Acuna- what are everyone's thoughts on when

[smootness]

"Better" is probably the wrong term here, but several things would need to go right for them to be around .500 when all is said and done.

Glass half-full vs. half-empty argument. Find ANY metric that had the team 7-5 vs. expected playoff contenders (and many pundits' darkhorse in Philadelphia) at this point and you'll have found something. No one can argue the fact that they've outperformed expectations thus far, and they've done so with no Gohara, Soroka, Acuna, and Camargo.

Pretty tough to give someone a hard time for being a little optimistic when they've played like this AND have obvious upgrades on the verge of being added without having to go outside the organization.

Sure, that would be a pleasant surprise as you mention - but it's not exactly like it's out of the question either.

I mean, it's 12 games. Would anyone have projected this? I doubt it. Would anyone be surprised by it? No. Because it's baseball.

[jpx7]

I mean, it's 12 games. Would anyone have projected this? I doubt it. Would anyone be surprised by it? No. Because it's baseball.

Other developments that most likely won’t hold up:

Toronto in second-place
Houston in third-place
Washington in fourth-place, under .500
Pittsburgh in first-place
LA in fourth-place, under .500

Et cetera.

One or two might break against projections and hold true into the summer (I’m hoping for, but not betting on, a continued Nationals collapse); but overall, like you said, it’s twelve games.

[clvclv]

Who's giving who a hard time here? Seems VirginiaBrave was giving Enscheff a hard time for being realistic which is a reasonable outlook to have.

Why is that any more (or less) "realistic"? Because the blackjack dealer said so? I asked the question earlier - as yet amazingly unanswered - where in the wealth of tables provided by FanGraphs and the like was the one that mentioned "reasonable" outcomes that had the Braves as an above .500 team during this stretch of their schedule without 4 players they're expected to count on pretty heavily in 2018? There wasn't one, correct? Now everyone's busy trying to create one to show why they're really not this good.

Unexpected things happen all the time - why get so butt hurt when they do? As smootness and jpx7 point out - it's baseball.

VB is more optimistic about the team's chances because of the good start - that's certainly no reason to pitch a temper tantrum and ridicule him.

The person acting like a 3 year old around here has been doing it for months, and we're more than aware of his opinions - which he constantly proffers as facts.

[thewupk]

Why is that any more (or less) "realistic"? Because the blackjack dealer said so? I asked the question earlier - as yet amazingly unanswered - where in the wealth of tables provided by FanGraphs and the like was the one that mentioned "reasonable" outcomes that had the Braves as an above .500 team during this stretch of their schedule without 4 players they're expected to count on pretty heavily in 2018? There wasn't one, correct? Now everyone's busy trying to create one to show why they're really not this good.

Unexpected things happen all the time - why get so butt hurt when they do?

VB is more optimistic about the team's chances because of the good start - that's certainly no reason to pitch a temper tantrum and ridicule him.

The person acting like a 3 year old around here has been doing it for months, and we're more than aware of his opinions - which he constantly proffers as facts.

Because the Braves don't have much talent on the team. And virtually everybody that follows the game besides Braves homers believe the team to be below .500. If that's not good enough for you then I'm sorry and you'll have to wait until the end of the season.

Are you really trying to make your argument based on a 15 game stretch? Even the worst of teams can go 9-6 over 15 games. Just because it's at the start of the season doesn't change anything.

But I'm sure you and others of like mind said the same thing in 2015 when the team started 6-1 and ended up losing 95 games that year. Also that team won 11 of 17 at the end of May despite being a horrible team.

[Enscheff]

"Better" is probably the wrong term here, but several things would need to go right for them to be around .500 when all is said and done.

Glass half-full vs. half-empty argument. Find ANY metric that had the team 7-5 vs. expected playoff contenders (and many pundits' darkhorse in Philadelphia) at this point and you'll have found something. No one can argue the fact that they've outperformed expectations thus far, and they've done so with no Gohara, Soroka, Acuna, and Camargo.

Pretty tough to give someone a hard time for being a little optimistic when they've played like this AND have obvious upgrades on the verge of being added without having to go outside the organization.

Sure, that would be a pleasant surprise as you mention - but it's not exactly like it's out of the question either.

deerrrrpppp! Talk about clueless...

12 games dude. All teams go 7-5 in a 12 game stretch at some point.

[bravesfanMatt]

deerrrrpppp! Talk about clueless...

12 games dude. All teams go 7-5 in a 12 game stretch at some point.

We are 9-6 now and that tells me we will finish with exactly 97.2 wins. Boom. Playoff bitches.

[Enscheff]

Crazy prediction:

Acuna makes his MLB debut June 4 when the Braves go out to SD/LA so he can face all those LHed SPs...Kershaw, Wood, Ryu, Richard and Lucchesi.

Or a few days earlier vs the Nats if Gio is pitching.

Or whenever the Braves are scheduled to see another LHer.

[msstate7]

Crazy prediction:

Acuna makes his MLB debut June 4 when the Braves go out to SD/LA so he can face all those LHed SPs...Kershaw, Wood, Ryu, Richard and Lucchesi.

I'll take the under... way under, like this weekend vs the mets

[jpx7]

Crazy prediction:

Acuna makes his MLB debut June 4 when the Braves go out to SD/LA so he can face all those LHed SPs...Kershaw, Wood, Ryu, Richard and Lucchesi.

Or a few days earlier vs the Nats if Gio is pitching.

Or whenever the Braves are scheduled to see another LHer.

That’d be really near the “safe” date for Super Two cutoff.

[50PoundHead]

Maybe it will be this long.

[mfree80]

deerrrrpppp! Talk about clueless...

12 games dude. All teams go 7-5 in a 12 game stretch at some point.

Stating the obvious then using it as a hammer to hit someone over the head with.... I think a bunch of you guys just argue for the sake of having an argument.

The Braves, so far have done better than expected. That provides reason for optimism. Might not hold, but the possibility that it might gives us something to watch and be excited about. No need to bet anybody up over it even of you disagree.

This is an exciting time to be a Braves fan. They might not be ready yet, but we can see the framework of a really good competitive team coming together. I would love it if they surprised and competed this year. I won't panic if they just show improvement and we see development from the young guys.

Chill out a bit and don't see the need to beat up on anybody who dares express optimism.

[Southcack77]

Because the Braves don't have much talent on the team. And virtually everybody that follows the game besides Braves homers believe the team to be below .500. If that's not good enough for you then I'm sorry and you'll have to wait until the end of the season.

Are you really trying to make your argument based on a 15 game stretch? Even the worst of teams can go 9-6 over 15 games. Just because it's at the start of the season doesn't change anything.

But I'm sure you and others of like mind said the same thing in 2015 when the team started 6-1 and ended up losing 95 games that year. Also that team won 11 of 17 at the end of May despite being a horrible team.

the 2015 team was 45-50 until they raised the white flag and started tearing the thing down. It didn't begin the season a 97 loss squad and would not have finished there if they hadn't traded Uribe, Johnson, Wood, Johnson, Avilan. Left to its own devices, probably would have finished with something closer to 85-90 losses.

[Southcack77]

Crazy prediction:

Acuna makes his MLB debut June 4 when the Braves go out to SD/LA so he can face all those LHed SPs...Kershaw, Wood, Ryu, Richard and Lucchesi.

Or a few days earlier vs the Nats if Gio is pitching.

Or whenever the Braves are scheduled to see another LHer.

May 4th. Bring him up for a home stand in advance of the Braves first AL road matchups. Assuming he's not still striking out more than a third of the time in AAA.

[Super]

the 2015 team was 45-50 until they raised the white flag and started tearing the thing down. It didn't begin the season a 97 loss squad and would not have finished there if they hadn't traded Uribe, Johnson, Wood, Johnson, Avilan. Left to its own devices, probably would have finished with something closer to 85-90 losses.

Freeman also missed a month.

[thewupk]

the 2015 team was 45-50 until they raised the white flag and started tearing the thing down. It didn't begin the season a 97 loss squad and would not have finished there if they hadn't traded Uribe, Johnson, Wood, Johnson, Avilan. Left to its own devices, probably would have finished with something closer to 85-90 losses.

It was still a bad team

[Enscheff]

May 4th. Bring him up for a home stand in advance of the Braves first AL road matchups. Assuming he's not still striking out more than a third of the time in AAA.

I think June 4 is somewhat of a cutoff. If he hasn’t shown enough in AAA by then to be considered an upgrade to the roster about to face a slew of LHed SPs, he won’t come up until September.

I’m guessing he’s up well before June 4 though.

[Southcack77]

It was still a bad team

It had a losing record. It was a good bit better before they traded Wood, Johnson, Avila, Johnson and Uribe. Was there an injury or two as well? I forget. Seems like they went like 10-40 after the trade before conveniently rallying to avoid getting a better draft pick in the last two weeks.

[clvclv]

It was still a bad team

If the Braves are so bad - and there's absolutely nothing to be optimistic about until Gohara, Acuna, Camargo, and Soroka arrive - why on earth are you people watching the games or hanging around here???

If the rest of the world held the same outlooks you do, they'd have been smart enough to find something else to do by now - the almighty numbers would've demanded it.

[thewupk]

It had a losing record. It was a good bit better before they traded Wood, Johnson, Avila, Johnson and Uribe. Was there an injury or two as well? I forget. Seems like they went like 10-40 after the trade before conveniently rallying to avoid getting a better draft pick in the last two weeks.

In the end it is what it is.

[clvclv]

Because the Braves don't have much talent on the team. And virtually everybody that follows the game besides Braves homers believe the team to be below .500. If that's not good enough for you then I'm sorry and you'll have to wait until the end of the season.

Are you really trying to make your argument based on a 15 game stretch? Even the worst of teams can go 9-6 over 15 games. Just because it's at the start of the season doesn't change anything.

But I'm sure you and others of like mind said the same thing in 2015 when the team started 6-1 and ended up losing 95 games that year. Also that team won 11 of 17 at the end of May despite being a horrible team.

That's currently all the games they've played on a field - of course the entire season (and most of the players' careers) have already been decided on a computer. Save us all some time and tell us the outcomes, and everybody can find something more productive to do than watch baseball.