2008 Atlanta Braves Season Preview

Last season, the Atlanta Braves made a huge step back towards the glory days of 14 consecutive division titles, winning 84 games and making the National League East a three-horse race for most of the season. And no one stood pat in this exciting division either, as the New York Mets acquired Johan Santana and the Philadelphia Phillies adding some bats to their potent lineup.

The Braves made their moves as well, bringing back Tom Glavine from the Mets and allowing Andruw Jones to walk away to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first time a new face will be in center field for the Braves since 1996. But the question is, in the pressure cooker of this hot division, did the Braves move forward or step back?

OFFENSE: B-

As a replacement for Jones, the Braves bring in Oakland's Mark Kotsay. This may be red flag number one: Kotsay played in only 56 games last season, hitting just .214. If Kotsay rounds back into form, he'll be solid, but he'll put up nowhere near the power numbers or defensive presence that Jones did. There are hot young bats all around, like first baseman Mark Teixeira (17 homers and 56 RBI in only 54 games with the Braves after a trade from the Texas Rangers), catcher Brian McCann (a solid .270, 18 homers and 92 RBI) and right fielder Jeff Francoeur (105 RBI's). It's a minor step back from the league's second ranked offense of a year ago, and if health holds, it could be another banner year for the bat in Hotlanta.

PROJECTED LINEUP: 1 Kotsay CF 2 McCann C 3 C.Jones 3B 4 Teixeira 1B 5 Francoeur RF
6 Diaz RF 7 Escobar SS 8 Johnson 2B 9 Pitcher's spot

STARTING PITCHING: C-

Not many baseball fans would pick the Braves, historically a great pitching team, to have the rotation as their weak link, but it may well be the case now. John Smoltz is back and still solid, but he'll be 41 on May 15, and his numbers did recede some last year (14 wins, down from 16, 3.49 ERA up from 3.06 in 2006). Glavine is at the end of the line, and struggled mightily last year. And the Braves have Mike Hampton, he of the two missing seasons due to left elbow surgeries and the torn hamstring in his first inning of Mexican Winter League ball this past year, penciled in at the five spot, and only unproven, little-used rookies as backup. Tim Hudson may be their most reliable starter, and given his injury history, that may be a little scary to fans of the Braves as well.

PROJECTED ROTATION: Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine, James, Hampton

BULLPEN: C

Of only slightly less concern is the bullpen. Rafael Soriano will come into camp as the closer, and he did fairly well in that role last year (9 converted in 12 opportunities last year), and veteran Mike Gonzalez, if healthy, could push him for the ball in the ninth if he falters. And they would be just about the only names in the bullpen that fans may recognize. To say that this unit is a little shaky going into 2008 may end up being an understatement.

CONCLUSION

The offense took a slight step back, the rotation may be dealt another huge blow if injuries and age hit hard, and the bullpen is young, unproven, and perhaps unreliable. They'll eke out a over-.500 season on talent and offense alone, but Atlanta is still another year away from returning to what seemed to be a birthright just three seasons ago, the NL East title.

PREDICTION: 82-80, 3rd in National League East