By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Hope springs eternal in the spring, and the Braves say they believe they should be better in 2009. Considering they lost 90 games and finished fourth in the National League East last season, there’s room for improvement.
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The Braves revamped the starting rotation and solidified the bench, but the outfield remained unsettled as spring training began at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
General manager Frank Wren continued to explore trade possibilities, such as the Yankees’ Nick Swisher, and free agents — including Ken Griffey Jr. Wren might also give some young Braves a longer look.
“The outfield is the last thing we would like to address,” Wren said Friday, after watching some Braves pitchers, catchers and early arriving position players work out. “The thing we were really focused on this offseason was trying to fix our pitching. That’s where our championship teams began in the ’90s.
“You can acquire a bat, but you can’t acquire pitching [as readily] during the spring or the season.”
Braves pitchers and catchers have their first workout today, and the first full-squad practice is Wednesday. If they hope to end their three-year postseason drought, they need answers:


Can Francoeur lift an anemic outfield?
The Braves had the worst outfield in the NL, ranked last in on-base percentage (.324) while hitting 27 homers — fewest by an NL team since Houston’s outfielders hit 26 in strike-shortened 1994.
Rookie speedster Josh Anderson’s three homers after the All-Star break led Braves outfielders. Yes, three.
There’s no bigger key for the Braves in 2009 than right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who hit just .239 with 11 homers and a .294 OBP.
“We’re very hopeful [Francoeur] can be the player he was before ‘08,” Wren said. “We think a lot of his struggles had to do with offseason training he did [before last season] that changed his body in such a way it didn’t allow him to be player he’d been.”
In his past 291 games, Francoeur has hit .263 with only 25 homers.
Can the starting rotation carry this team?
Given their track records, winter additions Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez can reasonably be expected to combine for 25-30 wins and 400 innings.
Add Japanese star Kenshin Kawakami and Jair Jurrjens, coming off a 13-win rookie season, and the Braves think they have their most reliable rotation in years.
They’re not done, either. Wren still hopes to sign left-hander Tom Glavine, 42.
“We feel like we have the depth” to come up with another good No. 5 starter, Wren said, “but a guy like Tommy Glavine obviously solidifies your rotation, if he’s healthy and ready to pitch. One through five, you’d match up pretty well with most every club.”
How much better is this bullpen?
The Braves had 26 saves in 44 chances, fewest in the majors in both. They lost setup man Peter Moylan the first week of the season and closer Rafael Soriano soon after. Both had elbow surgeries.
Things look better now. Closer Mike Gonzalez is recovered from May 2007 ligament-transplant elbow surgery. Wren said Soriano is healthy and should be ready when the season begins, and that Moylan is expected to be ready for the season opener or soon after.
“We think the bullpen is a strength,” Wren said.
Over the winter, they got lefties Boone Logan and Eric O’Flaherty, and hard-throwing Rafael Cruz, a former Chunichi Dragons teammate of Kawakami. Blaine Boyer, Manny Acosta, Jeff Bennett, Buddy Carlyle and Jorge Campillo are back, and the Braves have promising prospects Luis Valdez and Kris Medlen and injury-plagued Aussie Phil Stockman.
Who are the other outfielders?
Wren spoke highly of Anderson and center-field prospect Jordan Schafer. Gregor Blanco played well at times for Atlanta in 2008.
Schafer’s 50-game suspension for human-growth hormone set him back, but he finished the season strong at Class AA and played well in Mexico this winter before hurting a finger (he’s recovered).
Anderson’s base-stealing prowess gives him a job advantage, Wren said. The Braves don’t have another who could swipe 40-50 bases.
A slimmer Matt Diaz is back to compete in left field after missing much of the season with a knee injury. It seems clear the Braves would prefer an upgrade in left, or at least a platoon.
“Battles this spring are going to be in center field and left field,” Wren said. “We feel like we’ve got players capable. … If there’s another possibility out there, we’ll look at every opportunity.”
Who will bat leadoff and cleanup?
Who’ll hit in those two key spots is undecided. Chipper Jones has always preferred third, but hit fourth when the Braves had Gary Sheffield.
Unless Francoeur has a stark turnaround this spring, the only other suitable cleanup choice is catcher Brian McCann. But he’ll be out of the lineup once every five or six games.
Leadoff? Anybody’s guess. Second baseman Kelly Johnson and shortstop Yunel Escobar aren’t prototypical No. 1 hitters, but had some success there. Anderson might be ideal if he walked more.






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