Today at Georgia Tech, Braves GM Frank Wren and Scouting Director John Coppolella were giving a guest lecture in a sports analytics class. The lecture gave an inside look into the Braves operations, and some of their analytical tools. Nothing too note-worthy came out of it, aside from the fact that the Braves use a stat called DOM to evaluate pitchers. DOM is thought of by the organization...

I have not written much about Tim Hudson this offseason, primarily because of the lack of information available. After the regular season ended last October, Hudson underwent surgery on his back in November. The surgery was to fix a herniated disk in his back. The surgery was successful and everything seems to point to him being able to return to form in 2012. The question is...

The Atlanta Braves were a playoff team in 2011 until the final day of the season when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies then were eliminated by the St Louis Cardinals in a one game playoff. After having a 9 1/2 game lead for the Wild Card on August 25th, the Braves blew their lead. There was good news for Atlanta though. Craig Kimbrel emerged as a closer and won the Rookie of...

By Kent Covington For a second consecutive season, the Braves head into spring training uncertain of who their fifth starter will be.  For some teams, this could be a problem. It could be an indication that a team possesses no more than 3 or 4 quality starters and must head to camp hoping some AAA journeyman or mid-level prospect will pleasantly surprise and lay claim to the job...

The days are ticking away until pitchers and catchers report for spring training followed by the rest of the team. Let’s take a look at some of the notable dates to circle on your calendar in anticipation of the 2012 Mets season. April 5- Mets Opening Day The team will begin the season at home against the Atlanta Braves. Most likely, Johan Santana will not be pitching this game...

Yesterday began a new series on the National League East, a division that has dramatically evolved during the off season. The series began, of course, with the Phillies. The Phillies are still the top dog until some team rises and knocks them off their perch. Could that team be the Atlanta Braves? Not if it is last year's Braves who never looked as good as the Phillies. And certainly...

What else can baseball fans do in January but dream of October? In You May Say I'm a Dreamer, the Outside Corner staff will imagine the route to a World Series in 2012 title for all 30 teams. After falling criminally short of making the playoffs last season, the Atlanta Braves made up for it in a big way in 2012 by winning the whole damn thing, knocking off the three-time...

Over at Metsblog.com there have been a couple of discussions about what is expected of the New York Mets this season.  On the pessimistic side, a scout explained why he doesn’t see the New York Mets cracking 70 wins this season.  On the optimistic side, a fan asks if the same squad can manage 85 wins if a few things break right.  I am definitely closer to the pessimistic projection...

Atlanta Braves Tim Hudson Jair Jurrjens Tommy Hanson Brandon Beachy Mike Minor/Julio Teheran Miami Marlins Josh Johnson Mark Buehrle Ricky Nolasco Carlos Zambrano Anibal Sanchez New York Mets Johan Santana R.A. Dickey Jon Niese Mike Pelfrey Dillon Gee Philadelphia Phillies Roy Halladay Cliff Lee Cole Hamels Vance Worley Joe Blanton Washington Nationals Stephen Strasburg...

Or so the rumor has it.I'd support this. Heartily. 181-97 over 13 seasons, 3.40 ERA.

Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell is confident that both Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson will be at full strength when Spring Training begins. But he is also approaching this year's camp with the understanding that Tim Hudson might be a little behind schedule.

Brandon Beachy was an absolutely critical part of the 2011 Braves rotation. He was third on staff in fWAR at 2.8, despite only throwing 141 2/3 innings. The two players better were Craig Kimbrel, the best reliever in baseball, and Tim Hudson, who threw nearly 75 more innings than Beachy. So that 2.8 fWAR is a pretty solid number considering Beachy's body of work. He missed about...

Is this Tim Hudson 2.0? Well, Johnny Cueto needs the years of success on his resume, but 2011 was a nice start. We saw a different pitcher on the mound as he threw his two-seamer more often (40.3% up from 30.8 percent), which helped bring his ground ball rate up from 41.7 percent to a very nice 53.7 percent. You will hear a lot of analysis on how Cueto out-pitched his FIP (3.45)...

I’ll be the first to admit this this ranking of Tim Hudson is probably a little low and perfectly illustrates how colossally underrated he is in fantasy leagues. I didn’t really jump back on the Hudson bandwagon until the end of 2010. I think lingering injury concerns from his 2008 and 2009 seasons still suppress his value in the minds of most (that’s what happened to me) and...

When I wrote about the Braves’ pitching depth last year, I mentioned that the best thing about the Braves’ pitching depth was that it was coming in waves. Almost a year later, it’s time to re-examine the starting rotation and ask whether or not the depth is still there. We’ve already seen some turnover this off-season, and we even expect a little more. Derek Lowe was...

Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren said the team hopes righthander Tim Hudson will be ready for opening day following surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back in late November.The news comes just one day after the Braves re-signed left-handed pitcher Eric O'Flaherty and righty Jair Jurrjens. Hudson had a strong 2011 season, posting a record of 16-10 with an earned...

Braves GM Frank Wren said on MLB Network Radio on Tuesday that the team hopes right-hander Tim Hudson will be ready for opening day following surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back in late November.The Sports Xchange recently reported Hudson's back feels good and he expects to be ready for spring training. The news comes just one day after the Braves re-signed left-handed...

The NL East in 2012 is as stacked in starting pitching as it ever has been. Across the board there are household names, Cy Young winners, Cy Young finalists, perennial All-Stars, No-Hitter throwers, Perfect Games, and the like. Just in the division alone there are names from top to bottom of rotations that could start anywhere. Names like Miami Marlins P’s Josh Johnson, Anibal...

Hudson has been the most consistent pitcher that the Atlanta Braves have had over the past 2 seasons. He has led the team in wins, ERA and innings pitched the past two seasons. When the Braves traded Derek Lowe early in the offseason, Hudson became the old man of the Braves' rotation (even the old men considering the bullpen). The Braves' projected rotation will have an...

It seems like the NL East is in a state of constant churn these days: Prince Fielder is reportedly leaning toward the Nationals, where he'd join newcomer Gio Gonzalez. Carlos Zambrano is headed to the Marlins, where he'll team up with fellow transplants Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle. And the Phillies gave Jonathan Papelbon the richest contract for a reliever in history...

Yesterday we had our look at the American League so that leaves, yes, yes, I see it, the National League!!!To reiterate I feel there are three categories for players;- Yes – Players who are in- No – Players who are not in and are either not likely to get in or still need to do some significant work- Not Yet – Players who are not in but are likely to get inI am giving players...

Pioneer sabermetrician, Bill James, has come out with his 2012 projection for the Major League season, and some interesting conclusions can be drawn from them. Based on the FIP pitching metric, a defense independent measure of pitcher’s effectiveness, 2011 NL Cy Young award winner, Clayton Kershaw (2.72 projected FIP) projects as the number one pitcher in baseball in 2012...

Key Stats: Over the last two seasons Tim Hudson has averaged 17 wins, 148 strikeouts, a 3.02 ERA, and a 1.15 WHIP. Quite impressive given that he's putting these years together at age 34 and 35 while being out after Tommy John surgery for most of his age 33 season. Even more impressive when you consider that he's been pitching with a herniated disk in his back for most of...

By Kent Covington Braves remain confident in their current roster, but are hoping for an upgrade. As us Braves fans, bloggers and commentators wait patiently impatiently for General Manager, Frank Wren, to upgrade the roster, let’s take a moment to reflect on what’s already here.  What if the Braves reported to camp right now?  What if spring training started tomorrow? Here’s...

There wasn't a day during the 2011 season when Tim Hudson didn't have ice on his back. He attributed the constant stiffness to "getting old" -- he's 36. The problem, in fact, was a herniated disk, something he's been dealing with for the last two seasons. It's a measure of how tough he is that the information comes out only now -- and only because Hudson was having too much pain...