Over, Under, and Push

Under. I see him more in the 75-90 range, although RBIs are a bit useless as a stat.
Push. McLouth definitely has the potential.
Push. I think Hanson has a chance, what with his stuff and (hopeful) continued improvement.
Push. I don’t know if Prado can do it again, Chipper will probably come close, and I’m just not sure about the other guys.
Over. I like our team a lot.
Under. We don’t really have the power.
Over. I bet one of our pitchers makes it.
Under. He is already forgotten.
Push. I could see them taking it easy on him, but I don’t think he’ll miss them due to injury.

1. Under. He’ll again get into the 90’s but not 100.
2. Under. McLouth could get close if Cox turns him loose.
3. Under. One guy might get there but not two.
4. Over. Agree on the players.
5. Over. I see us winning 91-94 games.
6. Over. McLouth gets 25, Diaz with 15, and Heyward with 15, plus Cabrera with 10.
7. Over. Jurrjens finally gets to go.
8. Under.
9. Under. I believe he’s healthy.

So I have been procrastinating to join Talking Chop for some time now but my associates tell me I have to now. However, after reading this post I only regret not joining sooner. Over, Under, Push is one of my favorite games and we owe thenightstallion our eternal gratitude for introducing this to us. Seriously, thenightstallion, you could make millions in the newspaper business with these kinds of segments. Here’s my answers:

1. Under. McCann has never had 100 RBIs in a season even with 500+ ABs. The Braves did nothing to change the beginning of the order, and even worse for Mac they acquired Troy Glaus who appears to be the new clean up hitter. Sorry BMac, guess you’ll have to stick to pop fly foul outs.
2. Under. Love this question because the Braves traded away their last base stealing threat with Furcal (46 SB in 2005) and they haven’t addressed the need since then. Is base stealing necessary to win? Not technically but it would help. I do see the Braves being more aggressive this year with McClouth and Diaz (Heyward aside since most have never seen him ACTUALLY play) but I think 25 is out of reach for all the above.
3. Push. I agree with thenightstallion that I want the Braves to be as good as they were on my Ken Griffey Jr. Slugfest game but I know that’s not possible. Don’t be mistaken, for the thrid straight year the pitching will be there but the bats and run support will fall short again. We still have no hitters in which pitchers are “scared” to pitch (Howard, Pujols, Hanley.) With that I say Push because Jair will pitch his heart out every game and some how Lowe is going to prove we made the right decision (God bless him if he doesn’t.)
4. Under. Since ‘05 the Braves haven’t had three players with a .300 AVG and 400 AB. I almost say Push but I’m not sure Diaz’s consistency (or luck) will be the same as last year. Escobar. Jones.
5. Over. We did improve on last years team but I still worry about those blown saves thenightstallion. There was a time when Wagner was “inconceivable!” in the 9th, but as we all know, those days seem to be fading faster than Tiger’s “Father of the Year” chances. However, I see the Braves in the high 90s and with the division in their grasp.
6. Under. I’d like to be optimistic about Heyward but like most of the bloggers, we have yet to see him play in anything besides the Minor League All-Star Game. He’ll be a rookie and McClouth, Diaz and Cabrera are not power hitters. The most I see is 18 for one of those guys.
7. Over. Maybe the easiest one so far (except the for the next one). McCann is a lock and the Braves pitching staff received some major press time last season. Since the coaching staff picks the backups and pitchers I see JJ and possibly Hanson (if he is star-studded like last year) making a guest appearance. Honestly, I’d love to see Chipper and Cox (if he counts) there, as well, but Chipper is wishful thinking.
8. Over. I cannot tell you thenightstallion how many times I rant about this DAILY. My answer is 365. I wake up every morning, look at myself in the mirror and think “Man you’re ugly…but at least you’re not Greg Norton.” I cringed everytime I heard “Now batting for the Braves, GREG NORTON.” The certainty that his AB would be a disappointment was as about as sure as Clay Aiken being a lesbian…okay bad analogy.
9. Under. My sources are telling me that Glaus AND Jones are going to get adequate rest and at any chance of injury they will be rested. I could see a short stint on the DL but nothing major.

I hope to see more of these thenightstallion.

1. Brian McCann will have 100 RBIs this season.———Under, too tough for a catcher, although it will be close with two OBP machines in front of him.

2. 25 steals for at least one player on the braves roster. -—-Under. We don’t run.

3. Two or more pitchers will finish with 18 wins.——Under. Getting to 18 is just tough. We should have a bunch of guys close, however.

4. Three players will finish with a batting average over .300— Push. There are many candidates: Prado, Chipper, McCann, Escobar, Diaz, Heyward, and I figure three of them will get it.

5. 90 wins for the Braves this year.———Over, although it will probably be close because the division is very tough.

6. 50 homeruns by our outfielders this year.——Over. I think that the original poster is probably close to correct with his projections, but his math seems bad, as I think those numbers will put us over 50.

7. One or more player, other than Brian McCann, will represent the Braves on the all star team this year.——-Over.

8. I’ll reference how happy I am that Greg Norton is no longer on our team 50 times this year.—Under, after a couple of weeks, I will simply forget he ever existed.

9. Troy Glaus will miss 30 games this season due to injury (not including rest)——-Under, although it could be close. I would take 130 games out of Glaus happily, with Hinske covering the rest.