Os4days

Thanks Mr Obvious … like I don’t know this!

Fair enough but Atlanta also has all of their stud young players locked up for the next 5 years or so. My point is that we do things more concerned about service time rather than putting the best players on the field. I thought with the ownership change that Elias would change his approach. It doesn’t seem that way.

Jackson was drafted the same year as Andruw Jones’s kid and it got me thinking about Andruw Jones who at age 19 was brought up on a very good Atlanta team and helped propel them to even better seasons as a 20 year old and beyond. Bottom line is Atlanta brought him up and played him because they thought he would help them. They didn’t look at service time as a reason not to play him.

So essentially we are going with Westburg at second, Urias at third with Wong as an occasional starter and Mateo backing up Gunnar at short. This is really ridiculous. Yes it is similar to our lineup last year when we won 101 games but this is a new season. Do you think other teams are worried about that lineup?

I guess I’m kind of an old school Earl Weaver style fan. I prefer to have a true power hitter at the corners. I know Mountcastle gets a lot of criticism but I said after his bout with vertigo that we can’t give up on him. At the same time he’s 27 and the next couple seasons will determine who he really is as a hitter. To me Westburg will be a good hitter but mostly the type of bat you would expect from a second baseman, good contact, occasional power and a .290 hitter. Coby fits what I want in a third baseman. A guy who can jack a 3 run homer at any time. He has a rocket arm. He may not come out of spring training on the roster but I look forward to a Coby, Gunnar, Jackson, and Mountcastle infield for years to come. It could really be special!

Regardless of when Means comes back, Im not sure if he can be counted upon for the entire season. Plus he is a free agent next year and I can’t see the team signing him to a long term deal. With Irvin getting rocked again today, Im worried about him being our 5th starter. Hopefully Tyler bounces back and can be counted upon all year but who knows. I really hope Elias trades for a reliable pitching vet. It may require trading away Urias, Stowers and maybe a Westburg but to me Mayo and Jackson are our future at 2nd and 3rd.

I live in Philly so I am able to watch this game. Sure Holliday will have his struggles but I love how aggressive he is at the plate. That first hit off Wheeler was sweet! Should have been a homer in most parks. If he isn’t on the opening day roster, I will be highly disappointed. You got to play him.

The quote from Hyde about Mayo I find fairly interesting. If Jackson will get every opportunity to start at second moving Westburg to third, is it possible Westburg gets moved and Mayo stepping in at third? * Hyde said Mayo probably will play third base and first base in camp to let him get comfortable. Mayo has been preparing to get reps in right field. “We think he’s still got a chance to play third base in the big leagues, so want to give him every opportunity, get him with our major league infield guys. He’s going to play a lot there this spring.”

I rather save our money to resign Gunnar or Adley than sign a high priced FA pitcher. We have a good amount of solid prospects where there is no room for them to play. If Angelos still owned the team, it makes sense to have those young guys ready to go when our younger vets hit FA and probably leave. Now that we have an actual real owner, we have a better chance to keep those key guys so the prospects will continue to be stuck in the minors. We have a legit shot this year and getting a young stud like Jesus would greatly improve our chances especially if trading a Westburg along with a couple other prospects.

I rather save our money to resign Gunnar or Adley than sign a high priced FA pitcher. We have a good amount of solid prospects where there is no room for them to play. If Angelos still owned the team, it makes sense to have those young guys ready to go when our younger vets hit FA and probably leave. Now that we have an actual real owner, we have a better chance to keep those key guys so the prospects will continue to be stuck in the minors. We have a legit shot this year and getting a young stud like Jesus would greatly improve our chances especially if trading a Westburg along with a couple other prospects.

I get that Gunnar deserves to be the every day SS especially if he expressed his opinion that he wants to play there and he’s not moving around. However I prefer him at 3B with Jackson at SS and Westburg at 2B. To me that is the best defensive alignment as I think Westburgs arm isn’t as strong at 3B. I get it that we still have Urias who can play a couple times a week at 3B so sitting Westburg is more likely than sitting Gunnar. It’s not ideal having a 20 year old playing in the bigs for the first time while trying to learn a new position. I understand he has played there and will have all of spring training but if he is as good as we think he will be then put him at SS.

Lets face it, we are going to be essentially the same team as last year playing against a much better division. Not to be a Debbie Downer but I highly doubt we win the division and probably fighting for a wild card. I said it last year that we needed to take advantage of our situation but Elias and Angelos decided to sit on their hands and we’re doing the same thing this offseason.

I would have put Irvin in over Flaherty!

We may be going to a 6 man rotation to allow the main guys to have some extra rest before the playoffs. However I think we go with a 3 man rotation for the playoffs with Means and Gibson as a possible 4th starter if needed. If Grod, Bradish and Kremer are our 3 starters in the playoffs, then I don’t think Gibson will be on the playoff roster as I think we go similar to what we have been doing over the last couple weeks. We need a starter to go 5 innings but they could get pulled earlier if they get into trouble and we bring in a reliever for an inning max. All 3 guys are righties and we need an extra lefty in the bullpen. However Gibson is a vet so I could see Hyde choosing him over let’s say Kremer as the top 3 guys. Just my opinion.

You can see in his demeanor that he is a malcontent. A guy that isn’t part of the team but a guy who thinks he should be revered. I don’t think they will release him but I kinda think they should. He may be a cancer to the team.