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I'll try to pick up the pace, lest I finish these previews in October. This post features the 1995 World Series champion Atlanta Braves! Atlanta Braves 2009 Finish: 86-76 (3rd, NL East) Key Additions: Billy Wagner (RP), Takashi Saito (RP), Troy Glaus (1B/3B), Eric Hinske (OF), Jesse Chavez (RP) Key Losses: Javier Vazquez (SP), Rafael Soriano (RP), Adam LaRoche (1B), Mike Gonzalez (RP), Kelly Johnson (2B/OF), Garrett Anderson (OF), Ryan Church (OF), Boone Logan (RP) Summary: The Atlanta Braves are now a few years removed from their dominant run of NL East titles. While the power has definitely shifted to Philadelphia, Atlanta has quietly been rebuilding themselves through player development and strategic moves. As during the mid to late 90's, this team has a ton of talent in the rotation. While the names Hanson, Jurrjens and Hudson are not quite the caliber of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz, this rotation is so strong that they were able to trade away Javier Vazquez, who thrived in 2009, for a decent (but not overwhelming) outfielder. The back end of their bullpen has pretty much been replaced with Soriano and Gonzalez going AL Eastward and Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito replacing them. Wagner came back late last year to give a solid contribution to a playoff-bound Red Sox team. He returns to closing this year, and while he is 38, he will probably still be one of the best. With the rotation being as solid as it is, Atlanta's pitching is really solid. As far as the lineup goes, rookie Jason Heyward is getting the most publicity. He could be Logoria-ed (much like the Cubs are probably doing with Starlin Castro) and start off at AAA. But even if that does happen, he will be up quickly. He is already being compared to Ken Griffey, Jr. and is backing it up this spring with a 1.320 OPS. Obviously the caveats of Spring Training pitching and small sample size still apply. Brian McCann and Chipper Jones will continue to provide what you expect, and Troy Glaus will provide quite a bit of power as he transitions to first base full-time this year. Overall, the lineup is good, but still falls quite a bit short of the powerhouse from Philly. Cubs connection: Well, second preview in and I am already struggling to find these little tidbits. But for Atlanta, I suppose I will talk about Melky Cabrera, who was a rumored target of the Cubs this offseason before being shipped to Atlanta. It will be interesting to see if he does show improvement moving to the National League, and even ends up outperforming Marlon Byrd. While I cannot say that the Cubs had a chance to land him, I think he was a very intriguing option for them. In Atlanta, Nate McLouth will man centerfield (despite some poor defensive numbers), so Melky will probably play left field if he cracks the everyday lineup. Anyways, just something to watch for Cubs fans. Oh, and the Cubs play in Atlanta on opening day. There's another connection. BIBGLBOOPSARG(tm) CF Nate McLouth SS Yunel Escobar C Brian McCann 3B Chipper Jones 1B Troy Glaus RF Jason Heyward 2B Martin Prado LF Melky Cabrera P Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Kenshin Kawakami Closer: Billy Wagner Predicted Finish: Second Place in the NL East AND Wild Card winner. They are poised to make a big step towards reclaiming the NL East throne, but right now Philadelphia just has too much talent. However, I can see them returning to the playoffs this year, and with that pitching staff, being a very tough matchup. I won't bother predicting playoff results since the playoffs are a crapshoot anyways. But anyways, this is a team to watch in 2010 and for years to come. Posted in: 2010 Preview, Atlanta Braves | ||