Braves.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com

ATLANTA — One week from today, I’ll be awash in baseball.

For the 12th season in a row, I’m playing fantasy baseball, the dozen years spent in the same league. In seven days, I’ll gather with a motley crew of sports writers and baseball enthusiasts in Northeast Atlanta, breaking bread, swapping jokes and bidding for players as we fill out our rosters for the 2009 season.

As always is the case when trying to nail down a target list for draft day, I identify specific questions I seek to answer with my selections: Do I want a team heavy on quality pitching? Do I want a robust offense? What particular players will I try to land at all costs? What under-the-radar players can I steal on the cheap in the later rounds, after most of my league cohorts have blown through their allotted salary?

So, while I wonder how much my buddy Charles Duncan will bid for Kenshin Kawakami (Charles loves Braves players and loves Japanese players, so there’s no telling how high he’ll bid for the new Braves’ right-hander), and while I ponder which University of West Virginia jersey Mark Bowman will wear on draft day, I have a few questions concerning the Braves as we sit just 12 days from the start of spring training:

What Jeff Francoeur will we see, the one who offered so much promise in 2005-07, or the one who was so bad in 2008, he was sent to the minors at one point?

Which of the young center fielders – Gregor Blanco, Josh Anderson, Jordan Schafer – will step up and win the job?

Is the Matt Diaz we see the 2006-07 version, or the one who muddled through a miserable 2008?

Can Duncan’s boy Kawakami make the transition from the Japanese Central League to the major leagues?

Will Kelly Johnson hit consistently enough?

Will Chipper Jones play more than 130 games?

Will Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan stay healthy?

Will Jair Jurrjens make the jump from promising star to young ace?

Just a few questions as we get ready to roll out the bats and balls and gloves at Lake Buena Vista one week from Saturday. We’re about to start the process of answering those questions.

With that in mind, we begin a deeper dive on the Braves as we approach spring training starting Monday with an 11-day, position-by-position look at the team. Braves Spring Preview debuts Monday with a look at the starting rotation.

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