Why We Watch - 2008 Atlanta Braves

February 29th, 2008 by Tuffy Posted in baseball, mlb, why we watch |

There’s 200 days or so of baseball to come this season and it can be quite intimidating to jump into the deep end of the baseball viewing pool.

To help, Refrigerator Logic is providing a list of reasons to watch every Major League Baseball team for the 2008 season. Anyone that’s read all the team lists should be able to pull up the MLB schedule on any day in early June and find reasons to enjoy any contest on the board that night.

Please join in the comments to add your own reasons. Tell everyone why your team is worth three and a half hours of their lives on any given day. Make us care and we’ll be there with a tasty beverage and an appreciation for what you feel each time your team takes the field.

Reunion Tour

This is the year of the homecoming Brave. In an unexpected move, the Braves invited Javy Lopez to camp. Lopez came in this spring with a story of hope about committing himself to his catching prowess in the offseason and hoping to back up Brian McCann this year. Braves fans could not be more thrilled to see him again in the ol’ warpaint and have been cheering him endlessly. If you have a lazy afternoon and a bit of a nostalgic heart, tune in to see if Javy’s behind the plate in Atlanta. Braves fans will reward you for your time; hopefully, he’ll do the same in return.

However, the big reacquisition has to be Tom Glavine in a one-year farewell (?) national tour. After breaking hearts four years ago by traveling to the NL East rivals in Flushing, he returns for a final lap around the mound. While it’s likely at this point that he will be headlining an oldies show with little chance at a #1 album, he still has the same old needs just like any traveling band of warriors.

As part of his $8m contract this year, he has full run of a suite on the road. Of course, any good performer has specific requests for his tour. In a Refrigerator Logic exclusive, we’ve secured part of his rider for the suite, pictured below.

He’s No Brian Epstein or Theo Epstein, But…

Enter Frank Wren. The consigliere of Dynastic Architect John Schuerholz was promoted to General Manager last fall when Schuerholz chose to bump himself upstairs into pseudo-retirement. As fans of the classic band Spinal Tap can tell you, it only takes one Jeanine Pettibone to ruin the whole tour.

Still, this is no coup; Frank Wren was groomed for many years for the job once thought to belong to Dayton Moore. If you’re worried about his bona fides, take solace that Peter Angelos hated him and fired him in under a year.

If you watch the Braves this year, you’re watching his team as much as anyone else’s. He’s marking time as best as possible until his young talent arrives in 2009-2010. It’s as good a strategy as any for a venue owner: pack ‘em in with classic acts until the next big thing comes along. The old-timers with the cash love it.

Size Matters in Georgia

Speaking of obvious measurement errors…

This is the telly at Turner Field. It stands roughly 23904832098 feet tall. When Bobby Cox appears on the screen during introductions, his visage haunts small children for years in their nightmares. It’s the only way to see all the action, perhaps, and yet all Chipper Jones wonders is if they get SpectraVision on that…

Boy Band of Brothers

And what of that young talent? Too much to list ‘em all. Few infielders, but the outfield won’t suffer from a lack of options soon. Jeff Francoeur (Frenchy is such a great nickname) is tabbed by many to ‘asplode this year. Jordan Schafer is the reason Andruw Jones was allowed to take his subpar season to Chavez Ravine; his defense will certainly remind the Atlanta faithful of the man with the inverted final letter in his first name. You can probably see him after the All-Star pause.

Youngish Yunel Escobar came out of nowhere (legally, anyway; Cuba still doesn’t like their baseball players to wind their way through Central America on their way to U.S. glory) to secure the shortstop job quite admirably, allowing the Braves to flip Edgar Renteria for more pitching and outfield talent. A raft of other pitching talent rests comfortably on the top prospects list for the Braves as well. You can expect to see some of them peek their heads out for September callups.

A Brief Reminder from Liberty Media

From the initial purchase press release in May 2007:

“We are pleased with the successful conversion of these Time Warner shares as this transaction enhances our financial and strategic flexibility,” Liberty Chairman John Malone said. “We are pleased with the value created for our shareholders from our ownership of Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner.”

“Liberty Media is delighted to join with the Atlanta Braves Baseball Club and their fan base and looks forward to the team excelling as they have for the past fifteen years,” said Liberty President and CEO Greg Maffei. “This transaction represents another significant step in our transition to a focused operating company.”

Building a Brent Lillibridge to the future: Liberty Media!