Atlanta Braves

Contributor: Alex Remington, www.chop-n-change.com

2007 Record: 84-78

2007 Summary: The Atlanta Braves improved on their poor 2006 campaign by finishing 6 games over .500, but it was still a disappointing result for fans of the most successful NL team of the past two decades.

It wasn't for lack of trying, however. A sharp offseason trade for Rafael Soriano and midseason blockbuster deal for Mark Teixeira depleted the farm system, but the team quickly restocked in the draft. Teixeira takes Andruw Jones's cleanup spot, which is a big improvement. Jones's seasonlong slump may have been the single biggest drag on the team, preventing them from seriously contending for the division. Career or near-career years were enjoyed by Matt Diaz, Edgar Renteria, rookie fill-in and new starting shortstop Yunel Escobar, and Chipper Jones, and the NL version of Teixeira. Second baseman Kelly Johnson, in his first year at the position, was one of the top offensive second basemen in the NL.
John Smoltz continued his late-career brilliance and Tim Hudson enjoyed his best year since coming to the Braves, but the rest of the rotation was near-disastrous. Number 3 starter Chuck James, hampered by an undiscovered rotator cuff tear, started 30 games but pitched only 160 innings of 100 ERA+ ball. With Mike Hampton out all year, Buddy Carlyle, Jo-Jo Reyes, Kyle Davies, Mark Redman, Lance Cormier, Anthony Lerew, and Jeff Bennett started 66 games in the number 4 and number 5 spots, putting up a 6.42 ERA.

2008 Key Additions: Yunel Escobar and Mark Teixeira will have starting jobs all year after being half-season players in 2007. They will likely make a far greater offensive contribution than stopgap center fielder Mark Kotsay, who will try to cover Andruw Jones' s old territory until star prospect Jordan Schafer is ready to take over. Tom Glavine is back for one final season in a Braves uniform, and there are some reports that Mike Hampton is finally healthy for the first time since August 2005. Jair Jurrjens, acquired in the Renteria trade, is set to fill the final spot in the rotation.

2008 Key Losses: Hall of Fame center fielder Andruw Jones is now a Dodger. Shortstop Edgar Renteria is now a Tiger. Closer Bob Wickman, who pitched brilliantly in 2006 but completely lost it midway through 2007, is out of a job.

2008 Starting Lineup:
1. Kelly Johnson 2B
2. Yunel Escobar SS
3. Chipper Jones 3B
4. Mark Teixeira 1B
5. Brian McCann C
6. Jeff Francoeur RF
7. Mark Kotsay CF
8. Matt Diaz LF

2008 Starting Rotation: John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton, Jair Jurrjens

2008 Closer: Rafael Soriano

2008 MVP: Mark Teixeira - As long as he stays healthy (which Chipper Jones, at this point in his career, cannot), he'll be the offensive star of a team that's as offensively dangerous as any in the league.

The Braves will be successful if: the Braves find stability in the starting rotation. The rotation, their biggest weakness last year, is still a worry: if 42-year-old Tom Glavine starts acting his age, Mike Hampton reinjures himself, and Chuck James is unable to come back from his own injuries, all very realistic possibilities, the Braves will once again have to scramble to find retreads and marginal prospects to eat innings. However, newcomer Jair Jurrjens appears to have the ability to hold his own at the bottom of the rotation, as does newly-slim Jeff Bennett, who can lie in wait at AAA until needed.

2008 Season Prediction: The Braves aren't a sure thing, but they have a strong team, and one with fewer weaknesses on paper at the start of the season than they've had in several years -- and arguably fewer weaknesses than the pitching thin Phillies and aging, brittle, prospect-thin Mets. Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan are a strong back end of the bullpen, Smoltz and Hudson are a strong top of the rotation, and Jones and Teixeira are a strong middle of the order. As long as the injury bug doesn't strike the Braves harder than any other team in the league, and Johan Santana doesn't go 35-0, the Braves have a very strong chance to win the division.

Standings Prediction:
1. Atlanta Braves
2. New York Mets
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Washington Nationals
5. Florida Marlins