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Your one-page daily morning overview of Atlanta Braves news:
Armed with smoother mechanics and a sinker, Hanson set for opener | Atlanta Braves
"The pitch is the sinker," Ross said. "His stuff isn’t any better [than before], but all of a sudden he’s putting movement on his fastball, so that makes everything better," he said. "Everybody talks about, ‘Oh, it’s the cutter [in vogue] now,’ or this and that pitch. But it doesn’t matter how hard you throw, if you throw a four-seam fastball it’s going to get hit. If you throw an 86-mph good sinker, you’re going to compete.
Braves outlook: Some improvements, plenty of question marks | Atlanta Braves
So where do the Braves stand on opening day 2012, five months after dropping 20 of their final 30 games to miss a wild-card playoff berth and finish 13 games behind the Phillies? Are they better? Worse? Same? Too early to tell? Let’s take a quick inventory:
Why the stand-pat Braves soon might stand atop the NL East | Mark Bradley
The Phillies might be too old and the Nationals too young, and the Marlins finished 30 games out of first place (and 17 behind the Braves) last season. In a division in such flux, might the team that chose continuity over change be the one that profits most? It might. It just might.
Baby Braves on Display in Gwinnett | FanGraphs Baseball
...my interest was a handful of top prospects in the organization who had spent little-to-no time at the Rome affiliate at which I scout extensively. The eye-opener of the evening had to be J.R. Graham, who had the least success versus big league hitters, but easily showed the most velocity in the park.
Braves ready to compete in an interesting NL East race " Bowman's Blog
So upon further review, maybe this is indeed will be the year the Braves prove their doubters wrong and finally unseat the Phillies as division champs.
Murderer Of Former Braves Pitcher Let Out Of Prison 10 Years Early | Fox News
Relief pitcher Dave Shotkoski, 30, was fatally shot as he returned to his hotel while in spring training with the Braves in 1995 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Two years later, Neal Evans was charged with second-degree murder, thanks in part to a teammate who was determined to track down his killer. On Tuesday, Evans, now 47, was released from Florida's South Bay Correctional Facility.