 2008 Season Preview: Atlanta Braves
Following 14 consecutive Octobers, the Braves have missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons. But that small streak looks poised to end in 2008.
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 Free Agent Report: Andruw Jones
It has already been 11 years since Andruw Jones hit a homerun in each of his first two World Series at-bats in Yankee Stadium as a 19-year-old from Curacao. During his decade-long career with the Braves, he has taken Ken Griffey’s slot as the best all-around centerfielder in the game, but is he still the same player?
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 Johnson Filling Key Roles In Atlanta
Something wasn’t right in Atlanta last season. They didn’t win the division. They didn’t make the playoffs. They had a horrid bullpen. And they couldn’t get consistent lead-off production. The bullpen is producing and so is lead-off hitter Kelly Johnson.
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Braves Stumbling In Wild Card Chase
With the division race long over, the Braves have turned their full attention to winning the Wild Card, but a lack of timely hitting and consistent pitching ruined a golden opportunity this past weekend, and might very well keep them home for the playoffs for the first time since 1990.
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 Battery Still Strong In Atlanta
As Brain McCann gets ready to embark to Pittsburgh for his first all-star appearance, and third by a Braves catcher in four years, it is time to look back on the men behind the mask.
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Braves Looking For Answers In Rotation
Through the work of Kyle Davies, Jorge Sosa, John Thomson, and Horacio Ramirez, they are a combined 6-16 with each of their ERA over 4.50. The lone exception is Ramirez, who has only pitched in three games this season. Still, it might be Ramirez who can lead a backend revolt down the stretch.
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Braves Bring In An All-Star To Replace Furcal
With the loss of Rafael Furcal earlier this week to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves found themselves with a gaping hole at both shortstop and the leadoff position in the line-up. Well, they took care of one of those problems today as they acquired All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria from the Boston Red Sox for superstar third base prospect Andy Marte.
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Braves Must Move Quickly To Fill Holes
Going into the off-season, the Braves knew they had to add a few pieces in order to make another run at the World Series. Well, this plan hit a few speed bumps before it could even get off of the ground as the Braves lost their closer, Kyle Farnsworth, to the Yankees and their shortstop, Rafael Furcal, to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the winter meetings even began. However, the Braves shouldn’t press the panic button yet, as there are still a few closers on the market and a shortstop already in the system.
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Keeping Your Core
With another first round exit this past October, the Braves can’t hang their collective heads for too long as they have a busy off-season ahead of them. While they have areas that need to be addressed, possibly with either call-ups from the farm system or via free agents and trades, they can’t forget to take care of their own guys first.
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Braves Take Their Biggest Loss Yet
At a time the Braves were hoping to celebrate a trip back to the World Series, they lost Leo Mazzone, the crafter of all the great pitching staffs Atlanta has had, to the Baltimore Orioles.
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Season Ends On A Dramatic Swing
So once again, the Braves make an early exit in October and are left to wonder this winter what could have been. The theories will begin almost immediately about if the Braves could have won this game and how they blew a five run lead, while only needing five more outs. So I too will break it down and for me, it came down to one bad decision.
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Braves' Game 2 Recap
In a game the Braves had to have, they came out of the gates fast and cruised to a 7-1 win over Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros. They now have evened their National League Division Series at a game apiece heading into Houston on Saturday.
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Braves Game One Recap
In what proved to be a disappointing beginning for the Braves this postseason, Atlanta dropped game one of their series with the Astros 10-5. While the Braves were plagued by their own mistakes, the Astros proved to be stiff competition in all facets of the game.
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Braves Can Finally Pop The Cork
Rafael Furcal couldn’t take part in the celebration due to his probation stemming from his alcohol problems last season. The team went over to him in a corner and gave him a Coke shower to make sure he was involved
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Braves Come Staggering To The Finish Line
While the reasons are many for the Braves recent slump, each has been on display in the first three games of their four game series in Philadelphia this week.
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Braves Bewildered By Closer Situation
The Braves have plenty of quality arms in the pen in Kyle Farnsworth, Chris Reitsma, Dan Kolb, and Blain Boyer, but no one has been able to step up and take the role of closer.
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Francoeur Is The Next Big Thing
With so much ability at such a young age, Francoeur is already drawing comparisons to former Braves great Dale Murphey. Even Chipper Jones has dubbed him with the nickname, “Smurf.”
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Braves Should Stay The Course
The Braves already have a solid team that should provide trouble for anyone come October. However, a little patience with their current roster might mean a longer stay in October compared to years past.
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Braves' Aces Must Lead The Way
It is time for the Braves to turn the table and get back to winning the way they did in the early 90’s. To do this, pitchers John Smoltz and Tim Hudson must lead the way.
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Jones Finally Leaving His Mark
Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones is finally beginning to realize his potential and to add to his defensive prowess, he has 21 home runs to go along with 49 RBI's so far this season.
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Braves Not In Panic Mode Yet
With the Braves bats cold, Rafael Furcal could be the key to an Atlanta mid-season run as the Braves go for their 14th division title in a row.
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Has The Chop Lost Its Edge Yet?
The Atlanta Braves continue to hum along like a well-oiled machine, once again giving their fans loads of reason to skim the daily boxes. If not for those pesky Marlins, they would already find themselves on their familiar perch -- the one that sits smugly atop the N.L. East division.
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