If Simmons can show improvement at the plate and Bethancourt can keep up the double/gap hitter profile he's shown in the Spring... this could be a more interesting year than originally thought...
If Simmons can show improvement at the plate and Bethancourt can keep up the double/gap hitter profile he's shown in the Spring... this could be a more interesting year than originally thought...
Seitzer could prove to be invaluable. But, its only ST so far so lets hope it carrys on to the season.Originally Posted by zbhargrove
I just couldn't understand what happened to Simmons last year. His swing looked so much better in his rookie season.
Natural Immunity Croc
zbhargrove (03-15-2015)
To be fair he is a 390 OBP so far. If he could even manage a 350 OBP then you play him every day with his speed.
But his history tells us he won't get there outside of Coors.
Natural Immunity Croc
zbhargrove (03-15-2015)
Which is why I'm concerned, as dak said above, that Fredi's going to bat him leadoff and he's going to rock a .300 OBP.
He's been on base a lot this spring—stolen bases, scored runs. He's also made some solid defensive plays and accurate throws in center. He's showed up in the box score of pretty much every game. Since he had (IMO) the first crack at the job, and since he's a well-regarded vet, I think it was an easy slide into his being anointed the CF-designate, so to speak. Not saying I agree, of course, but that seems to be what happened.
Braves1976 (03-15-2015), zbhargrove (03-15-2015)
anyone need some March 21 tickets to the Nats game?
Ivermectin Man
It would be thrilling to have a lineup that wasn't wall-to-wall stank after the top 3-4.
Simmons could reasonably improve. If Jace and Christhian can hit a little bit, we really won't be terrible with our pitching. Some guys last year just had dreadful seasons at the plate (Simmons, CJ, JUp with RISP).
He is not sitting on his butt to collect a paycheck, that is why.
You mean the entire lineup?
That's not fair. I'm pretty sure there are some .260 singles hitters, too.
Braves1976 (03-15-2015), Hawk (03-15-2015)
Have caught most of today's game on the radio today. Nice all around day from Cunningham. A couple hits, a really nice diving catch, and two rocket throws. Stults was solid, though not spectacular. A lot of baserunners but got 3 GIDP.
Braves will need to tip their hand a bit this Wednesday on the SP battle. Folty would be due to get 4 IP, Cody 4 IP, and James Russell 3 IP (if he's getting stretched out). If they do stretch Russell out, they will be positioned to trade Wandy.
I think this half-assed attempt to make Russell a swingman is doomed to failure.
The only reason this would make any sense is if we need an extra 2 million for signing Olivera, which seems doubtful IMO. If that's not the case, then I'd echo DOB in this case against Bowman:
@DOBrienAJC · 4h 4 hours ago
@Workthecount @FrazierBrave ... Wandy can make the team better now. #Braves do care about winning now, even if some don't want them to care
PS: If two million is an issue with Wandy then why did we spend 3 million on someone like Callaspo?
Last edited by Braves1976; 03-15-2015 at 03:32 PM.
Wandy is my favorite guy in the mix for the two rotation spots when it comes to what he could give us for a half season, but I wouldn't hesitate to trade him for a high-upside prospect or a piece that can make the team better (a better platoon partner for Gomes maybe).
If we continue down the path of stretching out 4 guys for two spots, then I think that is a tell that the Braves are at least positioning themselves for a trade opportunity. They'll surely wait to see how Minor is progressing later this month before pulling the trigger on anything.
I don't think the $ on Wandy / Stults / Russell would be the biggest driver in trading them, but it can't be ignored that it could help the Braves front-load an Olivera offer even further. The $2m or so from the reported Melvin Upton insurance policy could help too.
I don't see Wandy or Stults bringing much if anything in a trade at this point (nor does Bowman apparently and he brought it up), Russell should bring something but maybe not much. So again the only angle that makes sense to me in such a trade is needing an extra 2 million for Olivera.
Also, I know Bowman has sources but the way this came up with Wandy it may be he's just speculating based on what he desires. He does that sometimes but other times he has actually heard something so who knows.
Last edited by Braves1976; 03-15-2015 at 04:08 PM.
I think that there's a chance that the EY in CF experiment is as much a stab at making sure that Boston doesn't feel like they're in a position to demand much in return for Bradley personally. Trading for him makes entirely too much sense for us in the long run as long as we don't overpay. Yes, he's struggled mightily when he's been up with them, but there are entirely too many scouts who believe that it's just a matter of time until he takes off (he has hit at every level after all) and he's just not going to get more opportunities there moving forward since they're not willing to move Betts and they've signed Castillo.
Playing EY in CF as long as he plays passable defense and floating the rumor that Peraza's working in CF a bit at least shows them that we're in a position to let Jose learn the position this year in Gwinnett - especially if we sign Olivera to play 2B.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
Julio3000 (03-15-2015)
.240 guys just grumbled a bit...
Ivermectin Man
Julio3000 (03-16-2015)
The Callapso deal was early, correct? We underestimated what would be available on minor league deals so we made some moves early in the offseason that we didn't need to (Wang, Veal, Callapso).
IMO this is a no brainer, sign Wandy, I can't believe there isn't 2 million in the budget somewhere.
clvclv (03-16-2015)
Nope, nothing left. Gotta make do. That money is earmarked for a new Gulfstream for Lib—er, Hector Olivera.
Looks like TJ surgery for Zack Wheeler... they're having some Braves like luck recently.
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