The Braves play The Dodgers Thursday in L.A. , who gets the start ?..

WCDawg

@georgiaboy said:

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@Teddy said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@donm said:

@coastaldawg said:
Julio has been the ultimate tease, every time you get ready to write him off, he comes out and starts pitching good. He would probably start in Game 4, but I don’t trust him to get the job done. The good thing is that he usually does best when you least expect it. With all our young, talented starters, I don’t see him in our rotation next year. His salary could be used to bolster the bullpen.

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get some clutch hits, especially when teams pitch him inside, but overall I'd like a more consistent hitter at SS.

I just hate it for Julio that he had to suffer through his best years on the terrible Atlanta teams. Now they make the playoffs, and he seems to be heading to the backside of his career. He's still only 27, so could have another 5 solid years to go. He has a career 3.64 ERA, and has played 6 full seasons and made 2 all-stars. Nothing to sneeze at. I think it'll all depend on how much $$$ he wants whether the Braves try to keep him. He's still a solid MLB starter, just not an ace.

And agree on Dansby, it's hard to wrap your finger around his inconsistencies. If he makes anywhere near where he did this season, he's extremely cheap. $565k this year. I think I read he's the 71st highest paid SS in the league. lol. That's bench player money.

Also, I was interested in the breakdown of the Braves payroll, and if I'm reading this right, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir make up about 30% of the Braves 2018 payroll... https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/payroll/

He should be looking for a fairly long term deal at his age, I'm not sure the organization will commit to a multi year deal considering the depth of good starting pitchers making their way through the farm system.
Why pay big dollars if there is equal or better production with rookie contracts ?
Putting big money in one basket would also make the team less flexible in bringing up young guys to test their readiness.
I'm not opposed to the idea entirely, just throwing out some thoughts on the subject.

Agreed, a ton of young arms coming up. Will make it tough to re-sign Julio.

If this is so, then a trade seems like a good option. Not sure what the brains in the front office think we need. Not sure Nick M can repeat a career like he just had. Ozzie may not hit as many HR's next year. Pache' is close to ready and he's an elite defensive outfielder. Catcher. What about catcher. We could use a catcher who can hit with some power. Flowers and Suzuki have combined for two solid years for us but they can't play forever.

Good points. We got offensive production early in the season from some sources that won't be repeated again.
Albies hit most of his hrs in a short period in the spring, he's not a power hitter, my guess is 15 to 20 a season is his norm going forward. We need another complete hitter with good power in the lineup.

Let me introduce you to Mr. J.T. Realmuto, your new catcher.

That would be a sweet pick up, he has 2 arbitration years with Miami left so we'd have to make a deal or outbid them.
Getting offense from the catcher position is like finding money.

georgiaboy

@WCDawg said:

@georgiaboy said:

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@Teddy said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@donm said:

@coastaldawg said:
Julio has been the ultimate tease, every time you get ready to write him off, he comes out and starts pitching good. He would probably start in Game 4, but I don’t trust him to get the job done. The good thing is that he usually does best when you least expect it. With all our young, talented starters, I don’t see him in our rotation next year. His salary could be used to bolster the bullpen.

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get some clutch hits, especially when teams pitch him inside, but overall I'd like a more consistent hitter at SS.

I just hate it for Julio that he had to suffer through his best years on the terrible Atlanta teams. Now they make the playoffs, and he seems to be heading to the backside of his career. He's still only 27, so could have another 5 solid years to go. He has a career 3.64 ERA, and has played 6 full seasons and made 2 all-stars. Nothing to sneeze at. I think it'll all depend on how much $$$ he wants whether the Braves try to keep him. He's still a solid MLB starter, just not an ace.

And agree on Dansby, it's hard to wrap your finger around his inconsistencies. If he makes anywhere near where he did this season, he's extremely cheap. $565k this year. I think I read he's the 71st highest paid SS in the league. lol. That's bench player money.

Also, I was interested in the breakdown of the Braves payroll, and if I'm reading this right, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir make up about 30% of the Braves 2018 payroll... https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/payroll/

He should be looking for a fairly long term deal at his age, I'm not sure the organization will commit to a multi year deal considering the depth of good starting pitchers making their way through the farm system.
Why pay big dollars if there is equal or better production with rookie contracts ?
Putting big money in one basket would also make the team less flexible in bringing up young guys to test their readiness.
I'm not opposed to the idea entirely, just throwing out some thoughts on the subject.

Agreed, a ton of young arms coming up. Will make it tough to re-sign Julio.

If this is so, then a trade seems like a good option. Not sure what the brains in the front office think we need. Not sure Nick M can repeat a career like he just had. Ozzie may not hit as many HR's next year. Pache' is close to ready and he's an elite defensive outfielder. Catcher. What about catcher. We could use a catcher who can hit with some power. Flowers and Suzuki have combined for two solid years for us but they can't play forever.

Good points. We got offensive production early in the season from some sources that won't be repeated again.
Albies hit most of his hrs in a short period in the spring, he's not a power hitter, my guess is 15 to 20 a season is his norm going forward. We need another complete hitter with good power in the lineup.

Let me introduce you to Mr. J.T. Realmuto, your new catcher.

That would be a sweet pick up, he has 2 arbitration years with Miami left so we'd have to make a deal or outbid them.
Getting offense from the catcher position is like finding money.

I feel like he will be our number 1 priority this off season. I'd love to have him as the everyday catcher with Zuk backing him up but I know that's not happening since they just resigned Flowers. So, I'll take J.T. with Flowers playing once a week.

coastaldawg

With all the young pitchers we figure to be using the next few yesrs, they might be more concerned with how the catcher calls the game and handles the pitchers. Would be great to have Realmuto’s bat.

donm

@WCDawg said:

@georgiaboy said:

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@Teddy said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@donm said:

@coastaldawg said:
Julio has been the ultimate tease, every time you get ready to write him off, he comes out and starts pitching good. He would probably start in Game 4, but I don’t trust him to get the job done. The good thing is that he usually does best when you least expect it. With all our young, talented starters, I don’t see him in our rotation next year. His salary could be used to bolster the bullpen.

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get some clutch hits, especially when teams pitch him inside, but overall I'd like a more consistent hitter at SS.

I just hate it for Julio that he had to suffer through his best years on the terrible Atlanta teams. Now they make the playoffs, and he seems to be heading to the backside of his career. He's still only 27, so could have another 5 solid years to go. He has a career 3.64 ERA, and has played 6 full seasons and made 2 all-stars. Nothing to sneeze at. I think it'll all depend on how much $$$ he wants whether the Braves try to keep him. He's still a solid MLB starter, just not an ace.

And agree on Dansby, it's hard to wrap your finger around his inconsistencies. If he makes anywhere near where he did this season, he's extremely cheap. $565k this year. I think I read he's the 71st highest paid SS in the league. lol. That's bench player money.

Also, I was interested in the breakdown of the Braves payroll, and if I'm reading this right, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir make up about 30% of the Braves 2018 payroll... https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/payroll/

He should be looking for a fairly long term deal at his age, I'm not sure the organization will commit to a multi year deal considering the depth of good starting pitchers making their way through the farm system.
Why pay big dollars if there is equal or better production with rookie contracts ?
Putting big money in one basket would also make the team less flexible in bringing up young guys to test their readiness.
I'm not opposed to the idea entirely, just throwing out some thoughts on the subject.

Agreed, a ton of young arms coming up. Will make it tough to re-sign Julio.

If this is so, then a trade seems like a good option. Not sure what the brains in the front office think we need. Not sure Nick M can repeat a career like he just had. Ozzie may not hit as many HR's next year. Pache' is close to ready and he's an elite defensive outfielder. Catcher. What about catcher. We could use a catcher who can hit with some power. Flowers and Suzuki have combined for two solid years for us but they can't play forever.

Good points. We got offensive production early in the season from some sources that won't be repeated again.
Albies hit most of his hrs in a short period in the spring, he's not a power hitter, my guess is 15 to 20 a season is his norm going forward. We need another complete hitter with good power in the lineup.

Let me introduce you to Mr. J.T. Realmuto, your new catcher.

That would be a sweet pick up, he has 2 arbitration years with Miami left so we'd have to make a deal or outbid them.
Getting offense from the catcher position is like finding money.

What the heck would we have to give up to get him? A lot I suspect. However, we do have a lot to play with so....let's do it.

WCDawg

@georgiaboy said:

@WCDawg said:

@georgiaboy said:

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@Teddy said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@donm said:

@coastaldawg said:
Julio has been the ultimate tease, every time you get ready to write him off, he comes out and starts pitching good. He would probably start in Game 4, but I don’t trust him to get the job done. The good thing is that he usually does best when you least expect it. With all our young, talented starters, I don’t see him in our rotation next year. His salary could be used to bolster the bullpen.

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get some clutch hits, especially when teams pitch him inside, but overall I'd like a more consistent hitter at SS.

I just hate it for Julio that he had to suffer through his best years on the terrible Atlanta teams. Now they make the playoffs, and he seems to be heading to the backside of his career. He's still only 27, so could have another 5 solid years to go. He has a career 3.64 ERA, and has played 6 full seasons and made 2 all-stars. Nothing to sneeze at. I think it'll all depend on how much $$$ he wants whether the Braves try to keep him. He's still a solid MLB starter, just not an ace.

And agree on Dansby, it's hard to wrap your finger around his inconsistencies. If he makes anywhere near where he did this season, he's extremely cheap. $565k this year. I think I read he's the 71st highest paid SS in the league. lol. That's bench player money.

Also, I was interested in the breakdown of the Braves payroll, and if I'm reading this right, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir make up about 30% of the Braves 2018 payroll... https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/payroll/

He should be looking for a fairly long term deal at his age, I'm not sure the organization will commit to a multi year deal considering the depth of good starting pitchers making their way through the farm system.
Why pay big dollars if there is equal or better production with rookie contracts ?
Putting big money in one basket would also make the team less flexible in bringing up young guys to test their readiness.
I'm not opposed to the idea entirely, just throwing out some thoughts on the subject.

Agreed, a ton of young arms coming up. Will make it tough to re-sign Julio.

If this is so, then a trade seems like a good option. Not sure what the brains in the front office think we need. Not sure Nick M can repeat a career like he just had. Ozzie may not hit as many HR's next year. Pache' is close to ready and he's an elite defensive outfielder. Catcher. What about catcher. We could use a catcher who can hit with some power. Flowers and Suzuki have combined for two solid years for us but they can't play forever.

Good points. We got offensive production early in the season from some sources that won't be repeated again.
Albies hit most of his hrs in a short period in the spring, he's not a power hitter, my guess is 15 to 20 a season is his norm going forward. We need another complete hitter with good power in the lineup.

Let me introduce you to Mr. J.T. Realmuto, your new catcher.

That would be a sweet pick up, he has 2 arbitration years with Miami left so we'd have to make a deal or outbid them.
Getting offense from the catcher position is like finding money.

I feel like he will be our number 1 priority this off season. I'd love to have him as the everyday catcher with Zuk backing him up but I know that's not happening since they just resigned Flowers. So, I'll take J.T. with Flowers playing once a week.

Adding a really good 5th spot type hitter at the catcher position would be huge, he's just 27 years old, his offense has been on an upward trajectory and while not special defensively, he's solid.

WCDawg

@donm said:

@WCDawg said:

@georgiaboy said:

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@Teddy said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@donm said:

@coastaldawg said:
Julio has been the ultimate tease, every time you get ready to write him off, he comes out and starts pitching good. He would probably start in Game 4, but I don’t trust him to get the job done. The good thing is that he usually does best when you least expect it. With all our young, talented starters, I don’t see him in our rotation next year. His salary could be used to bolster the bullpen.

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get some clutch hits, especially when teams pitch him inside, but overall I'd like a more consistent hitter at SS.

I just hate it for Julio that he had to suffer through his best years on the terrible Atlanta teams. Now they make the playoffs, and he seems to be heading to the backside of his career. He's still only 27, so could have another 5 solid years to go. He has a career 3.64 ERA, and has played 6 full seasons and made 2 all-stars. Nothing to sneeze at. I think it'll all depend on how much $$$ he wants whether the Braves try to keep him. He's still a solid MLB starter, just not an ace.

And agree on Dansby, it's hard to wrap your finger around his inconsistencies. If he makes anywhere near where he did this season, he's extremely cheap. $565k this year. I think I read he's the 71st highest paid SS in the league. lol. That's bench player money.

Also, I was interested in the breakdown of the Braves payroll, and if I'm reading this right, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir make up about 30% of the Braves 2018 payroll... https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/payroll/

He should be looking for a fairly long term deal at his age, I'm not sure the organization will commit to a multi year deal considering the depth of good starting pitchers making their way through the farm system.
Why pay big dollars if there is equal or better production with rookie contracts ?
Putting big money in one basket would also make the team less flexible in bringing up young guys to test their readiness.
I'm not opposed to the idea entirely, just throwing out some thoughts on the subject.

Agreed, a ton of young arms coming up. Will make it tough to re-sign Julio.

If this is so, then a trade seems like a good option. Not sure what the brains in the front office think we need. Not sure Nick M can repeat a career like he just had. Ozzie may not hit as many HR's next year. Pache' is close to ready and he's an elite defensive outfielder. Catcher. What about catcher. We could use a catcher who can hit with some power. Flowers and Suzuki have combined for two solid years for us but they can't play forever.

Good points. We got offensive production early in the season from some sources that won't be repeated again.
Albies hit most of his hrs in a short period in the spring, he's not a power hitter, my guess is 15 to 20 a season is his norm going forward. We need another complete hitter with good power in the lineup.

Let me introduce you to Mr. J.T. Realmuto, your new catcher.

That would be a sweet pick up, he has 2 arbitration years with Miami left so we'd have to make a deal or outbid them.
Getting offense from the catcher position is like finding money.

What the heck would we have to give up to get him? A lot I suspect. However, we do have a lot to play with so....let's do it.

Just spit balling but we have 9 or 10 marketable pitching prospects in our system.
Maybe protect 3 or 4 and give them their pick of the rest along with a catching prospect, either Alex Jackson or William Contreras, then throw in a 2nd tier pitching prospect. Only if we can sign Realmuto to at least a 3 year contract with options for more years though.

WCDawg

FYI, there's a good breakdown of every playoff team on the front page of ESPN's site.

PTDawg

Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

Teddy

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

donm

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

thanks for reminding me. We need to do something about the bullpen. They gave me near heart attacks too often this year.

georgiaboy

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

Line up I'd love to see opening day 2019:

1. Inciarte CF
2. Albies 2B
3. Freeman 1B
4. Acuna LF
5. Realmuto C
6. Markakis RF
7. Camargo 3B
8. Swanson SS
9. Folty SP

PTDawg

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

WCDawg

@georgiaboy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

Line up I'd love to see opening day 2019:

1. Inciarte CF
2. Albies 2B
3. Freeman 1B
4. Acuna LF
5. Realmuto C
6. Markakis RF
7. Camargo 3B
8. Swanson SS
9. Folty SP

We have a team option on Swanson next season, that is about what is needed to determine if he should be re-signed in his 2020 arbitration year.
Markakis is a free agent after this season. If we don't bring him back it's going to be tough to replace his 185 hits, 43 doubles and 274 total bases.

Teddy

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Second “Acuna” should’ve said Albies. But yeah, I’m down for batting Acuna twice.

georgiaboy

@WCDawg said:

@georgiaboy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

Line up I'd love to see opening day 2019:

1. Inciarte CF
2. Albies 2B
3. Freeman 1B
4. Acuna LF
5. Realmuto C
6. Markakis RF
7. Camargo 3B
8. Swanson SS
9. Folty SP

We have a team option on Swanson next season, that is about what is needed to determine if he should be re-signed in his 2020 arbitration year.
Markakis is a free agent after this season. If we don't bring him back it's going to be tough to replace his 185 hits, 43 doubles and 274 total bases.

I agree, it's time to decide with Swanson. I will say I love his defense. If we could possibly get Realmuto I'm ok with a light hitting SS as long as his defense stays above average. Think Ozzie Smith with me.

Unless we have another Acuna waiting in the wings I think we have to resign Nick. He's been solid at the plate every year and he is a plus defender in right field.

PTDawg

I know the original question was asking what SP gets the start but what about SS and 3B? With Swanson looking doubtful for the series sure to his hand issue, do you start Camargo at short and Culberson at 3rd? Can Duda play 3rd? Flaherty?

JackLattty

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@JackLattty said:
Definitely Folty. The way Julio has been pitching of late I would make him #2.

Both Glausman and Sanchez have been more consistent than Julio. He scares me. Too up and down for my tastes.

Folty has a 1,50 ERA over his last 4 starts. Sanchez and Julio have given up more than 2 runs just 1 time over their last 5 starts, there's your starters for this series,

And the one start Julio gave up 4 but it was really only one because Acuña should have been given an error. And Julio was dealing that game.

bmauldin

Best chance of winning : folty

Loyalty/best chance to cap out in the nlds : Teheran.....

Hope we are trying to win...

JackLattty

Definitely Folty game one. Teheran game 2

Teddy

@PTDawg said:
I know the original question was asking what SP gets the start but what about SS and 3B? With Swanson looking doubtful for the series sure to his hand issue, do you start Camargo at short and Culberson at 3rd? Can Duda play 3rd? Flaherty?

Generally Culberson plays SS when Swanson is out, and they keep Camargo at 3rd. Culberson has played more SS as the season went on. He’s a player I hope the Braves keep around, that Swiss Army knife off the bench, and is serviceable if needed for stretches due to injuries.