WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE LINEUP- BRAVES OFF TO A ROUGH START

I think its time Fredi  has to do something- the braves  are struggling right now- they cant get the big hit and  the offense isnt producing much period. I think Nate Mcclouth in the #2  spot is a big mistake. Hes not producing enough to be hitting in front of Chipper.  Maybe they need to try him at leadoff and have Prado hitting 2nd or move Mcclouth down in the order and have Heyward hitting 2nd. I think Fredi right now looks alot like Bobby Cox- stuck in his own ways and not agressive enough. Why didnt Fredi  let Matt Young steal tonight to put him in scoring position for the potential winning run? When are the Braves goin to start running and manufactoring runs like the best teams in Baseball do? Yes it is early in the season but how long can you  keep on going with  this lineup thats not producing?? Come on now changes need to be made.

MY THOUGHTS AFTER BRAVES FIRST 10 GAMES

 The Atlanta Braves are  4-6..It  is  still   way  to  early  to  be concerned-baseball  is  a  long   season BUT I can  say that Iam dissappointed in the way the Braves  played vs Philly. The  pitching  has been  great-I  feel bad  for  Derek  Lowe-he has  pitched great in his 3 starts this  year   but  only   has  one win to show for it. The Phillies have suprised me   how well  they have  started the season   offensively scoring  7  runs a  game-the Braves offense has been the opposite-so far they have not had the big hits or the big innings.You have to  tip your hat to Roy Oswalt for his preformance saturday and Cole Hamels  pitched  great sunday.

The  Braves offense  will  come  around Iam confident in that. I think Freddi  Gonzalez  should try shaking  things up  a  little bit- move  Mcclouth down  in  the order-give Eric Hinske a start at  first  base.I think Freddy Freeman will  be good  eventually  but  Im not   suprised  one  bit  by his struggles. I  have been presently suprised with  Chipper Jones- he really  looks  good. I would  love to  see the  Braves be  more   agressive manufactoring  runs. In the home opener Friday  night the Phillies  stole  3  bases in the first inning-thats  more steals   then the Braves  have for the season..The best teams in baseball have speed and know  how  manufacture the runs. The Braves  for  the  last  20  years have never done that-and I believe thats why the only   have one Championship to show for it. Thats a  big reason why Nate Mcclouth  is so  important to  the Braves  this year. He has  great speed but hes not  hitting  to  get on  base  to   steal some. The  Braves offense would  be  so  much  better if we had those guys who  could  get on and steal   bases- but  they sit back and wait for the 3 run  homerun   and it doesnt come often enough. Iam   fully confident that Dan Uggla  will  come  around and produce for us.Its still way to early to  panic but  losing 2 of  3 to  the Phillies in the home opening  weekend  was dissappointing.The Phillies out pitched,out hit,out ran and  did everything the Braves didnt do  to win 2 of 3 games.I hope to see different results starting Tuesday with Florida.

OFF TO A 3-4 START

Iam honestly not really concerned about the Braves 3-4  start to season- I believe the offense is just feeling itself out and will get it together and produce- Freeman doesnt suprise me because he is a rookie and I knew he would have  times where he played like it. I do think he will eventually contribute though. I will say this - Dan Uggla's defense hasnt impressed me at all- there have been some balls I thought he should have gotten to that he missed. It makes me miss Prado being there. Our bullpen has been great and the starters have done well so far. I think the Braves have been weary being away from Atlanta so long. I fully expect them to do well after  sleeping  in there own beds and  being able to come to turner field ready to handle buisness. It is way too early in the season to be worried- I trust the offense will come together and produce and the pitching will continue to carry this team. If Mcclouth doesnt start hitting and Freeman looks more like a star struck rookie then a Rookie with potential then yeh I will begin to scratch my head- but at 3-4 I'm not losing any sleep over it.

BRAVES WEAKNESS IN 2011

 I think the defense will again hurt us. I dont think we will be the 2 or 3rd worst defensive team like we were last year but I dont think we will be a great  defensive team. I  hope that Iam wrong though- defense comes up huge in the playoffs.. Its not suprising that the teams that make the playoffs normally are all good defensive teams.I also worry about  center field position. Is Nate Mcclouth going to produce this year? Is he right for the number 2 spot in the batting order?? These are my 2 concerns for this team this year.What do you think will be the weakness of this team this year?

OPENING DAY- PREDICTIONS & EXPECTATIONS FOR 2011

Less then 12 hours from now the Atlanta Braves will begin there quest for deep playoff run in 2011. I know Philly is getting all the hype in the National League East But I really like the makeup of this Braves team. They are young in some areas- but they have major talent. Iam still concerned about Chipper Jones even though he killed it in spring training. I do think Nate Mcclouth will produce decently this year. I expect Freddie Freeman to struggle some as all rookies do butyou cant deny the power this guy has. The offense shouldnt be a burden as much as it was last year for us and the pitching again will be the power of this team. I think Philly will do good this year but pound for pound the Braves pitching depth is better, the relief core is better, the overall offense is better- and the Braves  starting 5 can match up with phillies in a 7 game series. I think Philly and Atlanta will go down to the last 3 games of the season. I think the Braves will suprise and impress many people in baseball this year and win the division- and I think they are strong enough to go to the world series- if they stay healthy.  They are my world series pick from the national League- I think they will win divison by 2 games and I think they will beat philly in playoffs- but it will not be easy by any means.. what do yall think???

NL EAST RIVALS

 Everyone is jumping on phillies bandwagon because the signing of Cliff Lee- it seems to be they are forgetting the offense lost Jason Werth- that is a huge loss for them. He was there #5 hitter and big run producer. There offense was already inconsistant with him so imagine how it will be without him? They have nobody even close of impacting the offense like he did. He murdered Braves pitching last year. Also look at the phillies roster and see they are aging and injury riddled- Utley seems to have  knee and hip problems that could shorten his career- Rollins hasnt been healthy in the last couple seasons. Ibanez is old as dirt and falling off and there rotation is all in there mid to late 30s with the exception of Hamels. The phillies will have a great rotation but besides that to me the Braves match up well with philly. The Braves have more depth in the pitching department, a better overall  lineup- a younger line up  and seem poised to battle Philly hard this year. I think Philly will be good and will make the playoffs but I think they are being overhyped due to the Cliff Lee signing. If the braves stay healthy ( with or without Chipper Jones) I think they will be serious threats to make the playoffs or win the division.  The only 2 areas that concern me for the braves is the  bullpen  ( alot of young relievers) and defense (Uggla and 2nd base, Prado playing new position in left, and how will Freddie Freeman be defensively) I respect Philly to the fullest but I think  its going to be tougher for philly this year more so then last year- barring injuries it should go down to the final week of the season between braves and philly.. I cant wait!! what do yall think??

JASON HEYWARD & INJURIES

Is it just Me or does anyone worry about Jason Heyward being healthy in 2011? I dont think he is  fragile like Chipper Jones I actually think quite the opposite. Any fan who watches the braves on an everyday basis should recognizes Jhey plays the game very intense and hard. He goes all out- diving, crashing into walls, sliding hard into  bases- which in turn creates more of a chance for injury. He injured his wrist last year in May sliding head first into third base and that thumb injury honestly affected him the rest of the season. He had a big encounter with the right field wall in game 3 of the playoffs which clearly dazed him. I just worry for as hard as he plays he will always battle thru nagging injuries. He has got to stay healthy- his numbers last year when he was healthy were off the charts. It was very clear when he wasnt healthy( hitting under .200) The Braves offense cannot afford Heyward to miss long stretches of time due to injury. Im not saying he should quit playing hard but he really needs to be careful. I wish he would quit sliding head first. He needs to cut that out. The Braves coaching staff should pull him aside and remind him about the risk of injury.  I know he has a great natural instinct for the game and they take over once the first pitch is thrown but at the rate hes going hes goin to be Chipper Jones little buddy next to him on the disabled list and we cannot afford that. Jason Heyward we need you healthy. I hope he will be more cautious and careful. I nor any other Braves fans wants to see him injured.. Hes just too valuable to this team.