Spring Training 2015

Julio3000 said:
Kelly is actually a pretty good fit for this team. Glad to see him earn a spot.
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From the "things I have trouble understanding" file, I can never figure out why Cox didn't leave Kelly Johnson in LF. He did have the arm injury (and he wasn't a bad 2B), but I could never figure out why the Braves didn't try to solve some position glut/shortage issues by simply getting the best players on the field somewhere. When Prado took over at 2B, Johnson could have moved to LF instead of signing guys like Garrett Anderson. Cox seemed to lose his innovative streak late in his career.
 
50PoundHead said:
From the "things I have trouble understanding" file, I can never figure out why Cox didn't leave Kelly Johnson in LF. He did have the arm injury (and he wasn't a bad 2B), but I could never figure out why the Braves didn't try to solve some position glut/shortage issues by simply getting the best players on the field somewhere. When Prado took over at 2B, Johnson could have moved to LF instead of signing guys like Garrett Anderson. Cox seemed to lose his innovative streak late in his career.
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Whether or not it was consensus opinion, I think somebody just plain didn't believe in Kelly. They cut bait on him after a bad season which had been preceded by two pretty good ones. He could play 3 positions, if none wonderfully well. He'd surely have been better than Jordesi or the Professional Hitter. Heck, we had Gregor Blanco on that roster, too. There seemed to be a weird fetish for a "proven" guy going on there. It was not, as you say, innovative.

I also think that Kelly suffered from not being a high-energy, dirty uniform guy.
 
dak said:
Doesn't hurt to have a couple more days to figure all this out. Tomorrow is the deadline to cut arbitration eligible players and only have to pay 25% of their salary. So there's a possibility one or two more interesting names come on the market that the Braves will consider. They'll also need to make a decision on Outman tomorrow. Wouldn't be surprised if he's scheduled to pitch. Hope he performs well and they keep him.

Fredi has backed off his stance of Wandy having won a job. This whole 5th starter situation is weird. Folty seems clearly not ready, yet they continue to maintain that he's in the hunt. Really hoping he goes to AAA. If they're intent on trading Wandy, then let's get a retread off the waiver wire to join Stults in the rotation for a month.
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I've been big on sending both Folty and Banuelos down since day 1 and making them force their way into the rotation from Gwinnett, but if the decision is to keep him up now it's probably one of those situations that many around here hate - one where you just have to trust that they're making the right one. Several people have pointed out the fact that the organization let Glavine take his lumps in Atlanta while getting his feet wet instead of sending him down to become a finished product. Maybe Hart, Bobby, and McDowell see some of the things in Folty that they think are comparable with that situation. One could argue that the situations are pretty similar - no one expects that him getting knocked around a bit is going to cost us a playoff spot, so if they think he can handle those days mentally maybe competing against the higher level hitters will eventually benefit him down the road like it did Glavine.

I don't necessarily agree, but I'm not there to see and hear his reactions, talk to him between innings and after his starts, or during his throwing sessions, so I'll just have to hope that they're right and I'm wrong.
 
Julio3000 said:
Kelly is actually a pretty good fit for this team. Glad to see him earn a spot.
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I think Kelly is a nice bench piece. Offers versatility, experienced pinch-hitter, no platoon split issues, well regarded in the clubhouse. I'm just hoping for a better offensive and / or defensive option for the soft platoon with Gomes. With Jace in the fold to cover SS in a pinch, I would prefer that we option Gosselin to AAA and use that spot for a better OF bat.
 
With any luck, today will be Juan Jaime's swan song. Of course he'll probably pick today to pitch a clean inning and strike out the side.

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dak said:
I think Kelly is a nice bench piece. Offers versatility, experienced pinch-hitter, no platoon split issues, well regarded in the clubhouse. I'm just hoping for a better offensive and / or defensive option for the soft platoon with Gomes. With Jace in the fold to cover SS in a pinch, I would prefer that we option Gosselin to AAA and use that spot for a better OF bat.
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I agree with everything in this post. Well said!
 
Nice, I think this guy might walk in as our 4th best RP!

@JoeFrisaro
Confirmed Andrew McKirahan has been claimed off waivers by the #Braves
 
dak said:
Nice, I think this guy might walk in as our 4th best RP!

@JoeFrisaro
Confirmed Andrew McKirahan has been claimed off waivers by the #Braves
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I thought the Braves would likely grab him, but I am not confident Fredi will use him correctly. So the odds of him lasting the season with us probably isn't very good.
 
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