Fourteen years of tradition came crumbling down on the heads of the Atlanta Braves last MLB betting season when they failed to win the division for the first time since almost a decade and a half. For Braves online baseball betting fans in junior high school, who had never seen the team not win the MLB betting title, it must have seemed like something of a birth right.
For years the MLB betting team had won with genuine talent and stellar talent, but in the last few online baseball betting years it had been mediocre competition in the NL East that had kept them on top. But the Mets went into hyper speeding mode and bought best team that had graced the NL East in many online baseball betting years and stole the MLB betting division crown from Atlanta Braves along the way.
Coming off a 79-83 win MLB betting season it will be interesting to see how the Braves bounce back. These are not the same Braves of the 1990’s MLB betting seasons with four Cy Young winners in the starting rotation, but they’re still talented and even though it will be almost impossible to knock of a very good Mets team, the Braves could be in the running for a wild card spot.
However, they could also have a tough just breaking .500 as their division rivals the Phillies will be a much improved MLB betting team and Florida, with its good young pitching could also surprise some people in the NL East. The point is, nothing can be taken for granted anymore in the MLB betting division that the Atlanta Braves used to beat like a rented-mule. Atlanta will have to work for everything it gets this online baseball betting year.
Under Bobby Cox great pitching has been the calling card of this MLB betting franchise and although the talent on the pitching staff isn’t quite what it was in the days of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz, it’s still pretty good. And even without ace pitching coach Leo Mazzone, the Braves staff should still be very good in 2007 MLB betting season and perhaps even among the best in the NL. This off-season the starting rotation improved dramatically when Mike Hampton returned to good health after injuries kept him out of the 2006 MLB betting campaign.
He should hold down the number spot and due well for this online baseball betting team. He’s a very tough guy who should bounce back, but will likely have to rely more on finesse than power and this could take some time for a pitcher like Hampton.
John Smoltz, while not the Smoltz of the 1990’s hey-days, is still one of the best big game pitchers in the game and will be a solid complement as the two or three pitcher. Tim Hudson struggled last MLB betting year with some control and could be a question mark this MLB betting season. The four and five spots will be fought over by Chuck James, Kyle Davies and Lance Cormier, all very solid for the bottom end of a rotation. Bob Wickman should continue to be stellar in the closer role after converting 33-37 chances for the Braves last MLB betting year. His set up men Mike Gonzalez, acquired in a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Raphael Soriano, acquired in a trade from Seattle should help make this he best bullpen in the NL East.
Among position players the stars of this MLB betting team are still the Jones boys, Andrew and Chipper. It seems like these guys have been around forever, but they should have their regular dominating MLB betting seasons again in 2007. The outfield looks very tough again in 2007 MLB betting season with Jones, Ryan Langerhans and Jeff Francour. Francour had a pretty disappointing 2006 MLB betting season and this may be question mark for the team in 2007 MLB betting season.
The infield is solid, but the departure of first baseman Adam LaRoche will no doubt weaken the batting line up. Chipper will be back playing third and this should help improve his batting stats, especially his power. Edgar Renteria is solid, but nothing special at shortstop and will have to cut down on his wild throws in 2007 Atlanta Braves online baseball betting season.
This is not a bad team, but it’s not necessarily a good MLB betting team either. If it were water, it would be room temperature. There are certainly some bright spots, like the bull pen and some of the middle lineup hitters, but there are also some big question marks like how well Hampton will bounce back and whether or not Hudson will get his control back on track. If this MLB betting team can get out to early leads with some strong batting in the early innings and take the pressure off the staring pitcher, the Braves should do well with their lock down bull pen.
However, sloppy pitching and some glaring spots in the batting lineup could spell trouble for this MLB betting team. Maybe this team would have a chance at the title in the NL West, but in the NL east the Mets and Phillies are just too strong this online baseball betting year to give the Atlanta Braves a reasonable chance of winning the MLB betting division or snagging a wild card spot.