Are the Braves going to do anything this year?

Question

14 straight division titles....1 championship. what are they gonna do this year with an improved bullpen and a strong rotation?

Answer 1

No, they let there team fall apart. They will need to rebuild. I think they will finally come to appreciate what Leo Mizzonie did for them, since there pitching staff is terrible. They had a good run, but they let the Mets get better while they got older.

Answer 2

The Braves should contend for the NL east championship. I would say they beat the Mets by 2 games and then go on to at least the NL championship. The reason I believe this is because they have a better pitching staff than the Mets. Due to the fact that Pedro is out until late fall and the Mets are anchored by Tom Glavine. If Hudson and Hampton have a decent year they win the division. The bullpen is much improved and won't give games away this season. A. Jones will be trying to amass some large numbers since he is a free agent next year and with youth like McCann and Francoure they should be a solid contender this season. Also if they hadn't gone on a 6-23 stretch in June they would have easily won the wild card last season.

Answer 3

As a Braves fan for many years, its sad to say, they will have to fight to stay above Washington in the standings. Everyone else in the division has improved themselves over the last year and this winter and the Braves have basically stood pat. They don't even have a legitimate leadoff hitter. No one knows what Mike Hampton will do - will he be the Hampton of old or will he set a record for losses? Sadly, John Schuerholtz' hands are tied by the bosses of Time-Warner who won't let him spend the money to go out and get a decent free agent. In the old days, they would have picked up Barry Zito without even thinking - now they sign Tanyon Sturtze. So, management can't be blamed for the fall of a once mighty team - the blame goes to the owners - Time-Warner, but then they screw up everything they touch. The Braves won't return to their former glory until TW sells the team to a private owner.

Answer 4

I'd say the Braves are good for a moderate run at the Wild-Card, at best. But that's only because EVERY team in the NL has a plausible shot at the Wild-Card until about mid-September.

The rotation is hardly strong. Beyond Smoltz there isn't a lot to look at. Hudson is a shell of what he was in Oakland and Hampton is about as reliable as Britney Spears running a daycare.

The offense has some bright-spots, but I'd expect Andruw Jones to be dealt by the trade deadline, probably to the Red Sox who will definitely want to add his bat and defense or the Dodgers for the same reasons.

The team seems set on trading LaRoche and already made a mistake letting Betemit go to LA last season for Dannys Baez. Call me crazy but Betemit would look pretty good over at 2B right now with Jones, Renteria and LaRoche rounding out the infield.

McCann is due for a regression, think Javy Lopez after his big season in ATL and Francouer--despite talent, galore--has yet to bring up his on-base percentage enough to make him a legit tough-out to any opposing pitcher.

The team has lots of young talent and could probably compete in another few years, but right now the Braves look to be--at best--the third or fourth best team in their own division.

The Mets have a stranglehold on first place and both the Phillies and Marlins have the right pieces to be competitive. The Wild-Card is a long shot with four pretty solid teams in the NL Central (St. Louis, Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee) and two good clubs in the NL West (Los Angeles and San Diego).

Although I will give them this...the bullpen does look good, especially adding Soriano to it. WOW! Best under-the-radar move of the offseason.

Answer 5

Its the Mets division to lose this year. Nobody compares to the offense they put out every day. The only question is whether the rotation will hold up. The Braves might contend, but look for the Mets to run away with this divsion again.

Answer 6

I don't think they'll do as bad as this past year, maybe a wild card at best, if Chipper and Andruw can produce. But all these Mets fans who think it's a lock should try to remember before last season their team spent so much money and had all these great players but either: 1. still sucked
2. got bit*h smacked by the braves

Answer 7

Hmmm...I'd venture to say they'll be playing baseball! :)

That and very likely trading Andruw Jones who is a FA at the end of the year. As for where they will finish, 3rd or 4th seems likely, behind the Mets, Phillies and possibly the Marlins.

As for the guy saying McCann will regress (referencing Javy Lopez), the two situations are NOT comparable. Lopez was O-L-D when he had that career year. McCann may not have identical numbers, but .300-20-80 are very likley...

Answer 8

No =( I want them to beat the mets being a Yankee fan, but there offense olny includes a 2nd baseman (forgot his name) Chipper And Jones, and there pitching rotation just wont get it done. I bet ya jOHN smOLTZ WILL ASK THE BRAVES TO GET TRADES, HES NOT SHY AND WOULD LIKE TO FINISH HIS CARRER ON A CONTENDING TEAM AND FEEL WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE IN THE PLAYOFFS ONE LAST TIME.

Answer 9

Make the playoffs and lose the first round as usual. Go NATS

Answer 10

14 years was a great run but they probably need a little more rebuilding this year