w00t, keeping Washington in last place!

Back-to-back wins against the oddly worse Washington Nationals have the Braves feeling good about life. The guys feel like they can go home and diddle the wife. The coaches feel like their hard work is paying off. And the fans don't really have anyone to bitch about. And the Braves still have a hope to finish above .500. Yes, they cannot lose another game, but stranger things have happened?

Oh, they haven't? Well then.

KJ's been hitting the ball a bit. In his last 19 games, KJ is hitting .338/.397/.507. Now, it's certainly nothing too special, but hopefully a good sign. I'm such a KJ apologist, I know. But hey, he's the only one who I really feel is hitting significantly under his ability.

And yes, that includes Jeff Francoeur, who some guy named Marco Estrada hit yesterday. Methinks Estrada is actually a Braves fan. Anyway, the French prince is day-to-day.

Brandon Jones continues to get regular at-bats and is succeeding at them. I still am not ready to write him off as a potential .900 OPS guy from the outfield, though he was pretty bad at Richmond this year. I blame the confusing Richmond traffic. Lillipad, you're excused, too.

J-And, who is a great navigator, is also hitting in Atlanta. .305/.369/.441 with five steals. I don't think the power will be sustained, but if he keeps that SLG above .400 and that OBP in reasonably effective leadoff status, he is already much more valuable than Gregor Blanco, who would slide into a solid fourth outfielder.

The outfield for next year is problematic for a few reasons. One, I doubt they will deal Francoeur, so let's pencil him in right. Let's say J-And has a foot in the door in center. You need a bigger bat in left. Your infield, for argument's sakes, is pretty well packed. Even if you deal KJ, which has been discussed, are you going to find a bigger bat for the position? Doubtful. This team needs power, ESPECIALLY if they deal KJ, who after McCann, Chipper, Krotchy, and Francoeur, is the only player with potential power. I like Brandon Jones, but you can't rely on that. I think the Braves need a power bat in left next season.

The pitching...remains horrible and the Braves are getting a collection of weak pitchers to finish the season. I'd write more...but Notre Dame's on! Go Irish!

Busy week, ya know?

Baseball is finally getting fun again.

-Spring training previews are up and running. The Sports Network actually considers Chris Resop an addition to talk about. That's scary. Basic premise - Braves will improve this year because of the acquisitions of old Braves. Not that abnormal, I suppose.

-Elsewhere, Dugout Central has their very own preview. Much more informative and includes the very fun "The aforementioned Jurrjens could be getting starts as early as May, or whenever the annual Mike Hampton injury occurs." I'm glad we got such a joke as a starter. I think it's very fair to say that the Braves are, yes, headed in the right direction, but this might not be their year. Still not convinced that this staff is as deep and talented as people might think.

-Spring Training 08 has a theory that Matt DeSalvo is the best non-roster invitee to make an impact on the Braves. Consider the lists of NRI includes Javy Lopez, Jordan Schafer, and Brent Lillibridge, the choice of DeSalvo is a interesting one. I doubt he will get more than five innings myself.

-Here's a little didy about Josh Anderson. Is "didy" even a word? Not according to my spell check, but if it's not a word, than just what the fuck was John Cougar Mellencamp singing about? Didy isn't a word...ditty is, however. Learn something new every day.

-There's been a slew of Bobby Cox articles, mostly about his proposed retirement. Bowman and DOB both touch on it, so really, it's just one brain. I frankly think this is it and everyone is kinda in on it. There's that, "win one more for the Coxer" feeling to this season with Glav and Javy back in the fold. My sources tell me Sid Bream is coming out of retirement to compete with Thor for the backup first base job.

-DOB's article also said the Braves have brought back Damian Moss. You know he just wants to attach himself to Glav's hand again.

-Jayson Stark gave Glav his own article, too. A lot of people can't stand Stark, but I think he's merely a pompous ass and as one myself, I see a lot of pluses in that. But what the hell is up with that pic? It scares me.

Thing is...all the words in the world are worthless if Glav can't turn a few things on its head. He needs to prove that he do basically what he did two years ago. Drastically improve his K/9. Last year, it was 3.9. There is no amount of "well, take out those last few starts" arguments that avoid one truth. Glav was lucky to be having a "good" year until September. His defensive ERA also ballooned.

His projections are not promising. The Bill James ones are always the most positive, but his Marcel is just not good enough. 4.50 ERA, less than 100 K's, less than 200 innings. These things will keep Glav from being significantly helpful to the Braves, especially in the way Stark projects.

-DOB also talks up the Glavine subject, but he provides some other nuggets on Jeff Bennett, Mark Kotsay, and Jeff Francoeur. Bennett must have Bobby's support because he keeps getting mentioned. I'm dieting too so maybe I can be the fifth or "sixth" starter as well. Francoeur is blowing up and Kotsay has a beard. Thanks for the big time insight, DOB.

-Um...go Braves?

Let's Meet...Josh Anderson

That's Josh. Say hi to him. He is a new Brave, acquired for Oscar Villarreal. The only thing I hate more than people with hard to type names like Jurr Jurrjens (I'm not even making sure that's right) is people with generic WASPy names like Josh Anderson. If you or your family is reading, you're totally the exception that proves the rule. Totally. Dammit, I need to see Clueless for the five billionth time.

Anderson was born three days after me in 1982. Weird. He's from Kentucky and went to Eastern Kentucky where he hit very well and parlayed into a fourth round selection from the Houston Astros. The left-hand hitting outfielder finished up 2003 with Tri City before beginning his first full season of pro ball with Lexington of the SALLY league in '04. After an outstanding .324/.402/.425 campaign in 74 games, he would spend the next 3.5 years trying to approach those numbers again. After Lexington's dominance, he finished the year with Salem in the Carolina League. His OPS fell under .700 where it stayed the following year in Corpus Cristie. A 2006 repeat of Corpus Cristie saw some improvement as he hit .309/.349/.384. Last year, he hit .273 but OPS'd just .666 in the hitter-friendly PCL. That's right, he's the devil.

He finished up with the Astros where he surprised many by hitting .358 in 21 games. In fact, he played the final series against the Braves, going 3 for 12. He finished the year with a six game hit streak and hit in 15 of his final 16 games.

But that's not Josh Anderson, I feel. Not even close. Wanna know who J-And really is?

Fast Guy: Anderson has stolen 237 bases in five minor league seasons and has been caught only 62 times (79%). He is what Willie Harris and Gregor Blanco simply are not. A guy with plenty of speed, but an eye and instinct for stealing.

Powerless: He slugged just .373 as a minor leaguer. Three of his 24 major league hits went for extra bases. You simply are not going to get much power out of him, which is why his speed is so important to his game.

Good Contact: Anderson does not strike out too much which is good because he doesn't walk. At all. His entire game is predicated by putting the ball in play and running.

A player in this mold can start for clubs. When he's a middle infielder that is. Or people get so enamored with your "grit" and the fact you're a black guy with a french-spanish name (Juan Pierre?), but Anderson is not starting material. However, as a fourth outfielder, he could be valuable. I'm a stats guy, but when it comes to the bench, I typically will think "high average" because in my opinion, the batting eye is tougher to maintain as a benchwarmer than the swing. Especially when you have spent your minor league years as a punch-and-judy hitter anyway.

Ultimately, decent deal. The Braves got some help, got rid of some dead weight, and did so while saving money. Yay.