quick thoughts: Braves bullpen, MLB Network, Gary Sheffield

More thoughts …..

• The Atlanta Braves are running into a lot of bullpen trouble early on in the season and it begs the question, what will they do to improve the situation? I’m watching the end of their game tonight against the Washington Nationals. It’s the ninth inning, Atlanta leades 5-4, but closer Mike Gonzalez has just walked the bases loaded with one out. By some chance circumstance, Gonzalez is the most seasoned veteran in that bullpen. However, while each has shown flashes of power in their careers, neither Gonzalez or Rafael Soriano has any business closing out games. The Braves will be in the market for a closer in the coming months unless they can develop one internally. Looking at the names in their bullpen I don’t see many viable candidates.
• By the way, I am loving MLB Network so far. I wish they were able to air more games throughout the week without disruption regional contracts but I can deal.
• Gary Sheffield’s debut with the Mets has been pushed back a few days. Rather than getting his first start in right field on Sunday, Sheff will have to wait until Wednesday. Jerry Manuel has Johan Santana slated to start on Sunday and offense is typically at a premium in his starts. The team provided him little in the way of run support last season and Manuel knows that the best way to win Santana’s starts is to put the best defense in the field behind him. While I think Sheffield will be a good fit with the Mets, he in no way constitutes a good defender at this point in his career.

Quick Thoughts on an Opening

Tonight officially marked the opening to the 2009 baseball season. It also marks the official beginnings of my new blog. Who I am and why I’m writing this blog I will get into in due time. For now, this is just a brief post to mark the beginning and share some quick thoughts on the game tonight.

Atlanta’s offense looked great early on. The power display was coming from all parts of the lineup and they weren’t swinging at poor pitches at the plate. Simply put, Brett Myers was awful early and they took advantage of the opportunity which is ultimately something that team will have to continue to do to win in that division. For his credit, Myers did settle down well enough to give them six innings of work.

Derek Lowe looked great. Eight innings of two hit shutout baseball is a pretty good way to introduce yourself to a new fan base – even if you’re first game is on the road.

Jordan Schafer had a very nice MLB debut. His first at bat allowed him to become the 99th player in MLB history to hit a home run his first trip to the plate. He singled his next time at bat. And followed that with an intentional walk before getting blown away by a Brad Lidge slider. Not bad for a debut – 2 for 3, HR, BB.

The Braves won by a final score of 4-1. As I mentioned, Derek Lowe looked great but the Atlanta bullpen – or more specifically, Mike Gonzalez – didn’t look so hot. He was a little wild and put himself in a pressure situation that could have been avoided. That team is going to be looking for someone to step up at the back end of the bullpen. If not, they might have to go outside the organization to fill that hole.