Atlanta Braves?

Question

Do you think the Braves will reclaim their throne atop the NL East? The Mets are without Pedro for some time. The Marlins have young pitching but very little offense. The Phillies have a nice blend of both, but their starters could be shaky with age and injury issues. And then there are the horrid Nationals who will probably finish with 85-100 losses.

Answer 1

The Mets are a very good team, and I'd pick them to win. The Braves have a chance if Chipper Jones can stay healthy and Mike Hampton comes back strong after missing all of last year. The Braves now have a closer and a set up reliever and they are my pick to come in 2nd. I don't think Philadelphia or Florida have the starting pitching the Braves have. The Nationals are last as usual.

Answer 2

I for one, firmly believe that the Braves will win the NL East in 2007. If there was one thing that killed the Braves last year, it was their awful bullpen. This year they have definetely strengthened their pen. They will have Bob Wickman for a full year, they now have young fireballin' stud Rafael Soriano who had he been with a bigger market team than the Mariners would have recieved a lot more publicity for his outstanding year last year. Blaine Boyer should be healthy this year and should establish himself as a quality reliever. Tyler Yates should improve on a pretty decent year last year. If Mccay Mcbride has better control than he did last year, he will be a top notch lefty reliever.
Now the starting rotation. Smoltz is the ace. After going through a winter program like he did with the A's that he has not done in any offseason with the Braves, Hudson should be solid. Doctors say that Hampton is recovering about as well as possible from his Tommy John so he should produce well. Chuck James should be up with the likes of Scott Kazmir in terms of young lefties. He's that good. The 5th starter will be the only real possible weakness in the rotation.
Not much needs to be said about the offense. They'll score their runs. Enough to give pitchers a cushion.

Answer 3

Pedro only won 9 games last year and was hurt for most of the year. The Braves finished 18 games out of first. Pedro was not a factor.

The Mets have a solid lineup that will score a lot of runs again this year and cover up mediocre pitching numbers as it did last year.

The Mets and Phillies will be one and two followed by the Braves.

Don't over look the young arms of the Marlins either. They looked great at the end of last year.

Answer 4

I would question your assertion that the Marlins have "very little offense" They wer dead middle of the pack in OPS, and runs, and 6th in HR's in the NL, with another year under their collective belts the kiddie corps down there may be very dangerous.

Most of the young position players got BETTER the 2nd half. For example ramirez hit .268 and slugged .410 tih 6 hr's before the break, and .319, .558, 11 after (in less AB's!)

Uggla's numbers were pretty much the same pre and post AS break. His avg dipped but his power picked up some.

Josh Willingham improved avg slightly and power significantly.

and Mike Jacobs was fairly consistent with his power staying steady but his avg dropping some.

With Cabrera as the catalyst even if only two of these young players continue to develop their upside I think they have more than enough offense to go with their great young pitching staff. I think they are the team to beat this year, and frankly my biggest concern for this tema is the fire sale in 2009 or so after they win the World series!

I'm a Dodger fan by the way, so this isn't home town hoping!!!

Answer 5

NO, the mets offense and bullpen is awesome. Moises Alou was a number 3 hitter for the giants and will hit 6th or 7th with the mets. Wagner-Sanchez-Heilman is the core of an amazing bullpen. And regarding the pitching Minaya isn't done he still has some trades up his sleeve, maybe Brand Penny and they have a plethora of young talented pitchers like Pelfrey and Humber. So watch out NL east we are going to repeat!

Answer 6

Even though the Braves aren't that shabby, I still think that they'll fall in line somewhere behind the Mets and the Phillies. They've had a great run over the last decade, but unfortunately for Braves fans, they have to squeeze out a couple of down years. But based on their management and ownership, they'll be back on top soon.

Answer 7

No.
Unfortunately father time catches up with teams that have had dynastys, like the Yankees and Braves. If they don't constantly retool then they fall behind and that's what has happened to the Braves. Leo Mazzilli's loss is still stinging and the pitching staff has reflected the new coaching staff and is dismal. I see another losing season in store for the Braves.

Answer 8

Well i think a lot of people would like to see that but I personally think that division is becoming to competitive now with the moves the Mets and Phillies keep making. In all honesty the only reason they did as good as they did each year was because they had a lot of easy opponents.

Answer 9

I honestly think they will start their run again. The Mets had their fun last year, but 2006 is gone, and 2007 season is just around the corner. Chipper has to stay healthy tho, and Hampton has to have good outings. They need Smoltz to stay healthy too. . . If all that happens, look for the Tomahawk Choppers to be in the World Series in October.

Answer 10

I don't care who wins as long as it isn't the Mets. It will come down to the Braves and the Phillies. If their pitching staff can be healthy, then the Phillies.