Peeking Towards 2007 pt. 3
At the start of 2006 the Braves had to fill a vacancy they hadn't dealt with since 2000. Rafael Furcal left the team and signed with the L.A. Dodgers. Furcal was not only a really good SS, but was also the team's leadoff hitter. Over the winter, the Braves traded for Edgar Renteria who was coming off a below par season in Boston. Marcus Giles would then take over leadoff duties. As this season has gone on, Giles didn't work out at leadoff but Renteria bounced back and had an All-Star year. The injuries to Giles and Chipper Jones did knock the team down a notch. Wilson Betemit did a great job filling in for the wounded, but was later dealt to none other than the Dodgers. For '07, the infield might look like this.
3B Chipper Jones
SS Edgar Renteria
2B Marcus Giles?
1B Adam LaRoche
C Brian McCann
It's sad, but Chipper Jones isn't the young kid we once knew anymore. Chipper is older, and has become very prone to injury. Some people would like him to move to 1B, especially when Marte was still with the club. Chipper's injuries have come from hitting and running, not fielding. I'm not so sure he'll be able to play a whole season without injury for the remainder of his career. As it looks now, Willy Aybar will be the backup unless someone else is picked up. More about Aybar in a minute.
Edgar should retain the SS workload next year. Renteria is getting $3M from Atlanta over the next two seasons and after that a buyout is in place but hopefully by then Escobar or Andrus will be ready. Renteria has been good thus far, and if we could get two more seasons like this one out of him, it would be well worth it.
I have a question mark next to Marcus Giles's name. I'm not sure if he'll be back or not. Giles hasn't worked out at leadoff and his numbers have dropped over the last couple of years. Giles would be worth about $5M next year so, what do you do? I'm leaning more that he'll be traded so be sure keep an eye out this winter. For all we know the Braves could have already used the money to resign Wickman. What would happen if he does leave? If we don't get a 2B in return from a deal then Martin Prado or Willy Aybar would battle it out for the position.
Adam LaRoche started out the on a sour note but after the all star break he found his swing. I was starting to get frustrated with LaRoche as you could almost predict what would happen when he came to bat. If he would keep an average of .280 or higher and knock about 25HR a year he would be doing fine by me. Here's a look at his splits thus far:
Before the break:
263AB .251/.325/.479 13HR 42RBI
After the break:
207AB .333/.397/.676 18HR 47RBI
Brian McCann has bolted a place behind the plate for many many many years to come. McCann exploded this year after kinda taking the back seat to Francoeur last year as the baby Braves hit the field. Will McCann continue this success into '07? I sure hope so. Brayan Pena should be the backup next season unless we go after the "veteran" backup. Yes, Eddie Perez is still in the organization. For pt. 4 of this series of posts I'll be taking a look at some of the coaches on the Braves staff.
3B Chipper Jones
SS Edgar Renteria
2B Marcus Giles?
1B Adam LaRoche
C Brian McCann
It's sad, but Chipper Jones isn't the young kid we once knew anymore. Chipper is older, and has become very prone to injury. Some people would like him to move to 1B, especially when Marte was still with the club. Chipper's injuries have come from hitting and running, not fielding. I'm not so sure he'll be able to play a whole season without injury for the remainder of his career. As it looks now, Willy Aybar will be the backup unless someone else is picked up. More about Aybar in a minute.
Edgar should retain the SS workload next year. Renteria is getting $3M from Atlanta over the next two seasons and after that a buyout is in place but hopefully by then Escobar or Andrus will be ready. Renteria has been good thus far, and if we could get two more seasons like this one out of him, it would be well worth it.
I have a question mark next to Marcus Giles's name. I'm not sure if he'll be back or not. Giles hasn't worked out at leadoff and his numbers have dropped over the last couple of years. Giles would be worth about $5M next year so, what do you do? I'm leaning more that he'll be traded so be sure keep an eye out this winter. For all we know the Braves could have already used the money to resign Wickman. What would happen if he does leave? If we don't get a 2B in return from a deal then Martin Prado or Willy Aybar would battle it out for the position.
Adam LaRoche started out the on a sour note but after the all star break he found his swing. I was starting to get frustrated with LaRoche as you could almost predict what would happen when he came to bat. If he would keep an average of .280 or higher and knock about 25HR a year he would be doing fine by me. Here's a look at his splits thus far:
Before the break:
263AB .251/.325/.479 13HR 42RBI
After the break:
207AB .333/.397/.676 18HR 47RBI
Brian McCann has bolted a place behind the plate for many many many years to come. McCann exploded this year after kinda taking the back seat to Francoeur last year as the baby Braves hit the field. Will McCann continue this success into '07? I sure hope so. Brayan Pena should be the backup next season unless we go after the "veteran" backup. Yes, Eddie Perez is still in the organization. For pt. 4 of this series of posts I'll be taking a look at some of the coaches on the Braves staff.
posted by Adam at
4:08 PM
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