8 Silver Linings Through Braves' First 10 Games
The Braves enter their mid-week series withย division rivalย Florida Marlins 4-6, a record that mostย in the baseball world would call aย mild fiascoย for a team that garnered such praise out of March.
After putting together a strong opening series in Washington, the Bravesย have goneย on to lose five out ofย the last seven games in seriesย against the Brewers and Phillies.
Does this early-seasonย skidย foretellย of anotherย long summer in A-Town? People are alreadyย wanting Fredi Gonzalezย out, Terry Pendleton brought back as hitting coach, and Freddie Freeman sent to AAA.
Ah, Braves fans.... you never fail to show the world why patienceย and dignity are never found without the other.
There are some definite signs that show the Bravesย are not going toย revert back to being a team that bobblesย below and above .500 in 2011, but that they actuallyย have the makingsย of a National League powerhouse.
Here are 10 positives the team has shownย through the first 10 games of the season.
Chipper Jones
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Braves fans everywhere now understand why Chipper decided to come back from a potential career-ending knee injury.
Since Spring Training, Chipper has been ruiningย balls at a higher rate thanย human growth hormone. Though he'll likely only get about 500 at bats this year, Chipper is swinging the bat as good if not better than 2009, where he took home the batting title.
We were all skeptical about Chipper's return, asking ourselves if he would reallyย be worth the $14M on his contract for the year. If he can keep himself healthy come October, I think he will be well worth that.
Chipper is really the key cog in the Atlanta lineup, as hisย presence takes pressure off of Brian McCann and adds a meaty OBP to the top of the lineup. If Chipper had been healthy last October, who knows what would have happened against the Giants!
Atlantians will boisterouslyย encourage Chipper to "TAKE IT EASY" running to first on a groundout this season, while on the flipside we'll scream "HUSTLE!!!" after he rips one in the gap.
This could be the story of the 2011 season for Chip. Chipper has been the catalyst in a relatively dormant Atlanta lineup so far, so there is no reason to assume he won't get cold when other people begin hitting.
Craig Kimbrel
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Craig "K" has been so good in the major leagues it is almost sickening. This young man absolutely blows people away with his heater, then makes hitters dance with his world-class slider.
I seriously fear everytime a hitter squares to bunt off of Kimbrelย that the bat may literally explode.ย The only thing Craig has not yet adopted yet is a menacing closer nickname, which I'm sure the fans will install before the end of the year.
Kimbrel will obviously not remain perfectย throughout the entire season, but it is not out of the question to say he won't finish with a reasonable amount of saves and a respectable ERA.
He and Jonny Venters are both capable of handling the ninth-inning role, but Kimbrel may have locked the role down with his early dominance.ย Kimbrel gives Fredi Gonzalez confidence that the team can lock down victories.
Martin Prado
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Martin Pradoย should be hitting about .450 right now it seems, but he's stuck at a measly .279 through Sunday's game.ย He was that guy in 2010 that never seemed toย hit any rough patches offensively, and was arguably the biggest injury-loss the Bravesย endured down the stretch.
Prado can seemingly do anything on the baseball field, with the exception of keeping his replicaย Barry Bondsย necklace inside his shirt.
Whenever the Braves have had a major offensive outpour, Martin has seemingly beenย right in the middle of it. His ability to hit the ball where it's pitched has made him such a great offensive player for the Braves. he sprays the ball to all fields with power, and it's a treat to watch him seemingly think the ball to right field with men in scoring position.
This ability Prado possessesย is going to be very valuable for Atlanta this year, as theย talented batsย in the bottom of the lineup may causeย him to come up with men in scoring position more than a normal leadoff man.ย
Prado has also taken to left field almost effortlessly, answering a major question for the Braves coming into the season. He might just even win a gold glove, as his manager suggested back in March.
Now wouldn't that be swell. Even if he doesn't, Pradoย has tried to proveย he's no one year wonder at the plate, and many people areย starting to believe inย him.ย
Brandon Beachy
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All you have to do is read this kid's post-game interviews to understand he's no fluke. He puts all blame on himself for losses, puts all pressure on himself to win, and in some superhuman freaky kind of way, that seems to propel him to success.
He seems like the kind of guy that feeds off of the pressure. You know, like exactly the kind of pitcher Brad Lidge ISN'T?
This guyย has the potential to be inย a major league rotation for a long time. Why do I say this?ย One majorย thing separates Brandon from otherย young pitchers who haveย fumbled theirย chancesย in Atlanta: he is a pitcher who pitches in a league full of pitchers who throw. No, he isย in notย in any way a reincarnatedย James Parr or Chuck James.ย ย
Remember, above all else, pitching is an art. All the master pitchers in the game learn this sooner or later, and our boy here has stuck to that formulaย since he signed.ย
Beachy reminds me a little bit of Greg Maddux and a little bit of Javier Vasquez. Once he learns something other than a straight fastball, he's going to be pretty darn good.
Brandonย has pitches two solid games for the Braves in the first few games of the season, but he's still looking for that first win of his career. Beachy pitching at the back end of the rotation against the AAAA pitchers is going to help him out in the win column down the stretch this season.
He had to stare at a big 0-2 all winter, and now he has a big 0-1 next to his 2011 stats. Let's start praying Brandon gets to pitch against Chris Young when we play the Mets this weekendย and we can get that out of the way. Don't you think the two of themย kindย of look like twins?ย
Team Defense
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Theย Braves' defense has shown remarkable improvement from 2010, where they were ahead of only the annual cellar-dwellers defensively. Annual highlight reel plays (ones that doย not star Yunel Escobar) have become almostย a new fad in Atlanta.
Braves fans were all shocked when Dan Uggla actually picked up a ball and threw itย to first, after an offseason where scouts whined about how his defense would bog down the team.
Most of usย thought Frank Wren had added aย Brooks Conrad-like gloveย with an Eric Hinske-like body at second.ย Given a full season, Uggla may pile his share of errors, but he's been clutch with the glove so far... even if the bat is still dormant.
Freddie Freeman is going to saveย Atlanta a ton of games at first with his glove. Evenย though he's notย hitting yet, he is batting in runs with hisย almost painful-to-watchย flexibility at first, andย his awesome hands over there.
Alex Gonzalezย has also had a great time with the glove, and Nate McLouth has shown improvement. But it is the vast defensiveย improvement as a team that has the Braves thinking their glovework can be a strength this year.
Derek Lowe
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Derek Lowe's new gameplan has really turned his career around.ย Lowe was anย aging veteran who was nearly traded from a winning ballclup after 2009, butย has nowย been one of the major's best pitchers since last September.
Lowe has two losses in his first three starts but owns a 1.45 ERA, which is tops on the team for starters. Dating back to the All-Star break last season, Lowe owns the best ERA is baseball. If you wouldย have told me that in April of 2010, I probablyย would haveย mistaken you forย Brian Jordan.
Derekย adopted a new sinker grip mid-season in 2010, and it has worked for him. His slider has also seen new life, and his control has been much improved from previous seasons.
Lowe is almost a lock for 34 starts andย 190 innings pitched, so it would be much appreciated in Atlanta if Lowe could make sureย Atlanta is within striking distance each inning he pitches.ย ย
Nate McLouth
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You can argue all you want, but Nate McLouth has definitely improved his approach to hitting from 2010. The average shows it slightly, and pitches to hit will come more often when the rest of the lineup begins to heat up.
It's hard to get much worse than a .190 batting average, which will likely go down in Braves lore as one of the worst seasons ever, but Nate has shortenedย his swing and even taken the ball to the opposite field on occasion.
It might take a Jose Bautista-type ofย year for the Braves to pick up that $10M option for 2012, but it's not out of the question to think Nate may want to prove he can play under the bright lights of a large-market team.
The major question people have been asking is this: does Nate really need to be hitting at the top of the lineup? To answer, it is not something Bobby Cox would likely do, no, but speed is something Fredi Gonzalez values very much at the top of the lineup.
Gonzalez is adamant about hitting McLouth second, and that is where he will have the chance to return to his 2008 numbers this summer. I originally predicted Nate McLouth to hit C.C Sabathia's weight this season, but after hearing that he had shed 40 pounds this offseason, I switched to Bartolo Colon.
The Hometown Heroes
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Braves fans packed the Ted for the opening homeย series against the Phillies. This was great for the Braves players, as they got to see how excited and anxious the fans were about their team this season. If this series was any indication of how the fans are going to follow their team in 2011, it should be another electric season at Turner Field!
