Musings on the Atlanta Braves with 11 Days Left Until Spring Training

As with many of the late musings, little has happened in Bravesland.

Well, I should say that little had happened transaction/real news-wise...the blogosphere always yeilds something to discuss.

This musing is a day late, so I did have time to find one big-time juicy nugget to work with.

With that said, I see no other direction to go other than right into the content...

First thing, the Braves' Caravan.

No. I am not from the Braves' PR Department.

But, let me tell you, this is quite an experience.

Even though the event I want to in Charlotte this past Wednesday didn't have the cream of the Braves' traveling crop (Peter Moylan, Brooks Conrad, Otis Nixon, Eric O'Flaherty, Terry Pendleton, Zane Smith, and Frank Wren--who is surprisingly short...I'm 6'1" and when he walked by me before the autographs started he was probably a little above my shoulder), just to see the people that you've admired and followed in person is pretty cool.

Maybe that feeling came from the fact that I've never gotten any kind of autograph before...but still.

If the Caravan is going to come anywhere close to you in it's final week, I would highly recommend that you attend...you get to speak to the players, to get them to sign your stuff, and (if you're fortunate enough to have the event you attend be at a Wild Wing Cafe) great food.

I mean, look at how much fun homer was having...

...as I filmed him on my low-quality cell phone camcorder (just so you know why the quality's so bad).

Oh, and, no, I wasn't skipping school...we had a snowday but the highways going from Winston to Charlotte were clear so a friend and I decided to go.

Second thing, what's with all the criticism of the Braves' rotation?

Now, this isn't the first time I've seen something like this quote I read from Mark Bradley's blog today.

But, it is the first time that I've seen an "expert" say this and I feel that this is a good base from which I can fully assert my opinions on this matter.

Here's the meat of Bradley's blog (which totaled 285 of his own words) in which he responded to/agreed wit Jon Heyman's analysis of the Braves' offseason:

"My two cents (hey, I’m cheap, too!): Even if the Vazquez trade helps the Braves down the road — I’m thinking of prospect Arodys Vizcaino — there was no way they should have surrendered the man who might well have been their Opening Day starting pitcher without getting a starting position player in return. (Cabrera is seen as a fourth outfielder.) And I don’t buy the argument that the Braves’ rotation will be just as strong without Vazquez.

With Vazquez, the fourth and fifth starters would have been Lowe, who even in a down year won 15 games, and Tim Hudson, who had Tommy John surgery in 2008. Without Vazquez, those two must move up a slot and Kenshin Kawakami, who won seven games last season, again becomes the No. 5 starter. I’m sorry, but that’s a downgrade."

Now, I'm not going to say that I have no idea where he's coming from with this...because I do.

This reaction (especially the part about KK only winning seven games last season...I'll go into more in a second) just strikes me as something that a very, very, very lazy person would write, though.

Not a paid sports journalist.

And I have some serious qualms with someone with the stage and "influence," if you will, of Bradley spewing something of this low of a caliber out (not saying that I'm the be-all, end-all of the Atlanta Braves or anything) without any real statistical backing.

I can tell you with full confidence that the 2010 version of the Braves' starting rotation will be just as strong and reliable as the 2009 version.

Timmy Hudson is a career 3.49 pitcher with 148 wins and served as (virtually) the Braves' ace from about 2006 until his Tommy John Surgery, posting 13, 16, and 11 wins in those seasons (with a 3.17 ERA through 22 starts in the 11-win campaign).

Right there is your replacement for Javy Vazquez who was due for a regression following a season in which he posted career bests in ERA, walks allowed, H/9, and HR/9 and his second best K total.

Jair Jurrjens is, simply put, Jair Jurrjens.

There's no reason his stuff, command, and mound presence shouldn't improve.

Tommy Hanson...see JJ.

He's young, his stuff's dynamic, and he didn't bat an eye against some of the best hitters the bigs have to offer.

Derek Lowe should gravitate back towards his career norms as Vazquez will.

I don't want to carry on for too long here, so I'll give you this link that gives you a nice, long explanation, if you care to read it.

Now we come to Kenshin Kawakami.

Even though the Japanese right-hander only posted seven wins last season, I'd like for you to examine this:

In the months of April, May, June, July, and August, Pitcher A started: 5, 6, 5, 5, and 5 games; posting an ERA of 3.38, 3.76, 1.98, 2.94, and 3.03; K totals of 42, 44, 39, 33, and 34; and 2, 2, 1, 3, and 3 wins in those months (this pitcher had 32 starts total).

Pitcher B started 4, 5, 5, 5, and 6 games with ERAs of 7.05, 3.03, 3.33, 4.72, and 2.87 with Ks totaling 18, 26, 16, 16, and 22 with 1, 2, 1, 1, and 2 wins (this pitcher had 32 starts total with some of his appearances in August coming in relief).

Pitcher C started 5, 6, 5, 6, and 6 games with 1.72, 3.38, 3.68, 2.09, and 3.65 ERAs, totaled 16, 24, 28, 25, and 29 Ks and had 2, 3, 0, 4, and 1 wins (this pitcher had 34 starts total).

Notice that if you throw out the highs and lows in ERA between A and B and do the same for strikeouts between B and C, you'll find that those pitchers (for either category) compare quite favorably.

It's obvious that Pitcher B was Kawakami, but when compared directly to Javier Vazquez (A) and Jair Jurrjens (C), he doesn't look too bad.

If he can continue to adjust to all of the factors that were working against him last season (culture and baseball), then he should only see improvement.

There's more to dissect in his blog, but I've already offered more in my rebuttal, if you will, than he typed up, so I'll stop with this here.

(That wasn't necessarily all about "calling out" Mark Bradley, it was more about this growing idea that the 2010 team lacks something the 2009 team had)

Last thing...

This isn't really so much of a "point," as much as it is a general question.

But, what's your favorite spring training facility?

I've only been to Legends Field (now Steinbrenner Field) in Tampa, but if I were to go back down, where would you say is the best place to see a game?

Atlanta Braves X-Factors: Derek Lowe

An X-Factor is, according to wiki.answers.com, an "unknown factor...which adds a a certain value to [an] object, element, or person."

(I know it's a general term, but bear with me...this is a poor attempt at a "hook" for this series)

For the Atlanta Braves, I believe there are several players (I think I've settled on five) that could easily have the word "X-Factor" slipped into their description for the upcoming season.

In the first edition of this series, I am going to be running up and down Derek Lowe and his potential impact on the team in 2010.

To avoid me rambling on for 200-300 words here, I think it's best that we go ahead and begin...

Last offseason the Braves, in haste following the less-than-pleasant departure of John Smoltz, inked then-35-year-old Derek Lowe to a four-year, $60 million deal to serve as the team's ace in front of the likes of Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Kenshin Kawakami (who was signed shortly after Lowe), and one of two Tommy's (Glavine and/or Hanson).

And Lowe delivered...a 4.67 ERA with 111 Ks (to 63 BBs) while allowing a league-high 232 in 194.2 innings.

But hey, at least he...uhh...got 15 wins?

It doesn't take too much to recognize that Lowe had a pretty bad year...especially at $15 million.

It looked even worse next to his teammates who posted 2.60, 2.87, 3.86, and 2.89 ERAs (respective to the order I had above).

That's why the Braves did everything they could to dump Lowe off to a team willing to take on the majority of the right-hander's ace-like deal after they inked Tim Hudson to an extension.

But, when the Braves could find no takers, they had to move down to their other non-cornerstone, move-able starter and deal Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees for Melky Cabrera and a pair of Minor Leaguers (Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino).

So, as it stands right now, the Bravos are heading into Spring Training with a rotation looking a little like this:

1 R Tim Hudson
2 R Jair Jurrjens
3 R Tommy Hanson
4 R Derek Lowe
5 R Kenshin Kawakami

And for 1, 2, 3, and 5, you have to expect some special things.

Hudson's just that much further away from Tommy John Surgery; Jair Jurrjens' and Tommy Hanson's dynamic arms should only come out with more firepower in '10; and Kenshin Kawakami only improved last year as he adjusted to the cultural aspects, ball, mound, and hitters of Major League Baseball last season.

Lowe, the guy that was expected to be the "given" for the Braves' rotation for the next three years when he signed last offseason, stands as the only real "iffy" factor in the Braves' rotation as we look upon it here two weeks prior to pitchers and catchers reporting.

So, what should we be looking for from Derek Lowe in 2010?

After all, he's not getting any younger and hitter's aren't going to be cutting he any slack.

Well, I have a couple of thoughts...

First thing, I'm expecting the sinker to be a little more effective this go-'round.

Last season, Lowe had the lowest ground ball rate of his career (well, for as long as FanGraphs has been keeping up with GB%) at 56.3%.

That's compared to (including last season) a 63.4% career rate.

If you recall, the Jon and Boog (who has been replaced by the utterly disgraceful Chip Caray) discussed Lowe "tinkering" with his grip on his trademark sinker because of the increasing "sloppiness" from using his other grip.

This was around late-June and early-July.

And if you look at his month-by-month ERAs, you can see where this tinkering worked a bit.

In April and May, the Michigan native had very Lowe-like numbers as he posted 3.10 and 3.76 earned run averages, respectively.

In June, his ERA jumped to a Jo-Jo Reyes-esq 6.54 ERA, his worst numbers of any month in which he started more than one game.

If he did indeed make the adjustments that I just mentioned around the time that I stated, then it shows, as his ERA fell down to a very respectable 3.38.

Now, in August and September, his three digits went back to 5.08 and 5.61.

There were probably a variety of reasons for this, as he was probably runnin' on empty and losing heart before ultimately becoming completely heartless (the first link is for classic rock lovers, the second for modern pop-rock lovers, the last for Kanye fans).

But, I think the biggest factors were cropping up on the tips of D-Lowe's fingers in the form of blisters developing from his "adjusted" grip on his sinker.

This season, given nearly five full months to fix mechanical and grip-based issues, I think we can expect Lowe to come close to logging of full season's worth of 2009's positive months while reverting to his usual plus-60 groundball rate.

Number two, Lowe's got a chip on his shoulder.

In an interview with Mark Bowman this offseason, Lowe expressed his displeasure with the trade winds blowing through his backyard.

After the Vazquez trade he spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien and, basically, said that everything was in the past and he was excited about the upcoming season as he threw in a couple of other cliches that PO-ed ballplayers always use.

I don't know about you, but Lowe seems to have the personality conducive to turning anger into positive results.

That tenacity on the mound, you know.

I don't know the guy personally, so I cannot say that with certainty...but the TV tells me that it's there.

And if it is really there, then I think Lowe will have a very, very, very, (x10), strong season just so he can prove his critics wrong.

Cy Young?

Probably not.

But a strong veteran presence putting up better-than-league-average numbers?

Definitely.

To sum it up...

I'm not looking for Lowe to come in and dominate the league like his contract suggests he should (as he's making $1 million less than Justin Verlander's average salary shiny new 5-year extension in Mo-Town).

Those days are behind him.

But, I am expecting Lowe to come into with a fire inside and a nasty, non-blister-inducing sinker ready to join his fellow Brave starters in posting all sub-4.00 ERAs (you know, to make it a set).

If he can do that, I can live with saying "hey, if you average it out, JJ, Hanson, and Lowe average out to about $5 MM a piece...that's pretty reasonable" for another couple of years because that would mean that the Braves would have the best starting rotation in baseball.

Here's a toast to D-Lowe...

...as we move on to Troy Glaus in the next "Atlanta Braves X-Factors."

Musings on the Atlanta Braves with 18 Days Left Until Spring Training

I think that this title should read "Musings on the Atlanta Braves with 18 Days Left Until Spring Training...and Some Other Stuff," but that goes beyond the B/R character limit for titles.

After all, not much has happened over the past six days since I wrote my last piece.

But, that itching feelings getting into my head...and I have to write something.

So, here we go, I guess.

First thing, new series.

Over the next couple of weeks (probably until pitchers and catchers report), I will be writing a series of articles called "The Six [or Five, or Ten, or...I haven't decided] X-Factors for the Atlanta Braves in 2010," hopefully with a much better title than that.

In it, I'm going to break down a number of things (gimme a number and I'll shoot for it, I guess) that I think will, at some point, have a huge impact on the Braves at some point this upcoming season.

So far, I know I'm going to do Troy Glaus, Derek Lowe, Chipper Jones' (hopeful) rebound, the Rookies, and a couple of other things (once again, no number, suggestions would be nice).

Why am I telling you this?

I was wondering the same thing as I typed and thinking "who's really going to care?"

Second thing, Jonathan Mayo's Top-50 Prospects List.

Not that a professional really needs my opinion to reassure his analysis, but it was good to see Jason Heyward at the top.

Was it a surprise?

No, not really.

In fact, I think the surprise would have been if someone else was at the top.

But just to see even more confirmation that we haven't been bull-s%$#&ed by the Atlanta media and ourselves (and most other prospect rankings) with the confirmation of a major outlet feels great.

Even if Mayo did say on the MLB Network special that Strasburg and Heyward were "close" for the No. 1 spot (we saw my opinion on that in the last musing), to see the Atlanta farm system carrying a future (recognized) stud to full term makes me smile.

The thought of him in Atlanta come June (or earlier) makes me more excited about a season than I think I have ever been.

Next up, advice.

This isn't me tooting my own horn or anything about my "experience" on Bleacher Report or anything, so go ahead and put your rocks down.

This is just something that I think needs to be said to the up-and-comers who may be reading this: don't use up all of your "stories" in your first two weeks on the site.

I remember when I first signed up...I was writing two and three articles a day (I had something like 16 articles after nine days).

And when I did that, I used up all of my good "this is why I feel this way," "my favorite player is," and "the five greatest Braves of all time" topics.

Whatever you do...save those for later.

Or else you'll end up writing articles like this when you get that itch to write.

Last thing...ummm...

Unfortunately, I have failed to find a good segue in which I could use this:

So, I could not fulfill Joe Yanarella's request to infuse other forms of media into my articles while staying on topic.

I guess I'll just leave this final section blank and go ahead and sign off.

Thanks for bearing with the stupidity.

Musings on the Atlanta Braves with 24 Days Left Until Spring Training

Another news-less week has left me with little to say that hasn't already been at least mentioned before.

But, with these bland, beaten-to-death topics, old topics, comes some new perspective.

Makes me wish I had some contacts...

Anyway, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm ready for the Johnny Damon saga to end.

It's starting to feel a little bit like Jake Peavy 2.0...with less coverage from the media.

It's not so much that I want the Braves to get him (though it would be nice), I just want the sense of uneasiness and anticipation that comes with a situation like this one to stop.

I just want to see MLB Trade Rumors or hotstove.com (the new site I will be contributing to following Braves transactions--that's called a segue) featuring the headline "_____, Johnny Damon Agree to Terms" so I can either type up a positive reaction or stop checking my e-mail/MLBTR every two minutes.

If this drags out into mid-February, I might blow a gasket...though, I think that I've said that a couple of times now.

Next thing, Jair Jurrjens.

I was reading Mark Bowman's inbox today, and the first question was concerning the need to extend JJ a long-term contract.

Bowman basically said that the Braves will probably end up waiting to see whether or not JJ and, for that matter, Tommy Hanson, are going to be the real deal into the future.

Now, the Braves obviously are too limited by funds to risk dishing out $7-9 million per year over the next four to seven years (I'm thinking Evan Longoria, Ryan Braun length-deals at Cole Hamels salaries) and having either JJ or Big Red going down with catastrophic arm injuries.

But, these two have shown the abilities in their limited big league-showcases of number one's and two's that should only improve.

It's not my money, but I think that big-time extensions need to come in the next two to three years (which is what Bowman basically suggested).

The Braves cannot afford to lose this kind of talent (no s*@%, right?), and locking them up at this stage of their careers is going to be the only way to keep them from going to the New York's, Los Angele's, and Boston's of the world.

After all, Atlanta, especially sans-Cox, won't have the nostalgia it did when the Braves were able to get Greg Maddux and John Smoltz to come/stick around at sub-market value.

Last thing...Stephen Strasbug hype.

I was checking the prospect rankings today and found this little nugget.

If you don't feel like opening that link up, this is what the author, Frankie Piliere, said about the top-five prospects in the game (with their outstanding MiLB stats to the side):

5. Jesus Montero, C, NYY (.389 OBP, 17 homers)
4. Jason Heyward, OF, ATL (.408, 17 homers)
3. Desmond Jennings, OF, TB (.401 OBP, 52 steals)
2. Mike Stanton, OF, FLA (.341 OBP, 28 homers)
1. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, WSH (college)

Now I don't want to sound too whiny about one dude's top-5, but come on.

All five of these guys are special talents, but Heyward at four?

That's not my main gripe, though (it's probably No. 2).

My gripe is the overwhelming amount of feet-kissing for Strasburg.

I understand that he can throw 100 and that he has outstanding breaking stuff for his age (21), but did anyone see what he did in the Arizona Fall League (aka his only professional experience)?

Dude had a 4.26 ERA with 23 Ks in 19 innings.

As a point, Tommy Hanson's 0.63 ERA with 49 Ks in 28.2 innings barely got him into the top-5 in most rankings.

Look, I'm not trying to be overly nit-picky about meaningless projections, but I just don't think a guy can go from college phenom (you know, the place where talent is AA and less) to the next great thing for the Majors.

No doubt, I think this needs to be said, that his pure stuff makes him appealing...but can we let the guy get a few successful pro performances under his belt before putting him ahead of guys like Stanton, Jennings, and Heyward?

And in the words of my good friend Forrest Gump...

No. 17 Breaks Records With His Unorthodox Throwing Motion

Philip Rivers is possibly the most underrated quarterback in the NFL, and he is my choice for the best athlete to wear number seventeen.

I understand this will be a very unpopular pick with Basketball Hall of Framer John Havlicek, Pro Football Hall of Framer Red Badgro, and Former Pitcher Dizzy Dean all wearing the number seventeen.

Philip Rivers was arguably the best quarterback in North Carolina State history, demolishing almost every NC State and ACC passing record.

He also set a new benchmark for consistency in college football quarterbacks, setting a collegiate record 51 starts.

Under River’s leadership the Wolfpack went to four consecutive bowl games, winning three of them, including my favorite a New Year’s Day victory over the Norte Dame in the 2003 Gator Bowl.

He won many awards while at NC State including ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year, MVP of Two Tangerine Bowls, and MVP of the 2003 Gator Bowl.

Rivers finished his career with 13,484 passing yards (4th all-time among Division 1-A quarterbacks, he was 2nd at the end of his collegiate career) and 95 touchdown passes, which ties him for eighth all-time with Kliff Kingsbury and Brady Quinn.

Coming into the 2004 NFL Draft, Rivers was projected to be an early first round draft pick in a quarterback class that included Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.

After many questions about his arm strength and unorthodox throwing motion, the pre-draft consensus was that Rivers could be selected with the 11th pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Then Eli Manning said that if picked by the San Diego Chargers he would not sign with them, he was then traded to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers and draft picks that would be used on Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding.

Rivers sent most of the 2004 and 2005 NFL seasons on the bench watching Drew Brees lead the Chargers into NFL supremacy, but after a dislocated shoulder to Brees the Chargers choose not to re-sign him and named Rivers the starter for the 2006 season.

Coming into the 2006 season Rivers had only five NFL starts, but that didn’t stop him from becoming an elite quarterback by throwing for over 3,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions that season.

Philip Rivers has only looked better since that season throwing a combined 55 touchdowns and 7,161 yards in the 2007 and 2008 NFL seasons.

In 2009 he throw for 4,254 yards and 28 touchdowns, making this season his second consecutive season with at least 4,000 passing yards.

Philip Rivers’ future is looking brighter every game, and he also has some of the most talented receivers, backs, and tight ends in the NFL to help with his success.

Rivers shows excellent pocket presence and has a quick release, so for Philip Rivers the sky is the limit.

North Carolina State Wolfpack Football: 2010 Top Recruits

The NC State Football program is coming off a very disappointing season where they won only fives game and lost seven.

Tom O’Brien’s team failed to earn a bid to a bowl game mainly because they failed to stop opposing offenses and they also struggled to protect Russell Wilson. That is very uncharacteristic of a team coached by Tom O’Brien.

O’Brien has seemed to what to improve these issues as four of his top five recruits are offensive lineman or defensive players

• Robert Crisp is an offensive tackle out of Chapel Hill, N.C. and he is 6′7″, 302 lbs.

Crisp is a talented offensive lineman that will probably start out as a right tackle at N.C. State.

He has incredible height and athleticism, and his weight gives him a huge advantage especially in pass protection, where he is very consistent at leading with the hands and striking the defender first.

He possesses upper body strength and is impossible to power rush in drop back protection. And his huge wingspan keeps defenders from getting to his frame.

Crisp does a good job of locking out the pass rusher that comes straight ahead and setting back with quickness from both the three and two-point stance.

Though he anchors down in good leverage position, he sometimes still gets beat on the edge by speed rushers.

He gets caught flat footed and can’t recover, and needs to narrow his base once anchored in order to shuffle and change direction.

Currently more consistent in quick set than deep drop protection, he demonstrates good foot agility in the run game.

He gets good knock-back off the line of scrimmage when pads stay down and is powerful enough to drive defenders to the second level.

He is still inconsistent at finishing blocks but, at times, completely dominates the opponent.

His athleticism shows in pulls and traps, and he displays good knee bend when delivering a blow at the second level or down field.

Crisp has the potential to be an outstanding offensive lineman once he gets more consistent in the passing game.

He has very sound fundamentals and good quickness for such a large man.

• Fre’Shad Hunter is a defensive lineman out of Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina.

He is 6′4″, 250 pounds, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 4.93 seconds.

Hunter is a versatile defensive lineman, he played both defensive tackle and defensive end while in high school.

He has good size, he has shown good strength, and many scouts say he has “more room to grow.”

Hunter has a good first step and when he rushes the passer he has a nice set of moves.

He does need to work on his hand movement and his flexibility, but besides that he has a ton of potential.

• Tony Creecy is a wide receiver/running back from Durham, North Carolina and he is 6′0″ tall, he weighs 195 pounds, and his 40-yard dash time is 4.45 seconds.

Creecy is the definition of a utility player and while in high school he played many positions but his two best ones are wide receiver and running back.

He has the hands of a receive, but he also has the lower body strength of a running back.

Many scouts believe he has field vision and toughness to be a 20-carry back, but he also has the smarts of a wide receiver.

His skill set makes him best suited as a slot receiver, that is best as NC State has an overload at running back.

• David Amerson is a free safety from Dudley High School in Dudley, North Carolina. He is 6′1″, 182 pounds, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

Amerson is tall and athletic, which is very impressive as he is a free safety.

He is a true “centerfielder” that understands route progression and anticipates the quarterbacks release of the football.

Amerson breaks quickly on the pass and is impressive at undercutting the receiver to defend the pass or to create an interception.

He says he can bench 275 pounds, squat 455 and claims a 36-inch vertical jump.

Amerson has stated that he would like to get bigger, to add about 20 pounds of muscle.

• Torian Box is a offensive guard from North Clayton High School in College Park, Georgia.

Box is 6′3″, 294 pounds, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 5.31 seconds.

Torian Box is a good offensive lineman and he projects as an offensive guard.

Box isn’t the tallest offensive lineman but he plays well for his size, he also has a strong upper body and has active feet.

Box at times plays a little high and needs to work on his flexibility, but other then that he should be a nice addition to Tom O’Brien’s team.

• Dontae Johnson is a safety from The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey.

Johnson is 6′3″, 180 pounder, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

Dontae is a big intimidating safety who could one day learn to become an outside linebacker.

Johnson is very physical safety and he like to make contact and is also very aggressive.

He calms to be able to bench 215 pounds and to have a vertical jump of 34 inches.

Johnson also is a forward for his AAU basketball team, that also is a good sign as it means he is very athletic.

• Tyler Brosius is Quarterback from Tuscola High School in Waynesville, NC. He is 6′3″, 232 pounder, and his 40 yard dash time is unknown.

Brosius is a really productive quarterback with very good overall size

He has good arm strength and the ability to make plays despite him lacking of consistent mechanics and fundamentals.

He is thickly built and tall enough to see the field, his only downfall is his riverboat gambler quarterbacking style.

• Thomas Teal is a defensive tackle from Malboro County High School in Bennettsville, South Carolina.

Teal is 6′1″, 330 pounder, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 5.50 seconds.

Teal is an interesting prospect, he is a big boy who carries a large amount of bulk for his build.

On film though he seems to carry his weight well for a kid well over 300 pounds.

He has played offensive guard before but he fits better as a defensive lineman, but he could make the transition if necessary.

• Andy Jomantas—DE/OT, Chaminade Julienne High School (Dayton, Ohio), 6′8″, 250 pounds.

• D.J. Green—Safety, Westside HS (Macon, GA), 6′4″, 202 pounds, 4.77 seconds(40-yard dash).

• Reggie Wilkins—Cornerback, Crest Senior HS(Shelby, NC), 5′11″, 180 pounds, Soft Verbal

• A.J. Ferguson – Defensive End, Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, VA), 6′3″, 250 pounds.

• Tyson Chandler—Offensive Tackle, Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, VA), 6′6″, 340 pounds.

• Raynard Randolph—Defensive Tackle, Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, VA), 6′2″, 325 pounds.

• Tobais Palmer—Runningback, Georgia Military (Milledgeville, GA), 5′10″, 165 pounds.

• Logan Winkles—Fullback, Upson-Lee High School (Thomaston, GA), 6′1″, 245 pounds, 4.70 seconds (40-yard dash time).

• Pete Singer—Safety, Athens Drive High School (Raleigh, NC), 5′11″, 175 pounds, 4.50 seconds (40-yard dash time).

• Theo Rich—Defensive End, Portal Middle/High School (Portal, GA), 6′2″, 225 pounds.

• Mikel Overgaard—Offensive Tackle, Snow (Ephraim, UT), 6′6″, 270 pounds.

• Artemus Norman—Defensive End, Chamblee High School (Chamblee, GA), 6′0″, 205 pounds, 4.87 seconds (40-yard dash time).

Musings on the Atlanta Braves with 31 Days Left Until Spring Training

Today has been one of those days where I've been opening up my phone every five or ten minutes checking MLB Trade Rumors or checking my e-mail to see if Joe Yanarella has sent me some big topic to write about as it breaks.

And by "big topic," I mean a Johnny Damon signing.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen and I've been "left at the alter," if you will.

So, the only pressing issue I've got to talk about is the one remaining arbitration eligible player for the Braves: Peter Moylan.

And that's not going to be all that interesting...there's little doubt in my mind that the Bravos and the Aussie will settle in the next day or two and Bobby Cox's go-to side-armer will be back in the Braves' 'pen for yet another season.

I just don't think this can be said enough: Peter Moylan is a premiere reliever with a great attitude and an even greater work ethic.

Tallying the second-most appearances in the National League with 87 this past season, Moylan once again (the other time being in his first full season in 2007) proved to be the guy in the 'pen in the sixth and seventh (and sometimes the eighth) innings.

As long as he doesn't have to worry about arm troubles after another large workload (though he pitched in 17 fewer innings than his 90 in 2007 this past season), we should expect the same 0.4 HR/9 rate that we've all come to know and love from the tattooed right-hander.

Maybe went off on a bit of a tangent there with my proclamation of a man-crush on Moylan, but a musing is a "thoughtfully abstracted" (from Merriam-Webster) thought...and that should qualify as that.

Next order of business...

Jordan Schafer.

Now, I know that a lot of you are probably cringing at that name and wanting to start a big-ol' chant like this crowd (sorry for putting wrestling in here, I hate it too...stop it at 0:18, that much gets my point across).

But, he kinda seems like the forgotten man to me.

That's not to say that I think he deserves a MLB spot from day one (499 ABs since the start of 2008 say enough about that).

But I do think that Schafer needs to be in the back of everyone's mind come September or a McLouth/Diaz/Cabrera/Heyward injury.

Dude still has incredible tools in terms of speed, power, fielding, arm strength, and discipline (remember, he had 27 walks in addition to those 63 whiffs when he was sent to AAA...good for a top-ten in baseball if my memory serves me correctly) and still has an above-average ceiling.

And when Nate McLouth's price begins to rise in his contract, Schafer is probably going to be "the guy" in center once again.

Just another reason a Johnny Damon sighting in Atlanta is once again looking like a stretch.

Last thing...

J-Word (shout-out to Michael Arm, once again).

Kind of an odd thing here...but what number do you guys think he should wear (Nate McLouth, too, since Nate-Dogg handed 13 over to Wagner)?

Personally, as long as it's not 7, 17 (not that Hubbard would give it up), 27 (not that Diory would give it up), 37, etc. I'm good.

But I'll go ahead and say that I want my Heyward jersey (I plan on buying one) to have one of these brandished on the back: 2, 22, or 28.

And yes, I like the number two and hate the number seven.

Once again, a bit weird...but these are the things I have to think about during this stage of the offseason to keep from going insane.