Braves have big ideas for 2007

[DravenX]

AtlantaBraves.com

ATLANTA -- Over the past decade, a number of preseason prognosticators had said the streak would have to end before they ever found reason to pick somebody other than the Braves to win the National League East.
Well, now that the streak of 14 consecutive division titles has come to a close for the Braves, these same prognosticators will have to use a little more than history when evaluating what the Braves will do.

When one looks at the team the Braves will take into the 2007 season, they'll see a capable offense and a starting rotation that has potential to be one of the NL's finest. But most importantly, they'll see that the bullpen, which proved so destructive in 2006, has assumed a seemingly improved look.

Unlike last year, when they hoped a number of unproven arms would provide late-inning reliability, the Braves enter 2007 feeling confident about their bullpen. Bob Wickman, who brought some sanity for the final two months of the 2006 season, returns to serve as the closer and the recently acquired Rafael Soriano comes to Atlanta with some believing that he could be one of the game's top right-handed middle men.

Take into account that Tyler Yates and Macay McBride have matured through last year's struggles and it's quite obvious that this bullpen is much different than the one that blew 29 of 67 save opportunities last year.

"We scored plenty of runs to win the division," said manager Bobby Cox, thinking back to the 2006 season in which his team scored the second-most runs in the NL. "We just didn't hold people late in the game."

Last year's bullpen struggles may have prevented John Smoltz from capturing his second NL Cy Young Award. His 16-win season came despite the fact that the relief corps blew six of the leads that he handed them.

With Smoltz back and Mike Hampton returning from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, the Braves starting rotation consists of three former 20-game winners. Rounding out that trio is Tim Hudson, who coming off two mediocre seasons, has committed himself to proving he can return to his successful ways of the past.

Adding to the rotation's strength will be the return of Chuck James, who proved to be one of the game's top rookie pitchers for the final three months of the 2006 season. He'll likely team with Kyle Davies to provide the rotation with what the Braves hope will prove to be solid depth.

It appears the Braves will once again enter this season without a legitimate leadoff hitter. But because of the success they enjoyed last year, they don't believe this will prove to be a detriment to their offense, which will once again be powered by the presence of Andruw Jones.

With this quite possibly being Jones' final year with the Braves, he'll be looking to compile the big numbers necessary to assure the big payday he'll receive via free agency. His production will improve if Chipper Jones is finally able to avoid the health problems that have sidelined him for a majority of the previous two seasons.

This lineup will also be strengthened by the returns of Edgar Renteria, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur. Entering what will be their second full big-league seasons, Francoeur and McCann should continue to show the maturity that could enable them to be considered among the game's elite players.

"I really like our team," Cox said. "If we can stay healthy, we've got a chance to win a lot of games."

Offseason report card: While he hasn't made a lot of noise on the transaction front, it's been obvious that Braves general manager John Schuerholz has been working hard to finalize a number of trades. By acquiring Soriano from the Mariners for Horacio Ramirez, he was able to make an economically wise and significant improvement to his bullpen. Schuerholz's task of building a championship-caliber roster within the constraints of an $80 million payroll has been rather daunting. With the high prices on this year's free agent market, he's been forced to solely focus on the trade market. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to find much interest for Marcus Giles and subsequently had to release the former All-Star without the benefit of compensation. But for the most part, he's been able to improve his team without having to lose any of this top assets.

Arrivals: RHP Rafael Soriano, RHP Tanyon Sturtze

Departures: 2B Marcus Giles, RHP John Thomson, LHP Horacio Ramirez, C Todd Pratt, 1B/OF Brian Jordan, RHP Chris Reitsma, 1B Daryle Ward, RHP Danys Baez

The road ahead: If the three veteran starters stay healthy and at least come close to expectations, there's no reason the Braves can't once again win the division. Chipper Jones' ability to stay healthy will once again be a major factor to the success the Braves find as they attempt to prove capable of rebounding from their first losing season since 1990.

Here are the players projected to take the field with the Atlanta in '07.
2B Martin Prado
SS Edgar Renteria
3B Chipper Jones
CF Andruw Jones
C Brian McCann
RF Jeff Francoeur
1B Adam LaRoche
LF Ryan Langerhans/Matt Diaz
SP John Smoltz
SP Tim Hudson
SP Mike Hampton
SP Chuck James
SP Kyle Davies
CL Bob Wickman

At least we have a closer going into Spring Training this year. I am hoping Kelly Johnson will be healthy and strong enough to get a roster spot. He looked pretty good when he was called up. Same goes with Mike Hampton, he hasn't pitched in a long time so I don't know what to expect from him.

[love_that_reefer]

Apparently the Braves are still open to talks about LaRoche which kills the offense. As of right now I can't see the Braves winning this division and that's with the Mets having weak rotation.

[DravenX]

I can see 'em winning the division that is if they can keep healthy pitchers this time around.

[brewersfan19]

One other thing to consider about the Braves, IMO, the intangible or coaching factor. Your manager is a good one. Never count out Bobby Cox. I have always respected him and like his style and tatics. I think that is a plus too. That is another reason why I hope Yost continues to improve and I hope he learned lots of valuable information and remembered it all form Bobby!!! He is one of those managers, like Torre, LaRussa, and Leyland, never count them out in any circumstance!!!!!!!

[ATLien]

The team still sucks. I don't see any reason why that will change.

[brewersfan19]

If you the Braves get some help from the bullpen you will end up with more W's!!! The bullpen was the biggest downfall for the Braves last year! At least Wickman has experience of being a big league closer. He may be shaky, but at least he is a closer.

[Braves_Fan]

Hopefully this year will be a much better year. Here is hopeing.

[RZ]

It all comes down to pitching. If Hampton can make a comeback and Hudson returns to form, the starting pitching looks pretty solid. The relief pitching still scares me and like we all know, he lost A LOT of games because we could not close them.

Im not too worried about the offense.. they have some good bats and are more than capable of scoring enough runs to win a lot of games... again, it comes down to pitching.

[brewersfan19]

It always comes down to pitching. With wickman closing, just have a punching bag or something handy!

[General]

Some of you might be wondering why I didn't comment on this article...that's because I find anything posted on MLB.com or ESPN.com to not be noteworthy.