Braves

[MetEdDawg]

The issue with Bethancourt is not his bat, IMO. The potential to not only hit but hit for power is there. He's got a loose, athletic swing and can really drive the ball when he is in the right mindset. His issue is intangibles. While he has great defensive potential, he's the kind of guy that would rather show off his strong arm than master the art of pitch framing. He also hasn't shown the ability to work the pitching staff like he should. John Hart specifically mentioned that he told Brian Snitker to work on specific things with Bethancourt: shows up early, prepares for game, goes over scouting report, works the pitcher.

This article is also out there: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/new...-track-with-g/



There seems to be a lot of signs pointing to the idea that Bethancourt simply doesn't have the right mindset right now. Even last night, he made a careless throw trying to throw out a runner that was going to be very difficult. Instead of being smart and sitting on the ball, he tried to show off his arm. The ball sailed into center field. That guy scored later, and that run was the difference in the game.

I really like what John Hart and the scouting staff have done, especially with building back up a farm system that had deteriorated drastically under Frank Wren's watch. I'm indifferent on the Fredi Gonzalez move. I would have liked to have seen Terry Pendelton, Eddie Perez, or Brian Snitker get a shot, but Fredi gets far more criticism than he deserves. He gets criticized for doing things every manager in baseball does.

I'm hoping it's just head stuff for Bethancourt. Wonder if he got a little complacent having been called up so early. He's supposed to be the long term guy and if he's going to do that, he has to play good defense and hit the baseball consistently.

Totally agree on Fredi taking too much heat. Wren was the one that deserved it and he got canned for it, rightly so. We depleted out farm system terribly and I feel made some awful moves. Liked Justin Upton alright, but BJ was an awful move and I think most of us said that from day 1. But we needed a competent hitting coach badly and we've finally got one and you can see the difference. We are great with RISP, we are good with 2 outs, and we are much more disciplined at the plate. We need another bat because we don't have a ton of firepower and finally have the farm system to get one long term.

I still maintain with Freeman healthy this team would be at or above .500 and still competing for the East, even with one of the worst bullpens in baseball, so I think the pieces are in place to make a run at it next year. But I think most thought we would be one of the worst teams in baseball and at the moment, we are actually 16th in baseball in win percentage, so right in the middle of the pack. I think we can build off of that and make a few moves to position ourselves for a good shot next year. Get a few arms in the bullpen, get a RH power guy, and that to me would be enough to make the playoffs if we can keep what we've got.