USA USA USA!

Was tonight merely a repeat of the 1980 Olympics when Team USA made a miraculous comeback to beat the Russians? Well maybe not exactly...but in some sense, indeed it was! Team USA had some help from across the 50 states to make a ninth inning comeback versus Puerto Rico. 

USA trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 9th facing elimination for the second straight game. Shane "The Flyin' Hawaiian" Victorino started things off in the 9th inning with a single. The boy from Down South, Brian Roberts followed up with a single of his own. Mr. Yankee, Derek Jeter had a sac-fly which allowed Victorino to move over to third base. Brian Roberts eventually stole second base and the kid from California, named Jimmy drew a walk which loaded the bases. With ducks on the pond the kid nicknamed Youk from Bean-Town drew a walk making it a one run ball game. 

Mr. Met (sigh...), hit a 2 run-blooper into right field to win the game! Team USA jolted out of the dugout onto the field as if a Starbucks had just opened up in the middle of nowhere...This was the first time I had seen the team get excited about anything since Game 1 of the tourny.

I was questioning manager Davey Johnson's gameplan all game for possibly not inspiring and motivating players enough. Maybe I was wrong...

This is an American sport, heck' it's America's Pastime! Let keep it that way!

Stockman Cut; WBC Update

The Braves cut injury prone RP Phil Stockman on Sunday. The English RP only appeared in six games last year for the Braves at the Major league level. Stockman had a 2.10 ERA in 19 appearances in AAA-ball for the Richmond Braves. 

As for the World Baseball Classic, USA lost their first game to Puerto Rico in a stunning fashion going down 11-1. The Puerto Rican's were anchored by a great pitching performance from Bravos SP Javier Vazquez. Vazquez tossed four strong innings of ball, striking out two batters while only sacrificing four hits and one run. The PR batting lineup filled with New York Mets players went on a tear against Jake Peavy. Peavy now has a 14.40 ERA in the Classic, and appears to have some control issues. 

Chipper Jones sat out tonight's game versus the Netherlands with an oblique injury. His return will be evaluated by team doctors. As for Garret Anderson, he will be sidelined for at least two-three weeks with a right calf injury. The AJC reports that the Braves are hopeful that Anderson will be starting in LF for Opening Day versus the Phillies April 5th. 

Braves should deal PRADO!

GM Frank Wren should be looking to deal 2B Martin Prado. The Venezuelan infielder hit .320 in over 200 at-bats last year for the Braves. FanGraphs predicts that Prado will have rack up a .300 batting average in over 300 at-bats in 2009. But where are those figures coming from? Are they suggesting that the Braves will not feature Kelly Johnson in the lineup nearly as much as they have in the past? Do they anticipate him to earn some time at 3B and 1B? Too me its uncertain how he will get the extra AB's, unless an infielder gets injured along the way. 

So, why not make a push for a player like Adrain Gonzalez or Prince Fielder. Both of those respected teams could use an upgrade at 2B and were comfortable shopping their studly 1B's earlier this off-season. Before Fielder agreed to a two-year extension with the Brew-Crew, Milwaukee management was in serious discussions with Adam Dunn. This hindered the possibility of signing Dunn, moving him to 1B and dealing Fielder. As for Gonzalez, its been no secret that the Padres were shopping him around this off-season seeking young talent. The Braves could easily package Prado with one of the young OF's (not named Heyward or Schafer), and 1B Casey Kotchman into the equation; and you've got Howie Mandel screaming "Lets make a deal!"  

Again, this is just speculation. But like the old McWorld commercial for McDonals used to say "Hey! It could happen..." 

Player Preview: The Bullpen

In 2008 the Braves finished last in the league with 26 saves. The bullpen also had one of the highest ERA'S in the majors. I can't fail to mention that this only occurred after the Braves lost flamethrower Rafy Soriano and Aussie-Peter Moylan.

Closer, Mike Gonzalez pitched a dismal 36 games in 2008 returning from Tommy John Surgery.  For the most part Gonzo's stuff looked pretty solid. The Cobra posted a 3/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio but his control was a little wild. Gonzalez will serve as the Braves closer if he remains healthy and keeps his pitching under-control. When steady, Gonzo can be one of the better closers in the league utilizing a fastball that reaches the mid-90's and nasty slider. 

Peter Moylan is coming off Tommy John Surgery also. In 2006 the pitcher from "Down-Under" posted a wicked 1.80 ERA while tallying 63 K's in 90 innings of work. The sidearmers arsenal features a mid-90's fastball. If Peter is capable of fully recovering from Tommy John, he will serve as a vital Set-up man in the Braves bullpen. 

Rafael Soriano is another Braves relief pitcher attempting to make a comeback from surgery. Soriano is predicted to be a Set-up man out of the 'pen, but could battle for the closing spot with Gonzalez. Soriano, has some of the best stuff in the league when he is healthy. He has a career 0.87 ERA vs. righties and has posted 160 K's in 144.1 innings of work! Soriano's moving fastball clocks out in the upper-90's and he throws a wicked slider. 

Look for newly acquired lefty-Eric O'Flahetry and Boone Logan to make a contribution out of the 'pen. O'Flahtery, who is one of the few lefties in the Braves bullpen, will mostly be used during situations where his southpaw arm will confuse opposing batters. Don't count out Manny Acosta whom Bobby Cox frequently uses in ground-ball situations and Atlanta native Blaine Boyer who has closer material but has some control issues. Boyer, tallied a whopping 67 strikeouts in 72 innings of work, while only suffering 25 walks. 

Are there any other players that ya'll expect to contribute from the 'pen this year? Who do ya'll think will serve as the Braves closer this year? Will injuries lurk over the bullpen as they have the past few years? 

World Baseball Classic Update

Hey folks! Websites almost ready to go! 

Anyways, here a quick Bravos update. Garret Anderson hurt his calf while jogging before Friday's game and is unsure when he'll be back. Anderson has only been on the disabled-list two times prior to coming to Atlanta. 

The World Baseball Classic kicked off Thursday. U.S.A. won a nail-bitter versus Canada on Saturday. Brian McCann had a long ball and 3 RBI's while Chipper whiffed three times! Yikes... Jake Peavy, SP of the first game looked decent; kind of makes me wonder if he is going to be able to rebound after a rough 2008 season. Maybe, Wren saw something that made him hesitant to deal Yunel Escobar and other prospects. 

Sunday night, U.S.A pounced Venezuela for 15 runs. Former Bravo Mark DeRosa had 4 RBI's while Chipper struck out two times. Chipper, who is hitless thus far in the Classic has a mild strain on his right side but says he okay for the next round of the WBC. Chipper claims that it would be near impossible to try and keep him off the field, because his offense has not contributed to the team in any way. 

Things are looking a lot better for Team USA this year, but I am still shocked that players like Roy Halladay and Brandon Webb turned down offers to don the American flag on their jersey. 

What do ya'll think of Team USA's play so far? Do ya'll think they have a shot to go the distance?  

Player Preview: Brian McCann

Hey folks! It's was a pretty hectic weekend trying to update this website, hopefully we'll see a newly revamped aBn website shortly. 

Now for the blog de jour. For this edition of aBn player preview we will look at All-Star catcher Brian McCann. McCann ranked 12th in the N.L. last year in batting average, and 1st among catchers in the N.L.  Compared to other catchers around M.L.B., B-Mac tied for first with Cubbie Geovany Soto with 23 HR's, 2nd in RBI's behind Bengie Molina, and 1st in OPS and SLG %. WOW! these ecstatic numbers come in just McCann's third full year in the league. 

McCann is arguably the best offensive catcher in the league but his defense is worry-some. Last year McCann allowed 70 SB's while only throwing-out 21.3% of his runners. Defense is definitely an area that B-Mac could improve on and he has made a serious attempt to strengthen his defensive game this off-season. 

While B-Mac has tried to take his defensive game to the next flight, the Braves signed 7-year veteran David Ross. Ross will serve as a backup but he is regarded as one of the better defensive catchers in the game. Ross has thrown out 38.2% runners that have tried to steal on him during his career. McCann, who has never had a strong-defensive catching mentor backing him up will probably pick up a few pointers along the way from David Ross. Todd Pratt who served as the Braves backup catcher during the 2006 season was statistically a terrible catcher and was mainly signed to add a veteran presence to a young Braves team at the time. 

With that said, I expect McCann to post similar numbers to '08 if not better. With a healthy Chipper Jones and revamped Jeff Francoeur hitting in front of McCann, B-Mac has a shot to rack in 100 RBI's and 20 HR's while maintaining a .290-.300 BA. 

Anyways what type of numbers do ya'll expect from Brian McCann this season?