2018 Atlanta Braves thread
- Thread starter TarHeelNation11
- Start date
You realize the NL East has 5 teams, yes? And fine, I bet you $100 Atlanta doesn't win it.
Yes. 3 teams (Philly Mets Nats) against 1 (Atlanta) Lulz Miami. What don’t you understand?
It's not a mindset; it's just me evaluating reality. Everything about this season so far screams "regression." The Nats will run away and hide with this division, by 6+ games.
If my team had the lineup yours had, I'd definitely be down to bet we'd win the division.
Tied for first after 62 games will do that to a fella.
Folty, Newcomb, Markakis in particular all scream regression back toward the mean.
This is a young team that got off to a crazy hot start that has slowed down a bit, but who didn't see that coming? Even so, it's still a very solid team. I think the Nationals will take the division, but it won't be as easy.
Sean Newcomb has established himself has a possible front line starter and Folty has shown he has the capability of being up there as well. Ozzie Albies is a superstar in the making (he's on a little skid but he'll be fine) Acuña is on the major league roster, Freddie is Freddie and we got more young players on the horizon and doing stuff on the major league level.
With all of this going on, we find ourselves on top of the division at the beginning of June. I just don't see how "regression" fits anywhere in this season.
Sean Newcomb has established himself has a possible front line starter and Folty has shown he has the capability of being up there as well. Ozzie Albies is a superstar in the making (he's on a little skid but he'll be fine) Acuña is on the major league roster, Freddie is Freddie and we got more young players on the horizon and doing stuff on the major league level.
With all of this going on, we find ourselves on top of the division at the beginning of June. I just don't see how "regression" fits anywhere in this season.
If you mean undefeated streaks with ERAs approaching 2.00, then well yeah. Lol
Please don't think I'm saying Atlanta is bad. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying they aren't going to finish in 1st place in the NL East, one of probably the top 4 divisions in baseball.
I agree with that, but honestly, I have no idea what your thoughts are on this team lol
I'm guessing I'm too late to the party to get in on this, but if you want more action on the Braves winning their division, I'll take it.
On a macro level, my thoughts are the Braves have positioned themselves for a potentially long run of success (albeit in a difficult division... pending what the Nats do). I love the minor league talent we have, but right now it's just that, minor league talent. Will guys like Allard, Soroka, Riley, Anderson, Wright, Pache, Contreras (catcher), Waters turn into MLB studs? Who can know for sure.
At the major league level, ignoring any current minor leaguers, it seems like for the next ~4 seasons, we have our answer at 1B, 2B, LF (or maybe RAJ moves to CF), and hopefully 2 of our 5 starting rotation. SS is a giant question mark (with no real help in the minors to replace it), 3B is a question mark but obviously we hope Riley is the answer, CF and RF are question marks, but you would assume we will fill one of those with a free agent signing. Ender will eventually become a bench player and late inning defensive replacement, IMHO. He cannot hit enough to justify an every day lineup spot if we get to where we want to be. Catcher is also a giant question mark and one that I hope we solve in free agency (Grandal or someone like that).
So, I'm loving our hot start to the season, I'm just concerned that it's papered over the many cracks we do have. With Julio proving he's not part of the long-term plans, our starting rotation is still full of question marks and will depend on our stable of minor league arms hopefully panning out.
One guy I think the Braves should 100% go after is Reds 3B Eugenio Suarez. He can hit for a decent bit of pop as well as for average, he's a great defender, he's a great clubhouse guy (supposedly he is the self-appointed leader of the Latin players in the Reds locker room and keeps anyone in check who acts up), and he's still young and controllable (26, through 2024). He can also play SS, his natural position, making him a perfect replacement for Ansby-Day Anson-Sway. If we slid him to SS, that would be a huge upgrade over Dansby in the hitting department and zero dropoff in defensive play.
He did just sign a contract with the Reds, but they are horrible and I'm sure they would move him. They have a hot prospect in AAA Louisville named Nick Senzel who is basically blocked by Suarez and Gennett.
So basically @coolwaterunc the tl;dr version is I'm cautiously optimistic for the future, pending how certain guys pan out, but I do not think we have enough pieces this year to challenge for the NL East crown all the way into September. We'd need a lot of good fortune and an off year from the Nats (which, to be honest, they're having so far due to injuries) for us to win the East.
I agree with just about everything you said but this:
STRONGLY disagree with that. He's done nothing but hit since he got here. He's struggling so far this year, but you don't have a 200 hit season and just disappear to the bench. He's not a .245 hitter. No way in hell. Even Chipper had a season where he hit .248. Ender will be just fine. Whether he's our CF of the future remains to be seen, but if he isn't, it's not because performance led him to the bench.
STRONGLY disagree with that. He's done nothing but hit since he got here. He's struggling so far this year, but you don't have a 200 hit season and just disappear to the bench. He's not a .245 hitter. No way in hell. Even Chipper had a season where he hit .248. Ender will be just fine. Whether he's our CF of the future remains to be seen, but if he isn't, it's not because performance led him to the bench.
Fair enough. I want Ender to succeed because I like how he plays the game. He's been pressing a lot this year at the plate, though. I'm just not sure where he should hit. Leadoff definitely isn't it, and that may have been how he achieved 200 hits. If memory serves, he was near the top of the league in plate appearances last season.
But I'm definitely not writing Ender off. He does need to hit better though. He's GOT to take some pitches early in the count. I know that's not our style this year, but guys like Freddie and Markakis and Albies can succeed when jumping on the first pitch. It doesn't seem to suit Ender. I do like that he's stealing more bases (but he hasn't since mid May cuz he can't get on base). His contract is so favorable that we should give him every chance to succeed, though. I'm an Ender fan for sure. Hopefully he can mentor Acuña about defensive play.
But seriously, do a bit of research on Eugenio Suarez since you said you don't really know anything about him. He's already been an All Star and I think he would be a beast for us. If we could somehow acquire him without giving up Dansby, you slot ES in at 3rd and play him directly next to Swanson as a not-so-subtle way of saying "Dansby, it's do or die time." It would allow us to keep Riley in AAA all season, and then if Dansby does start to hit consistently, then you've got a good problem to have and you can either try to turn Riley into a LFer or you can trade Riley as part of a way to acquire a dominant arm, or you can flip Dansby for something or Suarez for something, etc. etc.
The technically correct Spanish pronunciation is "aye-yew-HEN-ee-oh" but bump that lol. It's Eugene-ee-oh.
Sure. I already have a pretty penny on the Yankees to win the AL East that I got at +120 before the season started, but I'd love to increase my stake on them. I'd take NYY at even money at this point.
Wait what just happened. I was assuming I’d take the Yanks and you’d take Bahston. Not happening?
You don't read many of @Hark_The_Sound_2010 baseball poasts about the Red Sox, do you? Lol.
Nah. It'd be more fun to just light a $100 bill on fire than to bet it on a guaranteed loss.
I can't blame him. I'd probably just scroll past them if I were you guys too. But it helps me vent my frustrations. Good for the blood pressure and all that...
Sorry I haven’t. @Hark_The_Sound_2010 do you really have a problem with your best record in baseball Sox?
@Hark_The_Sound_2010 just assumes the Sox are going to suck it up in the playoffs, so he doesn't care about the regular season.
I don’t have much of a problem with what they’ve done this year so far. My problem is how they’ve ended the last few years, and that I don’t think that’s going to change this year.
They’ll probably put up a historic win total this year, but that’s more a function of how terrible the rest of the league is than anything else. The Astros and Yankees are elite. The Indians and (I guess) the Mariners are ok. Everyone else in the league blows.
Knowing the Sox, they’ll probably win the AL East since I have a bet on the Yanks, just to give me a swift kick in the nuts on their way to getting swept out by the Astros in the ALDS.
Fair enough. I think they’re the most intriguing team out side of New York. October baseball is gonna be fun.
You know what? F**k one of our best pitchers landing on the DL because of an outdated rule.
It's called baseball. Don't get mad because the AL decided to put a shit stain on the game by having the DH.
Pitchers play the game by...wait for it...pitching the damn game. That’s more than enough.
Don’t get all “purist” on me because I don’t want my already thin pitching staff to get hurt due to some dumbass, antiquated bullshit about pitchers hitting.
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