Is this the year the Atlanta Braves begin to recapture their mid-nineties predominance with a return to the postseason? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. The Braves have made appearances in every postseason from 1991 to 2005 (not counting the strike year in '94, of course), but have been missing in action ever since, leaving TBS's national viewers to spend their autumnal discontent watching wholly wholesome and frothy cable programming. The familiar elements of yore are no arcana: The tomahawk chop; the tantalizing triumvirate of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz; Dave Justice and Halle Berry; the Crime Dog, Fred McGriff; and, of course, the amicable John Rocker, to name just a few.
Yes, nostalgia is fun; marginalia, however, is not. The 2009 Braves find themselves in a National League East division replete with talent and imbalance; they are no exception. The team is composed of a curious mélange of the salty and the seasoned. Parting ways last season with their slugger, Mark Teixeira, the Braves added a non-spectacular Angel to their outfield in Garret Anderson, as well as another unheralded former Angel, Casey Kotchman, to replace (that's being diplomatic) Teixeira at first base. Atlanta also picked up two dependable vets for their starting rotation, signing Derek Lowe to a four-year deal and acquiring Javier Vasquez in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Complementing (and/or perhaps just complimenting) the veterans on the roster are a group of hit-and-miss youths: Catcher Brian McCann; short stop, Yunel Escobar; second baseman, Kelly Johnson; right fielder, Jeff Francoeur; and spring chicken hurler, Jair Jurrjens. Oh yeah, did I mention they still have first ballot hall-of-famer, Chipper Jones?
The Wheat: The Braves, who, at the time of writing, find themselves just two games behind the first place, defending champion Philadelphia Phillies, have the best rotation in the NL East. In fact, they have the only thing approaching a playoff rotation. Acquiring Javier Vazquez from the beleaguered White Sox may quietly be the best pitching acquisition in the NL this past offseason. Vazquez clearly loves being back on NL turf, with an FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) of 2.74 and phenomenal k/9 of 11.26, placing him behind only the Giants Tim Lincecum and NL East rival ace, Johan Santana. His strikeout-to-walk ratio, which has always been solid (a career k/bb of 3.38) is second only to Dan Haren in the NL this year, with a ratio of 5.21 strikeouts to walks. Combined with the pitching performances of Lowe and Jurrjens, as well as a pen consisting of Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, the Braves have a 3.75 FIP and a HR/9 of 0.67, which is good for first and second in the NL respectively. That's some serious grist for the hill.
The Chaff: Fielding and hitting. Two Angels do not a Teixeira make. Kotchman is an immense downgrade from Teixeira at first, and Garret Anderson should be out of baseball at this point, with all discerning indications pointing to career lows in defensive play and offensive production. The Braves are a bottom-five team in isolated slugging, runs, and baserunning. Outside of the aging and injury-prone Chipper Jones, and the services of catcher Brian McCann, there isn't a soul on the team who has a shot at 25 homeruns. While the Braves have high hopes for second baseman Kelly Johnson, he finds himself occasionally platooning with the recently injured Omar Infante, as he posts an ice cold line of .239/.315/.376. Look for him and his defense to improve as the season progresses. It's worth noting that only the Mets and Dodgers have grounded into more double plays this year, coupled with the fact that the Braves have a league-low 8 stolen bases (having been caught 7 times); needless to say, this is not a fleet-footed ball club. The Braves also find themselves a bottom-five team defensively, according to the excellent baseball analysis site, FanGraphs dot com.
The Payoff Pitch: The Braves' additions of Vazquez and Lowe combined with the play of Jair Jurrjens, give them a cavalcade of solid starters no other NL East team can boast. I mean, outside of Johan Santana and a star-crossed Cole Hamels, who else can strike fear into the hearts of men in that division? (Certainly not a parade of No. 3 pitchers in Miami Gardens) However, Atlanta's lineup is a coterie of decaying, declining, glad-I'm-not-defraying veterans who cannot compete with the potent mashers of the Mets and Phils. In addition to some health, some luck, and a defense that should improve ever-so-slightly, the Braves have an exigent need for a corner infield/outfield slugger to replace the mordant milieu of metastasizing mediocrity . Matt Holliday, much? Tomahawk chop! Fin.
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