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Home of the M-Braves

Before I get into my review of the AA Mississippi Braves and their ballpark Trustmark Park, I want to give thanks to the organization for showing me a great time and getting me all the info I wanted. This is the first of many trips this year on the “2009 Bravescast Roar Trip”. Next we’ll be sending a review from Rome Georgia’s State Mutual Stadium and the Single-A team the Rome Braves. Here is my review from AA Mississippi.

Ballpark & Field: The ballpark is named Trustmark Park and holds about 5,550 fans and has seat from home plate to both foul poles. The stadium is still in great condition considering it was opened only 4 years ago in April of 2005. It reminds me of Rome’s stadium a lot. I think the biggest eye catcher is the huge “Berm” extending over from center to left field. This is a great place to watch a ball game or relax and spend some time. I quickly noticed that there are a lot of covered picnic table areas in the park included a large one along the right field line and a left field line beyond the fence. The right field area has a full service Restaurant/Grill area. There is also a large kid’s inflatable air slide area. Beside that is the large centerfield concourse is the merchandise store. The store has a few HD TV sets in it playing the Atlanta and M-Braves games. The park also features a 16 by 21 ft. video board with a full in-house video feed. I was fortunate enough to get to visit the Braves clubhouse. The clubhouse is small in comparison to Atlanta’s but is large enough to accommodate the whole team. There is nothing exotic in the clubhouse, but it does have several HD TVs, couches, card tables and a work out area near the showers. It’s a very nice clubhouse for a minor league facility. Overall the field its self looked as good as I have ever seen a field look. Green grass with no flaws and a smooth looking infield too. The Braves dugout is down the 3^rd base side and visitors down the right. Both bullpens are out of play which is much safer but not always common in the Minor leagues.

City and Staff: The location of the ballpark is a key in Mississippi. The official city of location is Pearl, Miss but other large towns sounding the park are Jackson and Brandon Mississippi. The stadium is located right off of interstates I-20 and I-55. The stadium sits directly across the street from a gigantic Bass Pro Shop which is a popular place on the weekends. The tri-city area is large into sports, and I was told that there is a lot of high school and college sports tournaments held in the area. A couple of college teams were staying in the same hotel I was one night. As for the staff, I could not have asked for a better experience. The media relations manager, Nicholas Skinner took me around the park, in the clubhouse and press box. He also sent me home with interviews, pictures and a couple of media guides and souvenirs. The night that I went was “Mini Plague Night”. The plague featured a tribute to the 2008 Southern League Championship won by the M-Braves. I also got a chance to meet the radio play-by-play broadcaster Ben Ingram. He gave me a bunch of info on the team, the area, and the media in the Greater Jackson area. I listened to him broadcast the game and he is a pretty good broadcaster. Check him out some times on the live audio provided at www.mississippibraves.com .

The 2009 Team: Talking with M-Braves manager Phillip Wellman, he expects big things out of the 2009 team. They are coming off a Championship year, and return a heavy load of starters from last years club. The new additions are mostly added from the Myrtle Beach team that won 89 games and both the first and second half titles. The team has gotten off to a slow start, but the same thing happened least season before pulling it all together at the end. Some key names to watch are position players; Brandon Hicks, Eric Campbell,  Gorkys Hernandez, and Matt Young. The pitching staff will be lead by pitchers; Rudy Darrow, Stephen Marek,   among others. We will keep are eye on the team and feature players throughout the season that are producing productively.

All in all, the five hour trip to Mississippi was well worth it. I look forward to going back later this year or maybe next season. We do plan on covering the Mississippi team again on the road in Chattanooga TN, or Birmingham Al. If you are in any other these areas I would encourage you to get a sneak peak at the Braves of the future. This weeks will begin are first Minor League focused show call Bravescast “Minors to Majors”. Please give it a listen.

Mississippi is the 1st stop in 09.

As part of some of the new things coming to Bravescast in the 2009 season, we are proud to announce the first stop on the 2009 “Bravescast Roadtrip”. I will be headed out to Pearl Misssissippi to cover the Braves Double-A minor league affiliate. I hope to speak with some of the future in the Braves organization. There will be some names you may recognize and some that you may have never heard of before. I will also post some pictures of the Mississippi Braves’ Trustmark Park.  This stop will be one of many that we will make in the 2009 season. We hope to visit all 4 Minor League home ball parks, and even catch a couple of games in road cities as well. As part of the new chances in coming weeks, we will introduce a second Bravescast show weekly week called “Minors to Majors” featuring a look into the Minor Leagues as a whole and spotlighting a individual player each week. This show will also mark the return of the hosts’ individuals segments which are; Pats Pet Peeves, Bert’s Trivia, and Jereme’s Fantasy update. Look for these changes in the next coming weeks and as always thanks for listening and logging onto Bravescast.

Not in the so far off future the Braves will be in Atlanta and on the way to hopefully a terrific 2009 campaign and a march to the playoffs for the first time since 2005.  Until then we have to make due with what is going on right now.  Going back in forth for the best record in spring training the Braves look promising but should that leave us concerned?

I have grown up thinking that only the teams with great records in spring only means that they are positions on that team that is wide open for players to grab.  For the first time in a few years this spring really has given us that kind of spring.  As of now center field is still open, we still have a ton of pitchers battling out for a few spots.

Thanks to the WBC, congrats to team Japan, we got to see the future in a sense in the outfield and first base in Hayward and Freeman.  Thanks to a few media outlets America knows about the most important one Hanson.  We got to see a few more people thanks to a ton of players gone.

Finally things are getting easier for us who writes about the team because now Cox and other coaches are sending people down to the minor camps.  Those three players that I just mentioned and Hicks and Jo Jo Reyes are gone on assignments.  Not only for us here at Bravescast but for our fans it’s easier to pick out 25 for the opening day roster for the contest.  For me it is still going to be tough but I think I have a formula.  Or maybe not it will probably come down to a few guesses but hey it should be fun.

So go ahead write down your 25 man roster and send it on in.  It shouldn’t be that hard if you have followed the team this spring and the off season.  Come on and join us as co-hosts for an upcoming show it should be a lot of fun.  Good Luck.

Can you "Pick the Players"?

Bravescast is offering their first ever Pick the Players Contest. Can you predict the Atlanta Braves Opening day 25 Man Roster? Contestents can leave their roster in the comment box below or e-mail us direct a hosts@bravescast.com. To enter the contest select the 25 Braves players that you think will be op the opening day roster. Please separate your pitchers and position players and list the starters in the order you think they will pitch. Also tell us your starting 8 players and bench players. Entries can be made till 11:59pm Thursday April 2^nd. The person with the most names on the roster will win. We will be giving away a chance to co-host a show, join the Bravescast fantasy league, and a Bravescast t-shirt. In the event of a tie the tie-breakers will be in this order. Starting 4 pitchers, starting centerfielder opening day, and entry sent in the earliest. We will notify you as the winner on the website on Friday April 3^rd. The winner can then contact us and we will handle the rest. Only 1 entry per person please!

Griffey Picks the Seatle over Atlanta

It has been said on this podcast over and over how the media and especially the newspaper here in Atlanta is not the best.  Well here is a shocker as if you didn’t know Griffey is headed back to Seattle and not the Braves.  Why you ask?  I don’t know but here is a good guess, the AJC!

We sports fans here in Atlanta only have one option to read about things happening with our sports teams.  Anyone who knows knows not to put all of your eggs in one basket while trying to run down a hill or something like that.  Well a couple of writers here proclaimed Jr. was a Brave days before the man even signed a contract!  So you are telling me veteran writes for a city paper gets paid on assumptions?  Sign me up, no wait just give me a pay check. 

This is not the first time the Atlanta media has got ahead of the actual news.  Remember a few short months ago Escobar was gone and we had an ace to head up our rotation.  We talked about that for months until it was confirmed he was headed to the Cubbies just before he was actually staying in San Diego.  But what went wrong with the Kid? 

I don’t get paid to do this so I will not try and mess this up just write down what might have swayed his decision.  A couple days ago he was coming here.  He really wanted to play for arguably the best manager in the game today and he lives in Orlando.  His daughter is playing basketball in Atlanta and his son plays football in Florida just an hour or so from the busiest airport in the country.  So what gives?  After all of his years in the game he still has a heart and he actually cares about the fans.  The fans in the wrong city maybe but he cares.  Sorry Seattle.

Maybe he is still a shy kid and when he saw in big bold letters in the AJC about is days as a Brave before anything was settled unnerved him.  Can you blame him?  Just think as the pressure a Major league player has when he signs with a team; just multiply that because he is on your team before he is on your team.

Frank Wren caught all kind of grief because big name players slipped through his hands and then he went on a spree and got players for this team.  A reprieve maybe but this is not on Frankie.  To me this goes on the media and the writers on their assumptions.  I know these guys get paid to break big stories but if you have to go to the player’s best friend’s neighbor to get it well you should be doing blogs and podcasts not getting paid.  It is called a rumor for a reason.  If you put all the rumors in the paper well you would have to leave out the comics and the obituaries.

Where does MLB and the Braves stand in today economy?

Will the economy affect your attendance to games this year? The Braves and MLB are hoping not. To answer my own question, I may have to settle for staying home for a few more games then in previous years. Like some many of you, I have had cut backs at my jobs and won’t have the same extra money to spend as in recent years. This week’s show will cover how to save some cash at the ballpark and also what I want to get into today, Braves contracts and options for the next few seasons.

I would like to start by saying a good portion of my information has came from a great site Cot’s Baseball Contracts. An absolutely great site! Check it out. The Braves have made some great pitching moves to lock in a solid rotation for the next few years. Lowe just signed a 4 years deal, Kawakamia is signed for 3, Vazquez for 2, and Hudson has an option through next year. The Braves also own the services of Jair Jurrjens till at least 2012. The heart of the Braves pitching staff will remain in tact for the next few years. In addition the players just mentioned, the Braves still have young upcoming pitchers like Tommy Hanson, James Parr, Charlie Morton and Jo-Jo Reyes. All these players are expected to hold down jobs in the Major Leagues at some point in time. Although the starting pitching looks great, there are some concerns after this year in the bullpen. Braves relievers Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano can file for free agency after this season. Gonzalez just signed a 3.45 million dollar contract to avoid arbitration.  Some other pieces to the pen such as Peter Moylan and Jorge Campillo do not have the required MLB service to file for free agency for the next 2 seasons. In a whole Braves’ GM frank Wren should have a solid base for pitching for year to come.

When it comes to position players after 09 the one question that come to mind is, will the Braves resign Chipper Jones? Many would say they would be crazy not to, but we just seen what happened with the Smoltz situation. I think the Braves may offer a year or 2 extension because Chipper’s batting stats have actually gotten better with his age. Chipper also seems to be a better defender at 3^rd base then in his younger days. The only question is about his health. He would be a perfect fit with an AL team when if he ever choices to become a DH somewhere. I hope Chipper can remain healthy and stay a Brave till retirement. As for the rest of the position players things are looking good. McCann signed that 6 year deal to keep him a Braves till 2012 with an option for 2013. Along the infield Kotchman, Johnson and Escobar are all locked up with the Braves due to their lack of MLB service. The Braves may elect to offer some arbitration over the next few years but Atlanta is good at settling contracts before it gets to that. In the outfield things get complicated. Jeff Francoeur turned down a contract offer and elected to peruse arbitration. This means a 3^rd party will determine his pay for this year.   He still has 2 more years before he can file for full free agency. It will be interesting to see if the Braves offer him a long term deal after this season to avoid arbitration again. Finishing out the outfield the Braves have a real young core of Gregor Blanco, Josh Anderson, and Brandon Jones. Blanco has the most experience with 1 full year of service.

The Braves continue to save money year by year by producing some of the best minor league talent around.

Throughout this bad economy, the Braves have been in a position where they only seek a hand full of free agents compared to teams like the Yankees who only have a few of their own minor league players. I believe this will keep the Braves extremely competitive throughout the rest of the decade and beyond. The Braves may not have ever be interested in the top free agents over the years like Manny, A-Rod, or any of those other guys, but they really don’t have a need to spend that kind of money . One of the coolest things I can say about being a Braves fans is that I seen McCann, Francouer, and many others when they were in the minors increasing their skills. Where autographs are free and you can hold a conversation with the players. Times are tough, hopefully we can all get out to some games this year and support our Braves!

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Longtime Braves Braves broadcaster Don Sutton Makes His Return.

 The news finally broke today that former Braves broadcaster and baseball hall of fame player Don Sutton will return to be the Braves radio broadcaster alongside Atlanta native and former Brewers broadcaster Jim Powell. Sutton spent the 07, and 08 seasons with the Washington Nationals broadcast team. Before that Sutton was part of the Braves broadcast team both on TV and radio since 1989. Many questions had developed on the web about just who would replace the legendary Braves hall of fame broadcaster Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren. Powell was announced last week and the rumors were then confirmed on Sutton.

Jim Powell will have huge shoes to fill, but knows what a great tradition the Braves radio network has. Powell grew up in the Roswell area and also worked with the extremely popular and beloved “Mr. Baseball” Bob Uecker for 13 years with the Brewers. Powell was also a University of Georgia Broadcaster where he attended college at, and spent time covering the Falcons on weekends at WSB radio. Powell called minor league baseball action from 1987-1995. He started his professional broadcast career in 1993 in a part time role with the Twins. Powell is still young for a pro broadcaster at the age of 44. Powell should bring a natural excitement to the Braves broadcast booth considering he was a Braves fan growing up just like the rest of us.

Don Sutton will provide the comfort of having a familiar voice on the radio. He also provides commentary that only a hall of fame player can provide but does not throw that fact out there every other minute like some national broadcasters. Sutton will have to make the adjustment back to radio from TV but was a very good play-by-play man before he left. My guess is that the two will alternate the play-by-play duties throughout the game. Sutton still has family in the Atlanta area and may have some personal reasons that will be helped along with his return to Atlanta. He was present for some recent Braves fundraising activities this past week. The deal has been pending for the last few weeks with the details just recently being worked out between the Braves, Brewers, and their broadcast stations. Sutton still had 2 seasons remaining on his contract. Sutton should have an official news conference soon, and will have his first interview locally on WGST AM 640 on the morning show with Randy Cook on Wednesday morning.  

The new duo will serve only as the radio crew and may be joined on occasion by Chip Caray who has done some radio game on nights off from his Peachtree duties. Mark Lemke and Mitch Evans should remain as pre-game and post-game hosts. Lemke can also serve as a color broadcaster in emergency or fill in roles. The Braves radio network servers over 150 radio affiliates and is well known for being one of the largest sports radio networks in the world.    

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Will the Braves offer Andruw a contract?

Andruw’s (Horrible) Audio Interview on 790 The Zone Click Here

Sometimes it is amazing to see what a difference 2 years could make. At the end of the 2006 season Braves fans were furious when Andruw Jones was not resigned by the Braves. I was mad, and chances are you were too. Now only 2 short years later a possible return of Andruw Jones to the club has caused an outburst on message boards, and bloggers all around. Should the Braves bring back the 10 time gold glover and runner up to the 2005 MVP?  

Andruw recently went on an interview on an Atlanta radio station and mentioned that he was not willing to sign a minor league contract with the Braves. He also stated that he would like to be back in Atlanta mainly because it is comfortable for him, and his home is in Atlanta. With the Braves longtime history of bringing back previous players it would not surprise me if Atlanta at least offers a minor league contract. The Braves do not seem to be willing to offer a major league deal due to the penalties that may come if he was to be cut. I think the only way Andruw is to return to the Braves is by excepting a Javy Lopez type contract. Meaning a minor league contract with the chance to make the club in spring training. I do believe Andruw will get the Major League contract he is seeking. There are clubs that will take a chance on his defense alone. Andrruw should not bring a high priced contract this year. A team like the Marlins would probably be willing to take the chance.

Andruw Jones was once one of the most beloved Braves of all time. His physical condition has changed since the skinny kid who hit 2 homeruns in the World Series. Andruw had gained a ton of weight and also had to have knee surgery recently. In a recent video now posted on the website, it showed Andruw still on the hefty side, but in a recently video posted on Braves.com the former center field slugger seemed to be in a lot better shape. Beating the weight is only the first obstacle on a long road back. Andruw was reported as being “uncoachable” during the end of his Braves career. Will he now start listening to his next hitting coach?  Some will say that Andruw’s mental side will be the determining factor in deciding the fate of the rest of his career. I wish Andruw the best but wonder if he will ever be the same? What is your take on a possible Andruw Jones return? To leave a comment click the “add your” link under this blog.

Andruw Jones in a video from early winter ball with former Brave Furcal

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This week's Guest Rue Grant from Bravesblast with Braves GM Frank Wren

Do you think it is time to apologize to Frank Wren and his front office goons after the signing of Derek Lowe? If you are one of those fans that just wanted an ace at the top of the rotation then I say fo ahead. After all that we said about Wren he just spent $83mm to bring in two pitchers.
We picked up our first ever Japanese born player in Kenshin Kawakami and signed him for three years and around the $23mm range according to a few sources. He is in his mid thirties and for the last year he pitched on a six man rotation. He has pitched every five days before and in 2006 is when he won the equivalent of the Cy Young award. He has not stated any specific goals for the upcoming year but he did say that he wanted to stay in the rotation all year. Well given any for seen circumstances I think he will have no problem at all in achieving that.
Our biggest pick up is Derek Lowe the 33 year old veteran from L.A. This guy really is a workhorse, something that this rotation needs more than anything else. Remember the work load that our bullpen had last year. I seen a crazy stat earlier in the week and I hope I do not get it wrong. Since 2002 Lowe is third or tied with third in wins among all starters. That is amazing. I was happy we got Lowe. Other than the possibility of Peavy I was really hoping to get this guy. I just don’t understand why the Braves was not interested in him before the Smoltz thing went down. The Braves put in a huge offer of four years for $60mm and it has been passed around that the Braves did that just so Lowe can accept the offer quickly. A little paranoid there Wren?
Lowe is like Smoltz. A closer to start his career in Boston, well from 1999 to 2001 and now an accomplished starter.
I am sad to see number 29 go off to what might be greener land up in Boston but you know there is nothing that I can do about that. Just to break up a little contract numbers check this out. Smoltz left the Braves for $5.5mm and the Braves offered around the $2.5mm range. Difference of $2mm. Omar Infante signed for two years with a third year option for around $4.35mm. Smoltz only wanted a one year deal and instead of giving
Smoltz the chance of retiring at the end of the year as a Brave (if that is what Smoltz is going to do) they give the cash to a backup infielder. And the third year option is a club option and it is for $2.5mm. Just thought you might like to know where that $40mm went to.