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.
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
clvclv (04-17-2018)
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.
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?
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.
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.
Last edited by Enscheff; 04-17-2018 at 11:56 AM.
Maybe it will be this long.
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.
clvclv (04-17-2018)
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 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.
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.
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?
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.
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?