Chipper Jones and his batting title trophy from just 2 seasons ago heavily disagree with you. Dude’s still got game, and he played the most games of his career last year.

The Lowe signing isn’t horrible when compared to market value, McClouth was a good trade that I definitely wouldn’t do the reversal of now, and saying just because Chipper is on this team we won’t win is just asinine.

I’m not a homer. I don’t think we’ll win 97 games and overtake the Phillies…. not this year. But if a miracle does happen and we do, Chipper freaking Jones will be a LARGE reason why it happened.

Just a few points for the sake of argument:

Your main claim is that we are relying on aging/over-the-hill vets exclusively this season in order to push us back into the playoffs. While true, three out of the five starters and the back end of the rotation are potentially big injury risks and could show serious signs of aging throughout the season. You neglect to mention that Hanson and Jurrjens will be anchoring the rotation this year and that all we need is an average DLowe season, an average Hudson season (both by their standards), and some innings from Kawakami. We should be not be losing much in the Vaz deal because over the course of 162 games last year, Hanson missed two months. The two months we will gain with him this year will make up for any lost productivity from having Vaz in the 5. For the backend of the bullpen, I am not so sure that Gonzo and Soriano do not pose the same risks that Wagner and Saito pose. I think the Saito move was horrible, but Gonzo looked like a bafoon in a huge amount of situations last year, Soriano was on a contract year, and both looked pooped by the end of the season. Wags and Saito might be slightly less effective as a tandem, but we have more overall depth in the BP this year (assuming Bobby carries more than a 4-man bullpen, practically speaking).

The main problem with your post is the claim of homerism on the site. Yes, most of us are supportive of the team. But to confuse a cautiously optimistic tone regarding the offseason with being a homer is a little ridiculous, especially when taking into account the apples-to-apples comparison between this year’s 25 and last year’s 25.

For starters, and this has been preached 1000 times over on this site, our opening day lineup was pretty much the same lineup we trotted out for the first 2 months of the season. Lest you forget, this included a lineup with 5 blackholes…..count em’ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. We had Francine, Crotchman, a corpse for a LF, KJ, and Schafer. People also conveniently forget that McCann was “injured” with his eye problem for much of the first 2 months of the season. Just thinking back to the AJC’s shots of Mac with his eyes the size of saucers gives me a good chuckle. So several days, we had a lineup with 6 people who either will not or should not be starting on a major league roster this season.

Even with our paper maiche lineup at the beginning of the season, we still managed to stay afloat until McClouth, Hanson, and Laroche came in.

Even with Vaz leaving town and the “suspect” additions we made, I have a hard time seeing how any lineup we put out from opening day will not be a vast improvement over the one we had for almost a third of last season.

In short, your “Curse of the Myth of Chipper Jones” (unwieldy title) is pretty weak any way you slice it.

I am like totally in massive agreement with the author of this brilliant post. No Doubt: The Atlanta Braves are …

D O O M E D !!!!!!!!

How is that core going to ruin our ability to compete in the future?

I look at 2012 and see:

Hanson, Jurrjens, McCann, Heyward, Escobar, Freeman, Shafer…possibly McClouth

Plus Wren has set up the salaries (within our piddling structure I remind you) perfectly for us to absorb big arb years, while adding top line young talent at major league minimum prices.

The future couldn’t be brighter, particularly if we can trade some minor league arms for some decent minor league bats.

All of those guys you have questions about have produced at a VERY HIGH level for multiple years.

More than anything I like the flexibility in lineups that our new roster affords us.

You can’t stand pat when you only have $90MM to work with, you have to be looking to improve your standing on the field as well as with your organizational assets.

I give Frank Wren an A- for his work this off-season…the – coming because he signed Lowe and KK to the contracts last year, and was thus forced to move Javier this year.

Nonetheless, Vizcaino is a nice consolation prize. And Dunn and Melky may prove to be more than serviceable as well.

Buy low, sell high. Wren did this with Gonzo, Soriano, and Vazquez. AND, AND…he found a taker (in our own division rival, who should’ve known better) to take Frenchy.

Not a bad couple years for Wren.

Ease up…breath…wait for some games to play out.

for talking be back from the ledge guys. Sometimes I get wound up in the offseason imagining doom and gloom (and injuries) for the team. There’s only so many old guys coming off of injuries that Wren can sign before I lose it. Your comments have helped take off the edge a little. There’s no convincing me that the Lowe and KK signings weren’t bad moves. Part bad timing (bad pitcher market right before the economy tanks) and part bad strategy (big money for low(e) upside). I’m coming to grips with McLouth being around for a while. I just don’t think he’s very good. Thanks guys, just two more months till opening day, two more months trying to keep my baseball sanity intact.

That’s my chief criticism.

I think i’d like him to be more like a Trot Nixon and hit 7th…with some pop, and be a guy you could start innings with and get into scoring position on a bunt, turn the lineup over, etc.

Keep in mind McClouth’s injury was a nagger that did a lot to decrease his 2nd half numbers….

His power numbers went from 14 HRs and 18 doubles to 6 HRs and 9 doubles…he batted .015 points below his lifetime against lefties all year too.

I am going to give him a chance at leadoff before i condemn him…let him start the year with the club and be comfortable from the outset and see how he does.

In 65 wins here are his #s….295, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 13 SBs….908 OPS

In 64 losses the #s are markedly worse….. .215, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 6 SBs… .660 OPS

I haven’t done everybody else’s splits, but this here is what I think some folks might call a correlation? a postulate? a theorem?

Can we have the leadoff spot in the hands of someone so streaky?

And look at his #s at Turner Field…he actually walked a lot there.

His #s at PNC were outstanding. Understandably…it’s a nice HS field.

Equal amount of wins to losses, and he appeared to contribute nothing to the losses.

Even if you lose, that’s no excuse not to hit closer to your avg, and if when you win you bat forty points higher, that indicates to me that the guy is a catalyst for us winning or losing.

I daresay if you looked at everyone’s splits most guys would be closer to their avgs, and still produce in losing efforts from time to time.

Not .40 pts in either direction….with no power numbers in losses.

Holy crap, what a negabrave.

is that you look at any championship team. Look at football, basketball, and baseball. The teams that have won championships are lead and filled with seasoned veterans. They not only provide experience to the teams but they provide your team with leadership for the young players. They get everyone on the same page. They have the knowledge to pass along to others so that they can improve. Hell Terry Pendleton is not our hitting coach anymore. Chipper is he advises the entire team anyways. If he is in a slump he goes to his dad. Though there is a core of seasoned individuals we need them to guide the ship.