed to Matt Holliday.

- Pretty quiet day offensively, Chipper Jones played another day at third base. He was 1 -3 with the hit being a double.

- Freddie Freeman was 0-4 with three strikeouts. Ouch!

- I noticed Jason Heyward being out of the lineup the last three games due to back discomfort. I'm really kind of concerned about him. He seems to have a lot of little nagging injuries. He will be back for tomorrow's game.

* Brandon Beachy, who is also looking to win the 5th rotation spot, pitched in a separate game today as well. Beachy hasn't made it any easier for a decision to be made. He pitched five scoreless innings and gave up only two hits as well.

Houston vs Atlanta

Atlanta added another win to their spring record today, finishing the game with a 7-1 score vs. Houston. The Braves were on the verge of shutting out a team for a second consecutive game, but Cristhian Martinez blew it by allowing a one run home run in the 9th inning.

- Jair Jurrjens pitched five scoreless innings giving up 2 hits. He struck out four batters and walked one. This is the Jurrjens we need to see.

- Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning.

- Chipper Jones played at third for a second day in a row. He had another strong game, going 2-3, hitting a home run, and collecting two RBI's.

- Brian McCann, who I haven't talked about much, went 2-4 with a home run as well.

- Wilkin Ramirez has potential to win a job on the team. He's having a good spring hitting .421. He was 2-4 with a home run and three RBI today.

* Mike Minor, who is looking to win the job for the 5th spot in the rotation, will be pitching tomorrow vs. the St. Louis Cardinals.

Braves Stomp On Mets

The NY Mets visited the Braves today and got a good spanking. The final score was 12-0, a sign of things to come I hope.

- Tim Hudson pitched four shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out four.

- Linebrink, Sherrill, Moylan, Venters, and Asencio combined for five innings, three hits allowed, and six strikeouts.

- No walks were given up by any of the Braves pitchers.

- Any worries about McLouth and his shoulder should be put to rest. He went 2-4 today.

- Alex Gonzalez is having himself a nice spring. 2-4 with an rbi in today's game. He is hitting .344 for the spring.

- Chipper Jones played at third base and had himself a nice old fashioned Chipper day. Chipper's line consisted of a bunch of twos. He was two for two, scored two runs, knocked in two runs, and had two walks. Oh, and those two hits were both doubles.

- Braves excellent back up catcher David Ross had the best day of the bunch. He was 3-4 with five RBI total.

- Unfortunately, Jordan Schafer was 0-5.

* Jair Jurrjens will be throwing off the mound tomorrow vs the Houston Astros.

Braves 6, Yankees 2

Another good game by the Braves as they bested the Yankees 6-1. The Yankees have a couple of former Braves players on their team. One favorite of mine is Andruw Jones. I wish him the best of luck and hope he can find a way to bounce back his career. Despite being in the majors for what seems like forever now, he will be only 34 years old this season, so he has time left. Mark Teixeira is another. A very good ball player who the Braves obtained via trade. It didn't work out so good as the Braves weren't able to afford his monster contract shortly after. The biggest loss was that a few of those prospects the Braves traded away were a large part of last years American League Champion Texas Rangers team. Rafael Soriano is the last guy. He was very good relief pitcher for the Braves, and also served as their closer at times.

Anyways, here's some game notes.

- Tommy Hanson pitched four innings, giving up five hits and one run while striking out two. He gave up a home run to Jorge Posada.

- Kenshin Kawakami pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Trying to showcase this guy for a possible trade perhaps. The Yankees could use him!

- Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one, but walking one as well. He has to bring down his walks.

- Any doubts about Heywards thumb this year are being erased. Heyward went 2-3 today and is hitting .417 so far this spring.

- Freddie Freeman was 1-2 with a walk.

- Jordan Schafer rebounded a little today, going 2-4 with a home run.

* Tim Hudson will be making the start tomorrow vs the NY Mets.

First of Spring Training Cuts

Article

The Braves announced their first round of cuts. Teheran, Viscaino and Delgado are among the names listed. They do have to get stretched out so they can pitch readily in the minors. It's not possible to do that throwing only one inning at a time while being on the Braves spring roster.

A total of 14 players were either optioned or re-assigned. According to talkingchop,

"Right-handed pitcher Erik Cordier and left-handed pitchers Lee Hyde and Jose Ortegano were optioned to Gwinnett (AAA), while right-handed pitcher Randall Delgado was optioned to Mississippi (AA)."

"The 10 players who were re-assigned to minor league camp include right-handed pitchers Michael Broadway, Jay Sborz, Julio Teheran and Arodys Vizcaino, left-handed pitcher Brett Oberholtzer, catchers Christian Bethancourt, Braeden Schlehuber and Jesus Sucre, infielder Tyler Pastornicky and outfielder Mycal Jones."

Cardinals vs Braves Round Two

The Braves took a win instead this time around, beating the Cardinals 2-1.

- Derek Lowe is looking very good. He pitched four innings, gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. He has yet to allow any runners to cross the plate.

- Top pitching prospect Julio Teheran pitched a scoreless inning. He too has an ERA of 0.00.

- Martin Prado was 2-2 with a walk and a run scored.

*Tommy Hanson will pitch tomorrow against the NY Yankees. Kenshin Kawakami will make his first appearance in relief.

Nate McLouth - Luis Salazar

In other news, Nate McLouth received a cortisone shot in his right shoulder. It appears to be nothing serious but rather a "bruise" as Nate puts it. Hopefully he comes back on schedule and resumes his successful spring.

Also, Minor League Manager Luis Salazar was knocked unconscious after being struck in the face by a foul ball hit by Brian McCann. He was taken to the hospital.

According to Bowman,

"Salazar suffered multiple facial fractures and will have to undergo further tests to determine the significance of damage to his left eye. But doctors have ruled out the possibility that he suffered brain damage and been encouraged that he can interact with family members."

St. Lous Cardinals vs Braves

The Braves couldn't get their bats going as they lost to the Cardinals 6-1.

- Rodrigo Lopez pitched four innings and gave up 3 earned runs. His four strikeouts were a plus. It's nice having a decent experienced pitcher for pitching depth.

- Jonny Venters has yet to allow a run this spring, pitching another scoreless inning and striking out one.

- Pitching prospect Arodys Viscaino pitched as well, giving up two hits and striking out two in an inning of work. He too has yet to allow a run this spring.

- Jordan Schafer had an ugly game. He was hitless in five at bats.

- Freddie Freeman was unable to get himself a hit as well, going 0-4.

*There was also a "B" game against the Cardinals minor leaguers today. Two guys competing for the 5th spot pitched in this game. If you haven't guessed it already, those two were Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor. Here's a DOB writeup. I like Mark Bowman's better here.

- Brandon Beachy is using a slider he used to throw in college this time around. Beachy pitched four innings and allowed two runs. He had control issues, walking 3 batters.

- Mike Minor allowed one run in four innings. He allowed three hits, but also recorded an impressive seven strikeouts.

*Derek Lowe will get his chance to pitch again against the Cardinals tomorrow.

Monday's Game 3/8

The Braves took a loss from the NY Yankees with the final scoring being 5-4.

It was another typical game, a starting pitcher getting stretched out for the season and the relief guys getting an inning or so in.

- Jair Jurrjens got roughed up this time around. He gave up four runs in four innings, but he did strike out four batters as well. I'm not worried. Here's a little bit on his performance from David O'Brien.

"After feeling rusty in his first two spring outings, Jurrjens said he could tell – without looking at the radar gun or asking anyone for readings – that his fastball was better Tuesday. And he was right. It was consistently 90-91 mph and topped out at 93.

'The first two outing I don’t think I even broke 90,' he said. 'Finally I feel loose, and really that’s the thing I wanted to accomplish today, try to get that looseness again and trying to see that zip on the fastball. I think my next bullpen I’m going to start working on the sinker and make it sink a little more.'

Gonzalez also had suspicions that the Yankees were seeing something that tipped Jurrjens’ pitches, because they kept stealing on breaking pitches and not fastballs.

'Yeah, that leads me to believe they were seeing something at first base,' Gonzalez said. 'We can correct that. It’s not that big of a deal.'"

- Peter Moylan struck out all three batters in his one inning of work.

- Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning while striking out one batter.

- Nothing tremendous worth noting on the hitting side.

Predicting Derek Lowe

It's been a while since I predicted a players stats for the upcoming season. I'm still on my starting rotation, and so I decided to do Derek Lowe this time. It's hard to not be real optimistic of Lowe considering him being named NL pitcher of the month for Septemeber and his strong performance in the playoffs. Take it with a grain of salt, but he's having a pretty good spring training as well.

Lowe has been a disappointing pitcher during his time in Atlanta so far. He certainly hasn't lived up to the contract he signed in January of 2009. Perhaps we will see it payoff this season?

I'll have to keep in mind that Derek Lowe will be turning 38 years old this season. So I really can't expect him to have a season like he did in 2008 with the LA Dodgers. One plus is that the guy is never injured, and he should be a lock for at least 190 innings pitched. He hasn't pitched less than 193.2 innings in the last 6 seasons, and his lowest was 182.2 innings (2004) in the last 9 years.

With all that being said, I think he will have his best season as an Atlanta Brave yet for 2011. I like Bill James projections for Lowe on fangraphs.

I'll give it my shot.

14-11, 191 IP, 3.80 ERA, 128 K, 1.27 WHIP

Braves Lose to Marlins

The Marlins scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th today vs the Braves. The final score was 4-3. The Braves totaled 14 hits but could only get 3 runners to safely cross home plate. Today marked the first time Fredi Gonzalez faced the Marlins since being fired by them.

- Tim Hudson pitched 3 innings, giving up four hits and one run. He had 2 walks and 1 SO as well.

- The biggest part of the game was Julio Teheran. He pitched a scoreless inning, giving up 2 hits and striking out 1 batter.

- Randall Delgado pitched again. It was another solid effort as he struck out 2 in one inning, allowing no runs.

- Martin Prado is having himself a good spring. He was 2-4 today with one run.

- Nate McLouth is still doing his thing as he went 1-2 with a home run.

-Freddie Freeman continues to rake, going 3-3 in today's game.


*Tomorrow the Braves will face the NY Yankees. Jair Jurrjens is expected to make his 3rd start.

Four Game Review

I had a busy weekend, so I was unable to keep up with the games that were played. The Braves played four games total; a split squad for two games on Friday, one game Saturday, and one game today (Sunday).

Overall they were solid, finishing with a 3-1 record.

Two games were played on Friday due to split squad play. The total roster is basically split in half and made into two separate teams.

Friday - Atlanta Braves vs. the Washington Nationals. The result was 6-4.

- Brandon Beachy made the start for this game. He certainly did well as he pitched 3 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit and striking out four.

- Eric O'Flaherty did good as well. He pitched a scoreless inning.

- Craig Kimbrel gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in 1 inning of work. He did strike out 2 batters and did not issue a walk. Hopefully he is just working on his pitches. I'll keep noting his progress through spring.

- Nate McLouth went 2-2 with a walk and a run scored.

- Jordan Schafer was 1-4 with a run.

-Freddie Freeman is having a solid spring so far, 1-3 with 2 RBI in the game.

Friday - Toronto Blue Jays vs Atlanta Braves. Blue Jays 7, Braves 5.

Some poor pitching overall in this game.

- Mike Minor got the start. 3 innings, 5 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO.

- New RP George Sherrill walked 2 and allowed 2 runs in his 1 inning.

-Chipper Jones went back to DH role this time, going 1-4 with a run scored.

-Dan Uggla had a good game. He finished 2-4 with 2 rbi and a run scored.

Saturday - NY Mets vs Atlanta Braves. Braves win 6-4.

- Derek Lowe looks like he is picking up where he left off. He pitched 3 scoreless, and hitless innings. Striking out 2 and walking 2.

- Randall Delgado had a better outing this time around. 1 scoreless inning pitched with a hit given up and 1 strike out.

- Nate McLouth was 1-3 with a walk.

- Chipper Jones was on the field again at 3b. A real good game for him, he hit a home run, knocked in 2 runs and was 1-3 for the day.

- Jordan Schafer was 1-3 with a run.

Sunday - Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nations. Braves shutout Nationals 5 -0.

Awesome game on the mound today. Total pitching results out of five pitchers today was 9 IP, 2 hits, 1 BB, and 9 SO.

- Tommy Hanson took the mound, pitching 3 innings with 1 SO and a walk.

- Jonny Venters continues to be very effective. 1 inning and 1 SO for him today.

- Cristhian Martinez really wants a place on the team. He pitched 2 innings, gave up one hit, but most impressing of all, he struck out 5 batters.

- Arodys Viscaino pitched. 1 inning, 1 hit and a SO.

- Chipper Jones was at 3b, going 1-3 with a run scored.

- Jason Heyward return from missing a few games with a sore groin. Everything looks to be ok. He went 1-1 with a walk.

- Jordan Schafer was 0-4 with a walk.

That's it for the weekend. Even though it means very little the Braves are now 7-2 in spring training.

*Tim Hudson receives the ball tomorrow vs the Florida Marlins.

A look at Spring Game Six

The Braves pulled off a win against the Tigers, winning 4-3. This game was televised on ESPN. I completely forgot about this and was thinking about taking the day off from work. I guess I'm glad I didn't afterall. I'd rather take time off for a real season game instead.

- Jair Jurrjens was okay. He went through 2 innings before giving up two runs in the 3rd.

- Pitching prospect Randall Delgado pitched today. 3 hits, 1 run allowed in an inning. He was credited with the win, but also blew the save.

- Nate McLouth was 0-3

- Chipper Jones played at 3rd base today. He went 1-2 with a run. Good to see.

- Brooks Conrad is having himself a poor spring. 0-4 today with a strikeout.

Braves play the Blue Jays tomorrow, with Mike Minor starting his second time.

Atlanta vs. Boston

The Braves came out with another win in spring training, beating the Red Sox 6-1. I can't help but mention that the Braves pitching has been superb thus far. I know that one or two innings vs lineups that are half major leaguers and minor leaguers doesn't tell a whole lot, but it's still a good sign.

-Tim Hudson pitched 2 innings. 2 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 1 SO was his line.

-Craig Kimbrel had a much better outing this time around. Pitching an inning without giving up any runs.

-One of the Braves top pitching prospects, Arodys Vizcaino pitched today as well. He impressed throwing 2 scoreless innings. I read that he was throwing in the mid to high 90's. Will the Yankees regret trading this guy a few years down the road?

-It's encouraging to see Alex Gonzalez belt a home run. He might be the worst hitter in the everyday lineup, but if he can duplicate his season from last year as a hitter, that would be quite nice.

-Ed Lucas, a guy who seems to have come out of nowhere (career minor leaguer) is tearing it up at the moment. I'll be keeping an eye on this guy. He's got decent numbers in the minor leagues and I'm rather surprised he didn't find a spot on the Kansas City Royals team.

-Jason Heyward has some groin tightness. Hopefully this is just a spring training thing, trying to get fully stretched out.

Kenshin Kawakami finally showed up to camp. Kawakami has been better than his record indicates and would be a solid forth or fifth starter for a number of teams out there. The Braves would like to move him, and perhaps he showcases himself well enough this spring for that to happen. I personally think the guy deserves better and should be starting somewhere, just not for the Braves.

Jair Jurrjens will get his 2nd start tomorrow vs the Detroit Tigers.

Braves Beat Astros Again

The Braves got a win today as they played the Astros for a second time in a row. Unlike yesterday, today's was a much lower scoring game, Braves 3, Astros 0.

-Tommy Hanson took the mound this time. 2 innings, 2 hits, 1 SO, and no runs allowed.

-Two of our great lefty relief guys pitched today. Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters both pitched 1 inning with no hits and no runs allowed.

-Not a lot happened offensively. Jason Heyward got 2 hits in 3 at bats. Chipper Jones played at DH, but was hitless.

-Jordan Schafer was 1-3, Nate McLouth was 1-2.

Speaking of Nate McLouth, here is a little read on him. Just a little bit about him hitting 2nd in the lineup and his progress so far.

Tim Hudson will pitch tomorrow. The Braves will play the Boston Red Sox.