Possible replacements for 'Druw

Braves's Free agents:
Jones, Andruw ATL OF
Smoltz, John ATL RHR
Sturtze, Tanyon ATL RHR
Wickman, Bob ATL RHR
Wilson, Craig ATL OF
Woodward, Chris ATL SS
Here are the FA Out Fielders:
PLAYER TEAM POS OPTION
Abreu, Bobby NYY OF Club option
Bonds, Barry SF LF
Bradley, Milton OAK OF
Byrnes, Eric RI OF
Cameron, Mike SD OF
Clark, Brady MIL OF
Cruz Jr, Jose SD OF
DaVanon, Jeffrey ARI OF
Dunn, Adam CIN OF Club option
Dye, Jermaine CHW OF
Floyd, Cliff CHC OF Club, conditional option
Green, Shawn NYM OF Mutual option
Guillen, Jose SEA OF Mutual option
Hunter, Torii MIN CF
Jenkins, Geoff MIL OF Club option
Kielty, Bobby OAK OF
Lofton, Kenny TEX OF
Nixon, Trot CLE OF
Palmeiro, Orlando HOU OF
Patterson, Corey BAL OF
Rowand, Aaron PHI OF
Sanders, Reggie KC OF
Stewart, Shannon OAK OF
Suzuki, Ichiro SEA RF
White, Rondell MIN OF Vesting option
Wilkerson, Brad TEX OF
Wilson, Preston STL OF
Taking out FA's that are over 35, and too expensive, and bench warmers. Leaves us with:
Bradley, Milton
Byrnes, Eric
Hunter, Torii
Jenkins, Geoff
Rowand, Aaron
Stewart, Shannon
Patterson, Corey
Taking out some headaches:
Byrnes, Eric
Hunter, Torii
Jenkins, Geoff
Rowand, Aaron
Stewart, Shannon
Taking out injury risks: Leaves us with
Byrnes, Eric
Hunter, Torii
Jenkins, Geoff
Rowand, Aaron

Bullpen

I've decided to compile a list of who I feel should be in the bullpen next year. Take a look, and discuss them either here or on the message board.
Closer: Bob Wickman
Set-up: Rafael Soriano
Alternate Set-up: Mike Gonzalez
Rest of relievers:
Blaine Boyer
Chad Paronto
Tyler Yates
Oscar V.
Lance Cormier
Feel free to comment!

Hampton beginning to throw again

Wow, this is good news.
Per AJC.com, and also something that Pete mentioned today on the radio broadcast, Hampton has begun to throw from about 90 feet with no pain in his oblique muscle, and he is feeling better.
This gives us hope that he might come back a lot sooner than we expected. If he can come back before the season starts, then we can have a lot more depth than we have right now.
Your thoughts?

Looking at the cuts

Catchers:
No surprises here. Brian McCann is the 2nd best catcher in the game behind Mauer. If you disagree well stop being a homer. Saltalamacchia may be moved to first or should the Braves move McCann to 1st, Saltalamacchia has better skills behind the plate. Mendes and Saltalamacchia did not see much action as they both only saw 7 ABs. Sammons saw even less time getting only 3 ABs. So still competing for the coveted role of back-up catcher: Ike Franco, Corky Miller, and Bryan Pena. Pena is the run-away favorite to win.

First Cuts are in

P
Jose Ascanio
Kevin Berry
Joey Devine
Matt Harriston
Anthony Lerew
C
Carlos Mendez
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Clint Sammons
IF
Brent Lillibridge
OF
Gregor Blanco
More to come....

New background

Thanks to LSU31always for finding this new, sick background. You may discuss it in the forums, or on here, whichever you like.

Is Redman the answer?

With Mike Hampton out at least until May, the Braves signed free agent Mark Redman to a minor-league deal. Redman was chosen by Ozzie Guillen to be the Royals’s representive in All-Star Game last year. One look at his stats from last year makes you wonder how he was selected. He had an ERA of 5.87, 1.59 WHIP, and hitters hit .307 against him in 2006. Now compare it to his career stats ERA 4.65, 1.40 WHIP, and .278 average against. He will not replace Hampton’s bat, but, not many if any pitchers can with his career average of .097. In his projections, Bill James has Redman with a 4.35 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and .275 average against. That will be an improvement over Hampton according to James who has Hampton down for a 4.5 ERA, 1.5 WHIP, and a .278 average against. While I do think Hampton would be better, I believe that Redman is an adequate replacement. Only time will tell if he is.

Welcome

Welcome to the Braves-Report blog! This Blog will discuss everything Braves and more.
I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to visit The Message Board.[URL=http://z3.invisionfree.com/CoffeeShop/index.php?act=idx]The Message Board[/URL]