Arizona in the NL West.

Atlanta had to say goodbye to two longtime Brave players. Javy Lopez (starting catcher from 1994-2003, the last year he was not the lead catcher for Atlanta, the catching duties were shared by Damon Berryhill, Greg Olson, and Francisco Cabrera) and Greg Maddux (1993-2003, he took the place of Charlie Leibrandt in the rotation in 1993).

The Braves pitching, once their stalwart, is now one filled with questions.  Atlanta had a good 1-2

punch with Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, but #3-5 are filled with questions.  Will Horacio Ramirez live up to his rookie success?  And who will fill in the final two pitching slots?

If Hampton (14-8, 3.84) and Ortiz (21-7, 3.81) can total 35 wins between the two and Ramirez (12-4, 4.00) can total 12 wins again… there's still a ton of questions.  It appears at the moment that Jung Bong (spent '03 as set-up lefty) and John Thomson (13-14, 4.85) will fill out the remaining two spots in the rotation.  If Atlanta can get 10 wins from each pitcher, in addition to their #1-3 pitchers, that still totals to 67 wins.  Far cry from the 1990's where they usually sported three-to-four pitchers capable of posting 18-20 wins.

John Smoltz (45 saves, 1.12) will now be the closer they never had in the 1990's.  The set-up specialist (what happened to middle relief pitchers?  Not too sporty in the new millennium?), should include Jaret Wright (7.35),

Armando Almanza (6.08), Will Cunnane (2.70), Antonio Alfonseca (5.83), Kevin Gryboski (3.86), Trey Hodges (4.66), and Bubba Nelson (1.88 in 14.1 IP at AAA Richmond).

Once thought of as an afterthought in the Kevin Millwood trade, Johnny Estrada (36 at-bats in '03) will take over the catching duties.  Eddie Perez (350 AB, 11 HR, 45 RBI,  .271) returns as the Braves back-up.  Adam LaRoche (264, 8, 35, .295 at Richmond) and ageless Julio Franco (197, 5, 31, .294) will start at first. 

Marcus Giles (21, 69, .316, 14 SB) and Rafael Furcal (15, 61, .292,  25) will team up as one of the most dynamic 2B-SS combos in the league.  And Mark DeRosa (266, 6, 22,    .263) rounds out the infield at third base.

The outfield appears solid with the Jones' "Brothers" in left and center, Chipper (27,  106, .305)  and Andruw (36, 116, .277), and J.D. Drew (15, 42, .289) in right.

Drew is a far cry from the departed Gary Sheffield and DeRosa from Vinny Castilla but the Braves offense still matches well with the Phillies and Marlins.  It also matches up with other wild card hopefuls, Arizona, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.

Atlanta has not had a quality first baseman since Fred McGriff (1997) and has been without a quality third baseman since Chipper headed to the outfield (after 2001).  And Braves pitchers haven't had as many what-ifs since the post-1992 season (with Glavine 20-8, Leibrandt 15-7, Smoltz 15-12, and Avery 11-11).

Will Atlanta win the NL East again or will Philadelphia or Florida break the string?  I can't say Atlanta will win again in 2004 but I can't say Philly or Florida will either.  13th straight?  Could be.  It's nice to know that even in the cost-cutting 2000's, the Braves still can field a pennant winning team.