Who is Juan Francisco?
On Sunday the Braves acquired another option to fill in for Chipper Jones when he’s out of the lineup, which unfortunately looks to be often during the 2012 season, when they traded minor league...
View ArticleHeyward’s Not a 30/30 Player But It Won’t Matter
A fan posted an interesting question on our Facebook page Wednesday night: Does Jason Heyward have the tools to have a 30/30 season? Now, this doesn’t matter all that much to me. Baseball offense is...
View ArticleOptimizing the Braves’ Lineup
The following are a couple of optimal lineups for the Braves, based on 2012 preseason projections from ZiPS (found here:...
View ArticleSigns Point to Improved Approach
Looking at FanGraphs’s plate discipline numbers, Braves’ hitters are swinging more often so far this season than they did in 2011. They are swinging more at pitches inside the strikezone and outside...
View ArticleBrandon Beachy is Not a Back-of-the-Rotation Starter
Wednesday night Matt Chernoff of 680 The Fan set off sort of a Twitter war with with his claim that Brandon Beach is a number four or a number five starter. Some of Chernoff’s Tweets: “how bout let him...
View ArticlePhillies Still Favorites in the East
The Braves have the fourth-best record in the National League, the second-best run differential and are 1.5 games back in the East, as I write this Thursday night. The Philadelphia Phillies are at...
View ArticleDo the Braves Have Much in Evan Gattis?
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard the story of Evan Gattis, the Braves’ minor leaguer who took some time off from baseball to go on a Kerouacian journey to find himself. He wasn’t drafted...
View ArticleFredi Hate Has Gone Too Far
Fredi Gonzalez was criticized a lot during his first season with the Braves, some of it deserved. I wasn’t a big fan of Fredi’s lineup machinations last season when he would hit the likes of Jordan...
View ArticleSome All-Star Choices to Take Your Mind Off The Braves
American League 1B Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox: Konerko leads major league first base qualifiers in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and...
View ArticleJason Heyward and Properly Evaluating Players
In the midst of last week’s losing streak and his recent slump, the Jason Heyward criticism amongst Braves fans has ramped up yet again, as it did last season when he didn’t perform to the level of his...
View ArticleSimmons and Harper Projected to be Close in Value in 2012
It is very possible that Andrelton Simmons will be closer in value to Bryce Harper than you would have thought this season, when all is said and done. Essentially these players are mirror images of...
View ArticleAdjusting the Save Rule to Make Baseball Better
With the close losses the Braves endured this week, partially due to a suddenly thin bullpen, many fans have appropriately started to question the use of Craig Kimbrel. For the most part Kimbrel, as...
View ArticleFree Todd Redmond
With Brandon Beachy on the shelf for the rest of the season, the Braves need options. They’ve recalled Jair Jurrjens but where do they turn if Jurrjens continues to pitch poorly? They have Kris...
View ArticleExploring a Zack Greinke Trade
Zack Greinke reportedly is one of the most coveted players in this season’s trade market. Greinke is a free agent at season’s end and is just 28. He already has five seasons of an ERA+ in the 120′s...
View ArticleUggla Trade Could Open Up Possibilities
Dan Uggla’s tenure with the Braves has been a roller-coaster ride, with a 33-game hitting streak, impressive power displays and cold spells. Overall he’s been good offensively but not quite the impact...
View ArticleBraves Need More Than Momentum
Friday night/early Saturday I had an interesting Twitter exchange with Bill Shanks of the Macon Telegraph and Fox Sports 1670 in Macon: Shanks: “Braves were 35-39 after that win in BALT in 04. Went...
View ArticleBraves Should Follow 2011 Cardinals’ Trade Model
Zack Greinke is off the market. As of this writing we’re not sure if the Braves will acquire a starter. There’s still the possibility for Ryan Dempster, as long as the Cubs go to him and are up-front...
View ArticlePower Rankings
Many media outlets come out with weekly Power Rankings. Generally I do not find them all that useful or interesting. They are usually sort of based on overall record, sort of based on teams’ talent...
View ArticleThe Braves are a Balanced and Deep Team
According to Baseball Reference, the Braves’ run prevention has been better than their run production. Their ERA+ (ERA adjusted to league and park where 100 is average) is 109, which means it’s 9...
View ArticleBraves Could Do Fine Without Bourn
On Wednesday AJC beat writer David O’Brien asked if the Braves can afford to re-sign Michael Bourn? And can they afford not to re-sign him? On that first question, I’m not so sure. Bourn could very...
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