One of the great things about my birthday (which is today) is that the baseball season is usually just a few days away. Every so many years, my birthday signals the beginning of the baseball season. Such is the case this year.
While I’m not so excited about turning 30, I am really looking forward to this baseball season. I’ve been a huge Atlanta Braves fan since I was… 4 or so. I remember watching the baby blue Braves on TBS when remote controls used to be hard-wired to the TV and worked by sliding a knob horizontally (click, click, click). I lived in Jacksonville at the time, and I moved to Orlando before I started elementary school. So 26 years or so I’ve been watching Braves baseball.
Last year was a particularly rough season for Braves fans. Our streak of 14 straight division titles came to a screeching halt. We finished under .500. We pulled our hair out as the bullpen surrendered game after game.
I think that’s why I’m looking forward to this season. The Braves are now underdogs, not defending division champs. Schuerholz has made some good moves to beef up the bullpen, though I think some may be unhappy with the departure of Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche, just as he was beginning to show potential. I think Schuerholz will still draw some criticism as he didn’t go out and get that First Baseman all of us have been missing since Fred McGriff (or maybe Andres Galaragga). Scott Thurman, while promising with his power, is still a bench player on most other teams.
Anyway, here’s what I’m looking at for the Braves to regain their division title.
- Chipper Jones needs to stay healthy and play in 135-145 games. I’m not so sure we’ll see 30 homers from Chipper again, but he’s still a solid hitter for average and his presence in the lineup changes the game.
- Andruw Jones needs another 40 homers. It’s clear Andruw is the player he is. We shouldn’t expect him to hit .300. It’s not going to happen. He’s a defensive superstar and consistent 30-40 HR hitter. That’s what he is and that’s what he will be this year too.
- John Smoltz needs a hot start. The past couple of years, Smoltzy has struggled to start the season. We need him to lead this team out of the gate and set the tone for the rest of the staff.
- Tim Hudson needs to get back to A’s form and the 4 and 5 starters (Redman and Cormier) need 10 wins and 6 innings a game.
- We need solid performance from the platooning First Base and Left Field positions—defensive and offensive. I’m looking for 20-25 HRs, 80 RBIs and at least a .275 average from each position.
There we go. Those are my keys to a successful Braves season. I’m going to get my MLB.TV subscription ready and I’m thinking about doing a Braves blog following the season. It’s a challenge, but I’ll see if I can do it.
