I've Started a Pitching Blog

All of my entries in my new pitching blog will just be this.

I don't know, go read Driveline Baseball's Blogs and bug Ryan Dupic for advice.

Shoeless Joe

I have just finished reading "Shoeless Joe" by W.P. Kinsella. This is the book that the movie Field of Dreams is based off of.  While I don't want to be the guy who says, "The book is way better than the movie." I do have to give the book credit on a few things. Instead of Horace Mann as the writer Ray Kinsella teams up with, it's the famous J.D. Salinger. The book also included more characters that the movie did not, which is not surprising. Books have more time to create and wrap up storylines than movies do. One of the pleasant surprised from the book was how much of it made it into the movie. There were even entire sections of dialogue that I recognized from the movie. All in all, I strongly recommend this book to baseball lovers and those who enjoyed the movie. You won't be disappointed. I am the kind of reader that believes books and movies that tell the same story need to exist separate from each other and should be enjoyed individually. Give "Shoeless Joe" a read and ask yourself, "Is this heaven?" The answer of course is, "No. It's Iowa."

The Braves in the Off-Season

 

I haven't been able to remember a Braves off-season in which they actually made a move I wanted them to make. That doesn't mean they haven't made good moves, it just means they aren't the ones I wanted them to make. But this year, the Braves went out and got BJ Upton. Some people have really been hating on the guy and saying he's way overrated and not worth 5 years $75.25 million. In a market where Jayson Werth is worth 7 years and $126 million, I'd say the Braves got BJ for a good deal. He's a great defender and while some of his stats have trended in the wrong direction, (OBP for one) he still brings power and speed to a lineup that has needed that from the right side. There is some worry about his makeup and whether he will be a hard worker, but the Atlanta clubhouse has a way with dealing with those guys. No doubt it will hurt to not have Chipper around to influence, but McCann, Prado, Hudson, and the young guys (Freeman and Heyward) seemed to have established a culture of winning and hard work from what I've read and seen on TV. Needless to say, I couldn't be more excited about the BJ Upton signing. He is, after all, the center fielder on my fantasy team.

The Braves also jettisoned oft-injured and underwhelming Tommy Hanson. I used to drink the Tommy Hanson kool-aide until the last couple of years when the velocity was dropping and the weird delivery never really improved. The nagging shoulder injuries and his mechanics seemed to go hand in hand. I was more than okay about the Braves trading him for a good righty bullpen arm in Jordan Walden. That should help balance out Venters and O'Flaherty.

On a minor note, the Braves said goodbye to David Ross and signed Gerald Laird to play catcher for the first month while McCann recovers from off-season shoulder surgery. After that, Laird will serve as Mac's back up. I'm not crazy about Laird. He has the physique of a couch, but he always ends up on winning teams so he obviously knows how to win.

The one thing the Braves still need to get figured out is the LF and 3B situation. I don't like the idea of Juan Francisco being our everyday 3B or the idea of Reed Johnson being the everyday lett fielder. I really don't like the idea of Prado moving between LF and 3B depending on the handedness of the pitcher. That will surely put him in a funk to be constantly playing different position. If you think where a guy plays defense shouldn't affect how he hits, you're right. But it does. Baseball players are creatures of habit and you can only screw with that so much. Hopefully the Braves will remedy the situation through a trade in the coming months.

While I will be severely bummed to not see Chipper playing 3B anymore, I am very excited about the 2013 Braves and what they can accomplish. Go Braves!

Forever Young

I chose the title of this blog post not because I'm a huge Rod Stewart fan (I'd say I moderately appreciate his work), but because Chipper Jones seems to be drinking from the fountain of youth. I also chose this title because that's how watching Chipper, my boyhood idol, play baseball makes me feel. Forever young.

Last Sunday night was a night that will undoubtedly be put on his Hall of Fame highlight reel. The Braves were trailing 7-3 going into the bottom of the 9th inning when they rallied after a great at bat by Michael Bourn, a fortuitous error by the Phillies and then a magnificent at bat by Chipper. I'm not ready to say goodbye to Chipper yet. When he's still providing memories like this, how can I?

Heyward's Development

I've enjoyed seeing Jason Heyward develop as a player for numerous reasons. First and foremost, I'm an Atlanta Braves fan. Secondly, he's a cornerstone of my fantasy baseball franchise and he has been on my team since he was in the minors. In fact, I traded Jon Lester for Jason Heyward and Jorge De La Rosa in 2009 when Heyward was a minor leaguer. With that being said, I've believed in the guy from the start.

His rookie campaign was very promising. He hit .277 with 18 HR and 72 RBI to go along with 11 SB and a nice .393 OBP for a rookie. Jason showed a lot of patience at the plate and seemed to get a lot of big hits for the Braves that season as he finished second to Buster Posey in the National League Rookie of the Year vote.

His sophomore season was another story. There were injuries that caused him to over compensate at the plate and it really messed with his approach. He hit just .227 and his OBP plummeted to .319. He was limited to only 128 games and there were indications that maybe he was Jeff Francoeur 2.0, meaning not as good as advertised. The comparison seemed logical since they both play right field and were locals. (Heyward wasn't born in Georgia, but did grow up there)

But then year 3 started and Heyward seemed to be a man on a mission. The Braves let go of hitting coach Larry Parrish and brought in Greg Walker from the White Sox. All reports were that Heyward let his shoulder get healthy in the off-season and then hit the cages with Walker and Chipper Jones. I heard reports of Heyward being, "a man possessed" and that he was incredibly focused on breaking out this year. He hasn't disappointed. While he isn't an MVP candidate, he's back to being the middle of the lineup guy he was in 2010 and when he's at the plate, it just seems like he's going to get that hit. Through 129 games this year, Heyward is hitting .272 with 24 HR, 69 RBI, 19 SB and his .343 OBP is decent. Heyward is striking out more this year, but let's not forget the guy is 23 years old. 

I don't believe Heyward is going to be a .325 hitter ever in his career. But .300 at his peak with 30 plus homers and 25 steals is within his grasp. His defense also goes unnoticed much of the time even though he's one of the best in the National League in right field. His arm is impressive and opponents are figuring out you shouldn't run on him unless you know for sure you're going to make it. 

The biggest indication that Heyward is back on track is the fact that he's making pitchers pay again for bad pitches. The great hitters always do that. Take a look at this home run he recently hit in San Francisco. A hanging breaking ball from Clay Hensley goes over the right field wall at AT&T Park. 

I can't wait to watch this guy patrol right field for the Braves for years to come. Now let's just hope the Braves pay up and keep him right in the middle of that lineup.

Ditching the Dish

My wife and I recently decided to make a switch with our tv habits in an effort to lower our costs and also watch more baseball, specifically the Braves. We currently have Dish Network and pay about $50 a month for their basic package along with a DVR. That comes out to roughly $600 a year on tv alone. We have a good satellite internet connection and it was recently upgraded for free by our provider. MLB.TV was running a promotion a few days back in which you could get MLB.TV premium and Post-season tv for only $10. We couldn't pass it up. We will also be getting their MLB.TV package next year for $125 and get a Hulu Plus subscription for $8 a month.

In order to watch this on our television we are going to purchase an Apple TV box in the next couple of weeks. Those currently run $100.

So let's do some math. Current set-up: $50 a month x 12 = $600 a year and no Braves games unless they are the ESPN special game or TBS Saturday game (translation: not very often)

New set-up: $10.40 a month for MLB.TV plus $8 a month for Hulu Plus = roughly $19 a month x 12 = $228 a year and we'll still get to watch all our current favorite shows, tons of Braves games, archived classic shows, and we'll save a boat load. Even if you factor in the one time cost of $100 for an Apple TV box we're still saving a lot of money the first year and even more each year after that.

Needless to say, if you are a big baseball fan and never get to watch your team, you would be wise to consider this route. Keep in mind, if you live near your favorite team, they are going to hit you with black outs frequently. Being Braves fans in Iowa makes this whole thing work a lot better for us.

Draft Day is Coming!

Draft day is quickly approaching for this fantasy baseball team owner. This year has me feeling less confident then in years past. My devotion to Chipper Jones has cost me dearly this year. He took my last keeper slot and I had to throw back Craig Kimbrel. I knew as I was doing it that it was not a head decision, but a heart decision. I do have the first pick of the 11th round in my draft, but unfortunately it is the 17th pick overall once the keepers are off the board. I have to adapt my strategy and will go after a quality back up to Chipper or a solid outfielder to round out my lineup. I've also got catchers on my mind for an early round pick. I am set at starting pitchers and will not grab a shortstop early since there are a few elite ones and the rest are decent average, low power guys. The great ones are taken, so I'll wait to grab a guy who can maybe swipe a few bags and not kill my batting average. After looking at my team this year, I am going to need to guess right on some sleepers and try to work a few trades to win it all this year. I don't think I have as strong a keeper group as I have in years past. I can't wait for draft day on March 17th and to continue my quest for my first World Series championship.