The baseball season will officially be under way today with games finally beginning after a seemingly endless offseason (maybe only to me, those four months are agonizing). Today the Atlanta Braves take on their biggest rival, the New York Mets. The rivalry has been a bit calmer the past few seasons as both have been chasing the Phillies for titles and both the Braves and Mets have had injury-riddled seasons in the past two seasons.
Today at Port St. Lucie, both teams will be starting their big name prospects, Jason Heyward for the Braves and Ike Davis for the Mets. This should be a great opportunity for fans who have only read about their big name prospects to be able to watch them in game action playing against major league caliber players.
Chipper Jones, Matt Diaz, and Troy Glaus all stayed at home for the trip which opens the chance to see former Yankees Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske make their debuts for the Braves. The Braves have made some solid depth moves in acquiring these two players and they could be crucial in getting the Braves back into October baseball.
Jeff Francoeur is in his first spring training camp with a team other than the Braves and in his first game of the year he plays his former teammates and his lifelong friends on the Braves.
Win or lose, this is always a great matchup to watch and there are definitely some interesting position battles sparking up for both teams. Pay attention to the first base, fifth rotation spot, and centerfield for the Mets, and for the Braves the corner outfield spots are both up for grabs although you would have to expect Jason Heyward and Matt Diaz to receive playing time in left and right field. The Braves also have a position battle for the last utility infielder with Brooks Conrad and Joe Thurston being the early front runners.
Here are the lineups for today's game:
Atlanta Braves-
1. CF- Nate McLouth
2. 2B- Martin Prado
3. RF- Jason Heyward
4. C- Brian McCann
5. SS- Yunel Escobar
6. LF- Melky Cabrera
7. 1B- Eric Hinske
8. 3B- Omar Infante
9. DH- Mitch Jones
Pitching- Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jesse Chavez, Michael Dunn, Chris Resop, James Parr, and Manny Acosta
New York Mets-
1. CF- Gary Matthews
2. 2B- Luis Castillo
3. SS- Jose Reyes
4. 3B- David Wright
5. LF- Jason Bay
6. DH- Mike Jacobs
7. RF- Jeff Francoeur
8. 1B- Ike Davis
9. C- Chris Coste
Pitching- Nelson Figueroa, Hisanori Takahashi, Bobby Parnell, and Elmer Dessens.
This game will be aired on the MLB Network and can also be seen on MLB.tv. The game will start at 1:10 PM EST from Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Here's to a great season.
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