Starting Success
Braves 2, Pittsburgh 5
Javier Vasquez started a Grapefruit League game for the first time since the conclusion of the World Baseball Classic, and he was lights out. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up only 1 earned run. Quite a few hits were allowed, but there was plenty of clutch pitching on his part to get out of most major pickles. The other four runs were surrendered by Jeff Bennett (who I hope doesn’t make the cut) and Rafael Soriano (who I expect much better from). Offensively, the Braves did very little, with Gregor Blanco being the sole run producer.
Prospect Ross Ohlendorf continued to impress for the Pirates, firing 6 innings of shutout ball. Munroe, Doumit, and Mclouth each had one RBI apiece.
courtesy of: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/6uEmIHBCbBd/World+Baseball+Classic+Puerto+Rico+Day+1/JwHaoEguoJM/Javier+Vasquez
What do I make of all this?
Chipper Jones went hitless in his return, while Brian McCann contributed a solid 2 hits. Hopefully, more offensive production comes out the rest of the lineup, especially the 5 and 6 spots. Chipper can’t do his thing every day, as evident from this game, so others need to step it up a notch.
I am very optimistic about the Braves’ starting pitching, but I still have some doubts about the bullpen (especially considering their propensity to give up leads so much last year, resulting in one-run losses). I think I will go as far as to say the Braves have the most solid starting rotation in the NL East, and that’s saying a lot.
In other news, Tommy Hanson continued to impress, throwing first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 21 batters he faced and no-hitting a minor league team for the duration of his outing. He recorded 8 strikeouts.
My next post will be about who I feel the Braves should trade or release. Thanks for reading!