Atlanta Sports

In round 22, I drafted Jeff Francoeur.

Some laughed. Some questioned the call. However, as Francoeur sits in spring training with a .333 BA and a .389 OBP in 30 ABs.

I call my decision genius.

After batting just .239 in 2008, many consider Francoeur a star gone bad.

The fact is that he is a special guy. 

Francoeur has talent. He can hit. He can throw. He can track down fly balls. He has great ability. The problem is translating that into the game.

And now, starting in center field, for your Atlanta Braves...

Who will that be opening day?  I don't know.

Spring training is coming to a close very quickly.  We knew going into spring that center field would be a tough battle between Josh Anderson, Gregor Blanco, and prospect Jordan Schafer.

Anyone that follows the Braves farm system knows the name Jordan Schafer.

It seems that all the management will say is, "We want to be responsible and let him mature at Triple-A before bringing him to the big club."

The report is very disconcerting for Atlanta Braves fans.

Chipper Jones strained oblique muscle is only getting worse after reaggravating the injury trying to come back and play for his country.

He has finally decided to head back to Braves camp in hopes that he can be ready to play in a few days.

Some early reports stated that Chipper might not be available until opening day, but the latest reports—and even Chipper himself—said that he should be back within the week.

Four years ago a phenomenal young Atlantan worked his way onto the Atlanta Braves' roster.

The wedding and honeymoon went wonderfully for Jeff Francouer and his hometown ballclub. But unfortunately for both parties, things went sour fast in 2008.

Last season, Francoeur was booed loudly. This was after being a fan favorite since his MLB debut, in which he hit a three-run home run and quickly vaulted himself into the starting lineup.

Francoeur was sent down to Double-A Mississippi for a stint after being completely ineffective for much of the season's first half.

After a 2007 campaign in which the Braves saw their bullpen compile the NL's second-best ERA (3.58), 2008 was a year that saw some of the 'pen's best arms (Gonzalez carried over from last year, Moylan, and Soriano) miss significant time due to injuries.

Add to this the futile rotation, and the team's second-tier arms (Acosta, when he was healthy, Ohman, who is gone for 2009 due to free agency, Boyer, and Bennett) saw extreme amounts of time that hurt their ability down the stretch (or what can be called the "stretch" for a 90-loss team)

On any Major League Baseball team, all 25 players are important. However, there are always players who are counted on a little more than others. Here are my top 5 essential players for the Atlanta Braves.

5. Garret Anderson

The Braves tried desperately to find an outfielder with power. They finally landed Garret Anderson after a long search. Anderson is a proven veteran who still has some talent left. However, he lacks the power that the Braves need.