I noticed Bonifacio batting 7th and at first I was stunned. Dude 's got almost twice the steals of anyone in baseball, and he's batting 7th? The guy batting first is Reyes, no slouch on the bases himself. When Heyward got picked off stealing in front of Pastornicky, it occurred to me that we also have our two runners (Bourn and Heyward) batting first and seventh. I started wondering why a manager might put speed at the seventh spot in the order and realized some interesting implications.

If the guy batting eighth gets on first, the pitcher will bunt for him every time there aren't two outs, even if he has speed (see Pastornicky). If a guy is batting seventh who can really steal though, you get some interesting scenarios. Without sprawling my logic out too much, I'll just ask if any of yall see value in batting a guy with speed seventh?

I'll add that I think it's really great to have guys batting 7th and 8th who can score from second, score on a tag and steal a base when they need to. It's like our 7, 8, 9 ,1, 2 hitters are aligned to maximize our small ball opportunities while still putting Bourn's speed and Prado's bat in front of our heavy hitters (including Heyward in the 7th spot).

I'm just saying, I might start thinking this lineup is genius in the way it transitions between small ball and big hits with Heyward and Prado.

While we came into the season with numerous mainstays, the choices for the few roster spots still seem vague. Perhaps here we can discuss our thoughts, as late as possible, on who we think should start the season with the big league club. I'm sure it's all over the rosterbation thread, but there should be a specific post in which we can discuss roster choices from within the club for the season's start.

Obviously Minor has won the 5th spot in the rotation, a big question is who will earn the 6th spot and start the season as the 5th starter until Hudson is back. I phrased it this way to set up my choice: Chris Medlen. Livian Hernandez should take Medlen's role in the pen and Medlen should start until Hudson is back. Neither of the young guys seem ready to start the season in the pros. We all wanted them to be, but they are both pitching poorly, and the last thing we need is to loose confidence in our bright future when they get lit up to start the season. Send them down, let them work their confidence and control back up. And please don't start the season with Livian as our 5th starter! He has been garbage as a starter this spring as well, and Medlen has been lights out. We know Hudson is coming back, so it won't be a long term job. We also know that, one year removed from TJ surgery and having been injured going back and forth, that we will have good reason to NOT move him BACK into the rotation later no matter how well he pitches. Just let him pitch the first 4 games. He is a luck charm, he's on, he has something to prove, and the team seems to win behind him. This won't impact our future plans except to build value in Medlen, potentially even for a trade. He has earned the right to start, and he has earned the right to start these four games. With Livian on the staff, we can afford to pull him from the pen.

The other roles are less interesting to me, so I won't throw down my opinions about them.

Condensed:

Hudson, Hanson, and JJ could all use an extra day between starts early in the season

Beachy, Minor, Teheran will all hit their innings limit before the post-season, when we will need them.

Going with a 6 man to start the season would allow a couple huge benefits. 1, our creaky front end of the rotation could ease into the rigors of the season while going easier on their bodies. 2, it would give us a better chance of having live young arms going into the post season. And while we are on 2, I think it’s worth mentioning that it’s a pretty big issue—think Padres ’10. If we trade a pitcher, we are relying on at least one of these young guys to be the third starter in the post season, and that’s if Hudson and Hanson are healthy at the end of the year—a big if. I know it would be unorthodox, but no more unorthodox than having 5/6 guys 26 and under making starts. It’s worth going to extra effort to make sure some of our young starters have live arms going into the post season, especially with the injury concerns around the others. What I’m postulating is that, an early season 6-man rotation might be a necessary adjustment for a team that intends to win in the playoffs with so many young starters and injury questions at the top of the rotation.

It’s only the difference of a start or two from our best performer (which we can’t predict, since it could as easily be Minor or Teheran starter as an April Hanson or Hudson). Meanwhile, it allows an extra day of rest for our young arms and injured front line starters. I think it would be less valuable to think of the 9 or 10 innings it would save on the arm, and more valuable to think of its extra day of rest and recuperation.

Also, I am just suggesting this as temporary. After the first 6 weeks, hopefully everyone is eased into the season and ready to pitch every 5 days. This will allow for room for an injury or trade. It may even make a trade candidate more appealing, if their arm is perceived as more fresh going into the second half. If we are talking about JJ, this might be directly valuable as a statement in trade negotiations, considering it was after the first half that JJ wore down last season.

Now let me say, I’m not committed to this as the best plan, and I’ve also heard numerous other arguments for 6 men rotations. I wrote this because I think a unique and solid argument can be made for the Braves in ’11. We have more depth than we know what to do with, we have some injury concerns and we are committed to young pitchers in the playoffs.

I look forward to feedback and variation. I expect the best counterargument to concern getting into grooves, and how pitching more often can help with sharpness. I am not sure how to evaluate these benefits in relation to rest, and how to weigh the short-term benefits against the long. It gets sloppy here for a couple reasons, 1, every pitcher is different, 2, there aren’t many case studies to go off of. Many of us probably just remember the one time Vazquez made a start on 5 days rest, got rocked, and we saw stats of how he always did worse with more rest. Even if we wanted to look at league pitchers and all their starts with 5 days rest, it doesn’t compare since it wasn’t routine. It’s when the thought process leads into this mess of uncertainty that it seems like a risky proposition—especially if the young pitchers don’t actually pitch deeper into games despite having one less guy in the pen. So as I said, I concede good arguments from both sides. I wrote this up because I think there are good enough arguments to try the 6 man to at least throw it out there for debate. We have some guys w some injuries that could use some stretching out, and we have young guys we will need to not hit walls later on.

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I just thought I'd set up a conversation about our SS situation. This isn't rosterbation (because all posts have to explain why they aren't rosterbation) because I am not talking about who we can add to the roster or something like that. I just want to explore the ins and outs of the thought process concerning the braves SS decisions for 2012. I'm going to go through some of my thoughts. The comments I am hoping for most would be on the thought process of the situation and the factors that should be considered. I've broken thoughts into bits mostly as opposed to writing an essay with a thesis.

Pastornicky has limited experience, and it's aggressive to bring him to the majors.

It would be ideal to have a bridge to him that could be a utility guy after Pastornicky comes up.

no such player exists - a mediocre bat at SS is a commodity as it is.

All he has to be is mediocre with the bat and he is better than what we could afford.

Especially if he is coming up in half a season.

If he doesn't come up ASAP, Simmons likely passes him, he becomes AAAA - cant be traded

If we bring him up, he succeeds, then we bring Simmons up, not only do we have one to trade or one to move to third, we also never paid for a veteran to hit as mediocre.

That said, Pastornicky, even if he struggles like Freeman did at the start of last year, is still going to be hitting league average for an 8-hitter or for SS - which is all we could possibly get. And Pastornicky brings some speed at the turnover of the lineup, and the ability to take a walk in front of the pitcher.

The other advantage he has is, he is relatively unscouted compared to today's season starting rookies like Jason Heyward. That means he may be able to tour the league for a good bit of the season before pitchers all know his weaknesses. If he is able to put up good numbers as long as this lasts, he still will have brought decent production for the first half of the season. At this time we can either bring in Simmons or trade for a SS having a good season on a noncontender.

I am just trying to look from all angles at what it is to pencil in Pastornicky. It is absolutely not the same as penciling in Freeman. There are definitely veterans out there that can hit better than mediocre and step in at first for a season, then even step back into a pinch hitting role. At first base there are real options. At SS, they're extremely limited and bitterly overpriced.

That's not to say the braves won't bring in a veteran utility man that can play SS, and who can force Pastornicky to compete for the job. I'm just saying Pastor-Nicky would have to really blow to do worse than a backup SS that can actually field the position well. We would muuuuuuuch rather be able to go for a guy with a playable bat and degenerating defense at SS.

Winning the Triple Crown 

Home Run Champion

RBI Champion

AVG Champion

          or 

Matt Kemp

Home Run Champion (39)

RBI Champion (126)

Runs Champion (115)

 

To be a runs champion means you have to have a combination of on base percentage and speed - Normally opposite Home Run Hitters. It's reflective of the fact that he was second in the league with 40 steals. 

I am leaving the fact that he had a phenomenal average (324-3rd) and on base percentage (399-4th), phenomenal steal total (40-2nd), Games (161-2nd), Hits (195-2nd),  because I want the question to just compare the three titles. 

Anyway, obviously he should be MVP - And Obviously the Braves should consider whether or not it would be worth it to part with the package it would require to get him. 

He could be a generational player, and this might be one of those rare times when one is available, and we happen to have the best bargaining chips in baseball--so many that we could offer them whatever it took and still have a plenty. 

Two things:

1) Braves Bull Pen

2) Bull Pen Theory

Many of yall on here could explain a lot about what goes into a Bull Pen, and I'm hoping you will. My knowledge is limited. 

This is the Braves Bull Pen last year and what it might project as next year

Kimbrel Kimbrel

Venters Venters

Oflahrity Oflahrity

Linebrink ? Right hander that can pitch to both sides? w good splits against righties?

Sherrill Medlen (Loogy/can pitch to both sides)

Moylan Lowe (GB specialist/long)

Martinez Martinez (long)

(coming up in spurts) 

Asencio

Cordier

Gearrin

Marek

Varvaro

Vizcaino

So what will be interesting, is if we do move Lowe to the pen, then we will have three guys suited to be long relievers: Martinez, Lowe, Medlen. My guess is that Lowe will become more of a ground ball specialist, Medlen will become more of a one inning middle reliever, and Martinez will remain the rubber arm long man. These things will have to play out based on performance though of course, and a trade could be made. 
Here's a primary question, what is most lacking with these six pitchers? What are we looking for in the 7th? Hoover has to be added to the mix as well. If he is as durable as I want to believe, as a right handed power reliever he has to be a top candidate. 
My feeling on Vizcaino is that we have so many options and he has so much potential that it would be absurd to have him start the season in the pen and not in the AAA rotation. 
So who else of our pitchers suit our needs best? Obv. there will be a competition for the spot in the spring, but who has the tools to be the guy we want to perform and take that role? 
Here is another question - I have lots about the bullpen, I think it's awesome to think about, especially this off season: We have some real quality arms, more than can fit in the bullpen, what are the chances we pull them up and involve them in a trade? Look at how valuable Dunn was in a trade, and we have several guys that would be sure things in numerous major league pens. Another year in the minors though and they're going to get less and less valuable. 
I hope I kicked up a lot of thought and ideas, I'd love to have a thread where we just talk bullpen 

Now that we got our heart back, and the "Team of Destiny" is reforming... Whose gonna take us all the way? 

I want to frame this with some uncertainty, because it's the one thing we can be certain of. No one knows exactly who it will be yet, not even FW. 

That said, here's the explosion of joy I couldn't hold in once I saw we got Diaz back... 

Starters:

McCann

Freeman

Uggla

Gonzalez

Chipper

Prado

Bourn

Heyward

Bench:

Hinske Left handed bat off the bench

Diaz Right handed bat off the bench

Constanza High average bat off the bench/pinch runner

Ross Backup Catcher/pinch hitter

Backup SS (Lugo, or hopefully another guy we learn about today)

Conrad Pinch hitter (game breaker) 

Starting Rotation:

Hudson - 1

Hanson - 2

JJ? Beachy? Lowe? - 3

4th starter - we will bring one even if we send him to the pen

Relievers:

Kimbrel - Closer

Venters - 8th

Ohflarity - 7th

Vizcaino - Set up man

Sherill - Left hand specialist

Moylan - Right Hand Specialist 

Teheran - Long reliever

That's 25 guys, remember that when we take a guy out of the rotation, we have an extra spot on the bench.

Other guys that could compete:

Hoover

Linebrink

Delgado

Minor

Helms (doubtful w diaz here)

And here's to hoping we pick up Infante and trust him as our backup SS--he's the other atrium now that we have Diaz back

Ok, start shooting

So something came over me, and I decided to find the rosterbation post and post in it.. Something way controlled for me.. Then I couldn't find one.. That said, I have some waiver wire thoughts.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/08/players-who-cleared-waivers.html

There's a list of who cleared waivers. 

How about Matsui? 827 ops against left handed pitching, including 8 homers in 133 at bats. His contract is for less than 2 mil, he might be a perfect right handed bat off the bench. 

There's also Damon, who is less interesting. 

Any others worth really considering? 

Most of the conversation seems to have been about what to do at short stop, with the majority of us thinking we hang on to Gonzalez, keep the rhythm we have going, and get Pastornicky some chances if he gets healthy. 

We could also consider bringing in a real right handed bat off the bench in Matsui, a guy with a recent world series mvp, he could be a great addition going into the playoffs, especially since he has gotten hot in this second half. Any thoughts? 

Most of us are pretty interested in the conversation surrounding a potential Derek Lowe trade. I've been wondering how durable our staff would be without him, but my attempts at an answer only come from what I've picked up on TC these last couple years. Because I figure I'm not the only one who could benefit by a directed conversation about this, I thought I'd pose some direct questions. Maybe those who have some knowledge can help increase our (my) fan intelligence. 

I am remembering last year, how brilliant the Padre's young pitching was all season until the young guns ran out of bullets. The thing is, I know we have lots of arms, but everyone on the depth chart is young (unless the starts C. Mart has been making in AAA are a direct response to the concern I'm about to snap into words). We are hoping to average 200 innings from Hanson, Hudson and JJ--Lowe would have probably been there as well. That means we are expecting Beachy and Teheran (or Minor) to pitch through to the end of the season. Can they? Are there creative moves we can make so that it's possible? 

If we traded Lowe, what would the scenario be? Could Teheran finish the season as a full time starter? Minor couldn't last year. Can he this year? Would C Mart and his rubber arm be starting the last games for these guys when they run out of gas? Could we extend the days off for Teheran while Minor is in the rotation--so that he would be able to step up when Minor begins to fatigue? With one rookie in the rotation I don't think it's a big deal. With two (especially considering how young Teheran is), would we have to make some creative adjustments? 

How do yall think about this? 

Let's look at what we have if we stand pat. 

Prado is coming back as our left fielder, but anyone who thinks Chipper is going to not take a month off for surgery is fooling themselves. It won't be long before he does it either, so we have to see LF open for a month after the all star break. 

That means that if we did nothing, Mclouth, Schafer, and Heyward would be our outfield until we hit the stretch, when Prado would move to left, and either Schafer or Mclouth would man center full time. 

Let's think about where this would leave us.

DEFENSE: I'm going to call it one of the rangiest outfields in baseball. I'd consider Mclouth a GG quality left fielder, Heyward on his way to being a GG caliber RF, and Schafer is definitely that kind of CF, which is where it matters most. I'd say our defense would be phenomenal. 

OFFENSE: Leaving heyward out of the conversation because his position is not up for conversation:

McLouth has a 350 obp, and could prob steal 20 bases if we turned him loose. He knows how to take a walk and is a perfect no. 8 hitter. If he can get on base at a 350 clip out of the 8hole and play gold glove LF, I'd say no upgrade is required. When Prado forces him to compete with Schafer in center, his defense is mediocre and his job in the 8spot is incomparable to Schafer's leading off. I'd say that he would have to really turn it on to beat out Schafer in CF, but I wouldn't call that out of the question. 

Schafer is still adjusting to the league during the season we expected he'd need in AAA. He's batting 300 over his last 10 games though. His 11 steals in 39 games averages to over 45 in a season. His 26 runs in 39 would average to 108 in a season. Not swinging for the fences, his homers would still be prorated to 12 in a season, and he is the first Brave in years to go 5/5. It's no fluke either because he's had a couple three and four hit nights. I'd say he is adjusting well and showing all the signs we could expect that he could be our guy. 

We still have 20 games before the trade deadline. I'd expect Wren to be searching for a center fielder, but not to pull the trigger unless something shocking happens or Schafer performs poorly over those 20 games. Schafer is certainly performing and progressing at a level that has us considering his services for both this year and the next several. He would be a much cheaper option than Bourn or anyone else worth trading for. He will have to drop off dramatically to not get those 20 games, and if he sustains his current level of play we should be jumping for joy over the CF we'd then commit to. There is the possibility Mclouth starts playing like an allstar in that 20 game stretch, which would also solve our CF situation for the season. If neither seem like the answer, expect a new CF on the team, but not till near the trade deadline. 

Its possible we go ahead and trade for a CF, unload Mclouth or Schafer, let the other man left till Prado's return to the OF, and serve as our 4th OF at that point. The problem here is that we won't know yet if it's worth planning to use Schafer next year, and if we got Bourn we would have him signed through next season. (of course Chipper could retire, Prado could move to third, and Schafer or the new CF could move to left, making our OF a true black hole). The positive to this is that we can remove mclouth from the outfield, but the player would have to be better enough than a 350 obp with speed and a golden left field glove to be worth all the confusion and complication. 

It seems to me that the obvious thing to do is let these guys play till the trade deadline then make the decision. The only other thing that could make sense is to get a guy like quentin, who is an upgrade over Mclouth in left, but would give way to Prado when he returns to the outfield. This wouldn't interfere with the plan to wait till the trade deadline to make a decision in center. 

Poll

What to do with the OF

75%

Wait till the tradeline to make a move in the outfield - Give Schafer time

163 votes

1%

Trade for a LF now that would yield to Prado later

4 votes

8%

Get an allstar LF and figure it out with Prado later

19 votes

13%

Trade for a CF now, Schafer isn't it

30 votes

216 votes | Poll has closed

As we get into the trade season, I just wanna see how many of us feel this way... 

Seven pitchers that can win title after title:

Hanson

Jurrjens

Teheran

Beachy

Vizcaino

Venters

Kimbrel

That is five starting pitchers and two door slammers--the seven most important pitchers on the team. Below will be a sort of petition, or ballot, to show how we feel about this core. 

Granted we don't know if Vizcaino will turn into the top flight pitcher we hope for, and for that reason we don't know about Teheran either. We also can't be sure that Beachy will keep being so Beachy, we don't even know if JJ will continue to pitch like his first two and a half healthy seasons. These are the guys that haven't hit a ceiling yet, who show all signs of acehood and allstar careers. 

Let me post some love:

Hanson - dominated the Arizona Fall League before a rookie season with a sub 3 ERA in which he blanked the Yankees and Red Sox back to back--the first rookie to do that ever. He got past his sophomore year with 3.33 era and 200 innings. Now he's pitching a 2.52 era with more strikeouts than IP. His fastball and hard slider are legit, and in just his third year in the majors, he's becoming recognized as one of the league's elite aces.

Jurrjens - the guy comes in ready to be the young rookie and ends up the ace of the staff in his rookie year. He earned 13 wins and pitched 188 innings, and in his sophomore year he dropped the ERA to 2.60 and started garnering Cy Young attention. After an injury plagued season in '10, he's come out this year continuing the trend he started in '08 and '09. His ERA is the lowest in baseball, 1.89, and his streak of 6 inning starts of 2 run ball or less became one of the best of all time. He has cut down on the walks and his WHIP has become as elite as his ERA. He gets easily overlooked, but the numbers from his healthy seasons don't lie. Glavine won a Cy Young right out from under Smoltz and Maddux, and this is the dynamic I'm looking for from Hanson, JJ, and Teheran. 

Teheran we know as the best pitching prospect in baseball. His rapping on the minor league ceiling reminds us of Hanson during his rookie year. I love you Lowe, wish we could pocket you for the playoffs, but Teheran is ready and the rest of our staff is the future (+Hudson for a couple years whose got "Brave" on his heart). 

Beachy - My hero climbed from the obscurity of "non drafted free agent" to become the best pitcher in the minor leagues last year. He skyrocked through the system, wet his feet in the majors against the Phillies down the stretch, dominated spring training, and has been as shocking of a surprise as perhaps Johnny Venters. He strikes out more guys than innings, his Whip is an elite 1.06, and his ERA is sitting at an impressive 3.23. We have no idea how good this guy is, and a guy who keeps raising his ceiling can't be traded before his trajectory planes off. 

Vizcaino - When we acquired him from the Yankees he was their no. 1 pitching prospect. Through his first season with us, we watched him like Teheran. In fact, to most of us they were interchangeable as fireballers with wicked stuff and endless potential. The only thing that's changed is that Teheran pitched a full season and got past some injury doubts and Vizcaino got injured last season. He's lighting it up this year though, and most people you ask still consider him a potential ace. 

That's five guys, two that will need big contracts in the next year or two, two rookies, and a prospect a year or so behind. I see no reason we can't pay for that rotation at least until JJ or Hanson conclude their next contracts. If we take Lowe off the books, that is especially true. Hudson is a steal through the next two years of his contract, and if all five of these guys pan out, I'd expect him to gracefully retire before looking for an extension. We can talk about an extension if he's hot and one of these guys aren't in a couple years. 

If one of those guys flukes out, it's no big deal, but these are the guys with ace or allstar potential. So far all of the four in the bigs have been ROY candidates, Beachy included, and the two 25 year olds are climbing cy young mountain. We can expect the same from Teheran. Vizcaino is still a bit of an unknown, but his potential is clearly acelike. Delgado and Minor haven't shown what these guys have, and neither have the stuff Vizcaino does. Both seem like major league staples with ceilings as high as even an opening day starter, but they are unlikely to be aces and far less proven than even Beachy. We should consider how incredible Minor and Delgado look as cornerstones to a package trade package, +/- Lowe. 

The ceiling of this rotation as a whole is no less than a young version of the Phillies this year--Hanson and JJ are already trading blows with Hamels, Halladay and Lee on the leader boards, and we expect Teheran to do the same. Vizcaino could also be such an ace, and it's hard to say Beachy couldn't either. As far as I can tell, all of these guys have ace potential, so let's call the ceiling the best rotation in baseball history. A more reasonable hope is for Teheran and Hanson to be top 10 starters in the league, JJ to be in the top 10 no. 2 starters, and Beachy/Vizcaino (if he makes it healthy) to be in the top 10 no. 3 starters. For the years we have them, I'd expect them to all fluctuate in that zone.  

On to the bullpen, Kimbrel and Venters should be untouchable. I am sure they could bring back a haul right now, but if we can just fight the urge to trade them, we could have the best 8/9 punch in baseball for a long time. 

Venters came on the scene out of nowhere, shocked us in spring training with his stuff, then found himself a leader in a majority of meaningful categories in his first year out of the major league pen. In his second year, he might be the best reliever in baseball. The combination of his strikeout and groundball ratios are the best weapons imaginable for a swingman who can come in to get the strikeouts or double plays needed to save (hold) the game. Also, I think we all just love this guy. Trade him at your own risk Frank Wren. 

Good luck getting away with a trade of Kimbrel too, the guy just tied the rookie record for most saves before the allstar break. He is shattering strikeout records, his ERA has been ice, and he just keeps getting better. He is already one of the best closers in baseball, and he's still got years of team control. 

These seven guys should simply be untouchable, if they continue their trajectories, we could win divisions with just Heyward, McCann, and Freeman on the diamond. Don't F it up!! We have too many other top notch pitching prospects to feel the need to trade these guys.  

Poll

What are your feelings on the Braves core of untradable pitchers?

52%

Don't trade any of these seven

105 votes

11%

None but JJ

23 votes

5%

None but Beachy

12 votes

24%

None but Vizcaino

49 votes

5%

I'm ok with trading Kimbrel, Venters, Beachy, or JJ for an Allstar

12 votes

201 votes | Poll has closed

We are not in a typical situation this trade season. In fact, our situation is extremely unique. 

First of all, we can't be sure if Schafer is going to keep it up and be as good of a CF as we'd trade for. If not, then the most obvious hole we can fill is CF. Until he sucks, I don't see trading for a center fielder. 

Second of all, we know Chipper needs surgery and we know Heyward's shoulder is going to need extra days off here and there. 

In truth, of our 8 starters, we might not be able to upgrade any of them--especially if Schafer is for real. If we get a LF, where does Prado play? a RF, where does Heyward go? 3B? yeah right... We don't need to add to our Bull Pen either. 

Even still, we all want to add a piece. But what can we add and where? Seriously? I think this is something we could have fun thinking out. Call this a rosterbation thread if you want, but what it really is, is a tactical thread. Not who we want, but what can we do to improve without messing up what we have? I know that answers are going to start getting specific, and specific players will be mentioned, that's fine. Just remember, the question is what we do, not who we get to do it. 

That said, let me suggest a thought, as a sort of jumping off point. 

Let's pick up an outfielder that can play a passable CF, Hunter Pence was mentioned on MLBTR, he is a good example (and ideal because he also hits LHP). With Heyward in right and Prado in Left, a mediocre center fielder with an impact bat would be phenomenal. That way if Schafer and Mclouth crumble, we could move our man to center. If Schafer keeps it up, then this guy starts in LF. 

In this situation Prado goes back to being a super utility, but as a starter. He would play LF, RF, 3B, 2B, 1B, and ideally the new OF would play CF against LHPitching (leaving Heyward and Prado as rangey corner outfield support in those games). So effectively, Prado would spell six positions. When everyone is healthy, everyone would get a day off a week (organized based on the pitchers we face). 

That would be a rare situation though, it seems unlikely all seven of those will ever be fully healthy at once. We already know Chipper will need surgery, Heyward needs extra days off for his shoulder, and any of these guys could either get injured or hit slumps. If they hit slumps, put Prado in for them for an extra day here and there. This is also a really great insurance move, it means when we suffer an injury down the stretch, we aren't F***ed!!! Seems like that happens all the time, wouldn't we be glad to have an allstar ready for that situation? And if we got to the series with out injury, he would be our DH (Sorry, Pence is better than Hinske as is anyone else worth trading for). 

In this situation we are prepared for a Chipper Injury, a Heyward Injury, an Uggla injury, or a CF collapse. We also keep our guys rested and fresh, we get another weapon on the bench at all times (whoever is sitting), and we get a legitimate 9th starter for the world series. We should also realize, Prado wouldn't go wasted--he would be playing as much as anyone else even when everyone is healthy. 

Yes, this plan is contingent on either Chipper retiring after the year, or the guy we get being on a walk year--cause I don't think we should start the season with nine starters probably. 

Poll

What kind of move should we make?

24%

We should get a center fielder

17 votes

49%

we should get a left fielder and play Prado all over

34 votes

10%

We should get a short stop

7 votes

10%

We should grab a bullpen arm

7 votes

5%

Other - please list and explain

4 votes

69 votes | Poll has closed

Alright, so I have seen several attempts to reshape the leagues. Personally, I think they are pretty alright as they are, but I still thought it would be fun to take a stab at it.

 

One of the biggest problems is this: We want to build rivalries between say, the marlins and rays, mets and yanks, Astros and rangers, but we don’t want them to start competing for each other’s fan bases. So we want them to play each other more, and in meaningful games, but we don’t want them in the same league. This will require a creative solution, here is my radical suggestion. Yall know I like the radical haha.

Mixed league divisions. Scroll down to see what I mean if you want. Here is a map of teams: http://billsportsmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baseball-mlb30hats_c.gif

The way I imagine it there would be six divisions, and six playoff teams per league. That means there are six division winners and six wildcards. The division winners will be those with the best record in their division. The wild card winners will be the teams with the best records in their respective leagues. When playing outside their division, teams will only play in their league (meaning, inner league play will be reserved for local rivals and playoffs, which is ideal). In the event a division champion does not have a top six record in their league, they are preferred over the team with the sixth best league average.

Though a playoff spot is won by league or division records, overall records will decide playoff seeding.

The teams with the bottom four records in each league will play three game series. The winners of these series will play a five game series against one of the top two teams in their league. The winners of these series will play each other in a seven game league series. Finally followed by a world series that brings the leagues against each other again. (and I love the new rule about the all-star game deciding which league gets home advantage in the WS)

The point is, we stay in our leagues, but our divisions become more full of rivalries, more glorious to win, and they become more culturally cohesive in a way that brings character and familiarity to each division. We make the games between two rivals meaningful, but because they stay in their own league, we don’t encourage fans to pick one over the other. I love that teams near each other and in the same city are in opposite leagues. This structure will also  make sure the teams with the best league records make the playoffs, and it will add some prestige to beating the teams in your area. To be the California league champions would be more to brag about than being NL west champs. The same is true with the East Coast, and so on. Still, the way it is designed, more than one team per division can make the playoffs if they play well in their league.

So here are the leagues as I would divide them: 

 

Southern Division

NL Braves – Atlanta

AL Rays – Tampa Bay

NL Marlins – Miami

NL Astros – Houston

AL Rangers – Dallas

 

This is nice and neat because they are the only five teams in the South East. As you will see, this doesn’t just shorten traveling, but it creates divisions with their own character. As it is, I have no love for other teams in the NL East, however, I could have love for other teams in the south.

 

California division

AL Angels – LA

NL Dodgers – LA

AL Athletics – Oakland

NL Gians – San Francisco

NL Padres – San Diego

 

Nice and neat because its all the California teams. Again, this is as much of a cultural league as it is convenient for traveling. I think a lot of character could come of configurations like this.

 

Name of division?

NL Reds – Cincinati

AL Tigers – Detroit

AL Indians – Cleveland

AL Blue Jays – Toronto

NL Pirates – Pittsburgh

 

This gets the ohio, Detroit, pennsylvania and Canada teams playing each other which offers some cultural cohesion. These five teams are extremely close to each other on the map.

 

Name of division?

NL Brewers – Milwalkee

AL Twins – Minessota

AL White sox – Chicago

NL Cubs – Chicago

 

These four teams are almost right on top of each other on the map

 

Name of division??

AL Royals – KC

NL Cardinals – St. Louis

AL Mariners – Seattle

NL Rockies – Colorado

AL Diamond Backs – Arizona

 

East Coast division

AL Yankees – New York

NL Mets – New York

AL Red Sox – Boston

NL Phillies – Philosdelphia

AL Orioles – Baltimore

NL Nationals – DC

 

Pretty neat because it’s east coast baseball, and I am sure they would get full of themselves over there, but it would be fun. One prob is that there are six teams on the east coast, so there is a division here with four teams, which I think is worth it, because of the league record rule. It is certainly possible for all six teams in the east coast division to go to the playoffs if all their records are that good.

 

Radical, Radica, I know, tear it up, but I hope some of yall thought this was a fresh suggestion. It might make everything too wild, but it also might bring a new degree of cultural cohesion into play. It keeps the leagues but makes the moves the MLB wants to make otherwise. Rip it up, tell me what yall think.

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Poll

Would you be open to mix league divisions?

58%

yes

7 votes

41%

no

5 votes

12 votes | Poll has closed

Some might be thinking that the biggest hole in the lineup is center field, and that it's the place to upgrade with a trade regardless of Schafer's performance. 

However, many of the available center fielders are in walk years, Coco Crisp and Mike Cameron for example, so we might need a starter in '12 even after a trade. 

Also, some other good bats are mediocre center fielders. (Matt Kemp for example) And if we keep them, we could be looking to move them to left upon Prado's move to 3B in the near future. 

Schafer also has the potential to be an allstar center fielder. 

At his best, it's easy to imagine a 20+ HR 30+ SB kind of leadoff hitter who can take a walk with gold glove defense

Add that to Heyward and Kemp, and we are talking the best outfield in baseball. 

Best outfield defense - 

Schafer - gold glove with elite arm

Kemp - Gold glove left fielder (or any CF we move to LF for Schafer)

Heyward - Gold Glove RF with elite arm

Best outfield offense - elite 123 in lineup

1. Schafer (L) - 20 HR - 30 SB

2. Kemp (R) - 30 HR - 30 SB

3. Heyward (L) - 30 HR - 10 SB

 

People are going to say, that is optimistic for Schafer , and I am going to say, yes it is... that is the point of the post.. How good of a piece he could be if he reaches his potential. If he does, he also allows us to move the CF we acquire to LF and for sure make the best OF defense in baseball. We are also going to need another outfielder when Prado moves to third, and we won't prob sign someone as good as Schafer at his potential. 

Yeah I snuck in a little rosterbation with Kemp, but the point of this post is really what a maximized Schafer could mean for our club. 

But to sneak a little more in... Kemp is perfect because he has a bat worth moving to a corner outfield spot, he is also perfect because he's amazing, power, average, speed. Also, he is available, and we can afford his contract as well as his cost in prospects. 

for users to communicate directly with the moderators. 

And when a moderator attacks a user, 

the user has the right to know which moderator it was, 

and should have the opportunity to respond. 

If this gets deleted I will scream 1984 - because obviously, as users, we have the right to discuss the way this site works. 

 

What has happened to Talking Chop? Last year there were new fanposts every day. 

There was a living and vibrant community, lots of posts, lots of responses, some good some bad, but an active community none the less. I was totally fine with some less than valuable posts, because at least it was fresh, and i felt like I was connected with lots of fans. 

I find myself coming less because there is hardly more info on this site anymore than the braves home page. 

I know it started when people turned really cold on each other and started tearing each other down for their posts, I am sure that detoured a lot of people from posting. 

It also seems that substantially more posts are being removed based on increasingly rigid rules. 

Where is the fun and playfulness that this fan site had last year? 

We have moved all of our comments to "rosterbation threads" and the main posts, which, in my opinion, has dried this place up. And this is my opinion, and I have a right to it, and I welcome responses of all variety because that's what discussion boards are all about.. 

I am not going to address my personal frustrations or specific cases because those aren't the point. Still - I am a phd student, braves fan for life, three year active participant in this site, and a respected speaker. If I post something that has less than extreme value, it's probably because there hasnt been a new fan post in days, and that alone bothers me. 

I would love to see the following stats

SO + weakly hit ground balls + in field fly outs + foul ball fly outs

SO + GB outs

SO + GB

Do these stats exist? Where Can I find them? 

The first stat would basically be how often the pitcher keeps the ball from entering into the possibility of being a hit. 

The second is basically the same, and so is the third, just with some variation. 

There should be a proper way to factor in walks, but really, it's that first stat I am most interested in - how often does the pitcher make the opposing batter simply useless, as in, he strikes him out or gets him to ground/fly out softly. 

There hasn't been a new fan post in days now, and what we've got haven't received a lot of responses. 

A couple curveballs came to mind that I thought might stir it up, so let's see what yall think...

 

1) The discussion of Mclouth at the top of the order is missing a key point: If he is on base, the heart of our lineup will see a lot more fastballs. So though his OBP may only be something like 350 compared to 400 for Heyward, this discrepancy may be made up for by the other players that benefit. I know we want to think Heyward is fast, but he isn't considered a base stealing threat like Mclouth is--I doubt he would have the same impact on the pitches the guys following him see. On the other hand, with Heyward batting behind McCann, batting behind Uggla, batting behind Chipper, the heart of the order might see more pitches to hit for this reason as well. 

Last year our team took a lot of walks, the most in the league. And that was good because it took advantage of the way pitchers threw to us. This year however, with one strong hitter behind the next, we might see substantially more pitches to hit as a team. For this reason (among others) I hope to see HR and RBI spikes across the board. 

So to recap point 1 - Mclouth batting at the top and Heyward batting 6th is going to result in our 3,4,5 hitters seeing a lot more pitches to hit than if Mclouth was batting 6th and Heyward batting second. 

Lingering question - Mclouth will undoubtedly see more fastballs batting in front of chipper than he would batting in front of Agonz. If he is a substantially better fastball hitter than a breaking ball hitter, it might be brilliant to bat him there to get the most out of a guy we're concerned about. 

2) another reason I expect RBI and HR spikes: With out the soft outs in the middle of the lineup, all our guys are going to see more pitches to hit. Gonzalez is trying to construct a lineup bottom to top that doesn't give pitchers a break. Heyward might have a 420 OBP hitting ahead of Agonz though. 

This isn't about the predictions, but if Mclouth starts looking like a 20 HR guy, if Heyward starts looking like a 30 HR guy, if McCann starts looking like a 30 HR guy, and we have Uggla hitting 30 homers, the numbers are only going to go up. It will be exponential, the better they do, the better they will do--both because of their presences in the lineup and the way they will influence each other. 

3) (I am excited for the responses on this one) McCann swipes 9 bags this year. He is a sneaky devil on the base paths (5 SBs last year). I expect a higher average and OBP this year, and he has really slimmed down. With less weight on his knees he will be quicker and fresher all year. Not only will he prob be a little faster (or a little less slow), but he might not feel worn down as often standing on first base. 4 extra stolen bases won't be a huge deal to the offense, but it will be fun to watch. Who knows though, maybe a mccann steal is the difference in one game this year and one game is the difference in the season. 

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Some of yall must have seen this dream job opportunity with MLB (http://mlb.mlb.com/dreamjob/index.jsp). One of the questions in the application is what we think will be the biggest story in baseball, and I thought it might be a fun question to respond to as we wait for more season.

I've included my 500 word response, and would love some feedback before I send it in. Don't hesitate to go an entirely different direction though if you want to talk about another big story in baseball. 

Continue reading this post »

what would yall say to the guy if you were at a dinner with him? 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/richabo01.shtml

Golden Glove second basemen for the Yankees for five strait years, and he still holds some world series records... 

thing is, i didn't know him till I looked him up. 

What do you say to a baseball hero you get to meet but who played in a generation you didnt watch? 

I thought since we don't have a lot to talk about relative to our players, that we might debate some of the more debated abstract issues around right now.. 

This could be a series, but let's start with just one hot topic:

Is there a difference between a clutch hit and a normal hit, as far as the psyche of the player is concerned? 

On one side of the argument, people will say that the big numbers don't support it--career stats show players have the same numbers in clutch situations and normal situations.  

On the other hand, is anyone going to argue there wasn't something special in the whole braves club house last year when we had so many walk-off hits and last at bat victories? (just read that Chipper's was the first of the year, that's some awesome stuff).

I tend to remember those moments in my personal sports past, especially Beer Pong and bowling, that I made a clutch shot I almost knew was happening practically before the toss--a sort of sense of oneness with the situation. You know, what Baggar Vance is talking about haha. Still, I have been in other clutch situations and didn't reproduce that effect. Still, in the times that it did happen, in a clutch situation, I can't separate the sense of need from the successful act.. I hope this thread will be full of argument, stats, and also subjective experiences, that help us work towards a bigger understanding of this question.