Francoeur, Schafer disabled, Roster changes

May 3, 2010

The Braves front office announced roster changes today, as Jeff Francoeur and Jordan Schafer were placed on the disabled list. Francoeur (pictured left), who strained a hamstring against the Nationals last week, is expected to miss 4-5 weeks. Schafer tore ankle ligaments running the bases against the Marlins and will miss at least six weeks

The Braves called up Jose Martinez from AAA Gwinnett to platoon in right with Brandon Jones. Martinez, 21, was acquired over the winter along with reliever Scott Linebrink in the deal that sent Casey Kotchman and Kenshin Kawakami to the White Sox. At Gwinnett he was hitting .239 with 5 homeruns and 11 RBIs in 20 games.

To man centerfield and to hit second in the linuep Atlanta called up Gorkys Hernandez. Hernandez, 22, was hitting .286 with 5 homeruns and 12 RBIs in 23 games.

In another move the Braves sent MR Danny Hererra to Gwinnett to make room on their roster for relief pitcher Chris Perez. Herrera struggled all April (7.03 ERA) and Perez has been doing very well in AAA (2-0, one save, 0.98 ERA, and 21 K in 18 1/3 innings). Look for him to be used as a setup man.

Also the Braves farmed out catcher Clint Sammons and brought up 3B Eric Campbell. Sammons (1 for 8, .125 BA, 0 RBI) was a third catcher used primarily as a right handed pinch hitter. Campbell, 24, was tearing up AAA pitching to the tune of a .354 BA, 5 HR and 13 RBI in 19 games. He will fill the role of a right handed pinch hitter, occasionally spelling Chipper Jones at third base.

Braves split 2010 opening week

April 19, 2010


When a ball club goes on a road trip, you hope to be able to bring back home a winning record on the trip, or at least break even. Well, you can say, "At least they didn't start with a losing record."


The Braves took 2 of 3 in Philadelphia and dropped 2 of 3 to the Mets to start the season 3-3.



Game 1- Philadelphia edges Atlanta 4-3 in opener
Brett Myers (1-0) kept Atlanta batters off their game for 7 innings as he pitched the Phillies to a win in their home opener. Limiting the Braves to 1 run on 3 hits, Myers allowed only one hard hit ball ( Chipper Jones solo homer in the first inning on the first pitch he saw in 2010). Derek Lowe (pictured below left) had a quality start for Atlanta going 7 innings, giving up 3 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits. Danny Herrera (0-1) took the loss in relief.


Game 2- Francouer hits 2 HRs, Braves win 8-6

Right fielder Jeff Francouer (pictured above) saw two pitches he liked and deposited them out of the park to lead Atlanta to their first win of the season, a 8-6 triumph over Philadelphia. His three run shot in the fifth and a two run blast in the sixth allowed Javier Vazquez (pictured below right) to pick up his first win, even though he was not sharp on the mound.


Game 3- Braves win handily 9-3 over Phillies

Brian McCann stroked a homerun , a double, and a single to drive in four runs to lead the Atlanta attack. A six run sixth inning chased Phillie starter J. A. Happ from the mound to the showers and gave Jair Jurrjens ( 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 K, 3 BB) all the support he needed to notch his first win of the year.


Game 4- Mets batter Braves 10-4

Mets' batters hammered starter Tim Hudson (0-1) and four Atlanta relievers for 10 runs on 15 hits and 3 walks. It was Hudson's first loss since returning to the mound last August following surgery. Mark DeRosa and Jeff Francouer both homered in the losing cause.


Game 5- Lowe lays Mets low 4-1

A strong outing by Derek Lowe (1-0, 7 IP, 7 H, 1 unearned run, 4 K, 1 BB) and timely hitting by Chipper Jones and Brian McCann lead Atlanta to their first win of the year over the Mets. Freddie Freeman hit his first big league homerun and Joe Nathan capped it off with his second save, striking out 3 in his inning of relief.


Game 6- Mets take series with 9-6 win

"Javier Vazquez (1-1) and the Braves' pen struggled again and Johan Santana (1-1) did not" sums up the game in the words of Braves manager Bobby Cox. "I am proud there is no quit in this team," he added, alluding to the 6 run ninth inning off Mets closer Billy Wagner. Freddie Freeman had his first career 5 hit game to provide another Braves highlight in the loss.


Up next for Atlanta is a nine game homestand starting tonight with a 3 game set with the Nationals. The Phillies and Mets will follow.

2010 Atlanta Braves Opening Day

April 11, 2010

The Atlanta Braves start the 2010 season with high hopes and with six games on the road as they open tomorrow afternoon with a 4:10 pm game in Philadelphia.

Derek Lowe (14-8, 3.25 ERA last year) will start on the mound for the Braves and will probably be facing the Phillies' veteran hurler Brett Myers (14-9, 4.22 ERA). Braves' fans are expecting Lowe's sinkerball to keep the Phillies sluggers beating the ball into the ground, while Phillie Phans are looking for Myers' curveball to keep the Braves' offense off balance.

Several new faces are will be seen on the Braves' roster this year, including GABA's premier closer Joe Nathan (3-3, 37 saves, 1.12 ERA). Nathan is the headliner in a largely re-vamped bullpen which sees Josh Kinney and Scot Linebrink join returnees Brian Moehler, Boone Logan, and Danny Hererra. None of the pen spent the full year in 2009 with Atlanta. Manager Bobby Cox, who carried 12 pitchers on last year's roster, has elected to begin this season with 11. This writer would not be surprised to see Chris Perez and perhaps others brought up from AAA before mid season.

Rookie Tommy Hanson gets the nod as the #5 starter in a rotation with Lowe, Javier Vazquez (8-15, 4.53), Jair Jurrjens (13-13, 4.56) and Tim Hudson (5-0, 3.42). Hanson has come with a lot of hype, including a couple of national articles projecting him as 2010 Rookie of the Year.

The expected opening lineup for Atlanta looks like this:

1. Nate McLouth, lf (18 HR, .318 BA) He hopes to build on a breakthrough season in '09

2. Jordan Schafer cf (14 HR, .300 BA) 2009 Rookie of the Year moves up in lineup

3. Chipper Jones 3b (27 HR, .330 BA) 37 year old stayed healthy last year & put up the numbers

4. Brain McCann c (17 HR, .308) Looking to crash a few more dingers

5. Jeff Francouer rf (12 HR, .283) Injury limited him to 109 games; still made strides in reviving his career

6. Mark DeRosa 2b (13 HR, .274) returns to Atlanta to fill second base role

7. Yunel Escobar ss (13 HR, .294) will hit higher in line-up against left handers

8. Freddie Freeman (29 HR, .283 in minors) The rookie first baseman struggled in the spring; but Cox says he was hitting with greater authority at the close of spring training.

Observers expect the Braves to continue to be among the leaders in runs scored and expect to see improvement in both their rotation and pen in keeping their opponents away from home plate. But, the Braves acknowledge that it will take a prime effort to overtake the Mets, who most prognosticators say will repeat as NL East Champs.

Cox said, "The Mets are the class of our division, no question about it. But, this is a club that could take the division. We're definitely going to give a real run for the money."

Braves 2010 Spring Training Report

March 12, 2010

Finishing second in the NL East in 2009 (eight games behind the Mets and one game out of the Wild Card slot) was not what the Atlanta Braves were aiming for.

"We always shoot for winning our division and then winning each post season series in order," said veteran Chipper Jones.

Last year was tantalizingly close after an absence from the playoffs, but Jones said close is not good enough. "We set our sites high and do not settle for second best."

So, will the Braves have what it takes to catch up to a powerful, and even improved, Mets team? Can they hold off challenges from the Marlins, Phillies, and Nationals?

With the start of spring training games the Braves face a number of pertinent questions that hold the key to their success in 2010.

1. Has the bullpen been significantly improved? You would tend to say with the addition of Joe Nathan that the answer is an automatic yes. But, manager Bobby Cox says outside of Nathan as closer, every other bullpen job is up for grabs. So, the spring will give us our first look at the off season additions to the pen (Chris Perez, Josh Kinney, Scott Linebrink, Ryan Franklin and John Bannister). With returners Peter Moylan, Brian Moehler, Boone Logan, Justin Mallet, and Danny Hererra, it gives the Braves ten good candidates for the other 5 or 6 slots in the pen. With that many GABA calibre relievers, expect some to be dealt away before opening day.

2. Will the winner of the 5th starter role be able to handle the job? With Kenshin Kawakami traded to the White Sox, the 5th spot in the rotation will be fought for throughout spring training. Tommy Hansen, Jeffrey Kamrath, Wade Miley, and possibly, Jorge Campillo and Charlie Morton will be given opportunity this spring to win the job.

3. Can 20 year old Freddie Freeman handle the job at first? Casey Kotchman fit his role as #2 hitter in the lineup very well and was a defensive wizard in the field. Freeman has shown excellent defensive skills, but he will be asked to provide some power in the 5 or 6 hole in the lineup. He's a work in progress, but the Braves organization thought enough of him to risk letting Kotchman go and giving Freeman an early chance.

4. With two lineup changes will the Braves offense be as productive as in 2009? The Braves quietly lead all of GABA in run scoring with only one power hitter over 20 home runs. In addition to the change at first, Mark DeRosa replaces Kelly Johnson (now with the Marlins) at second. DeRosa's offensive numbers are fairly close to that of Johnson, but can he continue to produce as he enters his mid 30's? Can the rest of the lineup continue the fine hitting they displayed during 2009?

5. Will the "Bobby Cox Farewell Tour" be a distraction or a motivation for the Braves? Cox, who announced his retirement would come at the end of the 2010 season, says his players are too focused to allow anything like that to get in the way of their pursuit of the pennant. Spring training will begin to give some clues in that regard.

Spring games start today in Orlando at 7:05 pm with Tommy Hansen scheduled to start for Atlanta against Florida. Play ball!

Nathan glad to come to Atlanta

February 15, 2010

Since the close of last season, the talk on all the Twin Cities sports radio has been the debate over whether Minnesota should deal closer Joe Nathan. The opinions have been varied and the discussion...well, shall we say "intense?"

Today the Twins and the Braves formally concluded what had been rumored for several weeks- Nathan is coming to Atlanta in exchange for Braves closer Rafael Soriano.

In Atlanta today, both Nathan and Braves GM Jobo Foster met with reporters to talk about his move into the Atlanta bullpen.

Nathan said, while he regretted leaving the Minnesota club, he looked forward to coming to Atlanta for a challenge of helping the Braves battle for the NL East division title.

"The Mets would still be the heavy favorite, I think, to repeat," Nathan declared. "Florida has vastly improved their chances with their activity this year. I expect the Phillies will rebound from their lackluster year and anyone who looks past the Nationals is gonna get burned. Make no mistake: the NL East is a tough division."

"But, I like where we sit in Atlanta, too. Our offense was the most productive in terms of runs scored in all of GABA in 2009. The two changes in the starting lineup (rookie Freddie Freeman at first and Veteran Mark DeRosa at second) are no slouches. In addition, I believe Jobo has made our bullpen stronger with the moves this off season. I am excited about our chances."

Foster was asked if he felt criticism of acquiring an aging reliever at the cost of a younger one still on the rise was justified, especially in light the other players traded to make financial room for Nathan.

Foster laughed and said, "I would say that aging thing too loud in his hearing," pointing to Nathan. "Actually, how can it be a bad thing to acquire such a "lights-out" closer like Joe Nathan? Last year he saved 37 games out of 38 opportunities, in 5 of the last 6 seasons his ERA was under 2.00, This guy's got a lot still in him. He's just what we've needed: a closer to go along with quality setup men that make our opponents feel they'll have to win the game in seven innings, 'cause when he comes in it's all over."

"I know, everybody has to retire someday. And one day, Joe will, too. But, by the time he does, he'll have given us some great years and he will have helped train theses young guys we've acquired - Chris Perez from St. Louis, free agent John Bannister, Steve Marek in AAA - and they'll be ready to step in that role. It's a winning deal for us to get the premier closer in all baseball."

"Well," added Nathan, "let's go get it started now. I'm pumped up."

Braves deal again and again, Get Nathan

February 1, 2010

According to unofficial word from sources in Atlanta, the Braves have made two more trades and in the process obtained the premier closer in GABA for the 2009 season.

The Minnesota Twins have dealt their ace closer, 35 year old Joe Nathan to Atlanta in exchange for the Braves' closer for '09, 30 year old Rafael Soriano.

Agreed to, almost simultaneously, was yet another deal with the White Sox, in which the Braves send starting first baseman Casey Kotchman and fifth starter in the rotation Kenshin Kawakami to Chicago for 20 year old, class A prospect, outfielder Jose Martinez and 33 year old, right handed middle reliever Scott Linebrink.

Our sources say that this Chicago deal was done, not only to make financial room to pick up Nathan, but also to acquire highly regarded Martinez, that some scouts are touting as another superstar type player.

More is to come on this story as our information is confirmed.

Atlanta brings back DeRosa to play second

January 30, 2010

Mark DeRosa was wearing a big smile when he met with reporters this morning. Who wouldn't be smiling if they had just signed a contract for $19,190,000?

"Even above that," said DeRosa, "it's good to be back in Atlanta."

DeRosa, 34, who started his GABA days in Atlanta in 1998, agreed to a three year contract with the Braves and all sides seem to be delighted.

"It's so great to get Mark back with us," commented Braves' skipper Bobby Cox. "Not only does he bring a really fine bat with him, he brings a fine mind. He's knows how the game is played. We expect that he, along with our other veterans like Chipper, McDonald, Lowe, will help our younger guys with their knowledge of the game. And he'll fit in very well at second base for us."

The Braves, who traded away 2B Kelly Johnson, have wanted DeRosa from the get-go to fill the lineup spot at second. Even though he is about seven years older than Johnson, DeRosa is a better fit for Atlanta at this time, according to Braves GM Jobo Foster.

"We knew we had to make some financial changes in our organization to be able to bolster our bullpen," said Foster. "Moving Johnson was the first of our moves in order to accomplish that. We didn't want to lose Kelly, but in DeRosa we have a comparable performer at bat and in the field for a considerable savings that we could invest elsewhere in our roster."

"And on top of all that," Foster continued, "Mark is so versatile, playing first, second, third, left, right...almost anywhere in the lineup...that he gives many extra options to deal with injuries or any other changes that come up."

DeRosa kept on grinning. "I wish we were starting tomorrow."

Hang on, Mark. Spring training is only a couple of weeks away.

http://www.anpabaseball.com/gaba/news/html/players/player_5970.html

Braves, White Sox submit deal to GABA

January 22, 2010

Sources close to the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox say that they have agreed to a deal that would send Jo-Jo Reyes and Kris Medlen to Chicago in exchange for Aaron Poreda and Kyle Shelton.

Reyes, 25 (top right), was 13-6 with a 4.17 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 149 innings last season. The left-hander, whose change-up is his strikeout pitch, is expected to contend for a spot in the White Sox rotation in the spring.

Medlen, 24 (bottom right), struggled as a starter in 2009 at the Braves AAA affiliate Gwinnett (2-10, 6.17) and was demoted to Mississippi (AA), where he performed very well out of the pen (15 games, 2-0 record, 4 saves, 1.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP).

In Poreda, 23 (top left), who was a first round draft pick by the Sox in 2007, the Braves get a hard throwing southpaw who can bring at 98 mph. Last year, he was an all-star selection in the Southern League (AA) with a 6-7 record, a 3.80 ERA, but in a brief appearance in AAA, Poreda was 2-4, 9.00 ERA in 10 starts. Some see him with an outside shot to crack the Braves right handed dominated rotation in spring training.

Shelton, also 23 (bottom left), bats right, throws right and is a fine fielding first baseman who possesses above average power and a patient eye at the plate. In A ball last year, Shelton hit .294 with 14 homers, driving in 39 runs in only 109 at bats.

Other rumors are surfacing that Atlanta, who is heavily involved in the free agent market, is working on other trades with Minnesota, Texas, and yet another deal with the White Sox. There may yet be more changes in store for the Braves active roster before spring training.

McDonald inks contract with Braves

January 16, 2010

The Atlanta Braves, in a defensive minded move, signed free agent shortstop John McDonald to a one year $660,000 contract for 2010.

McDonald, 35, hit .250 with one home run, 18 RBI and 10 stolen bases for Toronto in 2009. But it's his glove that Braves GM Jobo Foster was most interested in.

"Bobby Cox and I view this as another move to bolster our bullpen. McDonald's role with us will be as a late inning defensive replacement," said Foster. "He strengthens our club according to the old adage to be strong up the middle. His range will cut down on the number of 'seeing-eye' base hits that haunted us so much last year."

McDonald told reporters he will glad to come to Atlanta for Cox's last season as Braves manager. "He's already a legend. I hope we'll be able to add to his legacy with a playoff season and one more title for him."