Why are the Braves so good?

[preacher_dawg]

I was a Braves fan as a kid in the Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Chris Chambliss era, but I stay so busy in ministry, I really don't have much time or money to pay attention to sports other than Mississippi State. I know I could look up stats, but I wanted to hear from you, how are they so good? Hitting, pitching, coaching?

 

[Seinfeld]

I don’t follow MLB closely enough to give a great answer, but their payroll management stands out to me. Getting guys like Acuna, Olson, and Riley locked in at $15-20m is wild, and those are just a few examples

 

[Dawghouse]

I think payroll management and great roster decisions plus everyone is having at least a decent year are the answers.

They let great players go to be able to afford a lot of really good players.

Ozuna is a good example. He's been playing way below his average for a couple years but this year he's finally playing decently. I think they would have offloaded him but there was not market for him at his contract price.

I think the majority of this team is locked in for a few more years before they'll probably not be able to afford this roster.

I think they've got several more locked in but this was the best image I could find.

 

[RockyDog]

I was a Braves fan as a kid in the Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Chris Chambliss era, but I stay so busy in ministry, I really don't have much time or money to pay attention to sports other than Mississippi State. I know I could look up stats, but I wanted to hear from you, how are they so good? Hitting, pitching, coaching?

Don’t know if you can attribute it all to Chipper but someone has done wonders with their hitting approach. They were strikeout machines the last couple of years.

They are now hitting with record-setting power as well as putting the ball in play more consistently. Ozuna, Harris and Rosario had awful starts to the season but are all now hitting above league average since June. Ozuna was hitting like .085 with a homer in one of his first at bats of the season in April. But since May he became a legit hitter again and is hovering around .250 with 26 homers and 60+ driven in. Michael Harris was hitting below .150 for most of April and is now hitting near .300.

They have 4 guys with 25+ homers on the season and could realistically end up with 6 hitting 30 or more. It’s an incredible thing to watch.

They also lead the majors in run differential and basically have had half of a starting 5 all season. That is how good the offense has been.

My fear is that if they have a bad game or 2 in the playoffs where someone’s 1 or 2 shuts them down, they may not have the staff this season that can keep up. Facing the Phillies again in a 5 game series could be disastrous for this team.

 

[Boom Boom]

I think payroll management and great roster decisions plus everyone is having at least a decent year are the answers.

They let great players go to be able to afford a lot of really good players.

Ozuna is a good example. He's been playing way below his average for a couple years but this year he's finally playing decently. I think they would have offloaded him but there was not market for him at his contract price.

I think the majority of this team is locked in for a few more years before they'll probably not be able to afford this roster.

I think they've got several more locked in but this was the best image I could find.
View attachment 389170

And those deals are backloaded, so several of those guys are redonk cheap right now, enabling money to be spent elsewhere.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Sounds like 'cheap' is the key word here.

I'm a Braves fan (though my interest has definitely waned over the years, for MLB in general). So I can talk sh*t. But it sure seems like they love to stronghold cities into building stadiums and things of that nature, and what I see described in this thread is more evidence of this. I hear the Dominicans aren't subject to the draft, and can be signed much cheaper, so that makes sense too.

I must say, though, it works. Not quite moneyball, but similar, just cutthroat finances.

I personally wish they took more pride in the cities in which they reside, MiLB included. But it's hard to argue, because fandom is off the charts right now.

 

[dawgnabit]

We mash right now. Braves lead the league in RBI, HR, and batting average. And it's by a wide margin. Pitching is towards the top of the league but has been inconsistent which is a concern. Alex anthropolis has done wonders as a GM getting good talent. It also helps that the braves have been able to get great players take hometown deals to stay in atlanta.

 

[columbiadawg2]

AA has made good decisions and the farm system did what it was intended to do. They produced young talent, gave them opportunities, and locked them up in long-term deals all while spending wisely and cautiously on vets. They've made good signings and really no awful deals. They are very careful when making trades and take a lot of low-risk/high-reward deals. That said, I wish they would have tried to get some better pitching help either this past offseason or at the deadline as I'm really worried about this rotation and bullpen in the postseason.

That's the long way of saying the general manager has done his job well.

 

[aTotal360]

Hittin tanks and throwin gas.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

If there was an MLB all-douchebag team, would Chipper play 3b or LF?

 

[CochiseCowbell]

If there was an MLB all-douchebag team, would Chipper play 3b or LF?

Are you a Mets fan or do you know something of Chipper that I don't? I don't know whether he is or not, I've just not heard anything of this.

 

[RockyDog]

AA has made good decisions and the farm system did what it was intended to do. They produced young talent, gave them opportunities, and locked them up in long-term deals all while spending wisely and cautiously on vets. They've made good signings and really no awful deals. They are very careful when making trades and take a lot of low-risk/high-reward deals. That said, I wish they would have tried to get some better pitching help either this past offseason or at the deadline as I'm really worried about this rotation and bullpen in the postseason.

That's the long way of saying the general manager has done his job well.

Really needed a back end starter. Elder and Morton are up and down, Fried has been pretty good but the rotation of scrubs after those guys has been frustrating. There have been rumblings that Soroka is being held down to squeeze another year of control out of him.

at this point just gotta hope the bats stay hot thru the playoffs and Strider and Fried are ready to roll when it counts.

 

[Colonel Kang]

1. Most physical, powerful lineup in MLB

2. Good decisions to extend young stars before their market exploded. Has led to a loaded roster that is cost controlled

 

[Drebin]

I think payroll management and great roster decisions plus everyone is having at least a decent year are the answers.

They let great players go to be able to afford a lot of really good players.

Ozuna is a good example. He's been playing way below his average for a couple years but this year he's finally playing decently. I think they would have offloaded him but there was not market for him at his contract price.

I think the majority of this team is locked in for a few more years before they'll probably not be able to afford this roster.

I think they've got several more locked in but this was the best image I could find.
View attachment 389170

The biggest things working in the Braves favor:

1. They hit on more prospects than you normally see. There's an element of luck to that, but there's been a stretch where everyone they've called up has been a hit.

2. They moved to quickly lock up some players with some team-friendly long term deals while buying them out of arbitration.

The thing worth watching is how happy a guy like Riley will be five years from now when he's putting up MVP numbers for $20 million per year, which will be about half of market rate for a player of his caliber. That could cause some issues in the locker room because he won't be the only one.

But for now, they're lined up for some sustained success for sure, as long as they can figure out their bullpen.

 

[Drebin]

Are you a Mets fan or do you know something of Chipper that I don't? I don't know whether he is or not, I've just not heard anything of this.

You don't know about Chipper's fondness for Hooters girls? It's pretty well documented...

 

[Dawgbite]

You don't know about Chipper's fondness for Hooters girls? It's pretty well documented...

Heck, I'm fond of Hooters girls too. They bring me fried chicken and beer, what's not to like?

 

[DawgatAuburn]

My fear is that if they have a bad game or 2 in the playoffs where someone’s 1 or 2 shuts them down, they may not have the staff this season that can keep up. Facing the Phillies again in a 5 game series could be disastrous for this team.

They are the clear favorite to win it all, for sure. But I doubt anyone shuts that offense down. If they lose a series, it will be because their pitching falters and they lose some playoff/World Series games 8-6, not 2-1.

 

[columbiadawg2]

Really needed a back end starter. Elder and Morton are up and down, Fried has been pretty good but the rotation of scrubs after those guys has been frustrating. There have been rumblings that Soroka is being held down to squeeze another year of control out of him.

at this point just gotta hope the bats stay hot thru the playoffs and Strider and Fried are ready to roll when it counts.

Yeah, I'm terrified of the 5 game series. You get a bad outing from Strider or Fried and it's up to Elder and Morton to save your season. I could see a repeat of last year again. Fried or Strider has a bad outing, the other gets a W then L's from Elder and Charlie and bye bye before you get back to your studs

 

[NWADog]

I watch every single Braves game. They’re incredible.
They have the deepest lineup in baseball. The top 4 in the lineup can go 1-16 and we still may have games with 10 hits and score 7 runs with that stat line. If you don’t have time to follow every game then Locked On Braves podcast is an every day podcast usually 20-30 minutes with a lot of good info.
I believe recently the guy on the podcast said that our 1-9 has an OPS above the league average. That’s unbelievably good. We have the most home runs in the league by a wide margin and are on pace to break the all time home run record in a season. We get on base a lot and we hit a ton of home runs. Good recipe for a lot of runs. Lead the league in run differential as well.
Super deep pitching staff and top 3 bullpen in the league. We have basically had our two best pitchers from last season on the IL with Max Fried recently returning and Kyle Wright soon to be returning. Alex Anthropolis has made some incredible moves with free agent signing and trades. We should be very good for a minimum of 6-8 years with the length on the contracts we have with this young group.

 

[Boom Boom]

The biggest things working in the Braves favor:

1. They hit on more prospects than you normally see. There's an element of luck to that, but there's been a stretch where everyone they've called up has been a hit.

2. They moved to quickly lock up some players with some team-friendly long term deals while buying them out of arbitration.

The thing worth watching is how happy a guy like Riley will be five years from now when he's putting up MVP numbers for $20 million per year, which will be about half of market rate for a player of his caliber. That could cause some issues in the locker room because he won't be the only one.

But for now, they're lined up for some sustained success for sure, as long as they can figure out their bullpen.

Basically, if they hadn't locked up Acuna, Albies, and Riley to below market rates, they wouldn't have Morton, Olsen, and Murphy. Maybe 1 of the 3, maybe none.

It's probably too boring to wind up a movie with Brad Pitt as AA, but they found a market inefficiency (long extensions for young talent far removed from FA) and have exploited it perfectly.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

andAre you a Mets fan or do you know something of Chipper that I don't? I don't know whether he is or not, I've just not heard anything of this.

I'm not a pro baseball fan unless Clark comes back to the Giants to swing it or Griffey can somehow still play for the Mariners. I loved Chipper as a kid. I just read that on twitter one day by, I believe, three year letterman and almost pissed myself laughing. So, I've used it ever since when I see his name mentioned places.

 

[Msuirondawgs]

I watch every single Braves game. They’re incredible.
They have the deepest lineup in baseball. The top 4 in the lineup can go 1-16 and we still may have games with 10 hits and score 7 runs with that stat line. If you don’t have time to follow every game then Locked On Braves podcast is an every day podcast usually 20-30 minutes with a lot of good info.
I believe recently the guy on the podcast said that our 1-9 has an OPS above the league average. That’s unbelievably good. We have the most home runs in the league by a wide margin and are on pace to break the all time home run record in a season. We get on base a lot and we hit a ton of home runs. Good recipe for a lot of runs. Lead the league in run differential as well.
Super deep pitching staff and top 3 bullpen in the league. We have basically had our two best pitchers from last season on the IL with Max Fried recently returning and Kyle Wright soon to be returning. Alex Anthropolis has made some incredible moves with free agent signing and trades. We should be very good for a minimum of 6-8 years with the length on the contracts we have with this young group.

One of the biggest reasons is the run differential in the 1st inning alone LOL! Its nutso and far better than any other team in baseball. Wright starts his rehab in Rome GA this week. So hopefully we get him back in the next week or so.