State of the Atlanta Braves after 2007 Season
The end of the baseball regular season has come, and again the Braves are sitting at home or on the golf course in October. While they made a nice run at the playoffs the last two weeks of the season, in the end they just couldn’t pull it off. Let’s take a look at the Braves as they stand right now and where they might be headed next year.
This was the albatross for the Braves all season long. After Tim Hudson and John Smoltz, the rest of the starting rotation was abysmal. Other than a few starts by Chuck James, the third through fifth starters in the rotation were often gone by the fifth inning and left the Braves with little chance to win. The backend of the starting rotation clearly is GM John Schuerholz’s biggest off season rebuilding project.
Catcher
While Brian McCann didn’t have as good a season as last year, he still played very well batting .270 with 18HR and 92RBI. Brian played much of the year hurt, so if he’s healthy next year I expect him to return to his 2006 form. With the trade of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the catching depth isn’t what it was when the season started. However the Braves have a number of good catchers (Clint Sammons and Brayan Pena) in the minor league system so this definitely a deep position throughout the organization.
First Base
With the trade for Mark Teixeira,
Second Base
Kelly Johnson had a solid year at second base. Johnson is just 25, and after completing his first full major league season the Braves are expecting improvement from him in 2008. Listening to John Schuerholz on the radio this morning, the middle infield is a deep position within the organization so if Johnson were to falter, there is likely help from the minor leagues.
Shortstop
Edgar Renteria had another good year in an Atlanta Braves uniform. One of the biggest surprises of the 2007 season for the Atlanta Braves was the play of Yunel Escobar, also at Shortstop. Shortstop is a well stocked position for the Braves coming into 2008. Renteria is signed through 2008, but Yunel played very well this year filling in just about anywhere in the infield. Schuerholz has a tough decision ahead of him this off season. Do you trade Renteria and go with the younger (and cheaper) Escobar? Or do you keep Renteria as the starting shortstop and risk benching Escobar’s bat and only using him to fill in as needed?
Third Base
Chipper Jones narrowly missed his first batting title this season, batting .337. Other than his MVP season of 1999, this might have been one of Chipper’s best years. Had he not missed a number of games to injury and the Braves made the playoffs, Jones would have definitely received MVP votes. He was clutch all season long. If Jones gets hurt, Yunel Escobar filled in quite well for Chipper at third this year.
Outfield
Other than the starting rotation, the biggest changes we’ll see next year are in the outfield. To no ones surprise, John Schuerholz announced today that the Braves would not attempt to resign Andruw Jones. Jones will command huge money on the free agent market and the Braves just don’t have the resources like they did when Ted Turner was the owner. Jones suffered near career lows in every offensive category since his first full season this year. With the money saved by not signing Jones, the Braves are looking to ink Teixeria to a long term contract. The Braves will miss Jones in center field, but if they sign Teixeria, at least they will have a Gold Glove at first base. Some people think it’s a huge mistake not trying to sign Jones but in the long run I think it’s best for the team.
Clearly with the departure of Andruw Jones, there is a huge hole in center field. Both Torii Hunter and Mike Cameron are free agents this year, so it’s likely the Braves will attempt to sign one of them. If they don’t sign Hunter or Cameron, Willie Harris could be the 2008 starting center fielder.
Jeff Francoeur had a fantastic season at the plate and in the field this year. His patience at the plate lead to a threefold increase in walks over his previous season. Jeff was also among the league leaders in outfield assists again this year. For much of the first half of the season, Jeff was leading the NL in 2 out RBIs too. Look for Jeff to have another great season next year and hopefully he will increase those power numbers too.
Matt Diaz had a career year in left field this season. Hitting .338, the Braves got plenty of outfield production from Diaz in addition to some clutch hitting. Barring something unexpected, expect to see Matt back in left field in 2008.
Bullpen
While the bullpen was much better than last year, improvements are needed. After releasing Bob Wickman, Rafael Soriano performed well in the closers role. Manny Acosta also pitched well after the late season call up in middle relief. Out of nowhere, Peter Moylan pitched spectacular all season long. Left handers, Ron Mahay and Royce Ring both threw sound enough to be back next year.
Other than pitching, the only holes that need to be sewn up are the lack of a long term contract with Mark Teixeria and the departure of Andruw Jones. On paper the offense looks good, but at times the Braves really struggled to score runs even with Teixeria in the lineup. While I’ll miss Jones in center field, I think the Braves did the right thing but not committing a huge sum of money to him. At times this season he just didn’t look like the old Jones and I think playing all those games in center and the beating he takes making those spectacular plays is catching up to him. I wish him luck next season, as long as he doesn’t sign with the Mets (like Glavine).
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment