Are the Braves contenders?
Jayson Stark says the Braves could go all the way:
We take you back in time to the first week of March. The 2008 Grapefruit League was only a few days old. But a National League scout already had caught on to something that hadn't yet dawned on the rest of the hemisphere.Tonight is the Braves home opener against the Pirates. Tom Glavine is on the mound. I'm excited about this season. It'll be good times.He'd just returned from watching the new, improved Atlanta Braves. It didn't take him long to make this important announcement:
"They're back."
[...]
Go ahead. Call us nuts. Start typing those e-mails lecturing us on why the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Tigers, Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Rockies, yada yada yada are better than this team. Maybe they are. All we know is, while 98 percent of the planet was busy obsessing on those clubs, the Atlanta Braves built themselves a tremendous team.Everywhere we went this spring, we asked the same question: What team has opened your eyes? Everywhere we went, we heard the same answer: The Braves. Take a listen:
"People are wayyyy underestimating that club," said one NL executive. "It's amazing how far under the radar they've been. But you might think that till you see them play. Then you say, 'Shoot, this team's dangerous.'"
Comments
LETS GO BRAVES!
Seriously though, with our pitching staff, we have 1 or maybe 2 years to win it all before we have to rebuild a new pitching staff.
Posted by: Trev | March 31, 2008 05:38 PM
I agree. We may have a quick window of opportunity this season and next to take advantage of this pitching staff. It all depends on whether they can stay healthy. It will be hard to keep Smoltz, Glavine, and Hampton all off the DL this year.
Posted by: Brian | April 1, 2008 09:57 PM
Chipper staying off of the DL will also be key to the Braves' offense.
Posted by: CJ | April 2, 2008 10:33 AM