[情報] The Atlanta Braves' All-Decade Team

看板Braves作者mohicans (Last Of The Mohicans)時間16年前 (2010/01/01 12:00)推噓4(4推 0噓 1→)

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by Cameron Britt The 2000s, at least first half of them, were a good decade for the Atlanta Braves. With superstars plentiful throughout, making this list was difficult. But, I was finally able to assemble a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, short stop, third baseman, three outfielders, five starters, a reliever, and a closer (with the year that each had their immaculate performance). With eight players coming from just two seasons, it may look like I became lazy while making this. But, I assure you, this article took a lot of time and I feel that these fifteen players had the best indiviual seasons at their respective positions of any other player to man their post (and players can appear only ONCE each, you'll see why later). At the end, I'll assemble a line-up and rotation. Hope you enjoy! (hitter lines will be Games/AVG/HR/XBH/RBI/OBP/SLG/SB) (pitcher lines will be Games/W-L/ERA/K:BB/WHIP/IP) (all stats are from baseball-reference.com, images from sources other than Getty Images are cited under the caption in each slide) Catcher: Javy Lopez (2003) 128/.328/43/32/109/.378/.687/0 Even though Lopez had always been an above-average offensive catcher, his 2003 performance has to go down as one of the best for a catcher in baseball history. In a contract year, Lopez belted 43 homers at a .328 clip as he (and a host of others, as you'll see) aided the Braves to their 12th straight divisional title. Javy never saw the same offensive production again over the rest of his career following his departure via free agency prior to 2004, which included stops in Baltimore, Boston, Colorado, and a brief reunion with Atlanta, but Braves fans will always remember the season that made Javy a standout in Atlanta's sports history. First Base: Mark Teixeira (2007-08) 157/.295/37/37/134/.395/.548/0 If you waht to be picky, this did stretch over two seasons. But, they also included a first half and a second half and covered one whole calender year...so I will count Teixeira. When the Braves acquired Tex in the five-prospect mega-deal that many Braves fans regret at the 2007 Trade Deadline, the city of Atlanta was buzzing. POWER! POWER! POWER! And Teixeira brought it. Unfortunately, his .295 average and 37 homers weren't enough to take the Braves to October glory, but Tex's numbers are, by far, the best of any 1B to have been employed by the Bravos from 2000-2009. Second Base: Martin Prado (2009) 128/.307/11/38/49/.358/.464/1 Now, I know what you're thinking. Martin Prado? But, when you consider the the likes of Keith Lockhart, Quilvio Veras, Marcus Giles (respectfully), and Kelly Johnson were the other second basemen of this decade, and all of a sudden Prado's .307 average, 11 homers, and 38 extra-base hits look really good. Short Stop: Rafael Furcal (2003) 159/.292/15/45/61/.352/.443/25 This was a close competition between Furcal's 2003 and Yunel Escobar's '09. But, I chose Furcal becuse of the power/speed combination that he brought to the table during his time with the Braves (Escobar only equaled his power). The .292 average and .352 OBP certainly didn't hurt either. The Braves really missed Furcal's speed since his departure prior to the 2006 season, as they havn't taken a divisional crown since. Third Base: Chipper Jones (2001) 159/.330/38/34/107/.404/.547/16 While this wasn't quite the same as Jones' 1999 MVP season, it wasn't too far off. Batting .330 with 38 homers and 16 steals made Jones a very valuable weapon for Bobby Cox during the 2001 season as the Braves captured their 10th straight divisional title. Chipper certainly hasn't slowed down much since, though the injuries have sped up a bit, as he has managed to top a .300 average and 20 homers (all but 2009) in most of the seasons since. Outfielder 1: Andruw Jones (2005) 160/.263/51/27/128/.347/.575/5 When the 2005 Atlanta Braves captured the franchises' last divisional title, most of the credit went to the now infamous (yes, INfamous) Baby Braves However, the one player that normally gets overlooked is Andruw Jones and his 51 homers. That may be pushing it to say that he was "forgotten," but you have to admit that 2005 isn't know univerally as the "Year of 51." Andruw was a key cog in that team as he set the Braves' single-season franchise record for homers. Outfielder 2: Gary Sheffield (2003) 155/.330/39/39/132/.419/.604/18 Ahhh...these were the days. During the Shef's two seasons in Atlanta, he was a quality human and like Tony Gwynn and Jim Edmond's love child. Hitting .330 with a homer shy of 40 dingers...that would be nice to have in the 2010 Braves' line-up. Too bad the Braves couldn't bask in this guy's glory any longer than they did...although losing him did set up the next guy... Outfielder 3: JD Drew (2004) 145/.305/31/36/93/.463/.569/12 Before the 2004 season, the Braves sent top pitching prospect Adam Wainwright and a couple other pieces to the St. Louis Cardinals for Valdosta, Georgia native JD Drew. And what a homecoming... Drew, in his first and only season with the Braves, batted .305 and hit 36 homers before bolting for "bluer" pastures with the Dodgers. Drew hasn't really seen that kind of performance since leaving Atlanta, so maybe the Braves didn't miss out on that much by letting Raul Mondesi (early 2005) and Jeff Francoeur (late 2005-early 2009) take right field duties...oh, wait... Starter 1: Javier Vazquez (2009) 32/15-10/2.87/238:44/1.026/219.1 You have to admit...this past season was pretty impressive for the Atlanta Braves' pitching staff. En route to a fourth-place Cy Young Award finish, Vazquez logged 238 strikeouts and 219.1 innings while anchoring one of the National League's best rotations. Even though this was a one-and-done deal for Vazquez, he had one of the best pitching seasons for a Braves' pitcher in the decade. Starter 2: Greg Maddux (2000) 35/19-9/3.00/190:42/1.071/249.1 Maybe this pick involved a lot of respect from my side, but a 3.00 ERA in nearly 250 innings with 19 wins is pretty impressive regardless of the aura surrounding Maddux. Starter 3: Jair Jurrjens (2009) 34/14-10/2.60/152:75/1.214/215.0 As I said a minute ago, this past season was pretty impressive for the Braves' staff. Even though JJ recieved little press for his 2.60 ERA and (tied) NL-high in starts, 2009 was an impressive year for the 23-year-old native of Curacao. The walks and Ks were a little closer than some would like, I think it's safe to say that Jurrjens was deserving of this spot. Starter 4: Tom Glavine (2002) 36/18-11/2.96/127:78/1.282/224.2 Like Maddux, this pick was a lot about respect for the "Big Three." In his last season before departing for New York, Glavine posted a 2.96 ERA and 18 wins in 224.2 innings. Those may be slightly lesser numbers (in the K:BB department, especially) than some of the others on this list, but, hey, it's the crafty old lefty that we all know and love from the 90s posting a great seson in the 2000s. Starter 5: Tommy Hanson (2009) 21/11-4/2.89/116:46/1.183/127.2 Did I mention that 2009 was a great season for the Braves? Now, I know that you're asking where Russ Ortiz's 20-win season is...where Tim Hudson is...etc. etc. etc.. But, I think that when you combine the pressure coming into 2009 put on Tommy Hanson's shoulder's and the final results, you have to say that it goes down as one of the best performances for a Braves pitcher in the 200s (run-on, much?). The much-heralded prospect delivered both during seeming trash time in the summer and when the heat of the pennant race in late September in a fantastic rookie campaign. That's why he's on here. Reliever: Peter Moylan (2007) 80/5-3/1.80/63:31/1.067/90.0 I probably could have chosen one of Soriano or Gonzalez's seasons for the middle relief spot, but I had to acknowledge Moylan's 80 appearance breakout campaign in 2007. The walks were a little high, but the ERA and WHIP were remarkably low for the side-arming Aussie. The 90.0 innings of relief Moylan provided what proved to be a pretty weak Braves 'pen that season estasblished him as a premier NL reliever (though he had to take a year off the following season due to TJS before returning to his dominate form). Closer: John Smoltz (2003) 62/0-2/1.12/73:8/0.870/64.1/45 saves You didn't think that I had forgotten the bearded wonder, did you? This was a hard choice between Smoltzie's 2002 and 2003 campaigns, as the former featured an NL-best 55 saves. But I eventually settled on this one for the EIGHT walks, 73 Ks, and 1.12 ERA. Smoltz was one of the premier closers (along with Eric Gagne) in the National League during the early 2000s, and an easy choice for the Closer's spot on the Braves' All-Decade Team. The Final Make-Up SS S Rafael Furcal LF R Gary Sheffield 3B S Chipper Jones C R Javy Lopez RF L JD Drew 1B S Mark Teixeira CF R Andruw Jones 2B R Martin Prado Rotation R Javier Vazquez R Greg Maddux R Jair Jurrjens L Tom Glavine R Tommy Hanson 'Pen RHP Peter Moylan CL John Smoltz http://bleacherreport.com/articles/317582-atlanta-braves-all-decade-team -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 122.116.47.94