Roster News

Some interesting names among those apparently bound for Richmond.

Josh Anderson, who will join Brandon Jones in the outfield, hit .358 in 21 games after a Sept. call-up last season for Houston. He was a less-impressive .273 with 2 HR at Triple-A, but also had 40 steals. Also coming down is former White Sox hotshot prospect outfielder Joe Borchard, who hasn’t panned out yet in his few years in the bigs, and last year’s R-Brave standout Brent Lillibridge, who lost the battle for the Atlanta utility job to Martin Prado.

Bad Buddy Carlyle will be added to an already promising pitching staff, and Scott Thorman, who ripped the ball for Rich. in ‘06 but never found his stroke in the bigs, will be back in an R-Brave uniform. Thorman cleared waivers in order to get sent down — a clear sign of his recent struggles.

These cuts mean that some prominent ‘07 R-Braves in position battles survived: Prado, Gregor Blanco (for the fourth outfield spot) and catcher Brayan Pena. They’re all grown up.

Pitching Again a Strength?

The R-Braves’ roster is far from complete, but it already has the makings of a promising pitching staff.

Prospects Jo-Jo Reyes and Charlie Morton seem locks to start, as the Braves have high hopes for both of them, and four other starting pitchers beyond the prospect stage seem like good bets for success at the Triple-A level.

Matt DeSalvo was great at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year (9-5, 2.70 ERA) – though not so great when he earned some time with the pitching-strapped Yankees (6.18 ERA in 7 games, including 6 starts); Ryan Drese, working his way back from major arm problems, was the Rangers’ opening day starter as recently as 2005 (he seems like the most likely one to make the transition to reliever this year); Jorge Campillo led the Pacific Coast League in ERA last year at Tacoma, posting a 9-6 record to go with his 3.07 ERA; and Francisley Bueno was 5-6 with a 3.55 ERA between Miss. and Rich., playing the hero role in the playoffs for Rich. with 6 IP of no-hit ball against Durham in the Gov. Cup finals. Not too shabby a group.

In addition, already slated for the R-Braves’ bullpen are the accomplished duo of Zach Shreiber (38 SO in 33.1 IP last year for Rich., including a .205 BA against) and Phil Stockman (always effective – even dominant – when healthy).

Pitchers are forever shuttling back and forth between Rich. and Atlanta, but the depth here offers hope that the R-Braves will be as effective on the mound this year as they were last year.

Attendance Forecasting

The RTD polls parade-goers to determine whether attendance at the Diamond will be affected by the team’s pending departure. They say it won’t be dampened and season tix sales are even slightly up. The way attendance has been dropping in recent years, the real question is “how much lower can it really go?”

Roster Updates

A-Braves nearing final cuts and the status of some ex-R-Braves remains up in the air. Last year’s closer Manny Acosta and Peter Moylan are among those apparently secure in the bullpen. Scott Thorman, Blaine Boyer and Brayan Pena are among those who might be traded before Opening Day.

Some recent cuts optioned to Richmond include OF Brandon Jones, LHP Jo-Jo Reyes, RHP Jorge Campillo, RHP Ryan Drese and LHP Francisley Bueno. Jones and Reyes are top-flight prospects in the organization.

Gregor Blanco is one of the camp’s big surprises, hitting .400, and might win the fourth outfielder job. Sports Illustrated has gone so far as suggesting that Blanco should be given the starting job in center, instead of the chronically ailing Mark Kotsay, and even put in the leadoff spot from time to time.

 

Gwinnett Naming

Another goofy interaction with the 2009 Gwinnett Braves – this one dealing with the potential naming rights to the new park. The Braves want a say in the name; the county wants to sell naming rights to the highest bidder. It makes you realize that The Diamond is a pretty slick name. Anyone up for a family night of baseball at SunTrust-Georgia Pacific Field at the Coca Cola Complex? Sounds like a grand old time.

R-Brave Expatriate

One of last year’s R-Brave regulars, Larry Bigbie, is now playing in Japan, exiled in part because he named names in the steroid investigations – though he says he only told investigators what they already knew – and received a prominent place in the Mitchell Report.

Jo-Jo’s Return

Jo-Jo Reyes, the lefty pitching prospect who moved fast through town last year on his way to Atlanta, appears bound for a return trip to Richmond for more seasoning. He’s struggling with his control in spring training. So … the starting rotation so far appears likely to include Reyes and Charlie Morton. Both are young and still in the prospect stage. Always fun to have some guys like that — the guys you can easily be seduced into thinking might one day be stars.

A Sunday Hedging

I know it’s probably not healthy to be spending too much time watching how the community that swiped the R-Braves away is doing with its new prize — kind of like keeping up with how an ex-girlfriend is doing in her new relationship — but it can be mildly amusing, especially when there’s any kind of wrench in the works. Right now, the Georgia governor and legislature are worked up about how allowing beer sales on Sundays at the new Gwinnett stadium should impact alcohol sales elsewhere. Only cities are currently allowed to permit stadiums to sell alcohol on Sundays, but the move is to allow Gwinnett to do the same for purposes of “economic development.” Some are wondering why if it’s OK to buy a beer in a stadium on a Sunday, it isn’t OK to buy one at the local grocery. Personally, I think if you’re going to be high and mighty about selling beer on a Sunday, you’ve got to go all the way. If they believe it so sinful, they can’t excuse it for a ballgame, especially in the name of something so worldly as “economic development.” Does that mean that other Sunday no-nos should also be excused if a little financial benefit for someone somewhere — or at least someone with the ear of the governor — can be found by allowing them? I’d give examples here, but I don’t know what else I’m not supposed to be doing on Sunday. I hope it’s not sleeping in, eating pancakes, chasing my kids around the playground, avoiding the shower and absorbing abuse from my wife about the chores I’ve yet again failed to do, or I’m definitely hell-bound.

From the Grapefruit League …

Last year’s double-play combo at Richmond – Lillibridge and Prado – are now in competition for a utility spot on the big-league roster.

Gregor Blanco has purportedly demonstrated some major improvement since last year. He’s among those frisky young players that Atlanta folks are saying they’re impressed with. There are always a flood of these reports in spring training, and it’s always difficult to tell who really means what they’re saying. Many of these spring-training phenoms never sniff a mention from the likes of a big-league coach or manager again, but perhaps the Blanco buzz is legit. Last year, there were doubts that the A-Braves’ lofty talk regarding Yunel Escobar was genuine – that they were just trying to puff him up for potential trade partners – but, at least based on last year’s stellar rookie year, those plaudits appear to have been heartfelt.

Thorman Faces Critical Spring

 

Old friend Scott Thorman, R-Braves’ alum of 2005-06 and owner of one of the most violent swings in the game (it’s too bad he and Klesko were never on The Diamond field at the same time), is rumored to be on the trading block for Atlanta after his disappointing 2007 season (.216, 11 HR, 70 SO in 270 AB’s), when he was given a prime opportunity to become the team’s everyday first baseman. However, he demonstrated marked improvement in the minors whenever he played a second season in the same town – Richmond was witness to this – and it’s hoped he’ll pull the same trick in the majors, realizing some of the considerable power potential that made him a first-round draft pick, the highest selection of a Canadian position player in MLB history at the time. This, of course, means disregarding the 55 games he played for Atlanta in 2006 after his call-up from Richmond, but let’s play along for the sake of hopefulness.

Thorman’s definitely lost his starting job, barring injury to Teixeira, but has a shot at being the lefty bat off the bench, spelling Tex at first and occasionally seeing time in the outfield. He’s not helping himself so far this spring, hitting .160 with 1 HR in 25 AB. I spoke to Thorman before spring training in 2006, and he was a down-to-earth guy, telling jokes about the icy winters in the town in Canada where he grew up and spent the offseasons, joining fellow Canadian professionals, such as old R-Brave Pete Orr, for indoor workouts. A good guy, let’s hope he turns it on.