Atlanta Braves undecided on opening day starter and shortstop for 2012 season - MLB Update
With one week left before the start of the 2012 Major League Regular season it looks like the Atlanta Braves have yet to decide on their shortstop and open day starter.
Earlier the announcements are made, the easier it gets for players to adjust to their role and this is something that the Braves are not perhaps pondering over at the moment.
As manager Fredi Gonzalez is confident of coming up with the decision soon, beneath the matter one can sense the complications they are dealing with. Dithering on Tyler Pastornicky and Andrelton Simmons, two rookie contenders for shortstop, they are busy
weighing their talent and usefulness to the club.
As regard to shortstop position, at-least names are surfacing whereas for starter, not even a single word is yet murmured.
“Yeah, it’s not going to be easy,” manager said. “I’ll be curious what the poll is. It’s not going to be easy, which is what you want really. You don’t want it to be so lopsided that it’s not going to be a two-hour meeting.”
Reports are suggesting that by the end of their exhibition game against New York Mets, they will most probably reveal the names.
Regardless of who gets the nod for opening day shortstop, one thing is certain that this is going to be a rookie. As pivotal as the shortstop position is in Baseball, not having a veteran on the place amounts to a risk. Cost can be as high as another nightmarish
season for their pitchers, whose effectiveness largely results from activity occurring at shortstop.
In an attempt to tighten their belt, they resorted to conservative buying and consequently areas they lack in have not been addressed properly. In modern day Baseball, teams not only draw maximum defensive work from their shortstop but they even get them
to support their offense with equal competency.
For the Braves this is not going to be. Simmons possesses a mediocre .233 slugging percentage and Pastornicky languishes at .237. While they have an OPS .503 and .467 respectively, nothing is signalling a bigger impact coming off from them in the Big League.
With the Braves being myopic, looking for only defensive work and pinning their hopes on the rest of their line-up, they will enter the season devoid of this competitive edge.
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