..:Official 2008 NL East Thread:..

[holdupstop23]

Milledge should still be a Mutt. %!* was Omar thinking...even in the same division.

@%$$

 

[j rain 23]

Originally Posted by VARISOXFAN

Cant wait for the new nationals Stadium, anyone else going? Got the season tickets in the mail yesterday.

you have nationals season tix? i'm planning a summer road trip to dc with my friend whose a braves fan. as much as a i love the nats, rfk wasn'tenticing enough to make the nearly 8 hour haul, i settled for nats games @ toronto and @ pittsburgh. now that we've gotta eek new stadium, i gotta go.

 

[atljunkie]

ill be going to the padres vs braves games in san diego this july!
im going to buy tickets for the friday and saturday game and come home sunday...
its a 5 hour drive... ill be there with my friends and im pretty excited about it.
i have another house down there so i wont be in a hotel which will save me a lot of money!
any one else going to padre games? My friend is a Reds fan and were going to those games as well!

 

[mez 0ne]

I'd like to take several road trips this season, I was able to attend the Mets game @ Fenway not too long ago.

I'd like to see a Mets/Nats game @ the new park in D.C., and catch some games in Philly this season. Mets/Yankees are ALWAYS automatic every year as well,but thats not really a TRIP, just a few train stops.

 

[atljunkie]

sounds good mez.. glad to see you will be traveling a bit to watch some games.
i believe the reds play the angels this year too so ill be going to anaheim to watch those too.

and no problem in regards to the "nations of baseball" wallpaper. I enjoyed looking at that.

 

[mfr3shm]

atljunkie today Jair Jurrjens pitches at 1pm on ESPN.

Looking forward to seeing Jordan Schafer and Brent Lillibridge as well as the other prospects.

 

[j rain 23]

dukes is a determined dude in spring training. he's gonna win a starting job outright over pena. dukes combination of power, speed, and athleticism isSICKENING. he's no longer a trouble devil ray, he's a focused national. it's gonna be fun watching him and lastings in the outfield for the next10+ years.

i know a lot of you think i am overly hyping him up, but it's all warranted. he's a BEAST! he's turning things around and will be the feel goodstory of the season.

 

[theotherai9]

 

[addictedtofreshkicks]

Originally Posted by J RAIN 23

dukes is a determined dude in spring training. he's gonna win a starting job outright over pena. dukes combination of power, speed, and athleticism is SICKENING. he's no longer a trouble devil ray, he's a focused national. it's gonna be fun watching him and lastings in the outfield for the next 10+ years.

i know a lot of you think i am overly hyping him up, but it's all warranted. he's a BEAST! he's turning things around and will be the feel good story of the season.

 

[j rain 23]

Originally Posted by TheOtherAI9

that picture makes it look like church is getting ++!!# slapped.

i know it's wrong to laugh at a collision like that, but i can't help it. especially after the way church has been running his mouth about howhe never got a "fair chance" with us. church will get his chance with the mutts, but he will be benched with the quickness.

 

[j rain 23]

future of nationals baseball right there

looks like my dude zimmerman signed to under armour. i was hoping jb would sign him as their young up and coming billboard like chris paul in the nba. o well,your loss jb.

 

[atljunkie]

damn i missed it MFr3shM.. how did he look?
how are the braves looking in general?
i heard chipper got a minor injury to his hamstring but its "not serious"..
any new pics?

edit:

GO BRAVES!!!

 

[trillipinotrapstar]

Nice pics of the Braves in spring training.

oh yeah some news about Jeff Francouer:


PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Jeff Francoeur has joined the unusually long list of Major League players who have had their contractsunilaterally renewed for the upcoming season.
After meeting with his representatives from Career Sports & Entertainment in the Orlando area on Sunday night, Francoeur decided that he wasn'tgoing to accept the Braves' contractual offer for the 2008 season.

When informed Monday morning, the Braves reacted by renewing him for a second straight season. By doing so they've assigned him a $460,000 salary forthe upcoming year.

Unlike the Brewers' Prince Fielder and the Phillies' Cole Hamels, Francoeur didn't say anything negative about the Braves. As he was preparingto play a round of golf with Tiger Woods and Braves teammates John Smoltz and Tom Glavine on Monday afternoon, the 24-year-old outfielder seemed to be in hisnormal good mood.

"I understand it's a process, and that for the first three years of my career, they set the process," Francoeur said. "I have too muchrespect for [Braves general manager] Frank [Wren] and the Braves to let this affect the way that I play."

With all of their non-arbitration eligible players (those with 0-3 years of service time), the Braves provide a salary offer determined on previousperformance. Wren said Francoeur's offer was maximized based on last year's performance, which included a first career Rawlings Gold Glove and a secondstraight 100-RBI season.

"He was at the maximum scale, and we're very generous with our scale, more so than most clubs," Wren said. "When you look at our scaleagainst most clubs, I think we're one of the top clubs as far as what we pay our guys."

Francoeur, who was assigned a salary of $427,500 last season, is still hopeful that he might land a multiyear deal that would erase his threearbitration-eligible seasons and provide him guaranteed salaries. But he said he won't negotiate this contract during the season.

"Jeff wants to focus on playing baseball once the season begins," said Molly Fletcher, who serves as one of Francoeur's representatives."The organization knows we are open to discussions as long as [Francoeur] feels it's the right time."

Wren indicated Saturday that there hadn't been any recent discussions with Francoeur about a long-term deal, and he said the club wouldn't beaffected if Francoeur and his representatives set a deadline at the end of this month.

Francoeur will be eligible for arbitration for the first time at the end of this season, and he won't be eligible for free agency until the end of the2011 season. While the Braves plan to keep the right fielder for at least most of the next decade, they aren't feeling pressured to negotiate with himimmediately.

"We have four years to negotiate," Wren said. "There's no imaginary deadline for us."

With two-plus years of service time, Francoeur knows he doesn't need to immediately gain a guaranteed contract. But Major League sources have said theybelieve he is seeking something similar to the six-year, $55 million deal the Mets gave David Wright before the start of last season.

In the 382 career games he'd played entering the 2007 season, Wright had hit .305 with 67 homers, 258 RBIs, a .375 on-base percentage and a .526slugging percentage.

"You look at his peers and you get confident with what Jeff should get paid," Fletcher said.

Last year, the Braves signed Brian McCann to a six-year, $26.5 million contract. Next year, the two-time All-Star catcher's salary will be $3.5 million,which is a salary Francoeur could project to make via salary arbitration next season.

"I'm going to continue playing hard this year and there won't be any hard feelings," Francoeur said.






The team just got his contract renewed. Unlike Fielder and Cole Hamels, Jeff didn't complain.

 

[j rain 23]

i dig my new sig.

zimmerman > obama

 

[mfr3shm]

damn i missed it MFr3shM.. how did he look?
how are the braves looking in general?
i heard chipper got a minor injury to his hamstring but its "not serious"..
any new pics?
Jair Pitched good allowed one run, his fastball was 90-92 he can throw it consistent in the 93-95 range he just needs to pitch more springtraining games and he will be good to go come regular season.

The Braves are looking great so far i am really impressed with Jordan Schafer Centerfielder he has a great glove and hits line drives in the gaps and hits forsingles and has good speed. I really don't like Mark Kotsay so i'd rather have Jordan playing Center ASAP.

The Braves have also been talking alot about some kid named Charlie Morton (starting pitcher) they say he throws heat and has a great curveball and changeup iseen him pitch today and he looked good, but he isn't going to be in the starting rotation.

Kelly Johnson has improved on his defense which he needed to improve from last year when he made a lot.
Martin Prado has also improved on defense.

Contracts complete

In addition to renewing Jeff Francoeur's contract, the Braves agreed to terms on one-year deals with Jeff Bennett, Anthony Lerew, Peter Moylan, Brayan Pena and Scott Thorman. All 40-man roster players are signed now.


As much as I like the Braves resigning Francoeur I want the Braves to sign him to a long term contract like McCann if the Braves can't even do it,then I think our chances of resigning Teixeira is slim to none. Hopefully with dumping salaries next year the Braves can resign Tex and Jeff to long termcontracts.

Some recent pics

Jordan Shafer on right

Gregor Blanco

Jo Jo Reyes

Matt Diaz

Matt Desalvo (Ex Yankee)

And for J RAIN 23 Elijah Dukes

 

[j rain 23]

And for J RAIN 23 Elijah Dukes

dukes first homer of spring training

the man is seriously a monster! he's batting .455. he's well on his way to earning a starting job.

 

[trillipinotrapstar]

Originally Posted by J RAIN 23

i dig my new sig.

zimmerman > obama

yeah right.

 

[j rain 23]

Originally Posted by TrillipinoTrapstar

Originally Posted by J RAIN 23

i dig my new sig.

zimmerman > obama

yeah right.

ZIMMERMAN 4 PRESIDENT. i'll settle for the all star game tho.

 

[atljunkie]

Jair Pitched good allowed one run, his fastball was 90-92 he can throw it consistent in the 93-95 range he just needs to pitch more spring training games and he will be good to go come regular season.

The Braves are looking great so far i am really impressed with Jordan Schafer Centerfielder he has a great glove and hits line drives in the gaps and hits for singles and has good speed. I really don't like Mark Kotsay so i'd rather have Jordan playing Center ASAP.

The Braves have also been talking alot about some kid named Charlie Morton (starting pitcher) they say he throws heat and has a great curveball and changeup i seen him pitch today and he looked good, but he isn't going to be in the starting rotation.

Kelly Johnson has improved on his defense which he needed to improve from last year when he made a lot.
Martin Prado has also improved on defense.


good stuff bro. no joke everything you said is on point.
but i must ask one more thing. is the kotsay remark just cause you dont like him?
or, because hes not even playing well? just curious.
yea, i knew jordan was good but the only thing he might not be ready for is
the actual step up into the "big leagues". you know mentally!

 

[messiahchild]

Braves fret over Soriano's elbow again
RHP pitcher had "Tommy John" surgery in '05

By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/04/08
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. - A stomach ailment was the reason given for Braves closer Rafael Soriano's absence in the first week of spring-training games. But a sore right elbow could be a bigger concern.

Manager Bobby Cox said Soriano had minor inflammation in his pitching elbow.

Soriano indicated it was just above the elbow in back of his arm, near the bottom of the triceps muscle.

He missed most of the 2005 season while recovering from "Tommy John" ligament-transplant elbow surgery, but didn't seem worried about his current soreness.

The Braves think he's only experiencing the kind of irritation some pitchers typically get early in spring training after not throwing much over the winter.

The hard-throwing Dominican signed a two-year, $9 million contract in January. The Braves penciled him as closer after he handled the role well on a fill-in basis last season.

In his first season with Atlanta, Soriano made $1.2 million and went 3-3 with a 3.00 ERA and career-highs of 72 strikeouts, 71 appearances and 70 innings. He converted 9-of-12 saves as backup to closer Bob Wickman, released in August.

The Braves aren't talking about a Plan B option behind Soriano. If it comes to that potential candidates might include sidearmer Peter Moylan and young right-hander Manny Acosta, though neither has closer experience.

The Braves haven't said anything publicly about Soriano's sore elbow, only citing the stomach ailment. He had tests to rule out a stomach ulcer, leaving a flu virus as the suspected cause of his stomach discomfort.

Cox said Soriano was now scheduled to make his spring debut near the end of the week.

"If he gets out there four or five times [in spring-training games], that'd be fine with me," Cox said.

If Soriano is hurt, I'll be surprised if we win 80 games......

 

[fear the mongolian chop]

Alright, come clean. Which niketalker is this?

JRain?

 

[atljunkie]

J-RAIN!! ^^^

exposed!

 

[mfr3shm]

Braves 'almost ... almost' notch no-hitter
Seven pitchers held Indians hitless for 8-2/3 innings

By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 03/05/08

Winter Haven, Fla. - Sure it was just a Grapefruit League game, and yes, it required the work of seven Braves pitchers. Still, it was as close as you can get to a no-hitter. In a 4-1 win against Cleveland, the Braves didn't give up a hit until Danny Sandoval's RBI single off sidearm reliever Colter Bean with two out in the ninth inning.

"Almost ... almost," Braves manager Bobby Cox said, chuckling about the one that got away. "Even in spring training, [a no-hitter] would've been great."

Sandoval, a non-roster infielder, got the hit against a non-roster pitcher. Bean also issued two walks in the ninth. The right-hander is an Alabama native the Braves signed as a six-year minor-league free agent after he was released by the New York Yankees.

Jurrjens pitched three perfect innings

and Mark Teixeira hit his first home run of the spring for the Braves, who improved to 5-2. The Braves got a hitless inning apiece from right-handers Jeff Bennett and Jairo Cuevas and lefties Jeff Ridgway, Royce Ring and Francisely Bueno.

Jair is showing a lot of improvement and no doubt I want him in the Starting Rotation he can be filthy. I also like Jeff Bennett maybe he can get a job in thebullpen because i am not convinced that Jo Jo Reyes is going to be a starter this year in the majors

As for me not liking Mark Kotsay i haven't seen much of him in spring training games nor when he was with the A's I just got so used to seeing Andruwthat nobody will ever compare to him in my eyes, but hopefully the Braves bring up Jordan Shafer, but also i don't want him to get rushed just like JoeyDevine and make him unconfortable being in the majors too fast and regret it later.

Soriano has some arm problems and chipper has a hamstring problem but they are going to be needed this year to prove the doubters.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- If he's ever able to realize his goal of beating Tiger Woods during a round of golf, John Smoltz might not stop talking for at least a month. It remains to be seen what Woods does with the bragging rights he gained while getting an alleged base hit against Smoltz on Wednesday morning back at Orlando's Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
During his three-inning simulated outing on a back field, Smoltz pitched to a group of hitters that included Chipper Jones, Jeff Francoeur, Tim Hudson and Tiger Woods.

Woods struck out in his first two at-bats and arguably drew a walk after working a 3-2 count in his third plate appearance. Then Smoltz decided to provide his friend a 70 mph gift, which was directed back up the middle toward center field.

Smoltz, Francoeur, Hudson, Jones getting some golf time with friend Tiger.

 

[atljunkie]

@ todays game!

 

[atljunkie]

where is everyone at?