Hanson hype: Tommy Hanson all the buzz at Braves spring training camp

Ever heard of a minor league pitcher Tommy Hanson? Well, if you haven't, you will soon.

Hanson, a 22-year-old right-hander from California, is turning heads at Braves spring training camp. While it appears that the starting rotation is set, word from camp says Hanson will be starting with the Braves this season.
Hanson has spent time with the Braves' minor league affiliates in both Myrtle Beach and Mississippi, as well as the Arizona Fall League. For the last few seasons Hanson has been touted at THE top prospect in the Braves organization, and perhaps in baseball. The raving reviews have cultivated a much anticipated major league debut by fans, broadcasters, coaches and even players. He's made a fan out of Chipper Jones. Chipper eagerly shared his thoughts on Hanson during camp. "The kid is going to be a No.1 starter in Atlanta soon. There's no holding him back," he said.

As a matter of fact, he's so good, Chipper thinks the Braves should find a way to get him starting from day one. "Even if I had to go to a six-man rotation. I would do it, just to get this kid some experience and get him on his way. I'd love to see him come down here and dazzle and make this club. I think he can pay immediate dividends," Chipper said.

Chipper's plan may not be that far off, but how long til we get to see the Amazing Tommy Hanson at Turner? Manager Bobby Cox sees Hanson starting in the near future. "It won't be long before he's up here," Cox predicted. He's way ahead of the game." Vague? Yes. But even Braves general manager Frank Wren is talking about Hanson in terms of major league pitching time. “He has turned into an outstanding young pitcher that is getting close to competing for a job at the major league level," he said.

So why all the hype?

He's hurling 94 mph fastballs with impeccable control, but his slider is the show stopper. It has been compared to the likes of John Smoltz. His power arm is said to be of top-of-the-rotation caliber. Scouting reports tout his slider as "devastating," and call him an "ace in the making."

Alright, so he can pitch! But if you want numbers to prove it, you'll find his stats impressive. Between Myrtle Beach and Mississippi, Hanson went 11-5 with a 2.41 ERA, 163 strikeouts and 52 walks in 138 innings. As good as Hanson was during the 2008 regular season, he was even nastier in the Arizona Fall League. He led the AFL in with five wins, a .63 ERA (that's right, .63 ERA!) and 49 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings pitched, holding hitters to a .105 batting average.

But can he make it in the majors? We have all seen the tragic outcomes of same players that come to the majors after dominating in the minors. The standards are higher, the pressure tougher and everybody doesn't survive. Hanson is the ace in the minors. My hope is that Hanson IS the ace in the majors. While I want to see him pitch, I don't want the Braves to rush him to the top.

Ideally, Hanson would get called up just because Cox wanted to call him up and give him a chance, see how it goes. Realistically, he'll get the call when one of the top five gets hurt and he's a necessity. The difference between the two? If he's called up just for the hell of it, and it turns out he's not ready, his first appearance goes bunk, they can send him back down and go back to the regular rotation. But if one of the starters gets hurt, there is no "seeing if he's ready," because injuries are unpredictable. If he's not ready til June or July, but Vazquez gets hurt in April, ready or not, we need a pitcher.

Either way, Hanson plays this season! And he's just the beginning. The Braves are going the way of the Tampa Rays, like they did 4 or 5 years ago when they brought up a handful of guys from the farm system. Dubbed "the baby Braves," that crew included Brain McCann, Jeff Franceour and Kelly Johnson.

Closing thoughts: With all the scandal in baseball with steroids and greed, Hanson's story offers a breath of fresh air. No suspicion of steroid use, no dirty contract negotiations and over-the-top salary. Just a kid who loves the game, waiting for his chance to shine and live up to the Hanson hype.

Check out what others are saying about Hanson's talent:

“He’s totally dominated out here. He’s been tremendous.”
- Rocket Wheeler, Hanson’s manager with the Mesa Solar Sox in the fall league and his manager in parts of the past two seasons at Class A Myrtle Beach.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I remember when I got over there [to Mississippi], I saw him throw a [bullpen session] and I’m like, ‘Gee, whiz.’ I saw him pitch and I think he struck out 12 in five innings. OK, that’s pretty good.”
-Mississippi and Mesa teammate Stephen Marek

“He’s something special. He’s something I’ve never seen before. Just from my experience last spring training, catching guys like Tim Hudson, John Smoltz — he’s right there with them, in my opinion."
-Tyler Flowers, Braves catching prospect

“He's been impressive. He’s really kind of separated himself from this league from a pitching standpoint. He just has a good look about him out there, being tall, the downward plane, spots his fastballs, three quality pitches. He looks like a guy who’s right there, knocking at the door.”
-Hall-of-Famer Ryan Sandberg, the former Chicago Cubs second baseman who’s a Solar Sox coach. “


* Photo: Bill Mitchell/Four Seam Images. Quotes taken from articles written by The Canadian Press and the AJC. See the full articles at the following links:

Canadian Press Story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hir4A4WFRb8n0Nc4KyrdFNGwrh3g

AJC Story: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/11/13/atlanta_braves_tommy_hanson.html

Who's in, who's out in the outfield

Opening thoughts: With spring training under way, there is no doubt that the Braves are looking at a fresh start. The Braves have a new look to their roster this year, especially with pitching.

Several newcomers have arrived, including Derek Lowe, Javier Vasquez (starting pitchers). A couple of veterans, including John Smoltz and Mark Texiera are gone. The injured are healing and making their way back (closer Mike Gonzalez, reliever Peter Moylan and left fielder Matt Diaz).

All signs point to a turnaround for the upcoming season. But some of last year's issues still loom.

Here is part of one of an ongoing Braves report, previewing the club in the weeks before the season starts.

Seven players, three spots and a platoon: a look at the outfield
Last season, the Braves outfield hit for combined 27 homeruns, the worst in MLB. What's in store for this season.

The center field spot is virtually open, as three have emerged as the top candidates who are vying it out for the top spot. They are, Josh Anderson, Gregor Blaco and Jordon Shafter. Blaco could fill the need for a leadoff hitter if he plays. He possesses speed, a quality lacking in the lineup. However, last season in 144 games played he hit only .251. However, he did lead the team with 13 stolen bases. Anderson appears to be the favored player with some major league experience from last year. That leaves top prospect Shafer. This is tough because it will come down to who performs when it matters most. Unfortunately, this method may prove to take a good chunk of the first part of the season. My belief, Shafer will be the breakout player of the year. While its unlikely he will start the season as the starter, I belive that down the stretch he will be the go-to guy. Regardless, all three of these guys will be on tap all season to fill holes when needed.

Left field also seems up for grabs despite the signing of Garrett Anderson. Matt Diaz is returning, and the Braves seem to be leaning toward a platoon for this position. The newest Brave, veteran Garrett Anderson, a lifetime Angel, will platoon this spot with Diaz.


Further, Anderson could fill the need for a strong clean-up hitter against right-handed pitching. The problem - he's is a bit of liability considering his age and injury history. The good news- he probably won't play everyday, and even if he AND Diaz both end up injured, there are the three aforementioned outfielders (Anderson, Blanco and Shafer, along with Brandon Jones) to fill the spot. The problem I see wiht both center and left is consistancy. Can the Braves find a plan, with the right outfielders that also contribute and fill holes in the batting order? Consistancy is not only key in the performance of the players, but also in the everyday lineup. While I support the 'platoon' philosophy, I think the Braves need a solid three in the outfield that go out there 90% percent of the time without changing the lineup around every day. This goes the same in the batting order. These guys need to get used to hitting before and after the same guy almost every day, and sharing the green with the same 2 other outfielders every day. Assuming Diaz plays quite a bit, he needs to step it up at the plate. Last year in 135 at-bats, he hit .244 in 43 games played with a .264 on-base-percentage. Backup Brandon Jones hit .267 with a .312 on-base-percentage in 116 at-bats in 41 games. I would like to see Diaz a little closer to .280. Brandon Jones however, impressed me last year and went somewhat underrated. Maybe this year he can get a change to clutch and show his stuff, and perhaps earn a more permanant spot.

This leaves up with the mysterious Jeff Franceour in right field. Let me preface this with a short story. I was at the September 2004 game when Franceour made his major league debut against the Cubs. He was called up with a lot of hype. He went 0-3 and then hit a homerun in the eight, his first in the majors. I felt like a part of Braves history that night. That being said, I was very upset to see Fraceour's, or as Bobby calls him, Frenchy, fall from grace, slowly and painfully last season. With 599 at-bats, the most on the Braves, he hit a terrible .239 with a .294 OBP and 0 stolen bases. He had 111 strikeouts, a sure sign of his eager youth and inability to 'wait for his pitch.'
Pitchers had him nailed before he even stepped up to the plate, knowing exactly which pitch he just 'couldn't lay off of. He looked weak both as an athlete and as a player. Mentally, he seemed discouraged and broken. Even a stint back in the minors couldn't bring him back to life. This season, a lot will be expected of Frenchy. We know he can hit, we've seen him do it. One thing's for sure, he has a helluva an arm. He can nail a guy trying to take home with a perfect rocket from deep right, into the glove of his longtime friend and Parkview High School teammate, Brian McCann. But Frenchy must pull it together, because if he can't do it, there is someone who can. I am sure that Anderson, Blano, Jones and Shafer would jump at the chance to play right field if they don't earn a spot in left or center. And, Bobby wouldn't hesitate (well he might) to put in one of the other guys even though they aren't right fielders by trade.

Baseball Report: Feb. 10, 2009

Baseball Report: Spring training starts next week.

Andrew Jones, alone on the range

You may have heard... Andruw Jones, once the finest center feilder in major league baseball, accepted an offer for $500,000 with the Rangers MINOR LEAGUE team. This is after the Yankees and the Braves put offers on the table. But don't feel sorry for him ... the Dodgers are still paying out his annual $3.5 million check. Talk about someone who is stealing his paycheck. The debate rages on as to why AJ would turn down offers to stay in LA, go to New York or return to Atlanta. The truth, he is lazy and doesn't want to listen to a hitting coach's advice. He wants to be where there is no pressure to perform. What a tool!!!! And to think I once respected the guy.

About the money?

In other news, Tom Glavine claims "it's not about the money," but yet remains undecided on whether to take the $2 million, $3 million with incentives, to walk into the sunset and finish his career in Atlanta, where it all began. He is playing the market, seeing if he can get the price up. Well, sounds to me like it is about the money, isn't is always?

Liar, liar comes under fire (and then comes clean)

And my favorite MLB story of the day... A-Rod comes clean, which is what he should have done. While it was wrong that the results of a cumulitive, confidential steroid test given to players in 2003 was leaked, it is time he manned up. After denying ever using steriods in an interview with Katie Couric, all seemed well. That was until Sports Illustrated broke a story saying he tested positive in 2003. The truth, this won't ruin A-Rod. It was several years ago, and the Yankees fans forgave Jason Giambi when he came clean. Breaking rules is bad, but lying about it is even worse.

The Fat Lady sung

In an effort to demonstrate sportsmanship, I would like to congratulate the entire Pittsburgh Steelers fan nation in taking their sixth Super Bowl victory back home.

The game of all games stayed true to its name giving viewers twists and turns that left the final to be decided with mere seconds on the clock. As a person without a dog in the fight, I was thrilled to watch such an exciting game. Penalties, penalties and penalties came from both sides, including three unnecessary roughness flags on the Steelers. Turnovers also kept the game interesting, as Arizona turned the ball over inches from their end zone on a James Harrison interception. Harrison returned the ball for a touchdown. It was a 100-yard rush, the longest in Super Bowl history.

Other firsts in Super Bowl XVIII: Mike Tomlin became the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl; Arizona scored the first safety in game history and; the Cardinals featured the first Australian native ever to play in the Super Bowl.

The game was a nail-biter, even for neutral fans. Now that says something. The Cardinals came back from a 20-7 deficit in the fourth quarter, scored a passing touchdown, then a safety, making it a 4 point game at 20-16. Than Larry Fitzgerald found a hole and took it to the house to take the lead at 23-20.

Not missing a beat, Pittsburgh took the lead back with less than a minute remaining on a sweeeeeeeet Holmes touchdown. With only seconds left, the Steelers kicked the extra point making it a 4-point game at 27-23.

The Cardinals rushed to move the ball, and were forced to an unsuccessful Hail Mary.

A heart breaker yes, but also a game I am glad I watched in its entirety.

And for the record, I picked the Cardinals. But I won't lose sleep over it.

Coach Mike Tumlin had this to say at the trophy ceremony: "Steelers football is 60 minutes. It ain't always goin' to be pretty. Throw style points out the window. These guys are in it till the end."

I will not venture into the half-time show featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band or the commercials. That is a different entry all together.