Living in Florida for the time being, I'm sad I can't see the Braves. Luckily, DIrecTV's Extra Innings package is free this week. I was interested to see that they had the Braves' feed from PTV instead of the home team's broadcast. The games are all in the 700s if you're interested. Also this weekend, DirecTV has a bunch of exclusive channels for the Masters. And no, I don't work for DirecTV, I'm just a bored sports fan.

Going for the sweep! Game starts at 3:05 EST, so I'm getting this up now to give some of you time to get picks in before your work day tomorrow.

TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN
longshotsmith
sdp
someguy917

WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE
Bobby Cocks
Bream to the plate, and he is...
ejruiz
GoBravesNY
mburris1
Mikehd1200
musicman
mycr0ft
RehabReject
Smoltz's Beard
tomahawkin108
TomGarrett
vandelay
WeStillHaveBobby

A LITTLE BIT OFF
56 of you

NUMERO UNO: Attendance. Keep in mind, today is the ring ceremony for the Phillies
NUMERO DOS: Pick to click.
NUMERO TRES: Lets go a little out of the box today...how many hits will the Braves bullpen allow?

1st- I know i'm kinda late in asking this but the thought literally just crossed my mind. In any case- Everyone is raving about how well they hit, but what is each one's defensive ability like. Its something that nobody really talks about (i'm guessing because of their offensive capabilities, but im still curious about it.) Everybody says they are really impressive with the bat, but I have no clue how they are as fielders.

Anyone know how good they are in the field?

Looking forward to the G Braves coming to Gwinnett.. 

Will be at the Stadium sneak preview tonight..

Glavine is throwing a simulated game..

What are your thoughts on having the old Richmond AAA Braves in north Atl??

I believe it's cool to have the team here, because as you watch the better G Braves ascend to the Bigs - you can actually watch them perform at the Ted too..

Oh & BTW, there's also some very good college Diamond Dawgs up the road in the Classic City!!!

hey guys...i wanted to ask some true braves fans before i put this on ebay...i got this at a raffle last baseball season....its a #44 Hank Aaron jersey Large cooperstown collection complete with tags and $300 price tag on it...everything is stitched or sewn on....im asking $75 for it or best offer...my wife and i are expecting in a few months and need the extra cash...if this isnt the right place to post this can somone point me in the right place? thanks!...here are some pics....

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/8890/aaron1.jpg

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/6104/aaron2.jpg

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/994/aaron3f.jpg

ruddfan_8810@yahoo.com

With all the left-handed hitters we have in our lineup this year, I think that we're going to have to platoon somewhere (LF) or try to give one of the lefties a day off just about every time we face a lefty.  There's an article on the Braves site about Garrett Anderson's familiarity with Moyer, so I assume he'll be in the lineup tonight.  With guys like Moyer, I don't think that it matters as much, but against the Oliver Perezes of the world with good "stuff" I believe we've gotta get our righties in there (Prado at second, Diaz in left, Norton at first).  I hope Schafer hits lefties well; we don't have many options in  center.

Also, speaking of lefties, man I wish we resigned Ohman.  I'm not at all comfortable with our LOOGY options.  I think that's our weakest spot on the roster.  It'd be nice to go snag one of those Japanese lefties from the WBC.

I love it.  Once again the Yankees go out in the offseason and outspend everybody, buy up all the big names they can, and they forget the one most important element to a team - chemistry. 

A few notes on last night's Yankee - Oriole game:

Sabathia can't get out of the 5th, walked 5, no K's, allowed 6 runs.

Teixera was a big goose-egg at the plate, going 0-4, left 5 runners on base and couldn't get it done in the clutch in the 8th after the Yanks pulled to within a run.

At least A-Rod doesn't have to worry about Cody Ransom taking his spot. 

The Yankees franchise is like a boil on the face of Major League Baseball and baseball fans everywhere.  They build a $1.5 billion stadium (with taxpayer $$) and raise their ticket prices almost 100% during a recession.  The "Let them eat cake" mentality of the Yankees will be the undoing of that franchise.  In a few years the new generation of Steinbrenners will grow tired of $200 million plus payrolls only to eek into the playoffs as wildcard - if at all.  They will have a firesale (reference Florida Marlins 1998) and lower ticket prices back to 1950's prices.

Yeah, and Mickey Mantle will come back from the dead and hit clean-up for them too.  The Yankees will never change.  They are an abhorration.  A big market club that bullies 85-90 wins a year and never learns to play together as a team.  And never has any commraderie in the clubhouse.  You never hear players saying they want to play for the Yankees because they've always wanted to play for that manager, or because they love how the organization is run with loyalty and respect shown to the players.  No, they want to play for the Yankees because they pay the most money and it's a storied franchise with a great history of players like Ruth, Mantle, Ford, Gehrig, Berra, etc, etc.  Who can argue that point?  Yes they have had some of the game's best.  But with very few exceptions recently, those greats are only passing through to collect a paycheck and move on.

They have no heart.

WEEKLY STANDINGS

2 points
Bream to the plate, and he is...
ejruiz
longshotsmith
musicman
mycr0ft
sdp
vandelay

1 point
Andy Braves Fan
Atlas1828
Bobby Cocks
BraveSaluki
brndn
Buzzsaw
Cammando2317
Charmin519
Chopaholic
cirela20
dabraves
dunnytwogloves
FrankyWren
gondeee
heap16
jolo
jug
KAPTHENEWBIE
KC Ryan
lemke2blauser2bream
mburris1
Mikehd1200
mwchipper
nick9314
rearnold
RehabReject
secondbass
Sid Bream's Moustache
Smoltz's Beard
someguy917
soup du jour
The Mack
tomahawkin108
TomGarrett
torchy
tx_tomahawk
VictorW
WalkingSpanish
Weldon
WeStillHaveBobby
Zeus12888

1) Attendance
2) Pick to Click
3) How many innings will Jurrjens pitch tonight in his season debut?

Please don't bitch about my picks to click. Please please please please please. I can't pick 12 players per game that got a hit, drove in a run, or scored a run.

The only thing that could have made last night's win against the Phillies any sweeter would have been for anyone BUT ESPN to air the game.  Tell me I am not the only one that cringes when they hear Joe Morgan and Jon Miller calling the game.

They are both morons, plain and simple.  They carry on mindless conversations during the game and when they are actually paying any attention to the game, they mispronounce names and engage in analytical redundancy.  Some of my favorite quotes from the past few seasons.

Jon Miller:

-"Here comes rookie Logan Schafer to the plate" (said this name for over an inning);

- "Wilson Beta-MEAT" (even Betemit himself corrected him publicly and he continued to mispronounce it);  

-"Raul EBanez" (who are you, Alex Trebek?  Stop trying to be cultural and say foreign names like an American)

Joe Morgan:

-"If you strike out a lot, you won't get on base";  

-"If you swing at every pitch, you will either get a hit or strikeout"

-"A homerun is the best way to ensure everyone on the bases score";  

-"He is very talented; he can play every infield position but his only deficiency right now is he doesn't play the outfield spots"  (Huh?)

-"Watch our pitch tracker...he goes down and away, down and away, down and away again, then goes inside."  (In reality, it was inside, down and away, up, in the dirt, and right down the middle);

I thought everyone might like to know that MLB Extra Innings is having a free preview April 6th thru the 12th.  For those of us who don't live in the south any longer this will be a chance to check out some games the first week of the season for free.  

Can someone please fill me in on the MLB.TV online package please? I’m in Kansas City and the Braves are almost never on tv here so I am thinking about purchasing the online MLB.TV package. Are the games shown full screen or do i have to look at a tiny broadcast? Is the premium package that much better than the regular package?

I have a 720P HD monitor but are there enough HD games available to justify the extra expense? Is the the picture quality for the regular package pretty good? I would appreciate any answers you guys can give me. My wife will hate on me for spending the extra $ but I can’t stand another season without seeing my Braves on a nightly basis and we are moving soon so I can't buy the whole season of MLB Extra Innings.