Notes on 755 Hank Aaron Dr

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Third verse, same as the first

Last week at this time, the Braves had a .500 record.  They then proceeded to lose every game since then.  Like I said last week, not a good team.

Being swept by the Nationals is not a big deal.  They're a very good team, and other than the middle game of the three game series, the Braves played them close.  It wasn't that far from being a 2-1 series win.  Obviously, moral victories mean nothing in the standings, but as I've said a couple of times (and will keep repeating all year), this season isn't about the standings.  It's about progress.  And Foltynewicz holding the Nationals to two runs over seven innings is progress.  Teheran giving up seven in four innings in game two?  Not so much, but I'm not worried about him having a bad outing.  It happens.

On the other hand, being swept by the Phillies is not a good look.  They are not a very good team, but they look like they might be a bit better than the Braves right now.  It's an interesting thing to watch over the next few years, as both teams are in full rebuild mode now, which team's plans will work better.  Foltynewicz had another strong outing in the last game of the series.  I'm sure it was me dissing him last week that fixed him.

The interesting thing about the past week is that it's showed how shallow the team is.  The bench has positional flexibility, but not much more.  Bonifacio is the perfect representation of this.  He can play a lot of positions on the field, but he's not particularly good at any of them, and is a major liability at the plate.  The bullpen isn't looking strong at this point, although we're still very much in "small sample size" territory there.

I tend to think that if Rodriguez hadn't gotten hurt, the record would be better, just because he's that much better than the rest of the bench players.  Although, if he wasn't out, I suppose Brandon Phillips would probably not be here, so maybe it wouldn't matter.  I don't know that Rodriguez is that much better than Phillips.  In any case, this is a team with no margin for error, and that's a really good way to end up with a terrible record.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Two weeks in

So, the season is about two weeks old, and the Braves are at .500.  That's actually better than I would have expected, although having played a third of their games against the Padres certainly helped.

What can we say about the team so far?  Not much.  They're certainly not a good team; the four wins against the Padres weren't actually that impressive.  They're not a particularly bad team either, barring a serious injury to Freddie Freeman.  Because he's definitely the best player on the team, and over the past year one of the best players in all of MLB.

In any case, this season only matters in how much of a step forward the youngsters - especially the young pitchers - make.  They're mostly still in the minors at this point.  If a number of them force their way onto the big league roster, then the season is a success.  If they can't do that, the season is not a success, and in fact the rebuild may not succeed either.

Of the guys not in the minors, Teheran is looking good so far, but Foltynewicz is a mess.  It's really early, of course, and especially for pitchers, small sample sizes are a danger.