The Braves defeated the Washington Nationals 11-8 the other day to imrove their Grapefruit record to 3-1.  Atlanta was delighted with the offensive outburst, but their are many questions that still loom with this ballclub.

The bullpen is a huge question and it showed against the Nationals.  Newly acquired Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito were each charged with 2 earned runs  and 3 hits in one inning of work.  Wagner is 38 years of age and Saito is 40, but the Braves are hoping they can return to form.  I am very concerned about the end of our rotation this season.  I believe that is going to be hard for these two to stay healthy all season. 

Jesse Chavez, acquired in the Soriano deal from the Rays, did not help his case against the Nationals.  Chavez allowed one out back to back walks and that was followed by a Ian Desmond grand slam. He has gone 2 2/3 innings and has allowed 4 walks and 6 earned runs. 

It is going to ne an interesting season to see if the bullpen can get back to an elite level.

A positive from the Nationals game was the performance of verteran Derek Lowe.  Lowe worked 2 scorless inning that consisted of 5 groundout and one strikeout.  He is known for his sinkerballer and he proved it to be on command during his 23 pitch day.  Lowe tweaked his mechanics over the offseason and it proved to be the answer.

Yunel Escobar had a banner day at the plate and he pounded out 3 doubles.  Escobar seems to be on the right track to start off the new season, as he had some issues with manager Bobby Cox last season about his work ethic. 

Martin Prado and Melky Cabrera also added hit during the win.  The offense seems to be on track for the long haul.

The main question is whether the Bullpen can sustain dominace at an elite level?

As Bobby Cox enters his last spring training as Braves skipper, he will have many familiar faces around him.  Chipper Jones, future Hall of Famer, is back in camp in the first year of his 3 year 48 million dollar contract extension extension. 

Joining Jones, is veterans Brian Mccann, Matt Diaz, Yunel Escobar, and Nate Mcclouth.  Maybe the biggest story of camp is whether rookie sensation Jayson Heyward will make the big league club or sent to the minors.  Heyward was impressive in last years spring training, and he is doing the same thus far in his second bug league camp.  Look for Heyward to be starting April 5th when the Braves open up against the Cubs. 

Can Chipper and Troy Glaus stay healthy?

This may be the second biggest questions that Braves fans want answered.  Chipper is coming off his worst year as a professional and Glaus is coming off major off season surgery.  Look for these two to be back to back in the order this year producing some power.  Both seem to be healthy in camp so far as both went 1-2 with a walk in their first few plate appearances of the spring.  I believe that this season is all on them.  If they can stay healthy and get back to all star form , then look for the Braves to snap their playoff drought. 

Pitching is going to be the Braves strong point this year as they return 5 quality starters.  The loss of Javier Vazquez was a huge blow to many fans, but the Braves still have a solid rotation with the capability of taking them to the playoffs. 

The bullpen will be a major question mark this year.  Can Billy Wagner stay healthy and be a solid closer?  This has yet to be proven, but all Braves fans are holding their breath with this acquisition.  The bullpen was overworked last year, and the starters are looking to go deep into ballgames to make relievers more rested come October.

Hopefully some of these question’s will be answered as spring training progresses.  This should be an exciting year, and all Brave’s should be ready for a special season.     

I never thought that I would see the day that Bobby Cox would not be peering out of the Atlanta Braves dugout yelling encouraging remarks.  He is one of the all-time greatest managers to ever come along in Major League Baseball. 

Cox has spent 25 years as the face of the Braves franchise and 25 will be it.  He led the Braves to 14 straight division titles throughout the 90′s, including a World Championship in 1995.

Cox delivered his final spring  training speech on the first day of camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The skipper thanked everyone from the front office to the player’s during his speech.  He spent some time on himself but immediately brought the attention back onto the team and the upcoming season. 

It is going to be tough for the player’s to see him go next year, especially for veteran Chipper Jones, who has spent his whole major league career with Cox has his manager.

This will be an exciting season, and the team hopes to send Cox out a winner.  There has been very little talk of who the next manager will be as this year is all about Bobby.