:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8932929/20130228_kkt_sv7_253.0.jpg)
The Atlanta Braves have been the model of consistency. Right up there with the New York Yankees of late, the Braves have managed to put together winning teams year-in and year-out. Although their unprecedented run of consecutive division championships came to an end in 2006, the Braves have proven to be a well-managed, well-structured team. They will look to keep that up as they fight through what will surely be a competitive 2013 season.
Help wanted
I had an ingenious thought regarding the way players are traded. The league could create an eBay-style auction site where available players can be listed.
Atlanta Braves Spring Training Complex Secrets Revealed
Get more than just a Spring Training game out of your visit to the Atlanta Braves Spring Training complex at Disney's Wide World of Sports.
The bidding teams would have to list what they were willing to give up, and the rest of the league could see this "bid."
Might drive up some trade values, or it might cause teams to pull out quicker, or it might be a complete disaster. Yeah, probably the last one. Anyway, the Braves are looking for help the conventional way.
- The Braves are apparently seeking left-handed help for their bench. The team is rumored to be interested in a lefty reserve.
- Our own Blaine Blontz suggests some available lefties the Braves could look into. Names like Johnny Damon and Scott Podsednik have a nice ring to them, but could they fit in properly with what the Braves need?
Job security
There's nothing like knowing you have job security. It gives you peace, makes life easier. Take my job for example. I am comfortable in knowing that as long as I write, I have job security. Wait, you're saying I have to be good at it too? Well there goes that. Julio Teheran seems to have some job security, though.
- As David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constituion pointed out earlier this week, Julio Teheran would have to struggle mightily to lose his spot as the number five guy in the rotation. It's not often that a player has the fifth spot locked up (because that rotation spot is generally so interchangeable), but Teheran seems nearly a lock.
- Teheran has been impressive thus far in spring points out Scott Coleman of Talking Chop. It's early, but the 22-year old with a career ERA over 5.00 has been solid. He is pitching tonight.
The new (and literal) bash brothers
Remember when Jose Canseco was a baseball player and not a side show on Twitter? Neither do I. But word is, he and Mark McGwire used to make quite the team in Oakland. So much so that they earned (??) the nickname "The Bash Brothers."
Aside from the fact that I'm not quite sure what the literal definition of "bash" is, there was another literal flaw with this nickname: Canseco and McGwire aren't really brothers.
The fix for that may be in Atlanta now with B.J. Upton and Justin Upton - literal bash brothers.
- Sometimes getting a feel for how a player looks on the field can't really be done on your own. Sometimes you need help. That's why Talking Chop is kind enough to provide game threads so we can see how fans really feel about the performance of these new "Bash Brothers."
- The Braves re-load better than any team in the league. At least it seems that way. They lose Hall of Fame pitchers, but they keep winning. They lose a Hall of Fame third baseman to a knee injury, but they keep winning. Now, they've lost that same Hall of Fame third baseman to retirement, but the team hopes the new additions of B.J. Upton and Justin Upton can make up for the loss says Mark Berardino of Sporting News.
- According to the Albany Herald, the Braves could have six players with 20 or more home runs this season. That's a lot of power. The additions of B.J. Upton and Justin Upton allow the Braves to have that kind of firepower.
