Spring Reports: Atlanta & Colorado
Atlanta and Colorado are the focus of the Notebook's spring training tour. Today we break up our sequence of an AL and NL team each day since the 16-14 league split means we need one day that's all National League. And since the Braves and Rockies have no obvious geographic AL mate and are bound by a common status as legitimate contenders, we'll pair them up.
ATLANTA
The Braves begin the post-Bobby Cox era with plenty of reasons for hope. Even if the powerful Phillies lead up the NL East, Atlanta still has the horses for a return to the playoffs. Offensively they are led up by Jason Heyward, Martin Prado, Brian McCann, Chipper Jones and the newly added Dan Uggla from Florida. Uggla has got an outstanding bat, especially for a second baseman and even if his defense is a little lacking, shortstop Alex Gonzalez can cover enough ground for the both of them. Jones can still get on base consistently at age 38. The question marks are whether he can still drive the ball for power and can he stay healthy for an entire year. Atlanta also has good possibilities for internal improvement on offense. Nate McClouth was terrible last season, but the centerfielder had three good years prior, and is a good candidate to bounce back. Gonzalez can also go a power surges uncharacteristic for a defensive-oriented shortstop.
Relief pitching could be a problem area. Billy Wagner retired as the closer and Takashi Saito went to Milwaukee. Jonny Ventners, superb as a middle man in 2010 will step into the ninth-inning role. Even if Ventners shows he can handle the transition the middle and setup corps has been depleted. To that end, Atlanta is relying on the development of Craig Kimbrel ,and on the other side of the age spectrum, trying reclamation projects with Scott Linebrink and George Sherrill. If Cox were here I think there's enough for a savvy skipper to mix and match with. Making this bullpen work will be the big test of Fred Gonzalez' rookie year.
If the bullpen works out, the rotation is competent, if not spectacular. Tim Hudson won 17 games with a 2.83 ERA. One must wonder though, how much longer he can keep piling up workloads of 200+ innings. Tommy Hanson looks on the way to a long career as a solid starter. Derek Lowe is overrated as an ace, but if you're looking for a reliable #3 or #4 guy, he's as good as an. The key to the rotation will be Jair Jurrjens, who after two solid seasons, regressed in 2010.
COLORADO
The Rockies stayed in the postseason hunt most of the year before coming up a little bit short and finishing behind San Francisco and San Diego. The best is still to come for this team, with rising young talent up and down the roster. Nowhere more so than shortstop, where Troy Tulowitzki does it all. He's an MVP candidate, as is leftfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Colorado also has hitters who suffered subpar 2010 seasons, in catcher Chris Iannetta, second baseman Jose Lopez (previously in Seattle) and veteran first baseman Todd Helton. In Helton's case, he still does get on base and his advanced age makes it foolish to count on his power coming back, but Iannetta and Lopez can both produce more than they did in '10.
Ubaldo Jiminez dominated baseball for the first half of last season and even though he faded in the second half, he only faded to the level of becoming merely human. Jiminez won 19 games and finished with a 2.88 ERA in a park that's not been kind to those who have to get batters out for a living. Getting depth behind Jiminez is going to be the ultimate key to the Rockies' success. Jhoulys Chacin made the most his first year as a starter and finished with a 3.28 ERA. Jorge de La Rosa is competent. Filling in the 4-5 spots in this rotation has to be a priority between now and the July 31 trade deadline.
The bullpen is in similar straits--enough there to make you think the Rocks can win, enough problems to give you pause. Huston Street needs to be healthy and consistent in the closer's role, and Matt Belisle and Rafael Betancourt have to take care of setup duties. It's not a great pen, but alone it won't cost them a playoff berth.
Image from zimbio.com
Dan Flaherty is the editor of the Sports Notebook Family, published through the Real Clear Sports Blog Network, offering daily commentary on March Madness and baseball's spring training.
