Righty swinging Dale Murphy was a great player for the Braves but he just missed playing on the good teams that they had. Murphy played 15 years for the Braves appearing in 1,926 games in which he was 1,901 for 7,098 (.268 avg, .829 OPS) with 1,103 runs scored, 371 homers, 1,143 RBIs and 160 stolen bases. Murphy was at his best during the 1982 and 1983 seasons when he won back to back MVP Awards in the N.L. Murphy played in 162 games for the Braves in 1982 and he was 168 for 598 (.281 avg, .885 OPS) with 113 runs scored, 36 homers, 109 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. He followed that up by playing in 162 games in 1983 in which he was 178 for 589 (.302 avg, .933 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 36 homers, 121 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Murphy is all over the record books for the Braves. He is #4 all-time in Braves’ history in games played (1,926), #5 in hits (1,901), #6 in runs scored (1,103), #4 in homers (371) and #4 in RBIs (1,143). Despite being one of the best players in Braves’ history I just don’t think his overall numbers justify getting him to the Hall of Fame.

The Braves went cheap at 1B allowing Adam LaRoche to leave as a free agent. They signed 33-year old righty swinging Troy Glaus to play 1B for them in 2010. There is a risk involved with Glaus as he missed most of last season with a bum shoulder. Glaus played in 14 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 5 for 29 (.172 avg, .491 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The Braves are thinking that if Glaus is healthy that he will provide stats like 78 runs scored, 30.5 homers and 90.5 RBIs which are his season averages between 2005-2008. Glaus is a natural 3B so he will have a lot of work to do defensively this spring as he adjusts to the other side of the baseball diamond. He didn’t make any errors in 2 games at 1B last season for the Cardinals.

32-year old lefty swinging Eric Hinske will spend most of his time in the outfield unless Glaus goes down to injury. He played in 6 games at 1B for the Yankees and Pirates last season and he didn’t make any errors. 26-year old righty swinging Martin Prado is the starting 2B this season for the Braves so don’t expect him to slide to 1B this year. He played in 28 games at 1B for the Braves last season and he only made 1 error.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: C-

The Braves really stunk almost the whole time righty starting pitcher Rick Mahler was there but it wasn’t his fault as he was a workhorse for the team. He pitched in 307 games (218 starts) in his 11 years with the Braves and he was 79-89 with 2 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. But, he was especially good during the 1984 and 1985 seasons for the Braves despite the fact that the team was 146-178 those two years. Mahler pitched in 77 games (68 starts) in 1984 and 1985 and he was 30-25 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Mahler was just at the wrong place at the wrong time or he would have finished with a lot more wins than he did in his career.

25-year old lefty swinging Brian McCann will be the starter behind the plate for the Braves in 2010 and he is one of the best hitters at that position in all of baseball. McCann played in 138 games for the Braves last season and he was 137 for 488 (.281 avg, .835 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 21 homers, 94 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. His hitting makes up for his sometimes shaky defense. He made 12 errors (most in majors) and he had 7 passed balls in 127 games behind the plate. It’s not all bad for him on D as he has thrown out 22% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Braves’ pitchers had a 3.65 ERA throwing to him.

32-year old righty swinging catcher David Ross is a solid defender with good power. He played in 54 games for the Braves last season and he was 35 for 128 (.273 avg, .888 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers and 20 RBIs. He does whiff a lot (39 times last season) so don’t expect him to maintain a average like he had last season. Ross had 5 passed balls last season in only 52 games behind the plate and that is pretty poor but he only made 1 error. Ross has a amazing throwing arm as he nailed 43% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Braves’ pitchers had a 3.43 ERA with him behind the dish. You gotta like Ross as a back-up behind the plate.

26-year old righty swinging Clint Sammons might be #3 in line for the Braves behind the plate. He played in 6 games for the Braves last season and he was 2 for 11 (.182 avg, .432 OPS) with 1 run scored. He also played in 80 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 64 for 299 (.214 avg, .610 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 9 homers, 37 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Sammons didn’t make any errors or have any passed balls in 30 innings behind the plate for the Braves last season. He also threw out both runners trying to steal on him last season and Braves’ pitchers had a 2.40 ERA when throwing to him. He is a good defender but I just don’t see him hitting enough to ever be a starting catcher in the majors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: A

The Braves have designated 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brandon Jones for assignment. Jones played in 5 games for the Braves last season and he was 4 for 13 (.308 avg, .778 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 107 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 108 for 384 (.281 avg, .779 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 7 homers, 57 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Jones has played in 51 games in his career with the Braves and he is 38 for 148 (.257 avg, .678 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer and 22 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if Jones makes the Braves pay for this or not as he was once one of the brighest prospects in the organization.

UPDATE: Jones has been claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The real beginning of the Braves’ amazing run of division championships started before they ever won one. In 1987 the Braves traded 36-year old right starting pitcher Doyle Alexander to the Tigers for a young prospect named John Smoltz. Alexander went on to finish 9-0 during the regular season for the Tigers with a 1.53 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. But in the American League Championship Series, Alexander started 2 games and he was 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. He pitched three years for the Tigers starting 78 games in which he was 29-29 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

John Smoltz is one of the best pitchers in the history of the Atlanta Braves. He pitched in 708 games (466 starts) for the Braves and he was 210-147 with 154 saves, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He finished with 3,011 strikeouts with the Braves which is the most in team history. He is fifth all-time in Braves’ history in wins and he is also first in Braves’ history in saves. Smoltz pitched on 8 All-Star teams in his career with the Braves. He won the Cy Young Award in 1996 with the Braves starting 35 games in which he was 24-8 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He whiffed 276 batters while only allowing 199 hits in 253 2/3 innings in 1996 for the Braves. But, Smoltz really made his mark in the post-season with the Braves. He has pitched in 40 games (27 starts) in his post season career with the Braves and he is 15-4 with 4 saves, a 2.65 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. The Braves should have wore a ski mask when making this trade as they stole Smoltz from the Tigers.

On April 8th, 1974 I was five years old. It was 9 o’clock and my mom informed by dad that it was time for me to go to bed. My dad said that I can go to bed after Hank Aaron bats and he was on deck. Aaron proceeded to crank a Al Downing (Dodgers) pitch over the left-center field fence to pass up Babe Ruth with his 715th homer. He went on to tack on 40 more homers in his career before retiring with 755. Aaron was not a steroided up freak like Barry Bonds so I still consider him the all-time home run king in my mind. Aaron played in 3,076 games in his career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and he was 3,600 for 11,628 (.310 avg, .944 OPS) with 2,107 runs scored, 733 homers, 2,202 RBIs and 240 stolen bases. Aaron was much more than just a home run hitter as his career high was 47 in 1971. Aaron is #2 all-time in homers (755), tied for 4th in runs all-time with Babe Ruth (2,174), #3 all-time in hits (3,771) and he is the all-time leader in RBIs (2,174). To me, Hank Aaron is the best hitter to ever walk the face of the Earth and no one will be able to change my mind about that.

The Braves did some tinkering to the starting line-up but I’m not so sure how much better they are. Here is what the starting line-up would look like if the season started next week:

C-Brian McCann
1B-Troy Glaus
2B-Martin Prado
SS-Yunel Escobar
3B-Chipper Jones
LF-Matt Diaz/Eric Hinske
CF-Melky Cabrera
RF-Nate McLouth

I really don’t like this line-up that much as Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus are definite risks as far as health wise. I do think that Hinske and Diaz could put up huge numbers in a platoon. I just hope the Braves don’t waste great pitching like they did in 2009.

The Braves have signed 32-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B/LF/RF Eric Hinske to a 1-year deal. Hinske played in 93 games for the Yankees and Pirates last season and he was 46 for 190 (.242 avg, .780 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 25 RBIs. Hinske has now played in 996 games in his major league career and he is 785 for 3,096 (.254 avg, .774 OPS) with 476 runs scored, 113 homers, 424 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. This was a great signing for the Braves because Troy Glaus and Chipper Jones are both a little injury prone and Hinske can handle both positions defensively while providing some power with the stick. He could also work his way into a platoon with Matt Diaz in RF if the Braves don’t bring in another outfielder. Eric Hinske has played in three straight World Series so maybe he will be a good luck charm for the Braves this year.