Braves News
Johnson encouraged by results of altered stance
After struggling this spring, Braves' third baseman Chris Johnson was given instruction on how to alter his stance to produce a better swing. After getting used to it, he's hit two home runs off right-handed pitchers in four days plus eight hits in 12 at-bats, encouraging his confidence.
"Pulling the ball is good for me because the book on me is to pitch me [inside] and not allow me to go to right field," Johnson told MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "The new approach and [placement of my hands] is allowing me to get [opposing pitchers] out of there. Then when they go [outside], I'll be able to do what I want to do."
Pendleton's ejection vs. Bucs marks third for Braves this spring
The Braves have had some weird ejections this spring, and the latest came Sunday when first base coach Terry Pendleton got ejected for jawing at Jeff Nelson. The umpire had called two balks on Jason Grilli in the inning before, perhaps due to his unusual delivery, yet was not suspicious of Pittsburgh's Josh Holdzkom's pickoff move.
The thing is Grilli has never balked in the major leagues in 446 appearances for the 38-year-old. If that's going to change now, it doesn't seem like the Braves' clubhouse will let it stand.
Braves franchise changes include shift in offensive philosophy
Our friend David Lee at the Augusta Chronicle had a fantastic Sunday column this week, highlighting how the Braves went about remaking the strikeout-heavy lineup into one that revolves around contact.
The highlight was new hitting coach's Kevin Seitzer's frankness, saying "I hate strikeouts. It doesn’t matter if I have a team full of contact hitters or power hitters. I hate strikeouts." He elaborated:
The left field platoon that includes Jonny Gomes is expected to produce a higher contact rate than Justin Upton, Christian Bethancourt’s aggressiveness on fastballs could help him top Evan Gattis, and prospect Jace Peterson, who could see time at second base, has a contact-oriented bat.
The additions came shortly after the hiring of Seitzer, who’s known as a teacher of grinding out at-bats and getting positive results while avoiding swinging strikes. The former Royals and Blue Jays coach preaches shortening the swing, staying on top of the ball and hitting according to the situation to generate offense.
"There are adjustments you can make as a player to see the ball better and be able to lay off some chase pitches and still do your damage," Seitzer said. "That’s kind of what I bring to the table, and staying in the middle of the field is a big part of it."
MLB News
Victor Sanchez dead at 20
Mariners pitching prospect Victor Sanchez died in his native Venezuela this weekend. The 20-year-old was injured back in February when a boat struck him and he sustained head injuries. Sanchez had a bright future, as Seattle executive vice president and general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. "Victor was a tremendous young man and a wonderful teammate. He was a very talented player who was close to fulfilling his promise as a major leaguer. He will be missed by his teammates and the coaches and staff at the Mariners. The entire Mariners organization sends our deepest condolences to his family during this difficult time."
Predictions, predictions, predictions! Get your MLB predictions for 2015 here!
Over at big SB Nation MLB, Grant Brisbee put out his MLB predictions, and they are glorious. It's a long read, but this excerpt about his fifth-place Phillies is the most fun:
Pretend you have a Game Genie for the Phillies and you can make Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz as good as they were in 2011 or so. Would they have enough pitching to contend with that fearsome start to a lineup? Probably not. Now realize the Game Genie is a fantasy, and those older players are surrounded by once-weres and never-will-bes. I’m starting to wonder if Domonic Brown might not work out. And is that Grady Sizemore in right? At least Jeff Francoeur is behind him, just in case!
I, too, am excited about what Jeff Francoeur at-bats can bring us this year.