March is here and the opener against the Nats is 30 days away. In that time we have to decide who makes the club and who doesn’t. We’ve seen a couple of early flashes from players eager to replace Conrad and Diory Hernandez but before that happens, Hick, Lucas, and Young will have to show they are not only hungry early but have the stamina and talent to continue to impress throughout the spring. Of that group Matt Young has an edge because he can ply infield and outfield. Conrad hits better however and as Frank Wren has let us know errors aren’t important, his bat will most likely win out. Next week will start to separate the pretenders from the contenders.
Pitching has as expected been the strongest positive sign from camp. Every starter so far has gone their 2 innings largely without a hiccup. Yesterday Lowe picked up where he left off last season settling in after a couple of early hits to shutdown the next five and leave without allowing a run. The Braves ran through 8 pitchers yesterday against the an Astros team that will struggle to reach 500 this year. Wandy Rodriguez is notoriously bad in the spring and this game was no exception. The Astros pitching in general was. . .well the Astros have 31 pitchers in camp and trying to fill out their staff behind Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Meyers, that should tell you something. I missed most of the game because of training but managed to catch the bottom of the 8th and the top of the ninth. The usually upbeat and effusive Milo Hamilton seemed resigned to reliving final four years with the Braves when they perennially failed to break 500.
Braves bats were noisy as Hinske and BMac continued to swing it well and there were signs of life from Nate. I received several tweets joyful that Nate had a couple of hits and the always rose colored glasses of Mark Bowman proclaimed him off to a good start. Brandon Hicks hit equally well so while I am happy that McLouth isn’t striking out. I’ll reserve joy for later in the spring against pitchers of a higher caliber.
It’s Tommy Hanson’s turn today as he makes his spring debut against those same Astros supported by the following dynamic nine. Chipper is DH again today but will take tomorrow off; the veterans hate to travel.
Schafer LF
McLouth CF
C Jones DH
Uggla 2nd
Heyward RF
Mather 3rd
Freeman 1st
Boscan C
Hernandez SS
In other news I’m sure we’ve all been waiting for Kenshin Kawakami’s visa is finally fixed and he is scheduled to arrive today. I ‘m eagerly awaiting the sound of other clubs banging on our door to trade for him. I fear it will be the sound of one hand clapping however. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had some good outings this spring. He’s a better pitcher than his record shows but not good enough to actually make the rotation ahead of Minor. Just a thought Mr. Wren but perhaps the Astros would take him in some kind of minor league player swap. He’s a lot better than many they have in camp.
I’ll have a peek at other divisional challengers over the next couple of weeks and give my perspective on the race in and out of the NL East. If there’s a particular player or subject you’d like more information on, drop me a note and I’ll try provide an answer.
Original Story:
http://tomahawktake.com/2011/03/01/30...
