Pitchers and Catchers reporting for duty, sir!

Today is the start of a brand new season for the Atlanta Braves. They could look back on 2007 and wonder what might have been, given the fact that they were mathematically still in the playoff hunt until the final week of the season, but instead they look forward to a 2008 where a playoff spot will be even more difficult to find with the addition of Johan Santana to the Mets starting rotation and the gritty play the Phillies demonstrated in 2007.

The Braves are not far behind the Mets and Phils in NL East. They have a stronger starting rotation than they had last year thanks in part to the return of Tom Glavine which will improve last year’s number three spot that was held by Chuck James. The Braves are figuring Mike Hampton into the number four spot assuming that he is healthy, but remember what happens when you assume something; you end up with Mark Redman as your number five starter. On the up side, the Braves have Chuck James, Jair Jurrjens, Jeff Bennett and Jo-Jo Reyes going after the number five spot which is a vast improvement over their line-up last season but it doesn’t quite compare with what they have in Queens. The good thing about the back end of the rotation is that they are young and will only get better, the bad thing, they’re young and may have to make some mistakes before they improve. Do the Braves have the time to allow those growing pains? Well, at least they have John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Tom Glavine to pick up the slack for the four and five starters.

Another good thing for the Braves is their bullpen. The worst part of the Braves team in 2006, the bullpen really stepped it up in 07 lead by the impressive and currently locked up for two years Rafael Soriano. Atlanta also found a way to get good relief out of Peter Moylan, Manny Ascosta, Tyler Yates and Ron Mahay. Of those four, only Mahay is not still with the team. But they will see the return of Mike Gonzalez, who was a spark for the Braves in April until he left the team with an injury; he can be a big upgrade over the lost Mahay. Hopefully, the Braves can get some good starts out of their starting pitching, so the bullpen will not be overly taxed, but with youth on the back end, the key to the Braves’ contention in the playoff race will be a strong and reliable pen.

Finally, today the Braves catching core will report to spring training. The Braves have their backstop problem solved for the foreseeable future in two time all-star Brian McCann, but his back up could end up being a familiar face in Javy Lopez. Lopez was a feature of the Braves division champs from 1992 until his departure to Baltimore after the 2003 season. He had a solid season with the O’s before turmoil struck and Lopez was finally traded to the Red Sox in 2006. He was dropped by the Sox, picked up by the Rockies and then dropped again until signing a Minor League deal with the Bravos in 2008. Lopez’s return is no guarantee, but if he is in as good of shape as he says he is, it will be nice to see the return of not only Glavine but also of Javy.

We’ll update the rest of the Braves team when they report next week.

It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate