Braves Season Re-cap

Ok. We're 2 games into the 2012 baseball season with only 160 left to play. It's time to overreact.

I have been working a lot lately, and I'm feeling incredibly lazy. So here are some bullet points:

1. The Braves are really bad.
1A) Their entire season is built on promise. "If Heyward can live up to his potential....If Prado can rebound this season....If Uggla can carry a batting average above .160 into the All-Star Break...If Minor, Teheran, and Delgado can finally mature into top of the rotation pitchers..." Relying on potential for success, especially in a greatly improved NL East, is a dangerous way to operate.
1B) They look exactly like the team that had an epic 10.5 game collapse last year. This is due in no small part to the fact that they ARE the same team. With their pitching, they don't necessarily need to rely on 3-run homers like an AL team, but they have to be able to play NL small ball. In the first two games, they have left a staggering 23 men on base. They have only plated 2 runners. If you lack a consistent power-hitter in the middle of the lineup, you have to execute the fundamentals to get 'em on, get 'em over, and get 'em in. They had the opportunity to trade Jurrjens and Prado for the likes of Adam Jones, who would have provided a legitimate bat in the middle of the lineup for years to come. But, Wren wouldn't pull the trigger. What's the definition of "insanity" again??

2. The Orioles are fun to watch. Timely hitting, good defense, and great lineup management on Buck Showalter's part. Both of their catchers are in the starting lineup tonight (Wieters C, Paulino DH). This is considered an oddity in baseball and a big no-no. Why did Buck go ahead and do it anyway? Because he put the best lineup on the field, conventional wisdom be damned. And Paulino is 2-2 as we speak, with the O's up 6-0 on the Twins. They'll lose 85-90 games, but I'd rather watch an entertaining 85 losses than a boring, mindless 85 wins.

3. I am going to stick with my prediction that the Braves only get 76 wins this year. I think they will just get wrecked in division play.

Hope springs eternal.