Still no lineup upgrade. I'm telling you now, we make no moves here we can look forward to a 2013 repeat. Better overal due to pitching and bench upgrades, but maybe low 90s in wins and not enough to best, the Braves.
If you make the assumption that everyone performs at the exact same level then you're correct. You can't understate how much our bench hurt us last year. It was a huge problem.
From Boz's article today...
The savvy Braves had the best ’13 bench, batting .263 and slugging .406. Next came the Marlins (.235, .334), the Mets (.222, 337), the Phils (.204, .364) and finally the putrid Nats (.209, .284).
How many wins was that right there?
I personally think we'll see an improvement in enough guys that we'll be better offensively.
Span - I think he'll be a bit better overall offensively. I'm guessing his OBP gets closer to his career numbers.
Harper - We all know he was injured. I think we'll see an upgrade here as well.
Zimmerman - I think his offensive numbers will be about the same but we'll see the throwing errors drop due to him being healthy.
Werth - I think we'll see a drop in his numbers.
Desmond - He was better offensively in 12' than 13'. I think we'll see similar numbers.
Rendon - I think he'll be better but just marginally.
Ramos - His OBP was terrible last year. Not sure what to expect but probably similar numbers.
Overall, I would project our offense to be better with typical increase from the young guys in Harper & Rendon and Span returning to more typical levels. A dropoff from Werth would still net an increase in offensive production.
Add to that a healthier Zim at 3B where we saw his throwing errors drop later in the year, a healthy Harper, Fister and a more balanced bullpen and I think we could see a bigger jump than 4-6 games.
Add to that the Braves lost McCann & Hudson and I think it's a tossup for the division title.
Just my opinions.
