Who are these guys and what have they done with my Braves?

For the first time since I can remember . . . seriously . . . since way back in 1986 when I was 2 years old . . . wait, I hadn't even turned 2 yet, John Smoltz is not in the Braves organization. However, while many Braves fans are annoyed that the front office didn't sign John for one last season, there's just no way the Braves should have plunked $5 million guaranteed plus $5-$6 million more in incentives on a guy who won't even be able to pitch until June. That money is better spent filling our many other needs, including finding pitchers to actually fill out a rotation that has been decimated by injuries the past two seasons. Frank Wren and company brought in a whole bunch of new faces to replace Smoltz and, quite frankly, the 2009 edition of the Braves is going to look far, far, far different from any Braves team in recent history.

Read more...

So who are the new Braves? Any Braves fan who has followed the team knows that starting pitching, once the key to the success of the 1991-2005 teams (wow, that was a long run of success, eh?) has become our Achilles Heel the past three seasons. The quality has been there, it's just been sitting on the sidelines for long portions of the season in the form of Mike Hampton. Last year, Hampton, Glavine, Smoltz AND Hudson (the baseball gods were cruel, last year) missed most of the season. Young guns Charlie Morton, Chuck James, and Jo-Jo Reyes have been unable to handle the load. While the Edgar Renteria for Jair Jurrjens trade was a coup and Jorge Campillo provided some stabiility to the back-end of the rotation last year, the Braves clearly lacked the arms (well, we lacked healthy arms, anyway) to compete. Barring yet another season of catastrophic injuries, that should not be a problem this year. The Braves signed free agent Derek Lowe, won the bidding war for Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami, and capatilized on catching prospect Tyler Flower's excellent season in the minors by trading for Javier Vasquez. For those you hoping for Jake Peavy, you might be disappointed. Indeed, I am to an extent. Peavy may have put the Braves over the top. However, for the first time in a long time, the Braves won't be relying on an older Glavine, Smoltz, or chronically injured Hampton to complete the rotation. In fact, Jurrjens who finished the season as the number 1 starter will probably begin this season as the number 3 or 4 starter. There are certainly question marks for these guys. When will Derek Lowe start to show his age (he's 36)? Will Jurrjens suffer a sophomore slump or build on his success as a rookie? How will Kawakami adjust to the MLB's after years in Japan? Will Javier Vasquez finally break his habit of underperforming now that he's back in the NL? Will Glavine be able to provide quality starts in the five spot of the rotation or will Campillo or even number 1 prospect Tommy Hanson replace Glavine in the rotation? But, the entire staff with the exception of the five spot has been healthy for pretty much their entire careers. If Hudson were healthy, this would be one of the more formiddible formations. With Hudson out until August, I hope that these guys can eat enough innings and provide as many quality starts as possible so that our bullpen isn't pitched to death and so that we can actually develop our young pitchers delicately instead of throwing them into the fray and having their confidence shot.

I'll be honest, I'm not convinced that the Braves have enough to make the post-season right now, as their are too many question marks. But I am happy to see many healthy, veteran pitchers wearing the uniform going into this season. There are still too many "if's" attached to any prediction of success for this squad for my liking, but the phrase "IF Braves pitchers stay healthy" isn't one of them, at this point. (Come on, baseball gods, show a little mercy!)

So, word on the street is that Griffey really, really, really, really wants to be a Brave this season. I'm going to ignore everything this means for the Braves' chances of winning next year and just say this is super exciting simply because Griffey has always been one of my absolute favorite players. In his heyday, he combined offensive and defensive skill like only a few players in history could even dream of. It's a shame that injuries have prevented us calling him the HR king as there is perhaps no other more worthy candidate to supplant Aaron (wait, this just in . . . apparently some guy that I've never heard of named Bonds is the home run king? When did that happen?). Anyway, in light of the steroid scandals, it's fun just to remember how exciting Griffey was as a player back in the day.