Catcher’s Blog

I would just like to say that I started writing this article about two weeks ago, I didn’t want to rush finishing it just to get it posted. I also had other things to worry about than to work on this article, but I finally found time to finish it between working on schoolwork. Also, this article was started before all of the Jake Peavy rumors surfaced, so this article does not mention any of that at all.
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There’s a (somewhat) newly written article that was posted on the Braves official site a few weeks ago about Prado possibly becoming an everyday player, with other people, such as Chipper Jones, backing the idea as well. I believe that Prado could possibly be a useful player if he played more, but I’m not sure that he would be as valuable as he currently is if he did play at one position on an everyday basis. While I do favor KJ over Prado, this perception of mine isn’t based on favoritism. This is just my opinion, do with it what you will. Below I will review each of the players’ positives and negatives and compare the two of them with each other.

I understand completely that KJ could be a solid foundation in a trade package for quality pitching for next season and beyond. I know that we really do need and could really use good and lots of good pitching, but while KJ isn’t a natural second baseman, he is proving that he could possibly be one of the better hitting second baseman in the game. Even if he does end up with another team in 2009, he’ll be providing that team with a lot of upside.

KJ’s Positives & Negatives:

• Being selective is one of KJ’s many positives, but sometimes his downfall is being too selective when at bat. Being too patient led to his strikeouts adding up during the season (coming out at 113), until he started becoming somewhat “more aggressive” at the plate. KJ has a total of 305 SO in two and half seasons, but he does have 171 walks. Below are comparisons to a few of his current teammates.
  

  Jeff Francoeur - 430 SO/115 BB
  Yunel Escobar - 160 SO/68 BB (with 154 games, 525 AB less)
  Brian McCann - 218 SO/151 BB

• KJ is projected to be a power hitter and projected to hit around 20+ homers per season, but has yet to reach that feat in his young career. In ‘07, he hit 16 homers, but in ‘08 his HR total dropped to 12. Hopefully he’ll get better in this department as he gains more experience.
• Another asset that KJ has on his side is decent speed. In two and half seasons, he’s stolen a total of 22 bases. He’s not going to steal a lot of bases, but stealing bases isn’t always everything. KJ is more of a power guy than a speed guy anyway. His speed on the base paths, though, is where he comes in handy, especially scoring from first.
• KJ could probably be one of the better all around 2B in the league if he worked on his defense, which he’s supposedly doing this off season (after he gets back from Italy, of course). Over the past two seasons, KJ has a fielding percentage at 2B of .979. Now really that’s not that great, but hopefully he can improve that number as he gets more experience at the position. KJ did make a lot less errors toward the end of the season, when he was on his monster tear at the plate in September. I don’t think that he’ll ever be gold-glove caliber, though you never can tell, but hopefully he’ll become somewhat decent-to-average over the course of his career, if he stays at 2B.
• KJ makes it no secret that he can be his own worst enemy at times; he wants to succeed so much that he puts pressure on himself and has to do well. He’s stated that he started to relax a bit toward the latter months of the season, plus mixed a bit of “aggression” into his swing and it seemed to work for him. KJ can think too much and when he does, it becomes a bad thing, usually resulting in striking out, sometimes in key situations.
• One of KJ’s other major downfalls is that he can be an extremely streaky hitter. It’s like he stated previously, he had two great months and four mediocre ones. When he finds his groove at the plate, which hopefully he’s slowly getting a grasp of, he’ll become more consistent with more experience. This is, after all, only his second season playing a long, 162-game season.
• Being an arbitration-eligible player for the first time, KJ could see his salary raise to around $2 million or more. This makes some people feel that the Braves are looking to trade him to let the cheaper Prado take over. I do not think that is the case, though, as the Braves decided to keep Matt Diaz last year when he was somewhat expendable with the amount of outfielders that could have been used this past season in his place, for example. KJ will still be a lot cheaper and more of a bargain than most of the other 2B around the NL.
• KJ did beat out Prado, and other candidates as well, for the 2B job before the 2007 season and he could do so again if having to compete for it. I’m not sure that he will have to, though, if he’s not traded.

Now moving on to Prado. I watched nearly every game this past season and when Prado played, he didn’t really impress me too much defensively; his offense, on the other hand, was a lot better, especially after he came back from injury and was filling in for regulars.

The 2008 season was his first full season on the Braves roster, and he did miss some time due to a thumb injury from sliding head-first into 1B, but he did manage to play a total of 78 games. It’s a small sample size to compare to KJ because Prado only played 17 games at 2B this past season, while KJ played a total of 144 games. Prado played more games at 3B (24), playing for Chipper when he was out of the lineup for whatever reason. Prado also filled in at 1B for 17 games for Casey Kotchman when he was with his ailing mother. But since Prado did end up with a .320 BA and can be used as a super utility player, he too, could find himself playing for another team in 2009.

Prado’s Positives & Negatives:

• Prado’s BA has climbed over the past three years as he’s become a more permanent fixture on the Braves 25-man roster, more or less outgrowing the minors and making a small name for himself to become a major utility guy. It’s a small sample size to try to figure out if Prado’s average will continue to stay around .320, or even .300 for that matter, or if it will be in the mid-to-upper .200’s.
• So far, he’s played several different positions, ranging from 1B to LF, which brings me to my next point. Prado can play just about any position on the field, with a few exceptions, of course. Bobby put Prado wherever there was an empty spot on the field just about to have his bat in the lineup, especially toward the end of the season, which proved his versatility when someone had to be out for whatever reason.
• Prado doesn’t have a lot of power, but he will hit balls into gaps and to the warning track to net him a good bit of doubles and a few triples. He might hit a few homers here and there, but he probably won’t hit more than five+ in a season.
• Prado gets on base well, having a .377 OBP in ‘08, which averages out to .363 over three seasons. He’ll walk at a good rate, but he also will have his strikeouts as well.
• His defense isn’t the best in the world. All fans have seen that Prado probably won’t ever be a Gold Glove winner, as I’ve mentioned previously for KJ as well, but I would say, even though they both are not very good at defense, KJ probably has the upper hand on Prado at 2B. Prado’s fielding percentage came out at .967 in ‘08, but his overall fielding percentage at 2B is .962 with 14 errors. KJ and Prado are pretty close defensively at 2B, and both are not that great at it.
• Prado isn’t that fast when it comes to stealing bases, he’s stolen a total of three while being in the majors, but he runs somewhat decent on the base paths. He may or may not score from first on a decent hit; it depends on where the ball is hit, the ballpark and its field conditions, etc. to determine this. He is relatively average with speed, but isn’t the fastest guy on the team.
• Prado will be making a lot less than KJ will in 2009, so the question is, will the Braves want to take on his cheaper salary instead of keeping KJ with his arbitration eligibility? It’s a thought, but I don’t believe they will trade KJ just to have the cheaper salary in Prado at 2B for the next few seasons.

In conclusion, it is clear that one of either KJ or Prado will be playing 2B in 2009. The question is, who will it be? If Prado continues to hit like he did toward the end of season, he may just prove to be the man for an everyday job somewhere. But where? Well, that’s up to certain circumstances (if KJ is traded or not) and up to Bobby Cox. I do believe that if KJ is still a Brave next season, he will keep his 2B job without question. KJ is the better of the two players overall, maybe not by a lot, but he is, at least in my opinion.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that we had some “special” interest in Mark Sweeney as our hopeful off-the-bench, lefty hitter. Since the Dodgers already signed Sweeney, it is believed that the Braves will go for the internal option in Scott Thorman, instead of signing another free agent. I could see this internal option working only if Scott rebounds from last season’s .216/.258/.394; you can’t just give up on the guy since it was his rookie season and he did hit 11 home runs with 36 RBIs in 287 at-bats. Scott apparently seems to also take a while to settle into things before “getting it” and getting into the swing of things, no pun intended.

The Braves, on the verge of losing Mark Sweeney to the Dodgers, likely will stick with Scott Thorman rather than sign another free agent to be their left-handed hitter off the bench.

Thorman, 26, batted only .216 as a rookie last season, but hit 11 home runs in 287 at-bats. The Braves viewed Sweeney — who is second to Lenny Harris on the all-time pinch-hit list — as a special case.

- Source

Here is a video on YouTube of an interview that Frenchy did while in Greenville, SC for an annual prayer breakfast.

Here is a Spring Training preview of what to look forward to this season.

Bobby isn’t considering this year as his final year and “his future is undecided” at this point. This article also tells us who the early birds are that showed up today in Lake Buena Vista a day early: Brian McCann, Matt Diaz, Buddy Carlyle, Jeff Bennett, Peter Moylan, Tyler Yates, Mike Gonzalez, Phil Stockman, Blaine Boyer, Ryan Drese, and Jeff Ridgway. The rest of the pitchers and catchers are supposed to report tomorrow and I haven’t heard anything as to why anyone won’t make it tomorrow as of yet. 

I’m working on part 4 and 5 of the Where We Stand series and I’m giving myself more time to finish the series instead of having it done by tomorrow because I won’t have it finished by then. The first Spring Training game isn’t until February 27th, so I figure if I do extend the time frame until then, I should get it finished.

Also, I’m trying to think of different posting ideas to do on the site instead of doing news, etc all the time. I’m going to do my own thought posts during the season, and even some during Spring Training, and also continue doing Braves Mailbag and Rumor Mill posts, but all there was to post during the off season was news and predictions, unfortunately. I’ve come up with a few things, but if you think of something you’d like to see me do on here, please feel free to e-mail your suggestion(s) to me at catchersblog@gmail.com. I’m not saying I’ll do them all, but all suggestions are indeed welcome!

There’s not really any news, but the official site did go on a mini-post frenzy today. Of course, there’s the Braves Mailbag, which was about Gorkys Hernandez, what our chances of signing Johan Santana were if we didn’t have Hampton on the payroll, the chances of Buddy Carlyle making the starting rotation, leadoff possibilities, and also the options of where to catch Braves games now that TBS will no longer carry games.

Mark Bowman makes his predictions of what the team will look like after Spring Training. I’ve only skimmed over the article a bit, but it looks like a good read and a knowledgeable piece for those who are wondering about some pre-spring thoughts. Also, another piece that is more of an article, that covers all the pieces that was needed for this season and all of Wren’s accomplishments in doing so throughout the off season.

AJC has posted the broadcast numbers of games this season and mentions SportsSouth and FSN South being the primary networks to carry games, with Peachtree TV covering most of the remainder and ESPN2 and FOX picking up the rest.

FSN South and SportsSouth will be the primary broadcaster of Braves games this season, with the two networks airing a combined 106 regular-season games.

An additional 45 games will be broadcast on Peachtree TV.

ESPN2 will air the season opener March 30 against Washington.

SportsSouth will air 81 games and FSN South will air 25 games. The networks will also televise seven Braves spring training games. The broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Jon Sciambi and analyst Joe Simpson return for a second season.

The Braves’ two exhibition games against Cleveland at Turner Field will be broadcast on Peachtree TV.

- Source

There’s not really any news, but the official site did go on a mini-post frenzy today. Of course, there’s the Braves Mailbag, which was about Gorkys Hernandez, what our chances of signing Johan Santana were if we didn’t have Hampton on the payroll, the chances of Buddy Carlyle making the starting rotation, leadoff possibilities, and also the options of where to catch Braves games now that TBS will no longer carry games.

Mark Bowman makes his predictions of what the team will look like after Spring Training. I’ve only skimmed over the article a bit, but it looks like a good read and a knowledgeable piece for those who are wondering about some pre-spring thoughts. Also, another piece that is more of an article, that covers all the pieces that was needed for this season and all of Wren’s accomplishments in doing so throughout the off season.

AJC has posted the broadcast numbers of games this season and mentions SportsSouth and FSN South being the primary networks to carry games, with Peachtree TV covering most of the remainder and ESPN2 and FOX picking up the rest.

FSN South and SportsSouth will be the primary broadcaster of Braves games this season, with the two networks airing a combined 106 regular-season games.

An additional 45 games will be broadcast on Peachtree TV.

ESPN2 will air the season opener March 30 against Washington.

SportsSouth will air 81 games and FSN South will air 25 games. The networks will also televise seven Braves spring training games. The broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Jon Sciambi and analyst Joe Simpson return for a second season.

The Braves’ two exhibition games against Cleveland at Turner Field will be broadcast on Peachtree TV.

- Source

This is basically a catch-up post for me to post all of the recent news/tidbits of this week. While it’s not much, it is something as the month of January is coming to a close and February is on its way with only 20 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. Lately, I know I have not been really great at updating, but I hope to get better and back to like I was to some extent. We’ll see how this goes as I can’t promise anything.

- Firstly, not only did Soriano and the Braves reach a deal on his salary for the ‘08 season, they’ve come to an agreement for the ‘09 season as well. So, we’ll have Soriano as our closer at least until the ‘09 season when he reaches free agency. This is a really good thing considering our past troubles with closers, aka Bob Wickman, who is probably going to retire should no one want him, which is the case so far. But Soriano should dominate in the closer’s role and we’ve seen what he’s capable of doing in this role, even if it was only a short glimpse last season.

- The Braves have changed times for the home games, trying to accommodate fans’ wishes. Monday-Thursday games will all start at 7:10 pm, while Friday games will start at 7:35 pm due to Atlanta traffic. Saturday games will begin at 7:10 pm unless the Braves are a part of FOX’s game of the week, then games will start at 3:55 pm. Sunday games will start later at 1:35 pm instead of the usual 1:05 pm as in recent years. The Braves are also testing a 4:35 pm game on August 18th to see how many families would come, directly following school in the afternoon, making it so the kids will be home at a decent hour on those days. Also, games that ESPN cover will continue at 8:05 pm, but they have not picked any games up as of yet.

- There was a Braves Notes update today and they included some answers to many people’s questions.

Chuck James didn’t take on his usual off season job at Lowe’s, wanting to rehab his injured left shoulder. Chuck says he’s ready for Spring Training and doesn’t think he’s got a rotation spot either, that he’ll have to work to get one.

Mike Hampton appears to be doing well after recovering from a pulled hamstring earlier this winter. Frank Wren says Hampton’s throwing and running while trying to get ready for Spring Training.

A contract extension for Jeff Francoeur is hopefully going to be in the works soon. Jeff switched agents this off season, to Lonnie Cooper, who is agent to John Smoltz and Bobby Cox, in hope of attaining a long-term contract similar to McCann’s last season. Jeff is eligible for arbitration after this season and the Braves would like to avoid that if at all possible.

Mike Gonzalez is well ahead of his rehab schedule the Braves have set for him and might even be back before the June date that was originally thought. Gonzo has been throwing bullpen sessions for over a month and feels great. This is really good news, but we shouldn’t expect too much from him to start with, though.

“I wanted to break [camp] with the team,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously, that’s not going to happen. So I’m pretty much going on what they have to say. I feel ready and I feel good. The timetable that they’ve given to me, I’m on course.”