Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

It will be interesting to watch how the Atlanta Braves starting rotation shakes out. John Smoltz could be an ace on any team if he remains healthy and avoids arm trouble. Tom Glavine is going to be a great story going back to Atlanta and he's almost guaranteed to give you 200 IP. Tim Hudson seems to have rebounded last year and looks like an ace again. Mike Hampton? Well the thing the Braves have going for them with Hampton is the fact that this is a contract year for Hampton (no way the Braves pick up the $20 million 2009 option) and its funny how a player always seems to come through in his option year. Chuck James is an interesting player. Can he be a frontline starter with a sub 4.00 ERA or will he devolve into a long relief man? If Jair Jurrjens gets a nod in the starting rotation and performs like some people think he can - then the Edgar Renteria deal could be a real steal for the Braves. Yes - the Braves starting rotation will be very interesting to watch this season... When the Angels traded for Jon Garland and then signed Torii Hunter people were "crowning their ass" as the defacto AL West champs. I'm having my doubts. I don't think John Lackey can repeat his 2008 performance. Maybe its just how poorly he's done against the Red Sox that colors my perspective but I just don't see him as a team ace. Then you have Kelvim Escobar's pitching shoulder issues which will keep him out the start of the season. You can almost feel the snowball going down hill for the Angels... Speaking of John Smoltz - it will be interesting if he and Curt Schilling are up for the Hall of Fame at the same time. Both pitchers will have over 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts and a resume of being two of the best postseason pitchers in history. Smoltz probably has the better shot since it looks like he will outlast Schilling and besides probably having more wins at the end of his career - Smoltz will also have those 154 saves... It seems everyone is saying how the Orioles duped the Astros by trading them Miguel Tejada right before the Mitchell Report came out and I have been one of the people who have been more than willing to point out Tejada's decline over the years and question whether his peak was due to "enhancers". Having said that - I can see Tejada coming back with a 30+ HR, 100+ RBI season this year. He'll be facing NL pitching and Minutemaid Park could be just what the doctor ordered for his HR totals...