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Get ready for Jason Heyward

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Pavy
Until he faces some real pitching it's all hype. Wait till he faces Halladay, Santana, Hamels, Johnson, Strasburg in the tough division Braves play which has the best pitching in the majors and then talk. I'm not having my hopes high. This year's Braves team is worse than last year. We will be fighting for 4th place again.
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No WAY is this a worse team Pavy. Why? Because they traded Javy? ATL's pitching staff (starters and bullpen) is considered one of the best in the NL. So how did that really hurt them?

The Braves have some question marks, but if everyone stays healthy they should be really good.
 
Jello
No WAY is this a worse team Pavy. Why? Because they traded Javy? ATL's pitching staff (starters and bullpen) is considered one of the best in the NL. So how did that really hurt them?

The Braves have some question marks, but if everyone stays healthy they should be really good.
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I'm very concerned with the sophomore slump of Hanson and Jurjens. JJ already has arm problems. Derick Lowe is not an ace. Hudson is back from surgery. KK is average. Chipper is hurt all the time because he tries to hit from both sides of the plate hurting every muscle in his body. Just pick the one side he is good at. McCann was slumping last year. The outfield resembles minor league. We have all the rejects of other teams. The bullpen is older than Heyward's father. They are one injury away from not having a closer. Maybe we need to bring back Smoltzy to close again. And then we are putting all this pressure on Heyward like he is some kind of a Messiah.

I'm not very optimistic Jello but if you come in town to watch the Braves let me know and we can hook up and watch the game!
 
Pavy you are are looking at every one of those issues from a worst case scenario view. First off, Jurrgens had his sophomore year last season. I didn't notice any slump in his 2.60 ERA over 215 innings. His arm is fine, so says an MRI and they're feeling so much better about it that he's starting tomorrow night vs NYY.

As far as Hanson having a significant drop-off, you're the first person I've seen express such a concern. Most people are quite bully about his progression and potential this season. He's one of the last things I'd worry about. I mean, you've got a 23 year old 6'6 hard throwing stallion in the dawn of his career and somehow you find a negative in that.

McCann...slumping?? He hit .281 with 21HR from the catcher spot last year. He's been an All-Star all 3 seasons in the majors. He's still approaching his prime. I'm not worried about him either.

Not having a closer? Wagner, Saito and Moylan all have experience closing. Another head scratching worry, imo. The bullpen is a strength. Almost as strong as the starting staff.


The OF is fine. Cabrera/Diaz as a platoon is solid. Look at Diaz's career numbers. Some people are furious he still has to platoon at this point. McClouth is a valuable player and it looks like Heyward is for real.



Anyway, I'm not gonna bust a fellow Brave's balls too much so I'll stop before I get to the part about Smoltzy closing. And I would love to get down for a game at some point. Definitely something to keep in mind. Stop worrying about the team and enjoy them. They're going to compete. Trust me.
 
Some good, well thought out baseball posts here which is good to see.

I think though Jello you're forgetting a really big factor this season for the Braves and it has nothing to do with the Braves themselves.

It's the division they play in.

WAS will be 8-10 games better

PHI got better. Halladaylolz.

FLA kept everybody and won't play Bonifacio and his .550 OPS for 4 months


And don't get me wrong, I'm in the camp of people that firmly believes that the Braves are always a threat in the East but what has the super-prospect done to prove he will excel in the majors? I'm not saying he won't but prospects are guilty until proven innocent.
 
Fair points. I want to make it clear that I've never said that the Braves were going to win the WS. All I've said is that they should compete. I think that's perfectly reasonable, and most "experts" have them as the 2nd best team in the NL East and a very good shot at a wild caard at least. Florida is always tough. Washingtion might be a few wins better but they still lose 90, imo. The Mets shouldn't be very good.
 
Also, if you really want to break it down, the Braves should be OK without a productive Heyward. It's not like their season is riding on this 20 year old. They have Cabrera. Diaz, Hinske, Infante, and even Jordan Shafer - who everyone has forgotten was a bright enough prospect to break camp last season as the starting CF - who would all be capable platoon options in RF. Shafer played 6 weeks last season with an undiagnosed broken bone in his wrist, but all reports are he's still on track to be a major league starter soon.
 
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