Boy this Braves team is fun to watch.

[MetEdDawg]

2 games, 6 total homers, 16 runs scored. And a lot of this has come off of Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay, albeit a not a great version of Roy Halladay. Freeman is roping the ball, Justin Upton looks every bit of what I thought he could be, and even Gattis got in on the action. If you haven't heard his story, it's a pretty good one.

There are going to be weeks where this team strikes out 13 times a game and doesn't score runs, but until that happens, I'm going to enjoy what I'm seeing. This lineup has some serious pop and when McCann comes back there won't be a single hole in the lineup.

 

[msstate7]

Hopefully medlen and minor can continue how they pitched the 2nd half last season. I'm also ready to see Teheran. This team is going to score and score a lot. Starting pitching is the only question mark for me.

 

[Will James]

Told y'all were going all in Saber Oakland style. K's won't matter with our power.

 

[shoeless joe]

2 games, 6 total homers, 16 runs scored. And a lot of this has come off of Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay, albeit a not a great version of Roy Halladay. Freeman is roping the ball, Justin Upton looks every bit of what I thought he could be, and even Gattis got in on the action. If you haven't heard his story, it's a pretty good one.

There are going to be weeks where this team strikes out 13 times a game and doesn't score runs, but until that happens, I'm going to enjoy what I'm seeing. This lineup has some serious pop and when McCann comes back there won't be a single hole in the lineup.

There isn't a hole in the line up right now. No where to go for an easy out. This line up has speed and power and could put up some big numbers for sure. Also enjoyed maholm shut out the Phil's for 5+.

 

[msstate7]

Maholm has had great spring and continued that tonight. Really interested what happens when beachy comes back.

 

[MetEdDawg]

It's going to catch up with us at different points during the year.

16 strikeouts tonight is terrible, and 4 of those came from BJ Upton, who now has 5 strikeouts and no hits in 8 at bats. This team is going to have some slumps when those home runs turn in to long fly outs for a couple of weeks, but I'm hoping we can overcome that.

Can't remember what I heard Buster Olney say. It was either no team had made the playoffs with a team strikeout total above 1,300 or no team had ever made the World Series with a team strikeout total above 1,300. Either way, we've got a really good chance to break the team strikeouts record and still make the playoffs. The record is 1,529 by the Diamondbacks in 2010 and I really think we could break that record.

But the power right now is amazing. And Freddie Freeman is a legit MVP candidate. With Simmons, Heyward, and Justin Upton in front of him, he's going to have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. He's got 6 already and I really think him and Justin Upton are going to have phenomenal years.

 

[hatfieldms]

Wish I could say the same about the Yankees. Until they get healthy this is going to be rough

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Except Oakland had hitters that could hit great pitching. relatively. this braves team is full of mistake-pitch hitters. Freeman is really the only exception (that freak can hit anything), Heyward to a lesser extent though the last couple years he's had the most exploitable approach. maybe BJUpton is another exception, i haven't seen him enough to tell yet, but i doubt it with his OBP and Ks.

This team should beat up on 2-5 SPs enough to make the playoffs, but most aces are going to look god-like against this lineup. though FF in the clean-up spot will help mitigate that. and that's a lot better problem to have than always getting shut down by any random soft-tossing lefty.

Winning the division is probably extra important this year for that reason, to avoid facing an ace twice in a 5 game series.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Maholm has been very good since he added a cutter a couple years ago. 3.5 ERA or so over ~2 years. He doesn't get much respect because he was a 4.5 ERA pitcher for 6 years or so before that, but another good year and most people will catch on. He should be set for a good FA contract after this year, we'll have to see if he'll take a hometown-ish discount.

 

[Will James]

Cole Hamels wasn't very god like

 

[War Machine Dawg]

There are going to be weeks where this team strikes out 13 times a game and doesn't score runs, but until that happens, I'm going to enjoy what I'm seeing. This lineup has some serious pop and when McCann comes back there won't be a single hole in the lineup.

We still have Dan Uggla on the team. He's a ginormous hole in the lineup until proven otherwise. He's essentially played one great half & 3 ****** halves of baseball since being traded and getting paid.

And I wouldn't call Gattis a hole in the lineup. Don't be shocked if we move Mac at some point. It'll take a fairly big offer, but we'll at least be listening.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Maholm has had great spring and continued that tonight. Really interested what happens when beachy comes back.

I freaking love Maholm. He's a very good #3-4 pitcher. And being out of Pittsburgh & Chicago has to help. Plus, he's in a pitcher's park at The Ted.

Beachy will probably be on an innings limit a la Medlen and Strasburg last season. Wouldn't surprise me to see him in the 'pen for a while, especially if Venters winds up going under the knife. But if he proves he's capable and/or anyone, particularly Teheran, struggles he'll move back into the rotation. I know we're trying to give Teheran every opportunity possible, but Beachy was arguably our ace before going down. I don't see how you can leave him out of the rotation. Wouldn't surprise me entirely if Minor winds up being the odd man out.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

except for FF, all the damage came on mistake pitches. for Hamels, i'll chalk that up to not having the kinks ironed out yet. JUpton's homer was on a pitch right down the middle, and the rest of the damage came off Chad suck-@ss Durbin.

 

[msstate7]

except for FF, all the damage came on mistake pitches. for Hamels, i'll chalk that up to not having the kinks ironed out yet. JUpton's homer was on a pitch right down the middle, and the rest of the damage came off Chad suck-@ss Durbin.

Heyward took papelbon deep also

 

[skb124]

Y'all will have to fight my Astros for that record. We are well on our way.

 

[msstate7]

Y'all will have to fight my Astros for that record. We are well on our way.

I hate it for the Astros. They moved to a division where there's 3 contenders and Seattle will be much improved. Houston is going to lose a ton of games

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Don't feed the troll. Boomboom isn't rational when it comes to the Braves. Durbin is a very solid reliever. Lest Boomboom forget, the guy was nails for us last season. And he would be aGAIN this season if he'd stuck around. I'm worried as hell about our 'pen. I think JV going under the knife is inevitable. I'm waiting for Kimbrel's arm to come flying off at the shoulder soon, too. He's pitched almost as many innings as JV the last 2 seasons and was used pretty heavily 3 seasons ago. And Walden scares the **** out of me. The guy throws hard, but he's wild as hell. We need a reliable arm out there, especially if/when JV has surgery. We never should've let Moylan leave. Trading Arodys Vizcaino was dumb, too. He'd be great in the 'pen.

 

[SanfordRJones]

So getting a hit against an ace doesn't count if he misses his spot. Got it. What happens if he walks a batter? Does that count?

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

It counts, just don't expect it to keep happening.

Hamels had a bad night, most likely because it was his first start of the year. And i don't mean results, i mean his location. That's not hard to figure out. When they face aces who are on, it's gonna be ugly.

 

[skb124]

You mean like every other team in the majors? Ok, got it.

 

[msstate7]

Good thing most teams only have one ace if any. Aces aren't above mistake pitches either

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

no, NOT like every other team. that's the point. this team will do worse against aces while feasting on everyone else, relative to other lineups with less mistake-pitch hitters.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Let Moylan leave?

Has he even found a MLB job somewhere else?

And Vizcaino had his inevitable TJ surgery soon after we traded him. I called that, but hey, i'm irrational.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Like i said, Heyward isn't a mistake-pitch hitter, but the last couple years he's been unable to cover all parts of the plate, leaving him exploitable. a couple good adjustments though and he can be an elite hitter this year.

 

[skb124]

An ace who is on his game (as was your point) will shut down every lineup in the bigs. That's what makes them an ace. I'd venture to say this Braves lineup is the best in all of baseball this year. Reminds me of the Yankees lineups except they may not hit for quite as high of averages.

 

[SanfordRJones]

Aces are aces because they make far fewer mistakes than other pitchers, but they still make them. Great hitters are great hitters because they are patient and wait for the pitcher to make mistakes much more so than because they're able to hit an ace's best pitch. In the case of an ace, he doesn't usually make them, so he is able to shut down most lineups (thus the old adage that great pitching beats great hitting), but he still makes mistakes.

"Get a good pitch to hit." -Ted Williams

 

[CadaverDawg]

no, NOT like every other team. that's the point. this team will do worse against aces while feasting on everyone else, relative to other lineups with less mistake-pitch hitters.

So let's say you're right. If that means my Bravos lose every game against the Ace, but win every other game this season and in the playoffs....World Series Champs! I can dig it.*

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

like i said, it becomes very important to win the division, else they face an ace in 2 games of a 5 game series. again, it's a good problem to have.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Aces have ERA's of zero? who knew?

nm

 

[skb124]

You realize you're an idiot right?

Never did I say that.

ETA: Let me rephrase my first comment for you, there is no team in the bigs, who is immune to being shut down by an ace who is on his game.

 

[Beretta.sixpack]

Here you go Braves fans.....

[IMG]http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i41/dfbrowndog/ScreenShot2013-04-04at82416PM_zpsc4994e87.jpg[/IMG]

 

[War Machine Dawg]

I'm almost positive Moylan signed with the Angels. Seems like I remember seeing that not long after we traded Hanson (another prime bullpen candidate). I do remember the AJC beatwriter saying Moylan likely would've taken a minor league deal, had we offered it. Seems to me we could've done that.

 

[BoomBoom.sixpack]

Let me slow it down for you so you can follow.

Even aces still have ERAs over 2. They usually give up a couple runs a game, on average. Sometimes it's a shutout, sometimes it's 3 or 4 runs scored against them in a game. This Braves lineup will way more often be the former, while differently constructed lineups will be the latter, while this lineup outscores those other lineups against lesser pitchers.

Yes, sometimes an ace will be so 'on' on a given night that it doesn't matter what lineup faces them, it will still be a shutout. But that's not the point.

It's a valid concern, even if i'm being a bit of a Debbie Downer by pointing it out. But hell, the best strategy to winning MLB playoffs is to assure that you get there, because to a large degree it's a crapshoot anyway.