Atlanta Braves Season Review

With two months left to go in the season, the Braves currently have the largest division lead in the MLB with a 9 game lead over the disappointing Washington Nationals. While many may say we are a lock to make the playoffs, let us not get too ahead of ourselves. Any Braves fan will remember 2011 when the Braves had a "commanding" 9.5 game lead in the Wild Card with just over a month to go in the season yet let it slip away and the St. Louis Cardinals got in and wound up winning the World Series. While I do not expect a repeat this year, we can never get too comfortable .

In this article I will give a little review of the season thus far. I will give you my biggest surprises, disappointments and my prediction for the rest of the season. Here we go!

Biggest Surprises: 

1. Chris Johnson- The biggest deal of the offseason was when we traded Martin Prado to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton. In that deal we also picked up Chris Johnson. My first reaction was "Chris Johnson the football player!" Losing Prado meant we needed somebody to fill in at 3rd and Johnson has done that and then some. He has the team's highest batting average at .339 and has proven to be more than capable at defense. What initially started as a platoon with him and Juan Francisco eventually turned into his spot when Francisco was traded earlier this year.

2. Evan Gattis- This has been one of the best stories of the year. A rookie who was a janitor, ski-lift operator, parking valet and a pizza boy may wind up winning the rookie of the year. The best moment was his second at bat of the year, while his father was being interviewed, when he hit a homer off of former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay. He filled in great the first month of the season when Brian McCann was out. Even when McCann came back, we have used him in Left Field and First Base.

From Janitor to Rookie of the Year

3. The Bullpen- Going into this season we felt that the bullpen would be as strong as last year. However, both Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters went down early in the year with season-ending injuries which lead many to believe the the bullpen might be a problem this year. I am glad to say that is not the case. Another off-season move, trading Tommy Hanson for Jordan Walden has benefited us greatly. Walden has been tremendous out of the pen with a 2.57 ERA. Luis Avilan, David Carpenter, Anthony Varvarro and Cory Gearrin have also proven to be reliable out of the pen. The addition of Scott Downs should bolster our bullpen even further. Of course we cannot forget about Craig Kimbrel who has been lights out this year as our Closer.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Julio Teheran- Has proven to be a great starter and will continue to grow in years to come.
2. Jordan Schafer- Has been a very reliable backup in the OF.
3. Ramiro Pena- Had been surprisingly productive before his season ending injury.

Biggest Disappointments:

1. The Entire Outfield- Along with Justin Upton, the Braves signed his brother BJ from the Rays. The Upton Brothers plus Jason Heyward were supposed to be the most dynamic outfield in all of baseball. Sadly that has not gone according to plan. Justin had a huge first month where he hit 12 home runs. He has only hit 4 since and has seen his average go down in the process. BJ struggled the first 2 months of the year and was even benched for a portion of the year. He has picked it up the last 2 months but he is not being the player we signed him to be. Heyward has not produced like he should either this year.

The best OF in baseball? Not even close.

2. Kris Medlen- I am not going to say that Medlen has had a bad year. He has a respectable 3.74 ERA. However, after having such a great year last year where we never lost a start by him until the Wild Card game he has not been the same pitcher. He is 7-10 and has not been the reliable pitcher that we thought we were going to see. There are some games where it looks like the pitcher from last year and some games where it looks like he has no control of his stuff. I am confident that he can turn it around and possibly pitch well in the postseason.

Honorable Mention:

1. Paul Maholm- Been inconsistent this year. Always seems to have 1 really bad inning per game.

Prediction:

I predict that the Braves will hold on and win the division. Even if the braves struggle down the stretch, the Nationals and Phillies have too many problems to catch us. Come playoff time, we can compete with all of the possible playoff teams. Even with the loss of Tim Hudson, we still have a solid pitching staff with Minor, Medlen, Maholm and Teheran as our starters. Our bullpen will never let us down. If the outfield will start hitting we will have one of the best lineups in baseball. The only problem I have seen this year is that we are too inconsistent. This is not a good problem to have in the playoffs especially in a best-of-5 series which we have always had a problem with. I will give you a solid prediction and say that the Braves will make it to at least the NLCS. The Braves have all the tools to make a deep run in the playoffs. All they need to do is put those tools together and they will do just fine. Either way, I am excited about these last 2 months and hope to see a World Series banner hanging in Left Field next year.

Until Next Time,
Nathan Krispin

Red, White and Orange Sports

Creating a Buzz (Titans Training Camp so Far)

Just two weeks ago, St. Thomas Sports Park was as lonely as my mean great grandmother in her nursing home on Thanksgiving.  As of Saturday, however, the fans are rolling in and the pads are popping.  The Tennessee Titans have been irrelevant for years.  Let's be honest, the 2008 season was the only flash this team has shown in the past decade. Not only have they been bad, but it feels like they can't catch a break if it was thrown to them from Peyton Manning.  Through the past seven months, however, the Titans seem to have made a culture change, and the fans are noticing.

Offense

None of us here at RWO Sports have been to a training camp practice this year (we hope to check one out this week), but the buzz on the internet seems to imply that the offensive side of the ball may be much improved this year. Although much has been written about the preseason signings and draft picks, the "x factor" player in the offense WILL be Justin Hunter.  Throughout the first few days of training camp he has been the center of discussion, both good and bad.  If he can stay injury free, and learn how to play big boy football, he can bring a lot to the table as a third or fourth wide receiver. Jake Locker needs as many weapons as he can get, and with four established WR, the Titans can have an unbelievable passing game this year.

 

Defense

If I could use one word to describe the defense thus far, I would use "INTENSE", and I think it's the only word I need to use.  Greg Williams will have this defense rocking come September, even if the talent level is sub par. Gregg and Bernard Pollard are already giving this defense a new face, and the fans are loving it.



Titan up Titans fans, 2013 will be a good year.

Written by:  Trey Frisbey
Red White and Orange Sports
7/28/2013

Allow me to introduce myself

To all my readers out there,

My name is Nathan Krispin and I am one of the writers here at Red, White and Orange Sports. I have been born and raised in Nashville, TN since 1989. My love of sports began in 1998 when my beloved Tennessee Volunteers won the first ever BCS National Championship. I am a huge sports fan and I will watch all of the 4 major sports and any other major sporting event.

I recently just graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in Exercise Science. I would love to do something in the sports field, whether it is an athletic trainer on a sports team, a coach, or possibly a personal trainer. In High School I played baseball for 3 years. One of my teammates was former Notre Dame and current Seattle Seahawk star Golden Tate.

What you can expect from my blogs is my take on the world of sports, with a heavy emphasis on my favorite sport and America's past time, Baseball. I will give you my reaction to any big news and my opinions on any important matter. I will tend to be biased towards the Tennessee Vols, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Braves, and the Nashville Predators. You will eventually notice that I have a general dislike for anything related to Lane Kiffin, Lebron James, the New York Yankees and anything that happens from the state of Alabama.

While you may not respect all of my opinions, please know that this will be a friendly blog and I am always up for polite debate and friendly discussions about sports. I hope that you will enjoy reading my blogs as much as I will enjoy writing them.

Until next time,
Nathan Krispin

Red, White and Orange Sports

     Hello and welcome to Red, White and Orange Sports. We are here to bring you up to date sports news with maybe a slight bias for the Volunteers. We hope to give a unique and informative spin on national sports news and inform you of stories you may not be aware of.  As our team grows, we hope to include a variety of stories from a variety of sports.  Whether you are a die hard American football fan, a Vol for life, or a hockey junkie, we hope to be your source for all sports news and opinions.  So stick around, read up and give us some input!