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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Southern Trouble Brewing- An Atlanta Braves Franchise (Opening Day Recap)

Posted on April 3, 2011 at 02:11 PM.

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The Braves kicked off their season by showing off their new and improved offense. The Braves struggled early against Strasburg, who had his fastball working early. However, around the fourth inning, the Braves started to catch onto the pitch and a mini-rally was started when Heyward led off the fourth inning by being hit by a pitch. A sequence of singles was capped off by McLouth's 2 RBI single. Riggleman chose to replace Strasburg with Clippard. Clippard held the Braves at bay for his first couple innings, but ran into trouble. Dan Uggla, with two runners on, blasted a home run to left field, his first as a Brave. Later, Uggla left with an injured abdomen. He is listed as day-to-day and may return as early as Wednesday. The pitching, besides Sherrill's eighth inning troubles, looked great. Lowe struck out nine hitter, most with his slider. Martinez finished the game, giving Fredi Gonzalez his first win as Braves manager.

Braves MVP-Dan Uggla(2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI)

ATL at WAS - Nationals Park
Mar 31, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta Braves (1-0)	0	0	0	4	0	1	3	1	0	9	13	2
Washington Nationals (0-1)	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	12	0
W: D. Lowe (1-0, 1.29) L: S. Strasburg (0-1, 9.82)

Atlanta Braves
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Prado	5	0	1	1	0	0	0	.200
Heyward	4	2	1	0	0	2	0	.250
Jones	5	2	2	0	0	1	0	.400
McCann	5	1	2	1	0	0	0	.400
Uggla	4	2	2	4	0	2	1	.500
Young	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
McLouth	3	1	1	2	1	0	0	.333
Gonzalez	5	1	2	1	0	1	0	.400
Freeman	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.333
Lowe	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
Conrad	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
TEAM TOTALS	39	9	13	9	2	9	1	.333
BATTING: 2B: Uggla (1), Gonzalez (1) HR: Uggla (1) RBI: Prado (1), McCann (1), Uggla 4(4), McLouth 2(2), Gonzalez (1) HBP: McLouth (1), Heyward (1)
BASERUNNING: CS: McLouth (1)
FIELDING: E: Jones 2(2)

Washington Nationals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Bernadina	5	0	1	0	0	3	0	.200
Desmond	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
Zimmerman	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
Burton	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
LaRoche	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.500
Ankiel	4	1	1	0	0	2	0	.250
Espinosa	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	.500
Hairston Jr.	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.500
Rodriguez	4	0	1	1	0	1	0	.250
Strasburg	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
Clippard	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
Ward	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Morse	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	38	3	12	2	0	11	0	.316
BATTING: 2B: Ankiel (1) RBI: Espinosa (1), Rodriguez (1)
BASERUNNING: CS: Espinosa (1)

Atlanta Braves
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Lowe	7	8	2	1	0	9	0	1.29
Sherrill	1	3	1	1	0	1	0	9.00
Martinez	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9	12	3	2	0	11	0	2.00
PITCHING: Pitches-Strikes: Lowe 92, Sherrill 12, Martinez 14

Washington Nationals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Strasburg	3.2	6	4	4	0	4	0	9.82
Clippard	3.1	4	4	4	1	3	1	10.80
Gorzelanny	2.0	3	1	1	1	2	0	4.50
TEAM TOTALS	9	13	9	9	2	9	1	9.00
PITCHING: HBP: Strasburg (1), Clippard (1) Pitches-Strikes: Strasburg 45, Clippard 46, Gorzelanny 28

Opening Day Depth Chart

Posted on April 3, 2011 at 02:03 PM.

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Atlanta Braves Depth Chart - 2011

Catcher
Brian McCann
David Ross

First Base
Freddie Freeman
Eric Hinske

Second Base
Dan Uggla
Brooks Conrad

Third Base
Chipper Jones

Shortstop
Alex Gonzalez
Brandon Hicks

Left Field
Martin Prado

Center Field
Nate McLouth
Matt Young

Right Field
Jason Heyward

Starting Pitcher
Derek Lowe
Tommy Hanson
Tim Hudson
Jair Jurrjens
Brandon Beachy
Mike Minor (AAA)

Relief Pitcher
George Sherrill
Scott Linebrink
Peter Moylan
Eric O'Flaherty
Christhian Martinez

Closer
Craig Kimbrel
Jonny Venters

Disabled List
Kris Medlen (60-Day)

Opening Series vs. Nationals

Posted on April 3, 2011 at 02:02 PM.

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The Braves open their series this weekend in Washington. All 3 games are day games.

Atlanta Braves 2011 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Mar 31	at Washington Nationals
Apr 2	at Washington Nationals
Apr 3	at Washington Nationals

Southern Trouble Brewing- An Atlanta Braves Franchise (Opening Day Preview)

Posted on April 3, 2011 at 01:23 PM.

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The 2011 Season has finally begun for the Atlanta Braves! After a long offseason, the Georgia team has made a few roster and personnel moves.
IN
Manager- Fredi Gonzalez
Hitting Coach- Larry Parrish
Bench Coach- Carlos Tosca
Second Baseman- Dan Uggla
Relievers- George Sherrill, Scott Linebrink
OUT
Manager-Bobby Cox
Bench Coach- Chino Cadahia
First base Coach- Glenn Hubbard
First Basemen- Troy Glaus and Derrek Lee
Utility Infielder- Omar Infante
Outfielders- Melky Cabrera, Rick Ankiel
Relievers- Takashi Saito, Billy Wagner, Mike Dunn, Kyle Farnsworth

Though the Braves had more quantitative losses, they gained in quality in their roster moves. There were also internal moves after spring training battles were fought. The Opening Day roster projects as:

Starting Lineup by Position:
C- Brian McCann
1B- Freddie Freeman
2B- Dan Uggla
3B- Chipper Jones
SS- Alex Gonzalez
LF- Martin Prado
CF- Nate McLouth
RF- Jason Heyward

Bench
IF-Brooks Conrad
IF-Brandon Hicks
1B/LF-Eric Hinske
C-David Ross
2B/OF-Matt Young

Starting Rotation
1. Derek Lowe
2. Tommy Hanson
3. Tim Hudson
4. Jair Jurrjens
5. Brandon Beachy
Bullpen:
LR- Christhian Martinez
MR- George Sherrill, Scott Linebrink, Eric O�Flaherty
SU- Peter Moylan, Jonny Venters
CL- Craig Kimbrel

Notable Top Prospects and their Roster Placement
AAA- Randall Delgado, Jordan Schafer, Mycal Jones
AA- Tyler Pastornicky, Julio Teheran, Carlos Perez, J.J. Hoover, Brett Oberholtzer, Arodys Vizcaino
A- Matt Lipka, Cory Harrilchak, Christian Bethancourt

The revamped offense of the Braves, combined with the always-solid pitching staff, give Atlanta fans hope that they can improve upon their NLDS exit the year earlier. Young contributors, such as Kimbrel Heyward, and Freeman, add to the strong veteran core of Hudson, Jones, and McCann and form a strong base to give the Braves hope for this year and the future.

Southern Trouble Brewing- An Atlanta Braves Franchise (2010 Braves Review)

Posted on April 3, 2011 at 12:11 PM.

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The 2010 season marked a return to prominence for the Atlanta Braves. The season started with the emergence of Jason Heyward, baseball�s number one prospect. After hitting a homer in his first career plate appearance, he led Atlanta to a tie with Philly for first place by the start of the next week. However, a nine game losing streak followed and put fans into a state of panic. The streak, though, did not forecast prolonged failure. Atlanta became one of the hottest teams in the league in May, led by outstanding contributions from Troy Glaus, the NL Player of the Month. Though Glaus�s success did not continue, the team�s success did, and by the All-Star break, they led the NL East. The All-Star game, featuring Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, Omar Infante, Martin Prado, and Billy Wagner, resulted in an NL win for the first time in 13 years, thanks to Brian McCann. The next day, Atlanta swapped struggling shortstop Yunel Escobar for a shortstop exhibiting power, Toronto�s Alex Gonzalez. The Braves made another swap at the deadline, dealing Gregor Blanco, Tim Collins, and Jesse Chavez for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth. The Braves stayed atop the NL East. However, things began to derail in August. Kris Medlen suffered an elbow injury, requiring Tommy John surgery. Later, Chipper Jones, who had been on a hot streak and, as always, was a team leader, suffered a knee injury that would cost him the rest of the season. Within the next month, the Braves would struggle and eventually lose the NL East lead to Philadelphia. The final week of the season was tumultuous, as Martin Prado suffered a season ending hip injury at a point in the season where every game counted. On the final day, the Braves beat Philadelphia to secure their Wild Card berth. Atlanta, in Bobby Cox�s final season, had entered the postseason for the first time since 2005. Their opponent in the NLDS was San Francisco, led by a ridiculous pitching staff. Ace Tim Lincecum showed this in Game 1, beating Atlanta single handedly by a 1-0 score. Game 2 was looking similar for the Braves, but a late comeback propelled a 4-4 tie into the extra innings. Here, Kyle Farnsworth protected a tie after Billy Wagner suffered an injury to further hurt the injury-bitten Braves. His work paid off when Rick Ankiel, another acquisition from the same trade as Farnsworth, hit a towering shot into McCovey Cove, leading the Braves to a late win. Game 3 contained another **** homerun, this time by Eric Hinske. The Braves were a strike away from gaining a series advantage on their home field when the wheels fell off. A forgettable error by Brooks Conrad, known for his iconic grand slam on May 20 to finish a 9-3 comeback against the Reds in the ninth, allowed the Giants to take the series lead. The fourth game of the series was another dramatic game, characterized by the toughness of veteran Derek Lowe, but eventually, the Braves succumbed to the eventual World Champion Giants. As Braves fans said goodbye to Bobby Cox, the Giants showed their respect, and the 2010 Atlanta Braves season was officially over.