FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Coletrain said 05/23, 06:40 PM
"mike hampton will be coming back sometime (hopefully)"

LOL!!! That's like saying "John Edwards will be out next president". Basically, it ain't happening. You can never count on Hampton. Ever since leaving the Mets, he's either pretty much been total suckage or has been injured. Having John Smoltz as the closer should improve the pen (although Smoltz is older now) but that further depletes their starting rotation.

Tim Hudson- Very good pitcher, but not an ace.
Tom Glavine-5 inning pitcher now.
The rest of the rotation has been put together by tape and glue thus far. It hasn't been terrible, but it's only May. The Braves need a more proven starter (Joe Blanton?) in the worst way. With the current pitching staff, they ain't making the playoffs.

As far as the NL, this is the way I see it. The Mets will improve from now. They have too much talent to keep doing this bad. They'll get hot. The Phillies are for real too. A very explosive line-up with a surprisingly solid bullpen. I can't see Atlanta winning the division. As far as teams outside the division, they're the Cubs, Astros, D-Backs, Brewers, and Astros. I'd say those are the contenders thus far.

Out of room.

Coletrain said 05/24, 08:03 PM
I have no problem with the Braves batting line-up. They have a very good hitting bunch. It's the rotation I'm worried about. Jorge Campillo, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Jair Jurrjens (the back 3 of the Braves rotation) have only made a combined 35 starts in their careers. The rotation is extremely inexperienced and has proved very little here. Down the stretch, the heat will be turned up on them and I don't think a staff like that can make it in.

I know Jones is doing great and they can hit, but the rotation and the bullpen are the things that scare me. I don't think they have enough depth on the pitching side of things to make the playoffs unless they make a move for a pitcher.

Coletrain said 05/25, 01:35 PM
He might have done rather well in Mexico, but he has basically no proven track record in the bigs here in the US. Down the stretch, I wouldn't trust these guys in bigger games. Chances are in the a division like the NL East, you'll need something else.

The Mets finally won a game yesterday and should start rolling again. Once Pedro comes back (LOL. I know, but you never know), you have a nice trio of Johan, Maine, and Pedro. That's better than Hudson, Glavine, and whoever else the Braves throw out there right now. Same thing goes with the Phillies. They'll contend the whole year and could very well win the division.

As far as the WC goes, you have the Cardinals, Astros, and Dodgers as the biggest 3 threats right now. The Cardinals have done great thus far considering they haven't had Carpenter. So when he comes back, that'll only help them. The Astros have the hitting (although the rotation is still shallow) and the Dodgers are by far the 2nd best team in the NL West (the Giants, Rockies, and Padres have been trainwrecks).

The Braves will contend, but lack of depth in pitching will kill them. Add the fact they have the worst record on the road in baseball.