Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I know its only spring training but I’m a little excited about the performance of the Braves corner outfielders. Both 23-year old Jeff Francouer and 27-year old Ryan Langerhans have hit well over .300 and have shown some pop (the two combined for 5 HR) so far this spring. With Anduw Jones expected to have great numbers because it is his contract year – the Braves could have one of the most productive outfields in baseball this season... There is also lots of reason to be excited about the Braves pitching. In spring training the top 4 starters (Smoltz, Hudson, Davies and James) have gone a combined 6-1 with a combined ERA under 2.00. The Braves have also shored up the bullpen and now have 3 or 4 prospective closers (Wickman, Soriano and Gonzalez). Based upon early indications - I think the Braves have to be the favorites to win the NL East this year... Ouch - Vegas clearly doesn’t agree with my assessment – they have the Mets as the favorite to win the NL East at 10/11 odds with the Phillies close behind at 11/10. The Braves come in at 3-1. That could be a good value bet... Steve Finley is a guy waiting for someone to get hurt. Seriously. He’s not happy about backing up Willy Taveras in Colorado and unfortunately (for Finley) the Rockies also have a young power-hitting corner-outfielder in waiting in Jeff Baker. Finley probably needs someone to have a hole in centerfield from injury and a trade to that team for him to see significant playing time this season. Finley has made over $67 million in his career – so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him retire if he’s not going to be a starter. Him being a HoF player is still up in the air... I still don’t see what the fascination is with Scott Podsednik as a player. Sure he stole 40 bases last season but he was also caught stealing 19 times. Do you really want a lead-off hitter who hit just .261 with a .330 OBP in 2006? Do you really want a corner outfielder with just 25 career home runs? I don’t get it.