It is the truth. Chuck James was in fact demoted, but for the life of me I really can't figure out why . Phil Stockman was recalled but for the life of me I really can't figure out why . Anyways here is official confirmation from the Braves official website in case, you know, you want some proof of a claim.

Braves.com

Enjoy and have fun speculating possible starters. I know I will. Bye

SHOP THEM ALL!!!! SHOP OFF EVERYONE!!!!! 

Seriously though. Potentially, we have the somewhat near future gifts of both Gonzo and Rafi, AND SMOLTZ coming (back) to our bullpen.  That is a VERY enviable bullpen.  When we had Gonzo, Rafi, and Wicky as our 7th and 8th and closer, it was working really well.  Gonzo has closed before, and did well. Someone else can posts the stats.  Rafi is the bomb, we all know what he's capable of. And, if Smoltz can do it while not running on fumes, maybe we'll have the only real lights-out closer around.

When a healthy Gonzo is your 7th inning man, that's a solid bullpen. (I like him more than Rafi though, so i'd actually put him 8th)

Therefore - why not try to ship off our boatload of shitty, unreliable relievers? As i'm typing this, I realize that we wouldnt get shit of a starting pitcher for what we have and what's out there, and I cant think of a position that we would need to fill now either (except LF?).  Maybe this whole post is a farce. Or, maybe its a ploy to get your creative juices flowing, and to have someone else come up with a good idea of how to dump our soon to be excess bullpen baggage.

C'mon Beard, dont let us down.

Chuck James is an absolute joke of a major league baseball pitcher.  He has two pitches (fastball and change-up) and his fastball sucks.  He throws up in the strike zone and he does not fool anyone.  He gives up twice as many home runs as an average pitcher.  On top of that, he walks so many batters that he is constantly giving up two and three run home runs.  We have no chance of winning a game he is pitching for us, and honestly, I never want to see him start another game in a Braves uniform.  Bring up Morton, or start Bennett or even Campillo.  We really don't have to live with his shittyness.

I apologize if this has been commented on already, however I had not seen anything yet on here. I was trolling mlb trade rumors and read where Mark Bowman believes the Braves could bring Maddux back for another tour. So the question is would you want him in the rotation? He has been pitching pretty well, he is 3-3 with a 3.60 era. HIs WHIP is 1.16, same as Peavey's, and opponents are hitting .280 which is better than the rest of their starters. Granted Peavey will continue to get better as the year goes on, but Maddux has the comfort of the West, a huge ballpark to pitch in but has a crappy offense behind him. Interested in everyones thoughts on if you would like to see him back with the Braves. Also, Bowman mentioned it would not take much to get him in terms of talent, though Maddux may have a no trade clause, not sure.

Edge of your seat game and its was 8-0.  This ballpark is arena league.  Terrible.  How about tonight?  Here is my lineup, I was correct about Kelly, he looks like a different guy batting 7th. Armchair managering is better than nothing!  The Phillies aren't too great against lefties either, I hope that can continue 1 more game.  No name calling from the fellow bloggers lately, there is hope.

Yunel, Infante, Chipper, Tex, Andruw Franceour,McCann,Diaz ,Kotsay, James.

Typically, when the Braves start losing, the tempers start to heat up around here.  Imagine being a Nationals fan, or a Reds fan, or a Rockies fan, whose teams aren't even close to being .500?  Wonder what the tempers are like on those blogs?

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Last nights game should have been over in the second inning!  It had that feel that if we didn't put it away we would find a way to lose and of course, they did.  Kendrick looked nervous and the Philly infielders felt it and visited more on the mound then they would have if he's was in the hospital!  JoJo is good hitter and a lousy bunter and Bobby tried it twice and lost.  Killed us and lost us the game.  Let Reyes swing away, no one get a bunt down except Blanco.  Bobby is hall of famer, no doubt, but I think it's time to retire. The game seems different and Bobby is part of the old guard.  Old dogs!  Just an opinion no need for the young guys who read this to take it personal.  It would be refreshing if some of the usual posters don't go insane and make it personal towards me.  I have my thoughts just like you.  I can only hope.

J. KOTSAY #21 shirts NOW AVAILABLE.

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With the draft only a few weeks away, who do you see as potential picks for the Braves?  Because of Glavine we won't pick until #40.  Which position do you think we should go after?  Personally, I could see us going several directions.  Pitching is always an area that teams are going to focus on.  We could probably use a good 3B prospect as well.

Here's my thought at potential picks:

Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville

Kyle Long, LHP/1B, HS

Daniel Schlereth, LHP, Arizona

D.J. Hicks, 1B, HS

Destin Hood, OF, HS

I'm not sure if I'm really supposed to be continuously pasting segments of Baseball Prospectus directly onto this blog, but please go ahead and erase this if you feel it is unnecessary Gondee.  It's just a short article about our boy:

Sabermetric study has long ago proven that batting average is not one of the better indicators of a player’s offensive prowess. On-base percentage, slugging percentage, and a host of other, more advanced metrics paint a clearer picture. A look at Chipper Jones’ OBP, SLG, and EqA shows the venerable Braves third baseman is off to an outstanding start this season. Jones’ 1144 OPS and .389 EqA are both second in the major leagues to the Astros’ Lance Berkman (1243, .393), while his .459 OBP and .685 SLG are both third.

However, the number that stands out the most in Jones’ stat line for many is his .400 batting average, which leads the majors. While average is an archaic measure to more contemporary analysts, there is still something magical about the mark, and it still appears on every scoreboard in the major leagues.

"It’s such a special mark in the game of baseball," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "I don’t think that will ever change, regardless of the new statistics you see nowadays. For someone to hit .400 for an entire season would be one of the greatest feats in sports. Heck, just to hit .400 for as long as Chipper has is a great accomplishment. You’ve seen how long it’s been since someone has done that."

Sixty-seven years have passed since Ted Williams hit .406 for the 1941 Red Sox. Only four players have hit even .380 since--Tony Gwynn (.394 for the Padres in strike-shortened 1994), George Brett (.390 for the 1990 Royals), Williams (.388 for the 1957 Red Sox), and Rod Carew (.388 for the 1977 Twins).

"I always though Pete Rose would be the one guy who could do it, but he never came close, which tells you how hard it is," Cox reflected. Rose holds baseball’s all-time hits record with 4,256, but his highest batting average in a 24-year career was .348.

While Cox isn’t about to say that Jones is ready to become the first player since Williams to finish at .400, he does see why the 15-year veteran could at least have a fighting chance at the mark. "When you look at the last two guys who made a serious run at .400, Gwynn and Brett, those guys used the whole field as hitters and didn’t strike out very much," Cox said. "Chipper is the same kind of hitter. He has a little more power than those guys, but he sprays the ball from gap to gap and makes consistent contact. I’ll tell you this much, though, if he keeps swinging the bat all year like he has so far this season, he’d have a chance. I’ve seen him get hot a lot of times over the years, but I’ve never seen him this hot for this long."

Jones isn’t getting caught up in any kind of .400 mania at this early point of the season, saying "I’m swinging the bat well but it’s far too early to be thinking what my batting average might be at the end of the year."

Jones believes he has been the beneficiary of hitting behind the pair of players in the top two spots in the order, second baseman Kelly Johnson and shortstop Yunel Escobar. Johnson has a .328 on-base percentage and a .267 EqA but had a .375 OBP last year, while Escobar’s figures are .399 and .301. That trio at the top has helped the Braves rank third in the majors as a team in EqA. "When they are on base all the time, pitchers have to come right at me," Jones said. "They can’t afford to try to pitch around me and put another runner on base. It always helps when you’re getting pretty good pitches to hit. We’ve got a pretty good offense and when Johnson and Escobar are getting on base the way they are, we’re really good. There is no reason why we shouldn’t score a lot of runs."

What has the 36-year-old Jones more excited from a personal standpoint is that he is just four home runs away from 400 in his career. The only other switch-hitters to reach that mark are Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (511). Jones appreciates being in that company. "When you think of Mickey Mantle you think of home runs and when you think of Eddie Murray, you think of longevity and his ability to produce runs," Jones said. "I’d like to be remembered as a combination of the two, a guy who could be counted on to hit home runs, drive in runs, hit for a high average, get on base, hit for power and be consistent from both sides of the plate, a consistently good switch-hitter."