Wow, I will go see the Mets in Philly this season and when I watch the game from the bullpen(Which I call the best seat in the house), I will be able to see Billy Wagner in the top bullpen. NOT the bottom. But I will finally get to see this Heath Bell guy that Zack blogs about on his adventures at Shea. Should be fun.

And during batting practice, I will see Carlos Delgado wearing Mets colors as well. People think the Mets will be unstoppable this season. Personally, I see things a bit differently. They went free agent happy last year with Pedros and Beltran, and where did this land them? No where.

Call me crazy, call me biased, call me whatever you wish, but I know from being a Braves fan that getting a Carlos or Pedro does not make a division winner out of your team. You have to have team chemistry, guys that like working with each other to bring out the best in each other.

Now you can also say that we win the division but get eliminated in the first round. True, true. But I could just as easily say "At least we got there", and laugh at the 22 teams that didn’t make the postseason. Do I think we had what it took to win the World Series last year? No, I don’t. Do I think a solid closer would have been of assistance? Of course I do! But is that the only thing that held us back? No. Our 1-2-3 hitters failed to be 1-2-3-like hitters in postseason. The batting averages of Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles, our 1-2 hitters combined for an average around the .150 mark. If not for young players like catcher Brian McCann, we’d have surely been in the dumps a lot sooner than before that 18 inning marathon in Houston.

People around here definetly think I am crazy for thinking that even this year, with the potential loss of Rafael Furcal, that the Braves can again be divisional champions. Am I crazy? Maybe I am. But the same people who thought we went under as soon as Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux left are probably the same ones who thought the same thing after the departure of JD Drew, Russ Ortiz, and Jaret Wright before the 2005 season. Good. Let them think that.

If nothing else, I have nothing but faith in general manager, John Schuerholz. He is often criticized for not making any free agent signings till after the GM winter meetings. But he still finds ways to win. But people ask "What good is winning the division if you can’t advance in October?" Good question. It is tradition. The division streak the Braves have is longer than any other current streak of its sorts in any professional sport in the United States. Impressive if you think about it, isn’t it?

So no matter who the Mets decide to bring in, and no matter who the Marlins give up in their mini fire-sale (So to speak, anyway) and no matter who the Phils decide to make their new closer, just remember to never count out those Braves. Love em’ or hate em’, they refuse to give up.

Isn’t it funny how their fans are the exact same way?

Rock on!
Julie

Hurray! The ballots are out now and underway! I love the HOF inductions. It’s getting to the point where people I grew up watching are beginning to be put on the ballots. Here’s the possible inductees for 2006.

• Rick Aguilera (1)
• Albert Belle (1)
• Bert Blyleven (9)
• Will Clark (1)
• Dave Concepcion (13)
• Andre Dawson (5)
• Gary DiSarcina (1)
• Alex Fernandez (1)
• Gary Gaetti (1)
• Dwight Gooden (1)
• Steve Garvey (14)
• Rich Gossage (7)
• Ozzie Guillen (1)
• Orel Hershiser (1)
• Gregg Jefferies (1)

If I was handed a ballot and asked to vote, Id give my votes to the following players: Dwight Gooden, Don Mattingly, Lee Smith, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Bruce Sutter, Alan Trammell, and Bert Blyleven.

Anyone else have an opinion on who’d you would vote in?

Rock on!
Julie

The talks about Todd Jones have cooled down, much to my dismay. I would love to have him on the team. But now there are a lot of talks about Trevor Hoffman. Hmm, now I can not exactly complain about that. After the Dan Kolb experiment, we need a solid closer. Smoltz is a starter again and its safe to say he won’t be a closer again.

Hoffman is hands down one of the best closers of my time. He is no Eckersley, but he ranks up there with Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner, and now even Huston Street as someone you would not want to face in the 9th. I don’t think I’d mind seeing him closing for Atlanta, that’s for sure.

To resign Kyle Farnsworth or not? Good question. One can easily say we shouldn’t because after all, he was the one who gave up that grand slam to Lance Berkman in the NLDS. But he was the one we could rely on ever since we aquired him from the Tigers. Which could not be said of the majority of the Braves’ pen most of the season. I say, live a little and resign him! Go for it! He is a proven reliever. We just need to get him as our setup man if we go find a solid closer(Hence the talks about Trevor Hoffman). And if we don’t, I see no reason why he can’t be our closer. Then we’d have to find a solid setup man. Either way, its a win win situation. Just depends on how we choose to use him.

Let’s just see what happens.

Rock on!
Julie

From Atlantabraves.com

ATLANTA — More than a decade ago, Jeff Blauser was known as a gritty shortstop who played a large part in the success the Braves had throughout the 1990s. His manager Bobby Cox always viewed him as hard-working, knowledgeable player who had the makings to one day be a successful manager in the professional ranks.

Blauser will get the opportunity to prove his former skipper right when he begins his tenure as the manager for the Double-A Mississippi Braves next season. The former Atlanta shortstop spent this past season as a roving instructor in the Braves’ Minor League system.

"That’s good news for the organization to have him back on board," Cox said. "He’s ready to go and he’s committed to everything that he does."

"We’re excited about Jeff Blauser’s decision to become a manager in our system," added Dayton Moore, Atlanta’s assistant general manager of baseball operations. "His leadership and baseball experience will serve our organization well and be a great benefit to our players."

"I’m really looking forward to the opportunity," Blauser said. "I’ve been there and I really like the area and the fan support. They’ve got a good product on the field and in the surrounding area. My wife is from Delhi, La., and I have friends from the Jackson-Pearl area, so I’m familiar with it. I’m looking forward to the challenge and I believe it’s going to be a good summer."

Blauser’s promotion, which was announced Wednesday afternoon, was among the many changes the Braves have made with the Minor League coaching staffs. Brian Snitker, who managed Mississippi last year, will now serve as Triple-A Richmond’s manager.

Rocket Wheeler and Randy Ingle will switch jobs with Wheeler leaving his managerial post with Class A Rome to become the manager for Myrtle Beach, the club’s advanced Class A team.

Paul Runge will once again serve as the manager at Rookie Level Danville. His new pitching coach will be Doug Henry, who pitched in the big leagues for 11 seasons.

Blauser made his Major League debut with the Braves in 1987 and remained in the organization until joining the Cubs in 1998. During his final season in Atlanta, he posted career highs in batting average (.308) and home runs (17). He was an All-Star in both the 1993 and ’97 seasons. Blauser finished with a career batting average of .262 with 217 doubles, 122 homers and 513 RBIs.

During his years with the Braves, Blauser gained close friendships with Greg Maddux and Mark Lemke. Together, they provided plenty of clubhouse pranks and at the same time proved to be loyal students of the game.

"He was a real hard worker and he came through this system, too," Cox said. "He understands what the organization wants."

"It is very exciting to have Jeff Blauser manage this club. It makes it extra special to get a guy who played for us when I was the GM in Greenville. Jeff has come full cycle … we watched him ‘grow up’ in this organization, watched him have a terrific Major League career in Atlanta, and now we will be able to watch him manage and mold the next generation of Braves superstars," said Mississippi Braves general manager Steve DeSalvo.

Snitker, who has either played coached or managed in the Braves system since 1977, replaces Pat Kelly, who will join the club’s scouting staff. Mike Alvarez, who spent last season as Richmond’s pitching coach, will now be a roving pitching coach.

"It’s always sad to lose a guy like Brian Snitker who was a great manager and became a very good friend, however, I’m very happy for him and his opportunity to manage in Triple-A," said DeSalvo.

This is fantastic news, and I am very happy for Jeff! I need to dust off my old box that I store baseball cards of former Braves in and send one of him to the Mississippi Braves to see if I can get it back signed. That would be so awesome, because he is one of my all time favorite Braves players, he is one I grew up watching.

Congratulations on your promotion, Jeff! Go get em’!!

Rock on!
Julie

I can’t help but think that Andruw Jones was robbed of MVP. But at least it was not Derek Lee who played for a losing team. That would have been unfair.

I wish Andruw won it, but I can’t be too disappointed. His average was lower and that killed his chances. Sad but true.

Now onto what I mentioned before. Todd Jones. He is a Georgia native who has previously expressed sincere interest in wanting to play for the Braves. He is a really awesome closer, and a really nice person as well (See this post). Only blew 5 saves last year for Florida, which is a far cry from the closer(s) for the Braves.

I personally would prefer having him on the team than someone like Billy Wagner or Trevor Hoffman. He would come with a lower price tag, which would free up some money to spend on other relievers. I know that the kids like Macay McBride and Blaine Boyer just won’t cut it, despite the fact they look very promising. I think that McDowell will have more patience as pitching coach with the young pitchers than Mazzone did. So its official.  Todd Jones is the person I want in the Braves organization.

Ok well time to catch up on some other blogs on here and see what others are saying.

Rock on!
Julie

I just want to say that out of all of the top name closers out there on the free agent market this off season, the one I’d most like to see the Braves get is Todd Jones. If not him, I think B.J Ryan would be another nice face to have on the team.

Tomorrow is AL MVP day. Get ready!

Rock on!
Julie

Bobby Cox wins National League manager of the year! Surprise, surprise!

More later!

Rock on!
Julie

I can’t believe Ryan Howard won ROTY for the NL. Okay, so I can believe it. Francoeur cooled down as fast as he heated up when he burst onto the scene. Howard caught fire and didn’t cool down.

It really is not fun to listen to all the Phillies fans who rub this one in. But my rebuttle is that they are such fairweather fans that they didn’t watch all year, and had no clue who Ryan Howard even is.

Really. There are some "fans"(And I use that term lightly, hence the quotes.) who went "Haha, Ryan Howard won. Hey ummm, who IS he?". And that alone amuses me. Come on, if you’re going to trash my team with comments about your own team, at least try to have a valid case and know what you are talking about.

Sad.

But later on tomorrow afternoon, I will find out the winners of Managers of the Year (AL and NL). Hopefully, I will get the last laugh on this one. Odds are I will. But you never know, right?

Rock on!
Julie