2008 Atlanta Braves Season Preview

Last season, the Atlanta Braves made a huge step back towards the glory days of 14 consecutive division titles, winning 84 games and making the National League East a three-horse race for most of the season. And no one stood pat in this exciting division either, as the New York Mets acquired Johan Santana and the Philadelphia Phillies adding some bats to their potent lineup.

The Braves made their moves as well, bringing back Tom Glavine from the Mets and allowing Andruw Jones to walk away to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first time a new face will be in center field for the Braves since 1996. But the question is, in the pressure cooker of this hot division, did the Braves move forward or step back?

OFFENSE: B-

As a replacement for Jones, the Braves bring in Oakland's Mark Kotsay. This may be red flag number one: Kotsay played in only 56 games last season, hitting just .214. If Kotsay rounds back into form, he'll be solid, but he'll put up nowhere near the power numbers or defensive presence that Jones did. There are hot young bats all around, like first baseman Mark Teixeira (17 homers and 56 RBI in only 54 games with the Braves after a trade from the Texas Rangers), catcher Brian McCann (a solid .270, 18 homers and 92 RBI) and right fielder Jeff Francoeur (105 RBI's). It's a minor step back from the league's second ranked offense of a year ago, and if health holds, it could be another banner year for the bat in Hotlanta.

PROJECTED LINEUP: 1 Kotsay CF 2 McCann C 3 C.Jones 3B 4 Teixeira 1B 5 Francoeur RF
6 Diaz RF 7 Escobar SS 8 Johnson 2B 9 Pitcher's spot

STARTING PITCHING: C-