The real beginning of the Braves’ amazing run of division championships started before they ever won one. In 1987 the Braves traded 36-year old right starting pitcher Doyle Alexander to the Tigers for a young prospect named John Smoltz. Alexander went on to finish 9-0 during the regular season for the Tigers with a 1.53 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. But in the American League Championship Series, Alexander started 2 games and he was 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. He pitched three years for the Tigers starting 78 games in which he was 29-29 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

John Smoltz is one of the best pitchers in the history of the Atlanta Braves. He pitched in 708 games (466 starts) for the Braves and he was 210-147 with 154 saves, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He finished with 3,011 strikeouts with the Braves which is the most in team history. He is fifth all-time in Braves’ history in wins and he is also first in Braves’ history in saves. Smoltz pitched on 8 All-Star teams in his career with the Braves. He won the Cy Young Award in 1996 with the Braves starting 35 games in which he was 24-8 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He whiffed 276 batters while only allowing 199 hits in 253 2/3 innings in 1996 for the Braves. But, Smoltz really made his mark in the post-season with the Braves. He has pitched in 40 games (27 starts) in his post season career with the Braves and he is 15-4 with 4 saves, a 2.65 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. The Braves should have wore a ski mask when making this trade as they stole Smoltz from the Tigers.

On April 8th, 1974 I was five years old. It was 9 o’clock and my mom informed by dad that it was time for me to go to bed. My dad said that I can go to bed after Hank Aaron bats and he was on deck. Aaron proceeded to crank a Al Downing (Dodgers) pitch over the left-center field fence to pass up Babe Ruth with his 715th homer. He went on to tack on 40 more homers in his career before retiring with 755. Aaron was not a steroided up freak like Barry Bonds so I still consider him the all-time home run king in my mind. Aaron played in 3,076 games in his career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and he was 3,600 for 11,628 (.310 avg, .944 OPS) with 2,107 runs scored, 733 homers, 2,202 RBIs and 240 stolen bases. Aaron was much more than just a home run hitter as his career high was 47 in 1971. Aaron is #2 all-time in homers (755), tied for 4th in runs all-time with Babe Ruth (2,174), #3 all-time in hits (3,771) and he is the all-time leader in RBIs (2,174). To me, Hank Aaron is the best hitter to ever walk the face of the Earth and no one will be able to change my mind about that.

The Braves did some tinkering to the starting line-up but I’m not so sure how much better they are. Here is what the starting line-up would look like if the season started next week:

C-Brian McCann
1B-Troy Glaus
2B-Martin Prado
SS-Yunel Escobar
3B-Chipper Jones
LF-Matt Diaz/Eric Hinske
CF-Melky Cabrera
RF-Nate McLouth

I really don’t like this line-up that much as Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus are definite risks as far as health wise. I do think that Hinske and Diaz could put up huge numbers in a platoon. I just hope the Braves don’t waste great pitching like they did in 2009.

The Braves have signed 32-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B/LF/RF Eric Hinske to a 1-year deal. Hinske played in 93 games for the Yankees and Pirates last season and he was 46 for 190 (.242 avg, .780 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 25 RBIs. Hinske has now played in 996 games in his major league career and he is 785 for 3,096 (.254 avg, .774 OPS) with 476 runs scored, 113 homers, 424 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. This was a great signing for the Braves because Troy Glaus and Chipper Jones are both a little injury prone and Hinske can handle both positions defensively while providing some power with the stick. He could also work his way into a platoon with Matt Diaz in RF if the Braves don’t bring in another outfielder. Eric Hinske has played in three straight World Series so maybe he will be a good luck charm for the Braves this year.