For The Atlanta Braves, the Training may extend far beyond Spring
By Colby Wilson
Braves Headlines of Spring: Stop Me if You’ve Heard This Before
Usually, the opening of Spring Training heralds a kind of unique optimism for the fan bases of all 30 Major League Baseball franchises. Storylines are almost predictable, like the sun rising and setting each day:
- Fading Superstar X showed up in camp in phenomenal shape and is ready to re-take his place among the elite.
- Veteran Y is hoping to gut out one more season as he chases a ring.
- Overlooked Free-Agent Z took a one-year deal for a good organization and looks to have a monster year and cash in next offseason.
- The Manager really likes these young kids
- Disgruntled Player on Rebuilding Team could be dealt before Opening Day but could also hang around make life awkward for everyone until the end of July.
- Beloved Former Player is in camp angling for a coaching/front office/instructor job and has packed on 25 pounds (but nobody brings up that last part).
- Unknown Prospect spends three weeks crushing baseballs in Florida like a young Ted Williams and could he be the centerpiece for a rejuvenation? After Joe Benson turned into Babe Ruth circa 1927 last spring, I’ve taken to calling this the Joe Benson rule.
Well, Braves camp is different. Nobody is focused on anything that one would term ‘baseball-critical’ for 2016. Hey, there’s Andruw Jones! Cool, Tom Glavine is teaching Matt Wisler his changeup. Hey, did y’all know Jeff Francouer is back in town? And oh yeah, Chipper Jones is back!!
Distraction. Distraction. Distraction.
It’s a well-done card trick: Look over here at the showmanship and sparkles while the real trick is happening over there. We’re all out in these streets trying to pretend Kyle Kendrick vs. Bud Norris having a ‘Who sucks less?’ contest is riveting baseball, when in reality it’s two old dudes hanging on for one last paycheck and the chance to pitch just well enough to get dealt to a fringe contender in July.
I for one am not looking forward to having Kyle Kendrick in my life every five days; 30-year old right-handers with below-average stuff who’ve seen their line-drive rate increase each of the last four seasons (17.7 to 19.6 to 20.8 to 22.0) are unlikely to start seeing a reversal of that trend unless they got the BALCO Starter Kit for Christmas.
What am I looking forward to? I’m glad I asked for you. When the kind folks here at Tomahawk Take consented to let me prattle on about the Braves this year, they asked what my focus was, listing a bunch of examples which included minor-league watcher. My take on that is that we’re all minor-league watchers for the next two seasons. You have to be—the only way to survive this gauntlet with your sanity intact is to believe that there’s something good on the horizon, that this bottoming out for prospects hasn’t been a charade yielding a gaggle of Todd Van Poppel’s without a single Chipper Jones.
If I truly thought that would be the case, I’m not sure I’d see the point in writing about it, or tuning in for games or watching David O’Brien smack-down Twitter trolls.
But I don’t. This spring, I’m reading more about Dansby Swanson, Aaron Blair and Sean Newcomb than I am about anyone we may elect as leader of the free world eight months from now. I want to know what writers think, what quotes teammates give, what the old roving instructors who’ve been in pro baseball for 50 years have to say—in fact, I will personally mail $5 to the first one quoted in a publication describing Tyrell Jenkins as ‘a young Ferguson Jenkins’.
I assume 2016 is not going to be memorable for the on-field product, but if the kids are alright, it’ll be considered a well-timed press of the reset button on Braves history. If not, it turns into the nuclear launch button that alters our way of life.
Next: Braves Top 100 Prospects: #12 Braxton Davidson
What I’m trying to say is, just have fun out there kids. Nothing at stake these next two seasons except the future of the franchise, the bally-hooed opening of a new ballpark and the jobs of dozens of people who believe in John Coppolella’s vision. No pressure.