(News & Bar Talk) What's Next For The Braves?

[HMFFL]

Look, I understand that some Braves fans are frustrated that general manager Frank Wren hasn't done more this offseason

The Marlins seemed to add a new player every 15 minutes, and the Nationals and Phillies also made impact acquisitions. Meanwhile, the Braves stayed the course, slow and steady, content to play the same hand again.

Actually, that's not true, but it fits the narrative. Wren worked hard on several trades, but never found one that felt right. Rather than making a deal for the sake of making a deal, he took a deep breath and decided he still liked his team.

During Wren's 35 years in the game, one of the most valuable lessons he has learned is that sometimes stuff happens that can't be explained.

"I think for five months, we saw what kind of team we really have," Wren said. "We could still make an addition, but we've held back our resources. We're good enough to let the 2012 season play out and have a better idea of where our needs are." http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/arti ... l&c_id=atl

[Superiorblogman]

Garbage article. Wren and Sund are the same person. Always throwing there years of service out there but ducking the fact that they don't have the championships to show for all of those years. Give 3 to 5 years of greatness over 35 anyday. The young guy that just left Boston for the Cubs is better than Wren and Sund combined in less than a third of the time.

[HMFFL]

Heyward is supposedly hitting the ball very well, making solid contact, and has his power back.

[Nemesis21]

Heyward is supposedly hitting the ball very well, making solid contact, and has his power back.

I read about that, he also lost weight. They say he showed up to ST last yr at 256, he will show up at this yrs ST at 235. He has also spent much of the winter working with Chipper and Greg Walker on his swing.

[ATL Boy]

Yea I here the coaching staff really broke his swing down this offseason, going all the way back to his stance.

[ATL Boy]

Hanson feeling good as Spring Training nears http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/arti ... l&c_id=atl

This is big, Hanson will be huge for us this season, he's one of our best young arms and will be our ace in 1-2 years if healthy; I am so excited for the future I can't wait to see a rotation of:
Hanson
Teheran (Teheran might be the ace with Hanson as the number 2 guy)
Beachy
Delgado
Minor/Gilmarth/Medlen (if Minor isn't traded)
With a Bullpen of
Martinez (if resigned), Moylin (if resigned), Vizcaino (because of his durability issues), O'Flaherity, Venters, and Kimbrel
If all these young guys can live up to their full potential we might just see a repeat of the 90s and first half of the 00s when the Braves won 15 straight division titles.

[Superiorblogman]

Very disappointing. I don't think he needed any changes he was just fine when he entered the league until Chipper and Bobby wanted him to swing at anything and everything. What made Jason special was his discipline. He had a pros mindset. I will be so glad when he moves on from this organization

[Nemesis21]

Very disappointing. I don't think he needed any changes he was just fine when he entered the league until Chipper and Bobby wanted him to swing at anything and everything. What made Jason special was his discipline. He had a pros mindset. I will be so glad when he moves on from this organization

Dumb post of the month right there. You have no idea what you are talking about. Did you see Heyward play last yr, or you just like to be the troll of the board ?

[Superiorblogman]

Absolutely nothing wrong with Heyward stance or swing like I said. The Braves so-called fixed Andruw's swing 1 year and he had a great year. Then it was all downhill. Do you remember that? I do. Braves have a history of being smart-dumb.

[Nemesis21]

Absolutely nothing wrong with Heyward stance or swing like I said. The Braves so-called fixed Andruw's swing 1 year and he had a great year. Then it was all downhill. Do you remember that? I do. Braves have a history of being smart-dumb.

I do remember that. Andruw tried to change his swing every yr, can't blame the Braves for that.

[HMFFL]

The pitching staff will still need the offense to produce some runs for them. I get tired of seeing our pitching staff only getting one or two runs to deal with.

Braves pitching staff will take them deep: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/arti ... l&c_id=atl

[HMFFL]

Most of the position players have arrive at spring camp nearly a week early. Tyler Pastornicky and Michael Bourn as potential starters are the only two not there yet.

[HMFFL]

After his teammates took swings and played catch at ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex Sunday morning, Jason Heyward stayed on the main field alone to run sprints and complete his conditioning drills.

"I'm feeling great," Heyward said. "I'm working pretty hard. My confidence is there and I'm healthy. This is probably the best I've felt in a long time."

Heyward entered this winter determined to avoid the frustration he felt as he hit .227 with 14 homers and a .389 slugging percentage during the 2011 season. The 22-year-old Braves outfielder began a conditioning program and improved his diet. He stayed away from steak throughout the offseason and cured his Chick-fil-A addiction by sticking with grilled chicken sandwiches.

Heyward lost nearly 20 pounds about a month into this program and has kept his weight around 235 pounds over the past three months.

Along with gaining a leaner frame, Heyward spent the past month attempting to kill some of the bad habits created as he battled shoulder discomfort last year. Braves hitting coach Greg Walker has preached efficiency with the swing and the young outfielder seems to have gained some immediate comfort with the changes.

"There's less effort for me to do what I want to do," Heyward said. "As far as the ball jumping off the bat, I know that's been there and it's good to see there again. It feels free and easy. It doesn't feel like my body is in the way. I'm able to stay behind the ball." http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/arti ... l&c_id=atl

[HMFFL]

Tommy Hanson suffered a concussion after hitting his head in a car accident. Apparently he blew a tire and ran off the road.

[Superiorblogman]

The whole Heyward struggle thing is blown out of proportion by a cheap franchise that needs to come out of pocket to improve instead of putting all this pressure on young players.