Atlanta Braves Predictions 2006
High hopes yet again with our 2006 Atlanta Braves predictions. Just as the Angels are a lock in the AL West, the Braves are a Lock in the NL East. Even if the Mets or the Phillies are able to hang around for a while, they always choke down the stretch, giving the Braves another division title. The team has the moxie that it takes to win, as evidenced by their 14 straight division titles. The reason why the Braves have dominated the division for so many years, other than it simply being a weak division, is their consistent starting pitching. It’s been their starting pitching which has allowed them to dominate the entire National League for more than a decade and now with Andruw Jones emerging as one of the biggest sticks in baseball, to go along with his dominant play in center field, the Braves may be ready to make another World Series run. The team has a nice group of young guns who mix well with veterans such as Smoltz, Andruw Jones, and Chipper.
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Despite how the playoffs turn out for Atlanta, what you really need to know about the Braves is that they win their backers lots of money! Atlanta Braves backers have collected 57 units over the last 4 seasons and when they are facing left-handed pitching, you can just about take it to the bank. With great right-handed sticks, and Chipper Jones’ ability to switch-hit, the Braves destroy south paws winning by nearly a run on average over the past 7 years. That’s a more than impressive trend that will continue into this season. The only time you may want to think twice about steering clear of the Braves when they are coming up against lefties is when they are playing an Interleague game. They haven’t fared well in these games as they don’t seem to put as much of an emphasis on going after the American League teams. It will be smart to bet the Braves versus lefties in 2006.
Who knows if Atlanta can keep up their pitching dominance without their pitching coach, Leo Mazzoni. John Smoltz came back to the rotation this season without missing much of a beat. Tim Hudson is another ace on this staff and as long as he can get past his health issues will be a force. The bottom of the staff will also be able to keep up with the opposition with Jorge Sosa, John Thomson, and Horacio Ramirez all capable of putting up some fine numbers. The bullpen was shakey with the exit of Smoltz, but Reitsmas is learning how to fulfill nicely. Ray is a solid setup man and should be able to move into the closer roll if there are any problems this season.
Andruw Jones came out of nowhere last season to hit 51 bombs, but he’ll need to raise his .263 batting average to become a more complete player. Chipper Jones is getting older and I suspect that he may be injury prone this season. Young guys like Jeff Franceour, Langerhorn will need to keep picking up the slack. Veteran infielders LaRoche, Giles, and Renteria provide both a solid presence in the lineup and will help defensively to compliment this solid pitching staff.
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