BRAVES ST Camp Report

[nochahoma]

Heads up! That was the first thing I heard this morning at the spring Home of the Braves. Russ Ortiz was the first pitcher on the hill tossing bp. Alfonseca was the "leadoff" pitcher batting. He hit the first two pitches foul right over the end of the 1b dugout where I was sitting. He is as crappy of a hitter as he is a pitcher.

John Thomson followed Ortiz on the hill. He is a big strong guy. Fairly easy motion. Swings a decent bat too.
Estrada and Eli Marrero looked good. Marrero is a great utility man and will prove quite valuable to the Braves this year. He can play OF or catch. Old Eddie Perez was there.
Oddly enough one SP was missing, Mike Hampton was not there.

Smoltz was there and having a good time. He did long toss but did not throw bp. I believe he may have thrown in the bullpen in rf but I'm not sure. Chipper, Giles and Derosa were there but only hit in the cage. The new 1B prospect Laroche was working.
I did not see Francour (prospect). Spoke to Jaret Wright briefly. Hope he produces for the Braves.
The Braves are sporting a memorial patch on their unis, #21. I believe this was Warren Spahns # back in the day.
It was a great morning. My juices are officially flowing. I bought some tickets for the Cards game. I'm ready for the season to start. I'm even more excited for my fantasy bb league. I have some homework to do regarding that.
Go Braves!!!:nut:

[jwrenn]

Awesome dude! Thanks for the report! Makes me wish I lived in FL and had cable for the season... :(

[Yellow Dog]

Great report, nocahoma! I've been keeping up with the workouts through the nightly reports on The Southern Sports Report which airs on Fox Sports Net, but it must be pretty neat to check it out for yourself firsthand.

I believe Hampton was absent because of the proverbial "flu-like symptons." If there's any group of athletes more susceptible to "flu-like symptons" than major league baseball players, I don't know who they are.

Francouer may not be in camp this year. I was certain that he would be but I read the other day that Andy Marte wasn't there either. So it stands to reason that if Marte is not there, perhaps Francouer won't be either.

And you are right about #21 belonging to the late, great Warren Spahn. The Braves will be wearing it all season in his honor.

I'm hearing some good things about this kid Jose Cappellan. He is a hard throwing 23 year old kid who, despite never having pitched above Class A, is now being mentioned as a dark horse in the race for the fifth starter's role.

And more good news: Paul Byrd is ahead of schedule and possibly could be ready to return by as early as late May-early June.

[Yellow Dog]

The AJC reported today that Francouer will be heading to spring training later this week. He will spend about two weeks in the Braves camp before moving to the minor league camp.