What to expect for 2018

D

depley

Awaiting a Promotion
What do you expect? Me not much looking at the roster. I wanted to have more hope but seeing who is projected on the roster makes me wonder if this team will come close to sniffing 75 wins. In year 4 I expected so much more.

Starting pitching, 90% of our hopes for starting pitching are in the minors.....

Everyday line up, we have Freddie, then maybe Albies, and Ender, outside of that the rest is pretty weak. Everyone seems to be counting on Acuna making an appearance by April 14th, I don't, I hope they leave him in the minors till at least the All-star break.

Bench- historically bad

Relief pitching, I expect by July 1 that Minter will be the closer, and Viscaino will be traded by the deadline.

we have NO power in the lineup outside of Freddie, and he has NO protection period.

We have some speed but how far is that going to get you in today's game?

Like I said I am not counting on more than 75 wins at the best.

Oh yeah and payroll sits at $114M , but then $34M of that is not even on the team so the effective payroll is $80M. Not good.
 
depley said:
What do you expect? Me not much looking at the roster. I wanted to have more hope but seeing who is projected on the roster makes me wonder if this team will come close to sniffing 75 wins. In year 4 I expected so much more.

Starting pitching, 90% of our hopes for starting pitching are in the minors.....
Everyday line up, we have Freddie, then maybe Albies, and Ender, outside of that the rest is pretty weak. Everyone seems to be counting on Acuna making an appearance by April 14th, I don't, I hope they leave him in the minors till at least the All-star break.
Bench- historically bad
Relief pitching, I expect by July 1 that Minter will be the closer, and Viscaino will be traded by the deadline.
we have NO power in the lineup outside of Freddie, and he has NO protection period.
We have some speed but how far is that going to get you in today's game?

Like I said I am not counting on more than 75 wins at the best.

Oh yeah and payroll sits at $114M , but then $34M of that is not even on the team so the effective payroll is $80M. Not good.
Click to expand...

And unfortunately who own us the payroll is not going to get better.
 
depley said:
What do you expect? Me not much looking at the roster. I wanted to have more hope but seeing who is projected on the roster makes me wonder if this team will come close to sniffing 75 wins. In year 4 I expected so much more.

Starting pitching, 90% of our hopes for starting pitching are in the minors.....
Everyday line up, we have Freddie, then maybe Albies, and Ender, outside of that the rest is pretty weak. Everyone seems to be counting on Acuna making an appearance by April 14th, I don't, I hope they leave him in the minors till at least the All-star break.
Bench- historically bad
Relief pitching, I expect by July 1 that Minter will be the closer, and Viscaino will be traded by the deadline.
we have NO power in the lineup outside of Freddie, and he has NO protection period.
We have some speed but how far is that going to get you in today's game?

Like I said I am not counting on more than 75 wins at the best.

Oh yeah and payroll sits at $114M , but then $34M of that is not even on the team so the effective payroll is $80M. Not good.
Click to expand...

Why on God's green earth would you leave Acuna in the minors until the All Star Break? That would make absolutely no sense unless you're taking some super 2 angle. Even then it would likely be mid June at the latest.
 
BeanieAntics said:
Why on God's green earth would you leave Acuna in the minors until the All Star Break? That would make absolutely no sense unless you're taking some super 2 angle. Even then it would likely be mid June at the latest.
Click to expand...

Because he is 20. And the expectations of others will weigh on him just as it did Dansby
 
depley said:
Because he is 20. And the expectations of others will weigh on him just as it did Dansby
Click to expand...

Dansby had not even come close to proving he was ready for major league ball. Acuna's trajectory is extremely rare and he has dominated every single level he has been at. There is nothing left for him to do at the minor league level outside the time we need to keep him there for control concerns. If we think we should keep him down until the ASB, we might as well hold him back until April 14th of 2019. Some 20 year olds are ready and they make it pretty obvious. Acuna is and has.
 
BeanieAntics said:
Dansby had not even come close to proving he was ready for major league ball. Acuna's trajectory is extremely rare and he has dominated every single level he has been at. There is nothing left for him to do at the minor league level outside the time we need to keep him there for control concerns. If we think we should keep him down until the ASB, we might as well hold him back until April 14th of 2019. Some 20 year olds are ready and they make it pretty obvious. Acuna is and has.
Click to expand...

Have to agree. The amount of progress Acuna made vs MLB sequencing in the handful of MLB PAs during ST was impressive.
 
Dansby just didn’t have the time in the minors like he should have. We will see if that screwed him up long term. Acuna (even though younger, has had way more ab’s in the minors). They jumped the gun big time because Dasnby wasn’t even playing more than average in AA. Acuna has excelled at every level he has been put in. Don’t compare the two...they aren’t comparable.
 
It just isn't right to see so much negativity on opening day, so I'm going to link DOB's column and pull a section of it to brighten this dreary thread up:

https://www.myajc.com/blog/atlanta-...ut-this-braves-season/416DfSzyEEX2tbBlkISwgO/

Now that you’ve heard team officials allude to a spending spree that could unfold next winter, here’s why I’m looking forward to this season.

It doesn’t matter that the Braves are aiming for next year and not this one, as far as spending big and going all-in to be a contender again. Because this is the season that could produce the kind of memories you will never forget.

A wild-card playoff run or even a division title are fun, but watching guys pop champagne and celebrate is one thing. Seeing all-time great players in their first time on the big stage is another. And if you were there for Hank Aaron’s or Eddie Mathews’ first season or Chipper Jones’ rookie year or when Tom Glavine or John Smoltz turned the corner towards greatness, you know what I mean.

Those are memories you take to your grave.

You never forget seeing truly special as when generational talents make their debuts, or a young pitcher figures things out and starts to build the foundation of a Hall of Fame career.

And when we watch Acuna this year, I have a strong suspicion we’ll be watching a kid who’ll have his bust in Cooperstown some day.

And when we watch Ozzie Albies in his first full season this year, we might be watching a kid who could become one of the best undersized players we’ll ever know, a freak of nature who is only about 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds but can hit line drives all day and launch balls out of the park to any field.

And when we watch Mike Soroka arrive, possibly before his 21st birthday (that’s in August), we might be seeing the next great Braves starting pitcher and a kid who could be one of the best Canada has produced. Same for Luiz Gohara, who is only 21 and hails from soccer-crazy Brazil. He has ace-caliber stuff despite a body that’s the antithesis of Acuna’s – Gohara is a hefty lefty, indeed. But so talented.

With Max Fried and Kolby Allard waiting in the wings, the Braves could potentially have four lefties in their rotation at some point with those two plus Gohara and big Sean Newcomb, another kid who’ll be in his first full season.

And by September, we might also see the debut of third baseman Austin Riley, whom the Braves believe could be their best homegrown power-hitting prospect since Freddie Freeman – well, other than Acuna, a genuine five-tool player at a time when that’s an increasingly rare species.

And did we mention potential closer A.J. Minter, the strikeout machine whose stats in a late-season call-up demonstrated why some have long called him a lefty version of Craig Kimbrel? Minter will be in the bullpen from Day 1 in 2018.

So you see why even a jaded ball writer like me could be excited about the 161 games that will follow Thursday, whether the Braves surprise people and stay in the wild-card picture longer than most expect them to.

I know a lot of people here like to bash DOB, but my memories of the Chipper, Andruw (am I crazy or did he start out as 'Audruw'?), Glavine, and Smoltz debuts say he's right. There's plenty to smile about, and it only lasts for five months. Make the best of it.
 
Why didn't DOB mention Andruw or Heyward? Surely their first seasons were special and brought great memories to this fanbase.
 
thewupk said:
Why didn't DOB mention Andruw or Heyward? Surely their first seasons were special and brought great memories to this fanbase.
Click to expand...

If the field, of course, but that .745 OPS didn't knock anyone's socks off. Odd thing about Heyward is that his rookie season still stands as his best offensively. F-you Jon Niese.
 
I've said it before but:

This will be a very (maybe very, very) poor offensive team. They aren't going to score many runs.

The SP will likely be determined by the results from pitching not at the majors right now.

The RP will likely be spotty at best and maybe very bad but I see no path to great.

The bench is downright awful.

The coaching is the same list of bad from before, especially on the pitching side.

The schedule is mostly tough (get a lot of the AL East beasties).

The FO admittedly has cleared the decks for 2019 so expect no real in season help.

Ownership is busy, as usual, counting their money and can't be bothered.

How's that for some cold water on opening day?
 
Horsehide Harry said:
How's that for some cold water on opening day?
Click to expand...

To complicate that pessimism just a bit, I do agree with DOB that it'll be nice to to finally see some of the Braves' "real" future at the MLB level—though I think he's overly optimistic on a couple of those names. However, that excitement is tempered a bit by the realization that most of that "real" future is comprised of players the Braves drafted or signed from the amateur international ranks—meaning that there's a whole lot of fringe and bust from the previous FO's cashing out of several extremely valuable assets.
 
50PoundHead said:
If the field, of course, but that .745 OPS didn't knock anyone's socks off. Odd thing about Heyward is that his rookie season still stands as his best offensively. F-you Jon Niese.
Click to expand...

Meh. I guess the eventual loss in the 96 WS made people forget about those 2 bombs he hit. Was magical.

I agree. F that guy.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
I've said it before but:

This will be a very (maybe very, very) poor offensive team. They aren't going to score many runs.

The SP will likely be determined by the results from pitching not at the majors right now.

The RP will likely be spotty at best and maybe very bad but I see no path to great.

The bench is downright awful.

The coaching is the same list of bad from before, especially on the pitching side.

The schedule is mostly tough (get a lot of the AL East beasties).

The FO admittedly has cleared the decks for 2019 so expect no real in season help.

Ownership is busy, as usual, counting their money and can't be bothered.

How's that for some cold water on opening day?
Click to expand...

You are like a ray of hope on a rainy day, Charlie Brown.
 
I believe the Braves will finish in top half of league for runs scored. Add that prediction. Calling for good health and Good Acuna.
 
I predict Pache will improve his power and have an Acuna lite acent this year. Watching his highlights from last night he’s put on some muscle from last year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top