I had a great time at the Braves game today

[Todd4State]

I have long wanted to see a MLB exhibition game in Mississippi, and it happened today. Bucket list. I've been to a few in Memphis with the Cardinals and they were always fun to go to as well.

I would say the game was a rousing success and I think the Braves put their best foot forward. I hope they do this again next year. Dan Uggla hit my shoe with a baseball in batting practice. The only disappointing thing to me was Maholm not starting for the Braves, but I understand it.

My thoughts for the Braves fans:

1. Pretty impressive performance. If you say "yeah, but it was against minor leagers"- check out the Yankees score against Army today. A 10-0 beat down with three tape measure home runs and a combined shutout is nothing to shake a stick at.

2. Evan Gaddis- WOW. That was a pretty nice shot- maybe the longest I've seen at Trustmark Park. If I were the Braves, I would start him over Laird until McCann comes back. Great story as well.

3. Chris Johnson surprised me with his power- maybe he will be a steal? I thought he made some nice plays at third base as well. Freddie Freeman is solid.

4. Dan Uggla was impressive, but he has to get his average up. He will eventually be a good DH for someone. Andrelton Simmons is a solid SS and leadoff hitter.

5. Even when Jason Heyward made outs, he smoked the ball. The Upton brothers will be solid, but I'm not sure if they will meet Braves fans expectations. If fact, BJ had the worst at bats this side of Gerald Laird. With the Upton brothers, I do think the Braves adequately replaced Prado and Bourn from a production standpoint when you break down all of the numbers. Reed Johnson is going to be a nice bench player for y'all as well.

6. Good to see Kimbrel pitch again. Your rotation should be solid with Hudson, Medlan, Maholm, Beachy, and Minor.

7. The team I saw on the field looks like a contender in the NL East. Will they be good enough to get by the Nationals? The only hole I saw was at catcher- and that will be fixed when Brian McCann comes back. Christian Bethancourt really impressed me as far as the prospects go. He might get a look if McCann can't come back. And as far as Sean Gilmartin goes- take heart, because I remember watching Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen hit baseballs into the Mississippi River in Memphis off of a guy named Adam Wainwright in 2004.

 

[justin_aguilera]

Thanks for that. I was born and raised 20 minutes outside of Atlanta and was really hoping to see this game

 

[JacksonDevilDog]

Agreed. Nice time out there today and the place was packed. Real nice facility and overall product that they put out in Pearl.

 

[msstate7]

I have long wanted to see a MLB exhibition game in Mississippi, and it happened today. Bucket list. I've been to a few in Memphis with the Cardinals and they were always fun to go to as well.

I would say the game was a rousing success and I think the Braves put their best foot forward. I hope they do this again next year. Dan Uggla hit my shoe with a baseball in batting practice. The only disappointing thing to me was Maholm not starting for the Braves, but I understand it.

My thoughts for the Braves fans:

1. Pretty impressive performance. If you say "yeah, but it was against minor leagers"- check out the Yankees score against Army today. A 10-0 beat down with three tape measure home runs and a combined shutout is nothing to shake a stick at.

2. Evan Gaddis- WOW. That was a pretty nice shot- maybe the longest I've seen at Trustmark Park. If I were the Braves, I would start him over Laird until McCann comes back. Great story as well.

3. Chris Johnson surprised me with his power- maybe he will be a steal? I thought he made some nice plays at third base as well. Freddie Freeman is solid.

4. Dan Uggla was impressive, but he has to get his average up. He will eventually be a good DH for someone. Andrelton Simmons is a solid SS and leadoff hitter.

5. Even when Jason Heyward made outs, he smoked the ball. The Upton brothers will be solid, but I'm not sure if they will meet Braves fans expectations. If fact, BJ had the worst at bats this side of Gerald Laird. With the Upton brothers, I do think the Braves adequately replaced Prado and Bourn from a production standpoint when you break down all of the numbers. Reed Johnson is going to be a nice bench player for y'all as well.

6. Good to see Kimbrel pitch again. Your rotation should be solid with Hudson, Medlan, Maholm, Beachy, and Minor.

7. The team I saw on the field looks like a contender in the NL East. Will they be good enough to get by the Nationals? The only hole I saw was at catcher- and that will be fixed when Brian McCann comes back. Christian Bethancourt really impressed me as far as the prospects go. He might get a look if McCann can't come back. And as far as Sean Gilmartin goes- take heart, because I remember watching Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen hit baseballs into the Mississippi River in Memphis off of a guy named Adam Wainwright in 2004.

I had a great time also although I couldn't get my mind off state's game. Don't forget Julio Teheran as a starter. These are his spring training stats: 3-1 1.04 era 0.62 whip and allowed .082 avg against him. Gotta feeling he's your nl Roy. Braves take east and nl

 

[justin_aguilera]

I had a great time also although I couldn't get my mind off state's game. Don't forget Julio Teheran as a starter. These are his spring training stats: 3-1 1.04 era 0.62 whip and allowed .082 avg against him. Gotta feeling he's your nl Roy. Braves take east and nl

Couldn't agree more about Teheran. I think (and hope) his ST numbers translate to the big leagues this time around. Also think Andrelton will win a Gold Glove

 

[MetEdDawg]

My biggest concern as a Braves fan is the strikeout potential of this lineup.

There are a ton of strikeouts waiting for this lineup and that could kill us offensively. But to address your points:

1. I love us playing our minor league teams. The Braves are one of the few organizations that makes a genuine attempt to grow guys through their farm system. Heyward, Chipper, Freeman, McCann, the list goes on and on. It's great to see the minor league guys play the big league club because they all know they will get a fair shot to make it there some day.

2. Gattis is very underrated and I think could be a very valuable asset. The story is great, but outside of that he's just a gritty ball player. Love those kind of guys and I really hope he can stick with the club for the year.

3. Johnson has me very interested. You can't expect anyone to replace Chipper, but I think our combination of Johnson and Francisco will be good enough to fill the hole at 3B. After Francisco's performance in the Dominican League this winter and Johnson's performance so far during spring, I'm feeling a lot better than I did at the end of last season about 3B. And Freeman is a beast. Underrated defensive 1B and I'm hoping he can be more consistent in the lineup this year.

4. Uggla follows the line of good FA acquisitions that haven't panned out like we had hoped. He's probably going to be hitting 6th or 7th in the lineup. He has got to hit for a better average and cut down on his strikeouts or he will have another year where he hits .220 but doesn't give us clutch hitting or a ton of RBIs. And I'm expecting big things from Simmons this year. A lot of people see him as an unknown, but he really isn't. He was fantastic before his injury, still pretty good after his injury, and I think at full health he has a big year from the lead off spot. And he plays a mean SS too.

5. I was happier with the Justin Upton acquisition than the BJ Upton one. I think Justin has more raw potential and will be a greater asset to this lineup than BJ. But once again, the number of strikeouts this outfield may have this year is almost sickening to think about. Heyward and the Upton brothers combined for 442 strikeouts last year. That number has to go down and it needs to go down by a lot. I will say that this may be the most athletic outfield in baseball and one of the most athletic ever. Sick speed and some really good arms.

6. I will be interested to see who Beachy replaces when he comes back from surgery in July. Teheran will be sitting in the 5 spot when the season starts and he's been our best pitcher this spring. 1.04 ERA over 26 innings with a WHIP of .62. The rotation should be pretty good. Kimbrel has me scared though. He's done pretty poorly this spring. He seems like a mind type of guy. By that I mean he has a closer mentality and that's how his mind works. He's been coming in games in the 4th and 5th inning during spring and I think that messes with his head. Obviously that won't happen during the year so I expect him to be his usual shut down self starting Monday.

7. I really feel good about this team. I think the pitching will be really good, but the lineup will be really streaky. I can see this whole lineup going into an awful slump and us losing 7 or 8 out of 10, then bounce right back and win 7 or 8 out of 10. If the lineup can cut down on the strikeouts and hit more consistently than last year, we've got what it takes to get to the World Series. Our games with the Nationals should be really fun. When the Phillies were good, we had great series with them. Now that the Nationals are good, I expect us to have some really good games with them.

 

[Bro Montana]

I have long wanted to see a MLB exhibition game in Mississippi, and it happened today. Bucket list. I've been to a few in Memphis with the Cardinals and they were always fun to go to as well.

I would say the game was a rousing success and I think the Braves put their best foot forward. I hope they do this again next year. Dan Uggla hit my shoe with a baseball in batting practice. The only disappointing thing to me was Maholm not starting for the Braves, but I understand it.

My thoughts for the Braves fans:

1. Pretty impressive performance. If you say "yeah, but it was against minor leagers"- check out the Yankees score against Army today. A 10-0 beat down with three tape measure home runs and a combined shutout is nothing to shake a stick at.

2. Evan Gaddis- WOW. That was a pretty nice shot- maybe the longest I've seen at Trustmark Park. If I were the Braves, I would start him over Laird until McCann comes back. Great story as well.

3. Chris Johnson surprised me with his power- maybe he will be a steal? I thought he made some nice plays at third base as well. Freddie Freeman is solid.

4. Dan Uggla was impressive, but he has to get his average up. He will eventually be a good DH for someone. Andrelton Simmons is a solid SS and leadoff hitter.

5. Even when Jason Heyward made outs, he smoked the ball. The Upton brothers will be solid, but I'm not sure if they will meet Braves fans expectations. If fact, BJ had the worst at bats this side of Gerald Laird. With the Upton brothers, I do think the Braves adequately replaced Prado and Bourn from a production standpoint when you break down all of the numbers. Reed Johnson is going to be a nice bench player for y'all as well.

6. Good to see Kimbrel pitch again. Your rotation should be solid with Hudson, Medlan, Maholm, Beachy, and Minor.

7. The team I saw on the field looks like a contender in the NL East. Will they be good enough to get by the Nationals? The only hole I saw was at catcher- and that will be fixed when Brian McCann comes back. Christian Bethancourt really impressed me as far as the prospects go. He might get a look if McCann can't come back. And as far as Sean Gilmartin goes- take heart, because I remember watching Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen hit baseballs into the Mississippi River in Memphis off of a guy named Adam Wainwright in 2004.

With the crap that Wren has put in the OF in the past 10 years, anything each of them do beyond 20 HR and 75 RBI is a bonus. FINALLY, no more platoons, just 3 solid outfielders. Definitely the best that has been in ATL since Chipper/Andruw/Gary Sheffield in '03 and Andruw/JD Drew in 04.

In hindsight, they overpaid for BJ, but nobody could have guessed that the market for Bourn would have been so weak. The flurry of centerfield trades really killed Bourn's value. Justin Upton was a huge get, almost a steal. Several ESPN writers chose him as an MVP candidate this season. Would be nice to have that kind of production in the OF again from more than one player.

 

[Will James]

The strikeouts won't be an issue with the power in the lineup. The Bravos are gonna do their best Oakland 2012 impression this season.

 

[msstate7]

The strikeouts won't be an issue with the power in the lineup. The Bravos are gonna do their best Oakland 2012 impression this season.

I don't either. If Simmons gets on base, this team is going to be a terror to pitch to. McCann had shoulder issues pretty much all last year thus the decline in numbers. If McCann comes back strong, they'll lead the nl in runs. Once McCann gets back, the pitchers spot is the only hole in the lineup with medlin and Hudson being pretty good for pitchers.

 

[shoeless joe]

With the crap that Wren has put in the OF in the past 10 years, anything each of them do beyond 20 HR and 75 RBI is a bonus. FINALLY, no more platoons, just 3 solid outfielders. Definitely the best that has been in ATL since Chipper/Andruw/Gary Sheffield in '03 and Andruw/JD Drew in 04.

In hindsight, they overpaid for BJ, but nobody could have guessed that the market for Bourn would have been so weak. The flurry of centerfield trades really killed Bourn's value. Justin Upton was a huge get, almost a steal. Several ESPN writers chose him as an MVP candidate this season. Would be nice to have that kind of production in the OF again from more than one player.

wren has only been the GM since 2008. despite that your point is valid.