SB Nation User Blog: ATLandUNC

Stop the whining, Chipper

ATLandUNC — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:08:25 -0000

Stop the whining, Chipper

"From his name to his look to his sweet swinging, Jones defines "ballplayer" in every sense. But he's coming close to defining a whiner with all his talk about being old and sore."

The article goes on to say a bit more about wanting time off and Bobby not giving it to him. He's got a point. You get paid 13 mil, you play.

Alex Rios may be available for almost nothing

ATLandUNC — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:08:00 -0000

Alex Rios may be available for almost nothing

The Blue Jays are reportedly looking into dumping Vernon Wells and/or Alex Rios. I think Alex Rios would be an *amazing* pickup for RF. Him and Mclouth basically put up the same numbers, and I wouldn't mind seeing double out there.

Why a power hitter would make Atlanta's lineup scary.

ATLandUNC — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:34:06 -0000

I know people have talked endlessly about how a trade for a power hitter is what this team needs to compete. BUT, until now I wasn't so sure about how well a power hitter really would fare in the heart of the Braves lineup. It dawned on me today that the Braves lineup is one of the most perfectly built lineups for a big #4 hitter as any in the league. Here is what I see

(1. The top three hitters all get on base at a good clip. Mclouth and Escobar both get on at a .350 and .360 clip respectively, and Chipper is getting on base at a Godly .443 clip. Chip and Esco are also two of the hottest hitters around as of late and have their averages up above .300. All these bodies on the base would provide endless RBI opportunities to the 4 spot. Of the top 5 RBI producers in the league, only Bay has a (slightly) better OBP group in front of him than what a potential 4 hitter would have here in Atlanta.

(2. Mclouth's speed. I know he isn't Carl Crawford out there, but his SB ability will give pitchers something to think about if he is on base while the cleanup spot is up. Even without the SB, Mclouth has the abilty to go first-home on any double.

(3. Great protection from the 5 spot. McCann is back to hitting like the All-Star he is, and is creeping towards the .320 average mark. He hits for good power (.533 SLG%) and has a .410 OBP. Mac would force the pitcher to throw good pitches to the cleanup hitter.

(4. Tuner Field. As Turner heats up, the power alleys become launching pads. A good slugger would have ample opportunity to float some balls through the humidity and into the bleachers.

All this adds up to the perfect recipe for a big bat to have a monster second half. I can honestly say that I think a top power hitter could easily drive in 60+ runs in Atlanta in just the second half of the season alone. The top and core of this lineup is actually VERY solid. All it is lacking is the last puzzle piece. A power hitter would have 1-2 runners on in front if him here almost 39% of the time, and Mac would always be behind him with the protection. For this reason, I think a big trade for a big bat like Bay/Holliday/Dunn/ etc.(just examples) would be worth all the trouble.

Pieces like Johnson/Vazquez/Gonzalez are all expendable at this time and could be dangled in front of a team desperate for their services. We would be giving up big pieces, but even Vazquez would be worth trading for a big time bat, especially since we have Medlen/Hudson to fill the void if need be.

Power is the biggest need, and not only would a big bat fill a big void in the lineup, I think a power hitter would absolutely thrive in Atlanta's lineup.

Poll

What is your view on Atlanta acquiring a big power hitter?

Is needed, but not feasible.

153 votes

Is possible, and must be done

306 votes

Is not worth it, lets worry about next year

19 votes

478 votes | Poll has closed

Complete Trade Possibility Roundup

ATLandUNC — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:07:06 -0000

I know this has been discussed ad nausem before the calendar even has even reached June, but BEFORE you go straight for the comment button and leave the customary "you're a fag for making a fanpost about trades" comment, take note that I am not trying to simply throw out a single retarded trade possibility, but rather roundup what seems plausible or improbable throughout the league.

For these purposes I took a look at all the teams throughout the league who are already falling behind in their divisions, and then looked at their outfield and power positions to see who might be available. At the end I simply mark whether I think each idea has high/low/moderate chance. Feel free to add ideas or simply mock everything I have written.

*Diamondbacks* - Big one here is obviously Justin Upton. (.313 - 9 HR - 26 RBI). Would LOVE to get this guy, but with his age (21) and talent he is probably untouchable. (low chance)

*Washington* - Adam Dunn. Left field power bat. All that needs to be said. He should have been signed in the offseason, now he will probably be available for trade. (good chance)

*Houston* - Carlos Lee. Big time power bat who is always consistent. He may be too expensive for the Braves to handle.(moderate chance) Hunter Pence? (no way)

*Cleveland* - Only person on their team that remotely fits the bill is Grady Sizemore, and he is doubtful to go anywhere. Would be amazing to see him in a Braves uni. We could have Sizemore and Sizemore lite once Schafer comes around. (low chance)

*Colorado* - Brade Hawpe. He wont blow anyone away, but he is solid and he produces. He may be sold high. (good chance)

*Oakland* - Matt Holliday WILL be traded - somwhere. He is a one-year player and has looked bad outside of Coors, but he could be a great buy-low trade possibility that could even be re-signed after the season. (good chance)

*San Diego* - Adrian Gonzalez. The biggest bat of the bunch, and on a team that is not shy about the fact that they are dumping payroll. Problem is, AG is playing for a ridiculously low salary. The Padres would have to be absolutely blown away to move him. (low/no chance)

*Pittsburgh* - Nate Mclouth. Pittsburgh has a very deep crop of minor league talent coming up, particularly in the OF. The Pirates are continually retooling, and moving Mclouth for more young talent and to make room for Andrew McCutchen in CF may make sense for them. (moderate chance)

*Baltimore* - In terms of OF depth on bad teams, Baltimore takes the cake. Luke Scott is the odd man out and probably easiest to get, but hes not that exciting. If a run was to made for anyone, why not go bold and go after Nick Markakis or Adam Jones? Scott (good chance) Markakis and Jones (in your dreams)

In summary

-Best Chances / Fit

- I Wish

Lets Talk Positives - There Are Plenty Of Them

ATLandUNC — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:15:05 -0000

With all the negatives that have been discussed with this team, lets take a second to focus on what is RIGHT. And there is actually plenty of it.

1. - The rotation - The Braves have arguably the best front 3 in baseball, and once Hanson gets the call, no one will have a better front 4. Lowe, Vazquez and Jurrjens have the ability to get hot and carry this team to the playoffs with even minimal offensive help.

1.5 -Jair Jurrjens himself - It is easy to forget that this guy is only TWENTY THREE years old. When you think about it, that is unbelievable with how he is pitching. Many pitchers do not even make a debut until they are 23, yet JJ already has a full solid season under his belt for us and is arguably the most consistent and fundamental pitcher on the team. If he can be locked up, he may end up being the biggest part of this teams future.

2. - Brian McCann - Boy is it good to have him back. Lasik, contacts, glasses, whatever - the guy can always hit. We have THE BEST offensive catcher in all of baseball on our team, and he is still only 25. Scary

3. - David Ross - Rarely have we ever mentioned both catchers as positives, but Ross has been one of our best hitters this year, and he played flawlessly while McCann was out. You cant beat that.

4. - The Bench - Infante and Prado have been playing great in their chances to get on the field, and both have helped the Braves avoid complete disaster while the rest of the starters struggled.

5. - The Bullpen - Although they have had some bumps along the way, the bullpen has what it takes to be very solid. Soriano and Gonzalez have been nasty lately, and they are shaping up to be one of the best 8th-9th guys tandems in all of baseball.

6 - The Future - Last but certainly not least, the hope that our farm system brings. Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen look poised to help as soon as given a chance, with Hanson looking more like a future #1 every day. Behind them lies a long line of young talent rearing to get a chance in the bigs, mainly the beast from the southeast, Jason Heyward. Regardless of how this season ends, the next several years look bright. The talent coming up, combined with the young core we have now will leave the NL running scared for years to come.

I know there can be more positives to talk about, as I didn't even mention how good Kotchman has been playing. So lets get a positive fanpost going and pick up the morale around here.

Tommy Hanson

Maybe losing isn't such a bad thing

ATLandUNC — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:44:28 -0000

No one ever wants to lose. It is painful to watch a team that is performing in the way the Atlanta Braves have been for the past few weeks, but maybe there is a silver lining.

Everyone remembers the Tex trade and has very strong opinions on it, and I think we can all agree that we don't want to sell the farm for a one year rental again. Yet, with how much money is being spent on the rotation and with how badly the offense is performing, the management would almost be forced to make just such a trade if the Braves still have a shot at the division by the trade deadline.

Maybe the best thing for this team is to be so far out by the deadline that they become sellers. This team needs a shakeup; as a team built around KJ, Esco, Chipper, and Francoeur has gotten us nowhere. Perhaps trading away one or more of those players for big-time minor league talent would be the smartest choice moving forward.

The 2010 (expected) rotation of Hudson - Lowe - Vazquez - Jurrjens - Hanson could easily be the best in baseball for the next 2 years. We all know about Heyward, Gorkys, Freeman, Medlen, Locke and others, but what if we got a big-time AA or AAA 2B and 3B to go with them? An infield stud or two would make this team a force to be reckoned with for several years, and we would still have our surplus of young arms and outfield talent. The 2010 and 2011 Braves could be a mirror image of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

I know this team is painful to watch, but every loss could ironically be taking us closer to a brighter future.

Supposing this scenario is plausible, any ideas of young infield players that would be worth trading one of the aforementioned players for?

Logan finally batting leadoff today

ATLandUNC — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:55:48 -0000

Bobby Cox was trying to wait, but the switch finally became too obvious to ignore, even for him. Schafer has the second best OBP among regulars, and he has had his speed going to waste while batting at the bottom of the order.

I hope this seemingly simple lineup move will be the spark that the Braves offense needs to get the bats going and this team on a roll.

Here is the full lineup today vs. Oswalt.

1. Schafer, CF
2. Escobar, SS
3. Chipper, 3B
4. Kotchman, 1B
5. Francoeur, RF
6. KJ, 2B
7. Ross, C
8. B. Jones, LF
9. Jurrjens

Players we could have aquired - How are they doing?

ATLandUNC — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:21:02 -0000

Adam Dunn - .310 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 11 runs

Nick Swisher - .312 AVG, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 21 runs

Bobby Abreu - .357 AVG, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 9 runs, 9 SBs

Kren Griffey Jr. - .200 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 9 runs

Rafael Furcal - .250 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 17 runs, 3 SB

Raul Ibanez - .359 AVG - 7 HR, 17 RBI, 20 runs, 3 SB

These are just the guys I could think of off the top of my head. I wasn't counting pitchers, so guys like Peavy and Burnett arent included.

As you can see - Dunn, Swisher, Ibanez, and to a lesser extent Abreu would have been HUGE in LF for us so far. I would take any one of those guys out there over the money we spent on Glavine, Kawakami, and Garret Anderson.

The gamble on Kawakami for the price was very risky, and so far isn't paying off at all. You can't fault the Braves for trying, but how on earth could they not have forseen the glaring weakness that their offense would have? I personally think it was foolish to spend the available runds on a risky import when big bats were still available for LF. Now we are being forced to see them shine for new teams.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but the state of this team seems to stem from poor judgement on the behalf of the managment. This team had the funds to make much needed improvements, but they failed to pull the trigger on any of the offensive upgrades we so desperately needed. Let's hope they can wheel-and-deal something before it is too late.

The Braves offense is like a bad prom date

ATLandUNC — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:04:03 -0000

Getting to first base is easy, second base takes a little work, and third base takes a ton of patience. But after 3 hours of hard work, you rarely get to score.

What can be done to fix this continual Cox blocking that is being put on our ability to get some hot home plate action?

Tell them that they are pretty and listen to their feelings? Or perhaps get a new hitting coach and someone other than KJ hitting leadoff? Perhaps getting a wingman (power hitter) for Chipper would solve our problems.

Either way, I'm getting sick of the Braves' offense continually blue-balling their fans.

Opinions?

Poll

What would be the best way to fix the Braves offense?

Fire TP and get a new hitting coach

21 votes

Get a real damn leadoff hitter

18 votes

Make a trade for a power bat

35 votes

All of the above

40 votes

114 votes | Poll has closed

The best batting eye on the team is...

ATLandUNC — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:28:58 -0000

Jordan Schafer?

I know, I know, Chipper has one of the best batting eyes in all of the majors (ever), but JS looks like he may be close to being on par. He is leading the team by far with 12 walks, and he has a .380+ OBP even while sporting a batting average of only .268. It is not easy to have an OBP 110 points higher than your .avg, especially for a rookie.

He had that very ugly string of Ks when he was pressing, but when he is comfortable like he is now, he works the count full like nobody on the team but Chip. Jordan leads the Braves (and is 31st in the majors) with 4.09 pitches seen per at bat because he constantly has 2-2 and 3-2 counts. That patience would work great for allowing the heart of the order behind him to get a read on pitchers, plus leading off he could finally begin to utilize his speed a bit more.

Bobby needs to put him at the top of the lineup already.