Brave-O-Matic Breaking Camp

Ordinarily this weekend would be time for our Super Duper Preview Edition, but A Brett has been farmed out to Venice of the Eye-Talian League, and M Norman and I are going to Tunica to blow Junior's incipient college fund.

But when we return, get ready for another season of sporadic posts featuring an undercurrent of seething rage (A Brett), pretentious assertiveness (M Norman), and an overweening smugness (I'm told that's my department). And once again, dear reader (looking at you, Zbigniew Glymph of Keokuk, IA) -- simplistic analysis, clunky "humor", and strained attempts at cleverness will pervade all. We're looking forward to your comments again this year.

Fortunate Injury?

John Thomson was scratched from his start today because of "elbow tenderness". There's been a lot of buzz in the last 48 hours about a possible trade of Thomson for Craig Wilson, and this injury might forestall such a deal.

Which would be a good thing, to my way of thinking. Even if keeping Thomson means that Brian Jordan makes the opening day roster, I find that preferable to a trade for Wilson. Nothing against Craig (whom I find myself picking up in fantasy leagues year after year, to little effect), but he's not the type of player who ages well, even if he were healthy, which he almost always is not. Plus, what does he give us that we don't already have? Diaz is looking good as the fourth OF, and KJ is again waiting in the wings. Jurries and Jordan are having a spirited competition for the backup 1B slot. And Pete Orr is our emergency catcher. And again, we need all the rotation depth we can get.

During the game vs the Dodgers the other day, Jeff Torborg (who is proving a VAST improvement over the Wimperoo, btw) made an interesting point. When a veteran and a rookie battle for a bench spot during spring training, a team will often opt for the veteran -- and not just because he's a "known quantity". If the veteran flops, you have the rookie ready to bring up from the minors. But if you go with the rookie initially, you've lost the veteran and have no backup plan. This makes a lot of sense to me.

Whither Thomson?

The AJC reports further indications that John Thomson is being shopped for bullpen help, now that it appears likely that Foster, McBride, and Boyer will be unable to begin the season. Unless the injuries to McBride and Boyer are worse than they're letting on (always a possibility), I just don't get this. We shouldn't trade our #3 starter because a couple of relievers are on the shelf for a few weeks -- and if we do, we need to get more than just one reliever for him (Juan Cruz is one name being bandied about, by the way).

I repeat my (useless) call for an 11-man pitching staff, comprised as follows:

Starters

Hudson
Smoltz
Thomson
Davies
Sosa

Relievers

Cormier
Villarreal
Ramirez
James
Reitsma
Devine

Davies has been very impressive, and is likely one of our top five starters whether Thomson stays or goes. The big idea here, and one that's not going to happen, is moving Horacio to the bullpen. He's a born LOOGY -- effective against lefties, useless against righties, and gets a lot of groundballs. But he's been groomed as a starter and is a proud guy, so I'm spitting into the wind.

Don't Call It A Recap

The Bravos took care of the Cardinals 8-1, and it looks like Cox is starting to use his pitchers in their anticipated roles: Smoltz went 5 scoreless innings, followed by an inning from each of Remlinger, Villarreal, and Reitsma, with Lerew pitching the ninth after the game was out of reach.

Remlinger gave up the run, and is not distinguishing himself despite a clear path to a bullpen slot. Foster and McBride, last year's bullpen lefties, are both hurt, so the job may be Remmy's by default. Brave-O-Matic will therefore hold off on the career post mortems, while gently suggesting that young Mr. James may fit the bill.

Lastly, a dispatch from Brave-O-Matic After Dark, where it is learned that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is married to a gym teacher from his high school. Depending on your own high school experience, you may greet this news with a) envy, b)revulsion, or c) "a roomful of hypnotists could not force me to unblock my memories of high school gym class".

Spring Training Stats

A few nuggets from ESPN.com's spring training leader boards (all rankings are for both leagues combined):

-- James Jurries (.467) and Wilson Betemit (.464) are #10 and #11 in batting average

-- Jurries is tied for sixth with 12 RBI

-- Matt Diaz is tied for second with 17 hits. Diaz and Jurries appear to be hitting their way onto the team, one would hope. However, the specter of Brian Jordan (batting .375) continues to lurk...

-- Ryan Langerhans is one of several players who've hit 5 doubles so far

-- Joey Devine is mowing 'em down, and is tied for second with 15 Ks. He trails Steve Watkins by one, but Watkins (a Nats farmhand) has thrown 13 innings to Devine's 8.

-- Old Friend Dept. -- Eli Marrero, seeking a career resurgence, is batting .452 for the Rockies. Dewayne Wise, still looking for his initial career surgence, is second in runs scored with 12, and is slugging a gaudy .939 for the Reds. Check out the Marlins bullpen -- saves have been recorded by 34-year-old Kerry Ligtenberg and (get this) Brad Clontz, who hasn't been seen in a big league uni since Y2K. Damon Hollins, the Mayor of Richmond himself, leads everyone with 8 SBs.

Time Out For Some Madness

Who's your Final Four? I've got Duke, Kansas, UConn, and Ohio State, with UConn beating Kansas in the final game.

Upset specials include Texas A&M over Syracuse, and Utah State over Washington.

Maybe we'll hear from Jeff Francoeur about his picks -- he hasn't been doing much. I'm cool with the WBC, but Frenchy is wasting valuable spring training ABs while sitting on the USA bench. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard is mashing at a frightening pace. The Phillies are about to see why the Thome contract held them back, as Howard is Brave-O-Matic's early pick to succeed Andruw for the HR crown.

The Absence of Leo Effect

The Braves signed Damian Moss to a minor league deal yesterday. It's not mentioned in the article, but Moss was one of those young pitchers who evidently didn't get along well with Mazzone. It was cast as a personality clash, but maybe Moss's walk totals had something to do with it, too. Obviously, he's a longshot.

R.I.P. Kirby Puckett

Even though he was our downfall in the '91 Series, I always thought it would have been real cool to root for Puckett. As it turns out, he wasn't as great a guy as people thought, but it's still sad to see him go.

Salty Snacks on Dodger Cheese

Brave-O-Matic may have learned a valuable lesson today -- don't turn off the television when Saltalamacchia is in the game. Salty took over for McCann in the fourth inning today, and looked horrible in his first AB -- overswinging at pitches in the dirt, just as you would expect from a young kid in his first spring training game. Since the Bravos were down 7-2, I thought I'd seen enough.

Then come to find out he swatted a walk-off 3-run HR to complete an 8-7 comeback. Way to go, Saltman! One caveat -- he hit the homer off someone named Broxton, who may or may not be a major league caliber pitcher. But what the hey, it's his moment and I hope he enjoys it. Here's to more of the same.

Also homering for the Braves were Matt Diaz (who looks brutal in the outfield, by the way), and Jonathan Schuerholz, making daddy proud. Thomson started and struggled through two innings, and Obermueller got hit around a bit as well before I stopped watching.

One thing bugged me, though. Gary Thorne is a professional broadcaster for ESPN, and yet he mispronounced several names. Saltalamacchia I understand (he left out the "la", which is likely to become a common error), but Mike Remlinger has been around forever, and Thorne should know that the "g" is pronounced like a "j". And who in the world doesn't know that Diaz is "Dee-ahz", not "Die-az"? This is a pet peeve of mine -- the guy gets paid to pronounce names correctly.

And finally, apologies for my previous post. Tales of sexual peccadillos belong on our sister blog, "Brave-O-Matic After Dark". Please go there for future updates.

What, Like Shoulder Pads or Something?

In celebrity news, a new book about Ted Turner and Jane Fonda has Fonda donning "artificial equipment" for Ted's...ummm.....sexual edification.

Isn't this the type of revelation that could have waited until after Turner is dead? Or, better yet, after I'm dead?

Face Off

OK, here's today's discussion question: Who would you rather have this season, Chipper Jones or David Wright? Looking at the positional battles between the Braves and Mets (and recognizing that it's sort of a silly exercise -- it's not like they're going mano a mano), this looks to be the most intriguing.

On the one hand, you've got a guy who is a former MVP and who, when he's not injured, is still the more productive. On the other, a young stud who may very well be a future MVP, and whose improvement has been rapid and uninterrupted. So who ya got?

Francophilia in the Big Apple

Julio is so cool, even Mets fans realize it. Here's hoping he orders a pizza after he retires (if he ever does).