Aug 14, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs vice president of baseball operations Theo Epstein is dunked with a bucket of water as part of the ice bucket challenge in awareness for ALS research after the game between the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Braves’ Spring Brings Optimism; But Baseball Often Throws Cold Water on That
A couple of days ago, we gave you 7 causes for optimism for the Braves during 2016. Unfortunately, reality often will throw a large bucket of cold water over the top of even the best reasons for a positive outlook.
So with that – and a trigger warning about what’s to come – we present 5 reasons to expect the worst.
1. Health Concerns
Yes, this was also on the ‘Optimism’ list since we’ve had good reports this Spring so far. However, health issues can crop up at any time, and while Atlanta has some buffering against the inevitable injury bug, there are several players that – if any are lost to injury – could derail the season in a hurry:
- Julio Teheran. Take him out of the rotation, and there’s little more than ‘innings eaters’ remaining.
- Freddie Freeman. The offense revolves around him.
- Ender Inciarte. On the surface, you’d think that the Braves would simply plug in Mallex Smith. That would be the right baseball move, but factors involving future contractual considerations would probably mean that Michael Bourn or Emilio Bonifacio get his spot – at least in the short term.
- A.J. Pierzynski. Flowers can handle the position full time, but he has little support to make up for Pierzynski’s bat.
- Erick Aybar. As much as Braves’ fans hated to see Andrelton Simmons go, losing Aybar would be big. Light hitting Daniel Castro would replace him – not Dansby Swanson for the reasons suggested above for Mallex Smith.
Next: Who Came Up With This Mess?