Ryan Braun Is A Cheater And Liar

On Monday Major League Baseball dropped the hammer on Ryan Braun, suspending him without pay for the rest of the 2013 season, for violating MLB's "Basic Agreement and it's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program."

Braun had long denied ever using PED's, but on Monday admitted to "mistakes". He would not go into detail on exactly what those "mistakes" were, and until he does, we won't fully know exactly what drugs he took and how much and how long he used these drugs.

But even without knowing the answer to those questions we do know that Ryan Braun is a cheater and a liar. This hurts me greatly as a baseball fan and a fan of Ryan Braun. I have defended Braun to no end and now learn that Braun really doesn't care about baseball fans like myself. He seems to think we're all gullible but we're not.

Now I just wish Ryan Braun would go away, never to resurface ever again in baseball. But I know that won't be the case. Come spring training in 2014, Ryan Braun will be back in a baseball uniform, back on a field, and back in the spotlight.

I can't speak for others, but I can tell you that I am no longer a fan of Ryan Braun and will root hard against him having any sort of success in MLB moving forward. I wish him nothing but the worst on field performance possible because that is what he deserves for being the cheater and liar that he is.

Craig Kimbrel Will Be Fine

If you're sitting there waiting for the 2012 version on Craig Kimbrel to show up, I've got bad news for you, it's not happening anytime soon. The season that Kimbrel had in 2012 was one for the ages and one that will never be duplicated again. But we should at least expect him to the be Craig Kimbrel of 2011 right?

But I do have good news about the 2013 version of Craig Kimbrel. He's not been as bad as things seem right now in light of his third blown save of the season, all coming in his last five appearances.

There's a lot of speculation that Kimbrel has suffered a drop in velocity and that's the reason he is getting hit this season. That's simply a myth. Kimbrel's average fastball velocity this season is 96.0. In 2012 it was 96.8. So mere percentage points separates Kimbrel's velocity the last two seasons.

Taking it back even further and we see that Kimbrel's average fastball velocity was 95.4 and 96.2 in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

The next question you ask yourself, "Is Kimbrel still getting the same movement on his fastball this season?", and the answer is yes.

In fact Kimbrel is generating more movement on his fastball this season than he did last season. He has a horizontal movement this season of -5.7 compared to -5.6 last season.

What that means is that his fastball from his release point is moving -5.7 inches to the left on a horizontal plane. On a vertical plane we see that Kimbrel's fastball moves 7.3 inches down from his release point over 7.0 last season.

So when looking at velocity and movement Craig Kimbrel is the same pitcher he has always been. So why is he getting hit more this season than he did in 2011 or 2012? It's because he is using his fastball more this season than he has in his career.

But it's not just that he's throwing his fastball more. It's the situations in which he is using his fastball move. According to Brooks Baseball, Kimbrel is throwing his fastball when ahead in the count to left-handed hitters 55 percent of the time this season up from 49 percent in 2012.

Against right-handed batter's it's even worse with him throwing his fastball 74 percent of the time when ahead in the count compared to just 62 percent in 2012. That's a huge difference. When ahead in the count to right-handed batters Kimbrel has all but abandoned his curveball, leading to hitters sitting dead red and not missing it.

Any major league hitter will tell you if you see the fastball enough from a pitcher, sooner or later, you'll time it. In order for Kimbrel to get back on track he must start throwing his curveball more to regain the advantage he had with his fastball which is completely overpowering when hitters don't know which pitch is coming.

Craig Kimbrel is a smart guy. He will eventually figure out that he needs to throw his curveball more in order to get back to dominating hitters. Until then we'll just have to deal with him struggling, especially against right-handed hitters who have the advantage of knowing a fastball is coming a whopping 84 percent of the time.

Braves Hit The Road Again

The Atlanta Braves hit the road again for a 10-game, 3-city road trip starting on Monday in Cincinnati. They'll play 3 in Cincinnati, 4 in San Francisco and 3 in Arizona. The Braves are 9-7 on the road this season.

The Braves welcome back 6-time All-Star catcher Brian McCann on Monday. McCann had Labrum surgery on his right shoulder last October. In 7 rehab games spread across Class-A Rome and Triple-A Gwinnett, McCann went 8-for-23 with a double, 4 homeruns and 9 RBIs. McCann's got great numbers in Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park, having hit .333 in his career there with 10 homeruns. Against Monday's starter Bronson Arroyo, McCann is 9-for-18 with 4 homeruns.

Getting McCann back will be huge for a Braves team that has struggled in recent weeks after starting the season 12-1. The Braves ended an up and down 6-game home stand by going 3-3 including Sunday's 9-4 victory over the New York Mets. The Braves have had their share of struggles against the Cincinnati Reds since 2007, going just 14-25 and just 6-17 at Great American Ball Park.

The Braves are just 6-11 in their last 17 games after starting the season 12-1. But despite their struggles they are still in 1st place in the NL East thanks in large part to the struggles of their biggest challenger, the Washington Nationals.

Here are the Braves next 10 games.

GAME 1 - MONDAY - MAY 6TH - @ REDS - 7:10 PM - SPSO, ESPN

Paul Maholm (3-3, 3.08)  vs. Bronson Arroyo (2-3, 3.95)

GAME 2 - TUESDAY - MAY 7TH - @ REDS - 7:10 PM - SPSO, MLBN

Kris Medlen (1-4, 3.38) vs. Homer Bailey (1-3, 3.38)

GAME 3 - WEDNESDAY - MAY 8TH - @ REDS - 12:35 PM - SPSO, MLBN

Mike Minor (3-2, 3.26) vs. Mike Leake (2-1, 4.15)

GAME 1 - THURSDAY - MAY 9TH - @ GIANTS - 10:15 PM - FSS, MLBN

Julio Teheran (1-0, 5.08) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (1-2, 7.20)

GAME 2 - FRIDAY - MAY 10TH - @ GIANTS - 10:15 PM - FSS

Tim Hudson (4-1, 3.83) vs. Matt Cain (1-2, 5.57)

GAME 3 - SATURDAY - MAY 11TH - @ GIANTS - 4:05 PM - FSS, MLBN

Paul Maholm (4-3, 3.09) vs. Madison Bumgarner (3-1, 2.31) 

GAME 4 - SUNDAY - MAY 12TH - @ GIANTS - 4:05 PM - FSS

Kris Medlen (1-4, 3.25) vs. Tim Lincecum (2-2, 4.75)

GAME 1 - MONDAY - MAY 13TH - @ DIAMONDBACKS - 9:40 PM - SPSO

Mike Minor (4-2, 2.96) vs. Wade Miley (3-1, 2.93)

GAME 2 - TUESDAY - MAY 14TH - @ DIAMONDBACKS - 9:40 PM - SPSO

Julio Teheran (1-0, 5.08) vs. Patrick Corbin (4-0, 1.80)

GAME 3 - WEDNESDAY - MAY 15TH - @ DIAMONDBACKS - 3:40 PM - SPSO

Tim Hudson (4-1, 3.83) vs. Ian Kennedy (1-3, 5.19)

2012 MLB Predictions

Well spring training is underway. The games are 3 weeks old and we've got a better understanding of what certain teams will look like come April. With that being said it's time for my 2012 MLB season predictions. Here goes.

NL EAST
1. *Atlanta Braves
2. *Philadelphia Phillies
3. *Washington Nationals
4. Miami Marlins
5. New York Mets

NL CENTRAL
1. *Cincinnati Reds
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Chicago Cubs
6. Houston Astros

NL WEST
1. *Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

AL EAST
1. *New York Yankees
2. *Tampa Bay Rays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

AL CENTRAL
1. *Detroit Tigers
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Cleveland Indians
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Chicago White Sox

AL WEST
1. *Los Angeles Angels
2. *Texas Rangers
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Oakland Athletics

MLB PLAYOFFS
NLWC - Phillies over Nationals
ALWC - Rays over Rangers

NLDS - Braves over Reds
NLDS - Phillies over Diamondbacks
ALDS - Tigers over Rays
ALDS - Angels over Yankees

NLCS - Braves over Phillies
ALCS - Tigers over Angels

WS - Tigers over Braves

MLB AWARDS
NL MVP
Dan Uggla, Braves

NL CY YOUNG
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Yonder Alonzo, Padres

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Fredi Gonzalez, Braves

AL MVP
Evan Longoria, Rays

AL CY YOUNG
Jered Weaver, Angels

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matt Moore, Rays

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Jim Leyland, Tigers

Well those are my predictions for the 2012 MLB season. Come September we'll revisit this post to see how I did.

Pre-Spring Training Predictions

Okay folks. That smell is in the air. The smell of spring. The sound of balls popping mitts and bats. Yep. Baseball Spring Training is back again. The games get underway next week. So now is a good time for my preseason predictions for the regular season. These predictions aren't final until after the Spring Training games though. ;)

MLB STANDINGS
NL EAST
1. *Philadelphia Phillies
2. *Atlanta Braves
3. New York Mets
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL CENTRAL
1. *Chicago Cubs
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL WEST
1. *Arizona Diamondbacks
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

AL EAST
1. *Boston Red Sox
2. *Tampa Bay Rays
3. New York Yankees
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

AL CENTRAL
1. *Minnesota Twins
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Kansas City Royals

AL WEST
1. *Los Angeles Angeles
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Atheltics
4. Seattle Mariners

MLB PLAYOFFS
NLDS - Braves over Cubs
NLDS - Phillies over Diamondbacks
ALDS - Red Sox over Twins
ALDS - Rays over Angels

NLCS - Phillies over Braves
ALCS - Red Sox over Rays

WS - Red Sox over Phillies

MLB AWARDS
NL MVP
Albert Pujols, Cardinals

NL CY YOUNG
Rich Harden, Cubs

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Jordan Schafer, Braves

NL MANGER OF THE YEAR
Dusty Baker, Reds

AL MVP
Mark Teixeira, Yankees

AL CY YOUNG
James Shields, Rays

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matt LaPorta, Indians

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Ron Washington, Rangers

I know you probably think some of these predictions are off the wall and they may very well be but at least they're different then what you'll find in all the preview magazines and websites. :)

Atlanta Braves Trade Rumors

I visit http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ to find all the trade rumors I can involving the Braves. Some trade rumors are completely bogus and some are more believable. The trick is to find out which ones to believe and which ones to ignore. Here are some trade rumors involving the Braves.

• The Braves apparently won't give up Yunel Escobar or Jarrod Saltalamacchia to get Mark Teixeira. Neither of 'em. No doubt John Schuerholz will spend the next ten days trying to get Jon Daniels to settle for less.


• Beyond the Cubs, Graziano lists the Braves, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks as teams interested in pitcher Zack Greinke. If the initial asking price for Octavio Dotel was as high as reported, I can't imagine what Dayton Moore would want for Greinke.


• The Braves are trying to deal for southpaw reliever C.J. Wilson of the Rangers. The 26 year-old has an undeserved 2.81 ERA right now. His control has been worse this year, so he'd have to remain unhittable to be effective.


• Zack Greinke is admittedly a long shot to be traded, but that doesn't mean teams aren't asking all the time. The Braves connection is obvious. Stark says John Schuerholz is getting very aggressive and creative trying to improve his team. Two prospects on the block are Elvis Andrus and Dan Smith.