Atlanta Braves Take 5: More Questions for 2017

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Oct. 14, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Rio Ruiz (30) plays for the Salt River Rafters during an Arizona Fall League game against the Surprise Saguaros at Salt River Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s another week in December, and there’s still a lot of questions to be had around the Atlanta Braves… key ones that will impact the team and its fans as we enter a brand new era of Braves’ baseball under Hart and Coppolella.

It’s almost Christmas, and there are still some gifts I’d like to see for the Atlanta Braves in 2017. But before that… and mind you, I’m not holding my breath that anything big will happen between now and April… I’m still wondering how this off-season is going to be finished…. and then what may lay ahead.

So with those questions, let’s jump into a this new feature I like to call “Take 5”.

As we’ve discussed on multiple occasions, it’s likely that Mallex Smith may go the ‘other way’ – back to Gwinnett to insure he gets more playing time.

But what about others?

The rotation is currently shaping up to be Teheran/Garcia/Dickey/Colon/… and… one other pitcher, so the chances that a Sean Newcomb or Aaron Blair will sneak in there are fairly remote at this point… Spring will not be enough to demonstrate that they belong in Atlanta. So 5 major leaguers – counting Folty or Wisler – are in the rotation.

With the 8 regular position players plus backup catcher Anthony Recker, that’s 9… 14 total so far.

Another 3 bench players are usually on the 25-man roster. Right now that appears to be either Sean Rodriguez or Jace Peterson, depending on who wins the 2B job. For now I’ll pencil in Chase d’Arnaud and an extra outfielder to be named later – we introduced Mel Rojas Jr. as one possibility recently.

Now we’re up to 17 names, leaving 8 for the bullpen. That’s fairly standard.

The bullpen is where we could see some real competition.

Jim Johnson is back, and we hope to see a healthy Arodys Vizcaino. Mauricio Cabrera makes three, Chaz Roe is four, Ian Krol makes five, and Shae Simmons six.

If all those positions go according to plan, then we really start crunching the numbers.

Will Josh Collmenter make the bullpen for long relief?
Will re-signed Eric O’Flaherty make a rebound?
Will A.J. Minter jump up and be a force that can’t be ignored?
Will Rule 5 draftee Armando Rivero make the team?

So there’s 4 pitchers for two spots… if indeed the first six actually hold their positions. For that matter, those 4 are simply the leading candidates. There are others, such as Dan Winkler (who may or may not be ready to throw again), Jason Hursh, et al.

For now, that leaves out Rio Ruiz for a platoon role at third base. And several others will be forced to bide their time and show their stuff from AAA.

So if you’re looking for somebody to ‘wow’ this team and become a major league player this Spring, that could come from the relief core or perhaps a spare outfielder… but not much more.

SunTrust Park rendering; courtesy of AtlantaBraves.com /

Q4: How Do You Get to SunTrust Park?

Okay, Let’s say that I’m from out of town… and I am, in fact. I want to come to a Braves’ game in 2017. The drill for getting to Turner Field has been figured out, but this SunTrust Park location is a whole ‘nother ballgame.

How do I do this?

Heck, the last time I attended a game in Atlanta, my hotel was way out west near the end of the MARTA line. I just parked at a station and rode in on the train.

So I was wondering this morning how that would work – obviously without MARTA – for the new stadium. This is what I found: /

Seriously… that was it.

Not being entirely fazed at this result, I went further.

I tried Facebook… there’s a SunTrust Park site. Last post was October 3rd… kinda like our Facebook site (that’s my fault).

But there is an address now: 1100 Circle 75 Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339. Weird… doesn’t exactly scream “755 Hank Aaron Drive”, but okay.

The Braves’ live webcam is cool – shows that the playing surface is starting to take shape now. You can even tell where grass will be and the warning track areas. But the angle shows nothing about entry or egress to the area unless you are wearing a hard hat and pulling a lift truck.

When you click on the map-let there, a window pops up with a “Get Directions” button. That links to a “wego.here.com” map. There’s interesting hashed lines on that map… do those roads exist?

Conclusions? Not Sure Yet

If I’m coming from Rome, I’d go South out of town to US 411, then East to I-75 and down from there.
From Chattanooga, it’s I-75 all the way; for the rest of Tennessee and the NE corner of Alabama, find Chattanooga first.
From NE Georgia and Western N. Carolina… it’s just ugly. If you can get to Kennesaw and their I-75 access, do it. Otherwise find your way to US19 through Alpharetta or I-985 (Gainsville to Flowery Branch… requires hitting I-285 for a spell)
The rest of NC or South Carolina? Pick your poison: I-85 or I-20 to I-285, then go counterclockwise around the outer perimeter.
South Georgia and Florida. I-75 north until you hit the city, then God be with you.
South Alabama: I-85 to I-285, then clockwise.
The rest of Alabama: I-20 East to I-285, then clockwise.

That’s the easy part.

In short: the trick then is what to do once you arrive near the intersection of I-75 and I-285. How do I get from “up there” to “down THERE“?

Visitors – especially – will need to know soon.

I go to AtlantaBraves.com and there’s a SunTrust Park tab. Directions? No… but here’s an information guide. Maybe there’s directions there? Nope.

A Walk in the Park? No, Greer Howard doesn’t say anything about how to get there. But you can buy a brick!

Sure, there are going to be signs… there are at least 2 parking garages… but in all honesty, it’s about time that the Braves starting publicizing the actual routes to the stadium, including parking considerations with walking distances and tram shuttle locations… we’re down to less than four months away… and barely over three months from the first exhibition game at the end of March.

Sep 23, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Matt Wisler (37) looks on from the dugout during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Q3: Who Steps Up onto the Mound?

I alluded to this earlier. That logjam of pitchers.

Heck, the Braves have traded 5 pitchers (Gant, Ellis, Feigl, Jenkins, and Alberto Rodriguez), released one (Williams Perez), and allowed one to depart via the non-tender route (Chris Withrow)… all that in December alone… and there’s still a glut of pitching (Povse and Whalen went in November).

Collmenter, Foltynewicz, Wisler, Newcomb, Blair, Sims, and perhaps a couple of others will be fighting for that last rotation spot for April.

But after that decision is made, who is most likely to step up at AA or AAA and push out another pitcher in this “ladder” competition?

Those above will be the ones to watch, but the “next tier” could be brought to AA (or higher) to see how they fare. This group could include Max Fried, Mike Soroka, and Patrick Weigel.

John Coppolella has noted that these guys could be ripe for quick movement if they meet the tests they are about to face. Weigel is 22½, Fried nearly 23, and Soroka just 19, but already posted a 3.02 ERA in his full season at Rome.

That leads us directly to the next question…

Sep 16, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) pitches in the first inning of the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Q2: How Long Will This Episode of ‘fortysomething’ Continue?

It shows me how old I’m getting when I refer to a show (that I never watched) that’s now 30 years old.

If thirtysomething was the original, the Braves have gone one (decade) better with R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon. But how long?

With this pair and Jaime Garcia, the answer is probably simple: as long as it takes.

As long as it takes for pitchers on the previous page to prove they are ready for consistent performance on the major league stage against the offenses that they’ll face in the NL East.
As long as the Braves remain competitive and it’s worth keeping them around to insure that whatever magic might be happening continues.
As long as no July contender decides to throw worthwhile prospects in the Braves’ direction as part of a trade offer.

Specifically, these vets were brought in to pitch 200 innings apiece for the Atlanta Braves in 2017. That is happening because nobody did so in 2016.

Heck, the 16 starters combined for only 880 innings – 8th lowest in baseball.

These newcomers will be around until somebody else shows that they are ready to throw 200 innings with an ERA of 4-ish or less.

That ‘s what it will talk to displace these pitchers who’ve already been doing that for quite a long time.

Aug 7, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Kemp (27) celebrates with first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after scoring during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Q1: Can the Offense Continue the Summer Surge?

That’s a fine question.

In our Outlook piece on the Mets, I picked on some players that had some career-high numbers in 2016. Others (Granderson and Cespedes in particular) played well, but are generally in decline.