I am almost scared to make this post in fear of all of the flamers who will comment, but I am wondering if Barry Bonds could help the Atlanta Braves reach the playoffs this season.

The Braves do not have a true power hitter. Whether Bonds can still hit for power is unknown, but his agent has made it clear that Bonds has stayed in shape because he wants to play still.

The scorned player embattled in the steroids controversy, hasn’t played baseball in two years. No team showed interest in signing him last year. It looked like baseball had written him off.

Here is probably why this won’t work: even though Bonds hasn’t played in two years, he still will try to get a pricey contract–an amount the Braves could not afford. If I made you mad, don’t fret.

The fact that Mark McGuire admitted his steroid use and Bonds is still denying it certainly doesn’t help his reputation. And unless he opens up, there may never be a team interested in even acknowledging him.

I found this post interesting because the writer wondered what if Bonds was on the Braves teams during the heydays.

But if Bonds really wants to play baseball and prove himself, maybe he could take a pay cut and get the chance.

There will be a lot of pressure on Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson this year. With the departure of Javier Vazquez, the Braves will be looking to Hudson to match the loss in innings, strike outs and ERA if the Braves plan to compete this year is going to work, according to the AJC.

There is some optimism on the part of Hudson:

“Physically I feel better than I did five or six years ago … My arm hasn’t felt this good in eight years. It feels good to be in that good a shape. I’d been having aches and pains, and I just thought that was part of getting older, but now I know my arm wasn’t what it needed to be.”

There is nothing wrong with putting pressure on your top guy on the mound, but Hudson has been in the league enough to realize that the Braves need a little bit more than him pitching 200-plus innings and K-ing a bunch of guys. They need a decent power hitter and a solid utility guy.

Meanwhile, everyone on Earth is expecting a monster of a season from Tommy Hanson, who is the first Braves rookie to get people excited since Andruw Jones. Hanson is the real deal.

The Braves have a solid rotation, but it would have been so much better with Vazquez left on the team. There is a huge question mark around Derek Lowe, but some still have faith that he can win 15 games and be a solid third starter for the Braves. I tend to agree. I may not be a fan of Lowe’s, but I still think he can pitch in the National League.

A lot of the younger Atlanta Braves fans may not know who Bobby Bragan is, but if you ask Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, he can tell you not only who he is, but how important he was to the slugger’s career.

Bragan was the Braves first manager, but he lasted just 111 games with the team. Most of his career was spent with the same players, but in Milwaukee before the move to Atlanta.

AJC has a great article on Bragan.It is well worth the short read.

With Mark McGuire finally admitting that he used steroids to heal quicker and play in more games, I wonder if more players will go public with the truth. David Justice was accused of using steroids, but I believe the time frame was when he was with the New York Yankees, and not the Atlanta Braves.

Any Braves fans from the 1990s had to of loved Justice. He played a big role in turning the organization around. But he started to get some nagging injuries a few years before the Braves let him leave. Steroid use was rampant during this time and Justice’s name did come up as a suspect of using the now-banned substance. If he did do it, now is the time to tell the truth.

The Braves have had discussions with Tom Glavine about working for the organization, according to the AJC. The newspaper reports that the Braves have considered hiring Glavine for as high as a front office job to counseling minor leaguers, which I think sounds the most promising. Glavine, a 305 game winner, means so much to the team. It would be great to see him help the Braves improve upon a successful season last year by getting them back into the playoffs. He doesn’t need to do it with his arm.

The Atlanta Braves said goodbye to second baseman Kelly Johnson and first baseman Adam LaRoche this month. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed both players to contracts.

I was surprised to see the Diamondbacks sign LaRoche to just a one-year deal. I thought for sure he would be able to attract at least a three-year deal. It is unfortunate that General Manager Frank Wren did not want to bring LaRoche, 30, back home for awhile.

The Braves signed outfielder Eric Hinske to a one-year deal. Hinske will be a pitch hitter. He’ll get $1 million for the year. The former rookie of the year has been in the World Series for three straight years on three different teams. Hinske also will be able to back up first baseman Troy Glaus, who is no stranger to injuries.

The Atlanta Braves haven’t had a consistent lineup since the early part of this ending decade. Frank Wren is largely responsible for the big trades he has made, but only to ship the players away when the team decides it doesn’t want to spend the cash to compete.

I know nothing about what it takes to run a baseball team. I just know, as a fan, I like to see my team compete. And this past year the Braves came real close to returning to the playoffs in what I think is a pretty tough division.

Now, the Mets signed Jason Bay to add power to their already strong lineup. If the players on the Mets remain healthy, including Jose Reyes, Bay certainly is a piece if the puzzle that might make the picture the team has wanted for years.

Now, the Braves seem to be falling behind both the Phillies and the Mets, who have made monster trades. Sure, the Phillies trade of Roy Halladay for Cliff Lee was a bit confusing, but we’re talking about a team that made it to the championship game and won the whole thing the year before.

Where do the Braves settle in this fury? Is Frank Wren getting credit for “rebuilding” the Braves the old-fashion way–from the farm system and quiet trades that turn out well (Jair Jurrjens).

I wrack my brains over this management. I cannot figure out why they will not go out and spend the cash. Melky Cabrera?  I mean, sure, the kid has some value because he can play all of the outfield positions, but he’s not really a power hitter. He didn’t even start for the NY Yankees.

Xavier Nady is another name who continues to pop up in trade talks. Nady missed all of last year and his health is a big question mark. But before he was injured, he had his breakout season. What’s left in his tank after missing a year? I doubt he finds his mojo from 2008.

I’ve simmered down a bit since the Atlanta Braves let Javier Vazquez sail away as they threw out the welcome mat for Troy Glaus to play first base. It could have been worse. And Glaus ain’t so bad.

Let me explain. Yes, he’s old in baseball talk.  He’s 33. What people do not know is if Glaus fully recovers from shoulder surgery, one of several injuries this guy has had in his career. But, Glaus is also a former league leader in home runs. For a few years he was a power bat with a decent batting average. Just two years ago he was a leader on the Cardinals.

Glaus could be exactly what the Braves needed. If he isn’t, then there’s just $2 million on the table for that gamble.

This might be one of general manager Frank Wren’s diamond-level moves.

He doesn’t make many of those.

I think what may be more of a question is whether Glaus can play first base all year. It is doubtful minor leaguer Freddie Freeman sees action this year.  Freeman is showing that he can hit, but he’s only 18. He broke the AA Rome Braves record for hits in a season, and he continued to be a hit machine last year. The Braves are looking to Freeman as the longterm answer to first base and the future of the organization. Paired with Jason Heyward, they are supposed to bring the Braves back into contention.