{"id":34061,"date":"2011-02-15T22:27:12","date_gmt":"2011-02-16T06:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=34061"},"modified":"2023-02-07T07:38:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:38:16","slug":"odds-2011-atlanta-braves-predictions-gambling-preview-15211","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/mlb-baseball\/odds-2011-atlanta-braves-predictions-gambling-preview-15211\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Braves Predictions | 2011 Season Betting Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

2011 MLB Team Preview: Atlanta Braves<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hard to believe, as many of us watch the snow fall outside, that the Boys of Summer are almost back. But it\u2019s true; teams will report soon to 2011 Major League Baseball training camps and it\u2019s time to start our team-by-team baseball gambling<\/a> previews for the year. <\/p>\n

SIGN UP TODAY With MySportsbook.com – 10% Sign UP Bonus – 10cent Baseball Lines – Gamble On 2011 MLB Future Odds and 2011 World Series Championship Lines<\/a><\/h3>\n

Braves Calender<\/strong><\/p>\n

FEB. 1-18, 2011 – Salary arbitration hearings
\nFEB. 14, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for pitchers, catchers and injured players
\nFEB. 19, 2011 – Voluntary Spring Training reporting date for non-pitchers and catchers
\nFEB. 26, 2011 – Mandatory Spring Training reporting date for all players<\/p>\n

After more than a decade\u2019s worth of division titles followed by a brief lull, it didn\u2019t take long for the Atlanta Braves to return to respectability. Last year marked a trip back to the postseason. With a few new faces not to mention a new manager in 2011, could the Braves take the next big step?<\/p>\n

ATLANTA BRAVES<\/strong>
\nWorld Series odds: +2000<\/p>\n

The staple of Atlanta\u2019s success in the 1990s and early 2000s was always pitching and the team\u2019s personality took that form again last season. The Braves had baseball\u2019s fourth-best ERA at 3.56.<\/p>\n

Looking up and down the Braves\u2019 pitching staff, it doesn\u2019t seem like it can get any better than it was last year. Tommy Hanson is maturing into a legit staff ace as everyone knew he would but Derek Lowe and especially Tim Hudson (after an outstanding 2010 resurgence) have nowhere to go but down. Mike Minor showed flashes in an eight-start cup of coffee last season but we still don\u2019t know if he\u2019s ready to be a regular contributor.<\/p>\n

In the bullpen, Craig Kimbrel is a real sight to behold. The guy\u2019s strikeout rate is absolutely absurd. In his first major-league action, he posted a 0.44 ERA and struck out a ridiculous 40 batters in 20.2 innings. He\u2019s the frontrunner to close for Atlanta this season. Still, since Kimbrel walks lots of guys and Billy Wagner was great in the ninth-inning role last season, it doesn\u2019t seem like Kimbrel will make the Braves\u2019 pen superior to last year\u2019s unit. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s my point? My point is that, since the Braves\u2019 pitching can\u2019t get any better, the bats must improve if Atlanta wants to challenge Philadelphia for the National League East crown. Luckily for Braves fans, it looks like that will happen. <\/p>\n

Jason Heyward, perhaps the most hyped offensive prospect in the last 10 years, delivered on his promise as a rookie. He hit .277 with 18 homers in 142 games and showed very encouraging plate discipline with 91 walks. He\u2019ll only get better as he matures into Atlanta\u2019s offensive centerpiece.<\/p>\n

Heyward will have improved help this season with Dan Uggla arriving in town. Some people bemoan his mediocre batting average but Uggla is the second coming of Jeff Kent, the first second baseman in major-league history to post four consecutive 30-homer seasons. That\u2019s right \u2013 Dan Uggla may be on a Hall-of-Fame career path. How\u2019s that for underrated?<\/p>\n

Uggla will undoubtedly make the Braves a more offensive team. Brian McCann and Martin Prado, who broke out last season, are also key pieces of the offensive puzzle. It\u2019s too early to tell what if anything Chipper Jones can contribute after ACL surgery. The Braves hope that youngster Freddie Freeman can pick up the slack at the other corner spot. He\u2019s expected to hit for high average with decent pop and solid defense.<\/p>\n

2011 OUTLOOK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are the Braves in the same class as the mighty Philadelphia Phillies or even the powerful, young Cincinnati Reds? Probably not, even if their offense is improved. But they\u2019re every bit as good as the Giants, Cardinals, Brewers and other Wildcard contenders. A 90-95 win season and another playoff berth seem very possible if not probable for the Braves. And don\u2019t worry about Bobby Cox\u2019s departure. New manager Fredi Gonzalez was Atlanta\u2019s third base coach for four seasons and learned well under Cox before managing the Florida Marlins.<\/p>\n

Prediction: 2nd, National League East<\/strong><\/p>\n

TEAM BY TEAM MLB PREVIEWS —-><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

View The MLB Cappers Leaderboard For 2010 \u00a0– Picks Packages for 2011 On Sale! \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shea Matthews weighs in with his Atlanta Braves 2011 Team Gambling Preview. Are the Braves in the same class as the mighty Philadelphia Phillies or even the powerful, young Cincinnati Reds? Probably not. Do your MLB betting with Cappers Picks MLB expert picks in 2011…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":34077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[44832,43915,11229,12256,12257,44833,12258,25139,12259,12260,44834,66513,10729,66497,678,681,12194,12099,11227],"class_list":["post-34061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb-baseball","tag-2011-braves","tag-2011-mlb-team-preview","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-atlanta-braves-picks","tag-atlanta-braves-predictions","tag-atlanta-world-series-futures","tag-braves-futures","tag-braves-mlb-picks","tag-braves-odds","tag-braves-predictions","tag-braves-world-series-odds","tag-handicapping","tag-handicapping-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-betting","tag-mlb-gambling","tag-nl-east","tag-nl-east-predictions","tag-nl-east-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34061"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107858,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34061\/revisions\/107858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}