Hale is best guess. Unless they were sending down Wood to get him stretched out in prep for a trade of another starter, only other option might be DFA Uggla, and I don't get a sense the Brave are ready to do that yet.
No change in the clubhouse. And I say that honestly. People who are glum or angry talking or asking about the team would be surprised to see how well they get along and how the mood doesn't sour in the clubhouse as it does on Twitter or on the airwaves or blogs or chat rooms. In a team with bad chemistry or a few bad apples in the clubhouse, it certainly can and often does. This team doesn't have that issue.
Carpenter is out of minor league options. Would have to first clear waivers.
Is that a question? (And by the way, B.J. was eventually benched last year in first year of the contract, Schafer was playing a lot before he got hurt)
Not many guys of La Stella's skill set batting leadoff two weeks into their major league careers. If I'm wrong, please advise. And yes, I think La Stella could hit at top or bottom of order, given what he does. But again, not many doing it two weeks into their major league career unless they have some sort of unique skill, i.e. blazing speed.
I think however long you feel is suitable time is how you should decide if it's time to judge anyone. But yes, over 6-7 years I think it's fair to judge anyone, for the most part, on their body of work. I would just add, to be fair you cerainly should judge a GM on not just the end results, but in comparison to other teams with similar resources (i.e., similar payrolls) and teams that have drafted in similar situations most years (i.e., not teams that stiink for 4-5 years in a row and pile up top draft picks every year in that period, then eventually have a good couple of seasons on the backs of those players or ones they acquire in trades for those players)
Schafer is in a very tough spot. Deserves playing time, has shown what he can do when he gets it, but he's behind three guys who aren't going to be taken out of the lineup almost ever, and Schafer doesn't hit lefties well, so it doesn't make much sense to sit Heyward against a real tough lefty and have Schafer play, etc.
Oh, and any veteran with that service time can refuse a minor league assignment. But again, it's not going to happen so it's irrelevant.
Not going to happen, so it's irrelevant.
That's not what I said. I said he makes out the lineup. Sure there's "pressure" to play a guy who's under contract for another 3 1/2 years. But that's because he's got to think about the bigger picture, how the team and player will react over this season and beyond. But he's not told by the GM to play the guy.
Have you seen how mediocre/bad rest of the division is? Braves have at least as good a shot as anyone in division of making playoffs. Now, whether they have a good chance to advance once they get there is another story. But anything can happen in the playoffs. Braves and Freddy Garcia were beating Kershaw late in Game 4 of Division Series.
Hard to say, both are top-shelf prospects. And no, next year not out of the question for either, though I'd say Sims unlikely given age and fact he hasn't pitched above A-ball yet. Hursh could certainly be up next year if there was a need.
Because he's been their best leadoff option, and really their ONLY leadoff option until now, if you consider La Stella an option. I really don't, given his lack of speed and fact that he's been in big leagues for a couple of weeks and they'd like to let him continue to do his thing without feeling too much pressure or the need to change his approach in leadoff spot.
Fredi makes out his own lineup.
If Wood gets sent down, I think it's a sign they're set on trading a veteran starter. But I don't see that Hale being sent down would be such a sign at all.
Bullpen is priority, from what I'm told. Bench isn't really a weakness. Pena's a sound utility man, Doumit a good pinch-hitter, Laird a reliable backup catcher, Schafer a versatile fourth outfielder.
No, there was no article written here about Uggla's bulging biceps this spring, or weight gain. And i don't recall writing any article about a player's physique this spring, because I get sick of the Twitter critics who like to poke fun at any article about how players look after an offseason of working out or not working out, etc. Even though said articles are often quite relevant, I for one don't bother much doing them anymore just because of the wise armchair critics who wait to jump all over us for writing them. They win. So, I'll just let fans wait to see how players look for themselves, either when spring games are broadcast or when season starts, if they don't get a chance to go down and see games in person during spring training.
It's a slump of a few weeks. Rare for him, but I wouldn't say it's anything to get overly concerned about at this point. He hit a couple of balls hard last night, even though he appeared to be having more trouble with his eyes. Not surprising, given the dryness of the mile-high air. When I try to wear contacts up here to snowboard or work out or whatever, I have problems with them. Most folks who wear contacts do, at least until they get used to it up here.
Haven't heard any discussion of that since the issue with the proposed spring-training camp cap up before 2013 spring training, when they decided not to use the cap with the old Indian-head logo. Other than that, issue seems dead with Braves, for now. Maybe that could change if the same folks who are putting so much pressure on Redskins get that resolved and move on to Cleveland Indians and Braves, etc., but I don't nnow. Doesn't seem like it's nearly as controversial.
I think he'll be released if he's not traded soon.
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