The Braves Blog: Spring Training

Excited for the Season, Not for Spring Training

February is mercifully coming to an end and spring training games are about to begin. I don’t know about you guys, but the season can’t get here fast enough for me. I’m usually slow to transition into the mood of baseball season, but not this year. I’m just ready to have our Bravos on TV every night.

One thing that hasn’t changed for me is that I hate spring training. There’s really nothing good that can happen in March, but a whole lot can go wrong (see Adam Wainwright). I usually try not to pay much attention and just hope we make it to opening day without hitting any mines.

There are roster battles going on in almost every camp, but the main point of spring training is to get the pitchers ready for the season. The veteran position players are basically ready to go from day one. Even the position battles aren’t that interesting because teams often already have their minds made up about who they want on the opening day roster. An up-and-coming prospect that wows everybody in the spring will often begin the year in the minors anyway. A long shot non-roster invitee might totally outperform the guy he’s competing against for one of the last spots on the roster, yet still be cut loose on March 31^st in favor of the guy with higher upside.

And most fans have learned that any player’s spring training results have to be taken with a grain of salt or two. An injury prone veteran picked up off the scrap heap might come out of camp hitting .310 with 4 homers in 40 at bats, but what does it matter if those results came against minor leaguers and veteran pitchers just trying to get their work in? A pitcher looking to bounce back from a poor season may be all strikeouts and no walks during March, but he may not be so aggressive against real lineups in real games come April.

We have to keep all of this in mind as we count down the minutes to opening day. But since we’ve still got over a month to wait, we might as well identify a few things to pay attention to during Grape Fruit League play.

The Gonzalez Era Begins

So far the transition from Bobby Cox to Freddy Gonzalez has gone remarkably smoothly. Working in the Braves organization and under Cox has helped Gonzalez, and it doesn’t seem like he wants to shake things up much. He knows many of the players from the minors, spring training, and from his time as 3^rd base coach. It’s weird; it almost seems like nothing has changed. It will be interesting to see if we start to notice some differences now that the exhibition season is about to get under way.

During the Cox-Schuerholz era, the manager and GM made roster decisions together. Frank Wren seemed to put the final decisions in Cox’s hands. I don’t know how it will work with Gonzalez. Bobby often seemed to put more value/trust in experience. He had a lot of patience and gave veterans every chance to prove they could get the job done before turning to a younger player or looking outside the organization. Actually, veterans often had to prove that they absolutely could not get the job done before Cox would give up on them, and sometimes even that wasn’t enough. I wonder if Gonzalez will have the same tendencies. Personally, while I believe Bobby’s patience was often beneficial, it could also be really, really annoying, and at times it was detrimental. Hopefully Gonzalez will be patient but not slow to act when the writing is on the wall.

Chipper’s Comeback

Chipper’s attempt to comeback from knee surgery has drawn the most attention so far this spring, and it will likely be the issue reported on most throughout March. There haven’t been any major setbacks yet, but there have been reports that things haven’t gone as smoothly as Chipper had hoped. Everyone will be watching to see how he moves in the field and runs on the bases. The most important thing is that he doesn’t have a major setback, so they won’t rush it if he isn’t ready.

It will be interesting to see how much Chipper plays this spring. Will he be ready to play every day when camp breaks? Will he be an everyday player at any point this season or will he need a day off every few games? I don’t think the team can plan on him playing 150 games. I mean Chipper hasn’t played more than 143 games in a season since 2003, and he’s averaged 122 games a season over the last 7 years. Now he’s coming back from a torn ACL at age 39. How much of the year will he be healthy enough to play? When he can play, will he be healthy enough to play well? We’ll start to find out the answers to these very important questions over the next few weeks.

What if Chipper Can’t Get All the Way Back?

Let’s year the Braves went into the season without a backup plan in case the Troy Glaus thing didn’t work out. I had made a big deal of that and for a while it looked like I had overreacted, but eventually it hurt the Braves. Is there a backup plan this year in case Chipper can’t come all the way back? I’m not sure that there is one, but one could emerge around Jordan Schafer. Schafer’s last few years have been disastrous, but he’s still young and he’s definitely talented. It will be very interesting to see if his wrist injury is finally a thing of the past. If Shafer can make the team as a 4^th outfielder he could move into the lineup whenever Chipper can’t go, with Martin Prado moving back to third.

Prado in Left

It was amazing how easily many Braves fans accepted the idea that Prado would have no problem moving from the infield to the outfield, based solely on the fact that he had sometimes played left field in winter ball. Prado has played almost exclusively on the infield during his entire minor and major league career. He’s also coming back from a variety of injuries, including a hip pointer and a torn oblique. Prado’s response to being moved to left has been just what you’d expect: he has worked his ass off to become a good outfielder, while still working out at third base, and hasn’t muttered a single complaint. Still, it’s possible that the change could end up effecting him at the plate, particularly if he struggles. I think this is one of the biggest issues to watch this spring.

Freddie Freeman

Obviously people are going to be paying attention to how Freeman plays this spring, simply because he’s expected to be the starting first baseman this year. He trained very hard in the offseason and added 17 pounds of muscle. That’s great. I just hope it doesn’t end up having a negative effect, like slowing down his swing or causing him to lose flexibility. I’m no fitness expert but adding a lot of muscle has been a bad thing for a few players. I’m more concerned about Freeman than I would be with, say, Prado because Freeman was kind of long and lanky. He’s 6-5 and his game has always been built on his beautiful left handed swing. I remember when Todd Helton put on a lot of muscle a few years ago. Instead of making him more powerful, it just seemed to make him slower. Hopefully that won’t be the case for Freeman, because he’s going to be the regular first baseman, whether he plays well or not. In his case, if he struggles, the Braves won’t have any better option than just being patient.

Did McLouth Have a Bad Year or is He Just Not Any Good?

It seems like confidence is a necessity for an athlete. If a player doesn’t have confidence it will be hard for them to recover from periods when they struggle. On the other hand, overconfidence can also be a problem when a player struggles because they might not give the kind of effort needed to reverse the situation. Nate McLouth seems to have confidence in himself, despite his struggles last season. He still believes it was just a bad year. However, in contrast to, say, Jeff Francoeur, McLouth’s confidence doesn’t seem to be blinding him from the reality that he’s got to work to try and get his career back on track.

This is a big year for McLouth. It’s been nice to see that he isn’t acting as if everything is cool and he’s just going to go through the motions and get ready for the season. He was at camp early and he’s been working. This is all good. Of course, he might still suck.

Hopefully McLouth can find his game this season. McLouth and Jordan Shafer really need to get their careers back on track this season. If they don’t, the Braves could end up having major holes in two of the three outfield spots if Prado has to spend a lot of time filling in for Chipper at third base.

Is the Bullpen a Strength or a Potential Weakness?

I’m actually confident in the Braves bullpen going into this season. I’m definitely less concerned with the pen than I am with the lineup. But relief pitching is actually the area that people are most often citing as a question mark for the Braves this season. This is understandable. The Braves lost one of the greatest closers of all-time to retirement, and they did not replace him with an established closer. The Braves have some talented but young pitchers in their pen, as well as some experienced relievers who are trying to come back from disappointing seasons. That’s a mixture likely to cause concern for many people.

Those concerns are valid, but Craig Kimbrel won me over last September/October. He didn’t give any hint of being a guy who couldn’t handle the pressure of the 9^th inning. He is a flamethrower, and as long as he doesn’t revert to the wildness that has been a problem at times in the minors, he’s going to get guys out. Johnny Venters was used a ton last season and hopefully that won’t come back to hurt him this year. As long as his arm is okay, Venters is very capable of being an 8^th or 9^th inning guy. And even if things don’t go as planned, the Braves have options within the organization. They are not short of young arms.

How Will the Kenshin Kawakami Situation Turn Out?

Although pitchers and catchers reported to Braves camp weeks ago, Kenshin Kawakami has still not arrived. Apparently Kawakami had an expired passport and has been dealing with visa issues. I was disappointed to learn that this was the cause of his absence. I was hoping that Mothra had swooped down and gotten him. Unfortunately it appears the situation will not be worked out so easily.

The Braves have been and are still trying to trade KK—or rather, to sell him—but they haven’t yet found a team willing to pay as much of his salary as they would like. Plenty of Japanese teams have interest in Kawakami, but the pitcher is intent on proving himself in the Majors. The Braves took Kawakami off of their 40-man roster and placed him on the AA roster this winter and they did not invite him to spring training until late in the offseason. Despite these hints, Kawakami did not change his mind about going back to Japan. The Braves have had offers from MLB teams but they are still trying to hold out for a better deal.

At the moment, the team is apparently not even considering giving Kawakami another shot to pitch in Atlanta if a better deal doesn’t come along. I don’t see why any team would up their offer because they know the Braves don’t want to be paying KK $6 million to pitch in AA. In my opinion, I think you’d have to say that it is possible that Kawakami could come into camp and pitch well and end up getting another shot, especially if nobody offers more money. But for now it looks like Kawakami’s days in Atlanta are over and the Braves will just send him to whatever team is willing to help the most with the final year of his deal.

The 5^th Starter Spot

Both Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor showed promise when called on for spot starts late last season. With Kris Medlen’s return still far off, it was assumed that the battle for the 5^th spot in the rotation this season would come down to Beachy and Minor. But for some reason the Braves decided to take a flier on veteran righty Rodrigo Lopez, signing him to a minor league contract and giving him the opportunity to compete for the 5^th starter job in spring training. This was a strange move because Rodrigo Lopez sucks. I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing Robert Cox, because I honestly love the man, but this move could have been problematic in his hands. If Mr. Cox was still running the show I would be concerned that Lopez might somehow end up getting the job and logging 10-12 starts in games that actually count before someone finally pulled the plug. We can only hope that Freddy Gonzalez does not have the same weakness for veterans.

For now let’s assume that Lopez will not be a factor. Bobby’s retirement could also end up being a good thing for Minor, as he did not impress anyone in the organization last year when he mentioned to the media that his arm was tired. He was basically shutdown at that point. In my mind, the best situation would be for both guys to have a good spring, for Minor to win the 5^th starter job, and for Beachy to make the team as a reliever.

Final Roster Spots

While the Lopez signing was unexpected and a bit alarming, it was nowhere near as troubling as the signing of fringe utility man Joe Mather. With Omar Infante being dealt to Florida in the deal for Dan Uggla, the Braves were looking for a versatile player to take his place. In a way they accomplished their goal by signing Mather. He is capable of playing multiple positions. However, you don’t want him playing any position for your team. He’s not any good. Again, this would have been an extremely dangerous signing if Bob were still at the helm, as you can bet that Mather would have seen as much action as Chris Woodward, Corky Miller, and Greg Norton did before him.

It appears that management has their heart set on Mather being the backup first baseman/utility man for this year’s team. If that is the case, hopefully Gonzalez will use him only as an emergency replacement player late in games, and not as a guy who starts at various positions against left handed pitchers. The best thing would be if somehow Mather didn’t make the roster at all. This might not be a likely outcome but I think it’s a possibility. In terms of making the team, Mather’s biggest asset isn’t even his versatility; it’s the fact that he’s basically the only right handed hitter in the mix to come off the bench. Again, the trouble is that he’s not good against left or right handed pitching.

Brooks Conrad may not be a lock to make the team out of camp but he seems pretty safe. And he really should make it. We know he’s not a guy you want playing in the field, but he’s a good weapon off the bench. Diory Hernandez has a chance to make the team simply because he can play short. Then there’s Matt Young, a career minor leaguer whose game seems to be very similar to Gregor Blanco (disciplined plate approach, good speed, zero power). Apparently Young is adequate defensively in left and center.

There are other veterans fighting to make the team as a reliever (Cristhian Martinez, Scott Proctor) or 4^th outfielder (Brent Clevlen). A number of the better and best prospects will be in camp, but most will be sent out early, and I really wouldn’t expect any of the young guns to begin the year in Atlanta. I’m pretty sure we can rule out the front office making any deals to try and improve the team at this point. The only deal that seems imminent is the shipping out of Kawakami.