Posted January 31, 2013 February 11 - Pitchers And Catchers ReportFebruary 14 - Full Squad ReportsSPRING TRAINING SCHEDULEFriday February 22 - Tigers at Braves - 1:05 PMSaturday February 23 - Yankees at Braves - 1:05 PMSunday February 24 - Braves at Pirates - 1:05 PMMonday February 25 - Marlins at Braves - 1:05 PMTuesday February 26 - Nationals at Braves - 1:05 PMWednesday February 27 - Braves at Tigers - 1:05 PMThursday February 28 - Braves at Phillies - 1:05 PMFriday March 1 - Nationals at Braves - 6:05 PMSaturday March 2 - Braves at Astros - 1:05 PMSunday March 3 - Tigers at Braves - 1:05 PMMonday March 4 - Braves at Mets - 1:10 PMTuesday March 5 - Braves at Yankees - 7:05 PMThursday March 7 - Tigers at Braves - 6:05 PMFriday March 8 - Braves at Astros - 1:05 PMFriday March 8 - Blue Jays at Braves - 1:05 PMSaturday March 9 - Braves at Yankees - 1:05 PMSunday March 10 - Marlins at Braves - 1:05 PMMonday March 11 - Braves at Nationals - 1:05 PMTuesday March 12 - Cardinals at Braves - 1:05 PMWednesday March 13 - Braves at Marlins - 7:05 PMThursday March 14 - Braves at Cardinals - 1:05 PMFriday March 15 - Mets at Braves - 1:05 PMSaturday March 16 - Yankees at Braves - 5:05 PMSunday March 17 - Braves at Mets - 1:10 PMMonday March 18 - Phillies at Braves - 1:05 PM - ESPNWednesday March 20 - Pirates at Braves - 1:05 PMThursday March 21 - Nationals at Braves - 6:05 PMFriday March 22 - Braves at Phillies - 1:05 PMSaturday March 23 - Braves at Blue Jays - 1:05 PMSaturday March 23 - Astros at Braves - 1:05 PMSunday March 24 - Braves at Nationals - 1:05 PMMonday March 25 - Mets at Braves - 1:05 PMTuesday March 26 - Braves at Tigers - 1:05 PMWednesday March 27 - Braves at Nationals - 1:05 PMThursday March 28 - Astros at Braves - 1:05 PMSaturday March 30 - Braves at Mississippi Braves - 3:05 PM *Game in Pearl, MS AEFalcon and sdogg like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Man, can not wait!! Just around the corner. Looking forward to Spring Training news and reports. i know we have some big FAs that will get plenty of chatter which they deserve howeverr I'm eager to see how Teheran pitches and Gattis hits. Will not make or break team but I'm hoping E Mejia has a good spring. He has played well in minor leagues without a lot of recognition. I hope he makes the team has a back-up 1st baseman, Right-handed hitter with power off the bench.Fingers crossed that Beachy and McCann return healthy when they are ready.Good foundation of a n exciting team Go 2013 Braves!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Man, can not wait!! Just around the corner. Looking forward to Spring Training news and reports. i know we have some big FAs that will get plenty of chatter which they deserve howeverr I'm eager to see how Teheran pitches and Gattis hits.Will not make or break team but I'm hoping E Mejia has a good spring. He has played well in minor leagues without a lot of recognition. I hope he makes the team has a back-up 1st baseman, Right-handed hitter with power off the bench.Fingers crossed that Beachy and McCann return healthy when they are ready.Good foundation of a n exciting team Go 2013 Braves!!!!!Here's how the Braves current opening day roster looks.SP Tim HudsonSP Kris MedlenSP Mike MinorSP Paul MaholmSP Julio TeheranRP Cory GearrinRP Luis AvilanRP Jordan WaldenRP Eric O'FlahertyRP Jonny VentersRP Craig KimbrelC Gerald Laird1B Freddie Freeman2B Dan Uggla3B Juan FranciscoSS Andrelton SimmonsLF Justin UptonCF B.J. UptonRF Jason Heyward3B Chris JohnsonOF Reed JohnsonBy my count that's 21 of the 25 opening day roster spots accounted for. How will the bench shape out? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Here's how the Braves current opening day roster looks.SP Tim HudsonSP Kris MedlenSP Mike MinorSP Paul MaholmSP Julio TeheranRP Cory GearrinRP Luis AvilanRP Jordan WaldenRP Eric O'FlahertyRP Jonny VentersRP Craig KimbrelC Gerald Laird1B Freddie Freeman2B Dan Uggla3B Juan FranciscoSS Andrelton SimmonsLF Justin UptonCF B.J. UptonRF Jason Heyward3B Chris JohnsonOF Reed JohnsonBy my count that's 21 of the 25 opening day roster spots accounted for. How will the bench shape out?The next safest guy I would think would be Mr Do Everything, Play Entire Outfield. Hit anywhere in the lineup. Jose constanza. He is can't miss in my opinion. Must have him on team.Just kidding FF567...sorry couldn't resist.next safest I think is Janish as defensive specialist, back-up IF that can play SS very well. & a back-up catcher...who ever that turns out to be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Probably see Schafer and Pastornicky as back ups and possibly Gattis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 This is the most excited I've been for a Braves season in a long time. Admittedly, the Falcons haven't something to do with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Honestly think we will see Mejia on the opening day roster if he shows well in Spring. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gattis move back to C and him take another year down there, if he isn't a key piece of replacing McCann at the beginning of the year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 SS Andrelton SimmonsRF Jason HeywardLF Justin Upton1B Freddie FreemanCF BJ Upton2B Dan Uggla 3B Juan FransiscoC Gerald LairdOF Reed JohnsonOF Jordan SchaferIF Tyler PastornickyIF Chris JohnsonC Evan Gattis SP Kris Medlen SP Mike MinorSP Tim HudsonSP Paul MaholmSP Julio TeheranCL Craig KimbrelRP Eric O'FlahertyRP Jonny VentersRP Jordan WaldenRP Luis AvilanRP Cory GearrinRP Christian MartinezThat would be my opening day 25 man roster with Pastornicky and Gattis being sent down to AAA Gwinnett when McCann and Janish are healthy. I still think we look into acquiring a left handed bat off the bench. That's a division challenging 95+ win team easily, assuming it stays relatively healthy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 The next safest guy I would think would be Mr Do Everything, Play Entire Outfield. Hit anywhere in the lineup. Jose constanza. He is can't miss in my opinion. Must have him on team.Just kidding FF567...sorry couldn't resist.next safest I think is Janish as defensive specialist, back-up IF that can play SS very well. & a back-up catcher...who ever that turns out to be.Paul Janish will probably start the season on the DL as will McCann. But when healthy Janish will be on the roster. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Honestly think we will see Mejia on the opening day roster if he shows well in Spring. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gattis move back to C and him take another year down there, if he isn't a key piece of replacing McCann at the beginning of the year.I'm hoping that Gattis is the starting catcher at Gwinnett and gets a full season to work on his catching skills. And I hope Mejia's strong winter league and last season at Gwinnett carry over into this spring and he earns a spot on the bench.One guy I almost keep forgetting that the Braves have is Blake DeWitt. You've got to think he's got the upper hand on a bench spot because he can play infield and outfield and he's a left-handed hitter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 SS Andrelton SimmonsRF Jason HeywardLF Justin Upton1B Freddie FreemanCF BJ Upton2B Dan Uggla3B Juan FransiscoC Gerald LairdOF Reed JohnsonOF Jordan SchaferIF Tyler PastornickyIF Chris JohnsonC Evan GattisSP Kris MedlenSP Mike MinorSP Tim HudsonSP Paul MaholmSP Julio TeheranCL Craig KimbrelRP Eric O'FlahertyRP Jonny VentersRP Jordan WaldenRP Luis AvilanRP Cory GearrinRP Christian MartinezThat would be my opening day 25 man roster with Pastornicky and Gattis being sent down to AAA Gwinnett when McCann and Janish are healthy. I still think we look into acquiring a left handed bat off the bench. That's a division challenging 95+ win team easily, assuming it stays relatively healthy.I don't want Pastornicky or Schafer anywhere near my team. How bad do you think Schafer has to be for the worst team in the league to get rid of him? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2013 Constanza will win that OF spot over Schafer IMO. The Schafer move was just for depth. Janish will definitely be the backup middle IF with Johnson/Francisco handling the corner spots with Freeman. Johnson has some experience at 1B both in the minors and MLB so he'll likely be Freeman's backup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 1, 2013 Fredi has already made out his lineup regarding the Uptons.SimmonsHeywardJustinBJMcCannFreemanUggla3B Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 1, 2013 Fredi has already made out his lineup regarding the Uptons.SimmonsHeywardJustinBJMcCannFreemanUggla3BYeah and it's a stupid *** lineup. We finally have the right personnel to go lefty/righty all throughout the lineup which Fredi has always wanted to do and now he's not going to do it? SMH! There's no way on this green earth BJ should be hitting cleanup ahead of McCann and Freeman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 1, 2013 Yeah and it's a stupid *** lineup. We finally have the right personnel to go lefty/righty all throughout the lineup which Fredi has always wanted to do and now he's not going to do it? SMH! There's no way on this green earth BJ should be hitting cleanup ahead of McCann and Freeman.I agree, but that line-up does have potential IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 1, 2013 The 2007 version of BJ Upton could hit cleanup for me any day...but the version since? Heck no.Fredi needs to get it together and hit BJ 5th or a shade lower. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 1, 2013 The 2007 version of BJ Upton could hit cleanup for me any day...but the version since? Heck no.Fredi needs to get it together and hit BJ 5th or a shade lower.5th or 6th is a good spot for BJ. We're not going to get BJ to hit .300 again. That just isn't realistic in my opinion. But there's no excuse for him to be hitting in the .230s and .240s like he has the last 4 years. He should easily be a .270-.280 hitter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 8, 2013 If anyone is interested Yahoo does an advanced statistical breakdown of how well each batter has hit in each slot in the lineup over the course of their career. It's pretty interesting to see. BJ Upton hits really well in the 2nd slot. Heyward is a monster hitting 6th. Fun stuff to look at. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 8, 2013 If anyone is interested Yahoo does an advanced statistical breakdown of how well each batter has hit in each slot in the lineup over the course of their career. It's pretty interesting to see. BJ Upton hits really well in the 2nd slot. Heyward is a monster hitting 6th. Fun stuff to look at.That's not really good because you're comparing a different number of at-bats. Most of Heyward's at-bats in the 6th slot came in the first 2 months of his career when he was hitting everything in sight because pitchers had no clue how to pitch him yet. As you can see it's only 62 games started in that slot compared to 140 starts in the 2 spot and 101 starts in the 3rd spot. So of course those numbers won't be off the charts like they are in the 6th slot because it's twice as many at-bats.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=heywaja01&year=Career&t=bBut for BJ the 2nd slot is the spot he has the most at-bats in and he has solid numbers in that spot. But I really am not a fan of saying a guy has to bat in a certain spot in the lineup because he has better numbers in that spot because it's such a fluky thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 9, 2013 When Mac is healthy. I love the versitility of this lineup. almost any piece can hit from 2 to 7. that is a heck of a lineup. Add our pitching and bullpen. Dodgers will be the team everybody will say in the World Series but us Phils, Nats and Giants can hurt the dodgers. It will be a great year for Baseball in the NL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 9, 2013 When Mac is healthy. I love the versitility of this lineup. almost any piece can hit from 2 to 7. that is a heck of a lineup. Add our pitching and bullpen. Dodgers will be the team everybody will say in the World Series but us Phils, Nats and Giants can hurt the dodgers. It will be a great year for Baseball in the NL.Pretty sure the Nationals are the favorites to win the NL, the Dodgers are not even really favored to win their own division(Giants). I'm not worried about the Phillies either. That team is too old and declining fast and they didn't do anything this offseason to really improve them all that much at all.Also I was looking at our biggest ? and besides the SP it's definitely 3B. I was thinking if maybe Fransisco and or Johnson are still struggling by June how awesome if Chipper came out of retirement to finish the season.SS SimmonsRF UptonLF HeywardC McCannCF Upton3B Jones1B Freeman2B UgglaWhat a lineup! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 9, 2013 Pretty sure the Nationals are the favorites to win the NL, the Dodgers are not even really favored to win their own division(Giants). I'm not worried about the Phillies either. That team is too old and declining fast and they didn't do anything this offseason to really improve them all that much at all.Also I was looking at our biggest ? and besides the SP it's definitely 3B. I was thinking if maybe Fransisco and or Johnson are still struggling by June how awesome if Chipper came out of retirement to finish the season.SS SimmonsRF UptonLF HeywardC McCannCF Upton3B Jones1B Freeman2B UgglaWhat a lineup!Yeah I don't know why everyone keeps talking about the Phillies. Their run ended last year just as the Braves run ended in 2006. Those 2 years were very similar IMO. Both old teams that had a lot of injury issues. We all thought the Braves would get back to winning in 2007 and they actually started out 2007 24-12 but then the injuries started piling up again and we were done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 9, 2013 Pretty sure the Nationals are the favorites to win the NL, the Dodgers are not even really favored to win their own division(Giants). I'm not worried about the Phillies either. That team is too old and declining fast and they didn't do anything this offseason to really improve them all that much at all.Also I was looking at our biggest ? and besides the SP it's definitely 3B. I was thinking if maybe Fransisco and or Johnson are still struggling by June how awesome if Chipper came out of retirement to finish the season.SS SimmonsRF UptonLF HeywardC McCannCF Upton3B Jones1B Freeman2B UgglaWhat a lineup!Seems like a pipe dream to me, but that would be awesome. One **** of a line up... Oh well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 9, 2013 That's not really good because you're comparing a different number of at-bats. Most of Heyward's at-bats in the 6th slot came in the first 2 months of his career when he was hitting everything in sight because pitchers had no clue how to pitch him yet. As you can see it's only 62 games started in that slot compared to 140 starts in the 2 spot and 101 starts in the 3rd spot. So of course those numbers won't be off the charts like they are in the 6th slot because it's twice as many at-bats.http://www.baseball-...year=Career&t=bBut for BJ the 2nd slot is the spot he has the most at-bats in and he has solid numbers in that spot. But I really am not a fan of saying a guy has to bat in a certain spot in the lineup because he has better numbers in that spot because it's such a fluky thing.I said it's fun to look at. Spare me the lecture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites