ATLANTA BRAVES

The Braves finished 89-73, 13 games behind the Division winning Phillies.

Hitting was an issue last season, with the team ranking 22^nd in runs scored, 26^th in batting average, 26^th in on base percentage and 21^st in slugging percentage. But what kept them in second place was their pitching. Ranking 4^th in ERA and 4^th in team opposition batting, .240 against Braves pitching.

In the free agency world, Alex Gonzalez SS, signed on with Milwaukee, center fielder Nate McLouth joined Pittsburg, RHP George Sherill signed on with Seattle, and Jack Wilson SS resigned for 1 year and $1 million.

FREDDIE FREEMAN

Packing a lot of punch with Freddie Freeman 21 HR’s, Chipper Jones with 18 and Brian McCann’s 24 HR’s, Prado with 13 and Gonzalez with his 15, all add up with the 36 hit by Dan Uggla to 175. The trouble is they didn’t hit for average last year, collectively batting .243.

The starting pitching was above average, with Tim Hudson leading the staff with 16 wins and an ERA of 3.22, anchored to Craig Kimbrel’s 46 saves. And they say subtraction can be addition, with Derrick Lowe off to Cleveland.

The Braves will stay in second place this season, without the addition of any strong relief in terms of hitting for average. They might even give Philadelphia a race, with the absence of Ryan Howard this season for Philadelphia , at least in the foreseeable first few months.