As for the starting outfield, yeah, I think Prado and McClouth are going to be in left and center, and I'm actually excited about the reports of Nate's spring mentality. Reading Larry Parish's analysis of how he became overly selective in trying to impress his new employer made perfect sense to me...I remember how excited I was about acquiring him, because I remember how tough an out he could be whenever we played the Pirates. I think he could turn into a great leadoff man, because I REALLY like Prado better in the 2 hole, and Nate has the speed to turn a base hit or walk into a double in a hurry. Honestly, this is the way I'd like to see the lineup take shape:
1. McClouth
2. Prado
3. Chipper
4. McCann/Uggla (depending on whether there's a righty or lefty on the hill)
5. Uggla/McCann
6. Heyward
7. Freeman
8. Gonzales
I could see Heyward moving his way up in the lineup if he proves his struggles last year had more to do with his injury than the opposition figuring him out, and I could see Freeman hitting in the 8 hole to better stagger the lefty/righty matchups. I would actually really like for Jason to swap with Brian in the batting order, because it would provide better stability to the lineup if the 4/5 hole hitter isn't sitting out every fifth day (and it's completely unreasonable to think that any catcher could play more than that in the National League), and we all know he's capable of it.
To be completely honest, if I could map out a perfect year for the Braves, McClouth would have an OBP around .375 and 40 steals, Prado would score 120 runs, Chipper would go .330/25/100 in average, homers, and RBIs, Uggla knocks 30 dingers, McCann hits .300 with 20 homers, and Heyward comes into his own and wins the MVP in his sophomore campaign. Hudson wins the Cy Young, Jurrjens win 20 games, Hanson averages double digit strikeouts per nine innings over around 200 innings...and, of course, all of this cumulatively becomes a victory in the Fall Classic!
