-Dexter Sports
12:41 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

For one Atlanta Braves shortstop, the game is a battle of being consistent. It's hitting two homers in one game for the first time. And then following that up the next day with a five strikeout performance against the same team. In his first pro season, he fan a total of 96 times in only 262 at bats. But, Brandon Hicks still put up 14 long balls and 21 doubles.

Coming out of San Jacinto Junior College in Texas, the six foot shortstop was only known as a defensive wizard. But he has began to prove people wrong. It has helped add more depth in the infield of an organization that is top heavy in outfield and pitching depth. People have labeled him the hardest worker in the organization. Imagine David Eckstein type grit with a projectable frame and major league ready defense and you have Hicks. Once he makes the right adjustments, Brent Lillibridge could lose the title as best shortstop in the organization.

So far, coming into this season, after hitting .188 for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, Hicks has stretched out his stance to help him pick up on pitches better. So far, it hasn't improved him much. Hicks has struck out 106 times in 292 ABs. But the power is still there. In a tough park to hit the ball in the air, Hicks has gone deep 15 times and drove in 48 runs. After going undrafted in high school and junior college, Hicks is really showing that he could someday be a major leaguer.

I believe he will be in the majors by 2011 at shortstop. Though he has a big stature for the position and hits for so much power, I believe his defensive ability is going to be be the factor that keeps him there. I believe he will finish the rest of the season at HiA Myrtle Beach. Next season, we will see him suited up at the AA level.

You have to root for this guy. He is an underdog. Plus, He shares the same birthday as me

-Dexter-Sports
1:10 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

John Smotlz hoped to be back for good after a stint on the DL. Looking to close out games for the Braves after his stint, Smotlz will now be closing in on season ending surgery on his shoulder. Though it seems this could be the end of the road for Smoltz, he announced in a press conference that he plans on coming back for next season.

The Braves are now in a tough position to either find a starter that will be able to fill his void, or most likely they will look for bullpen help through a good amount of options. Bobby Cox is not afraid to give a veteran another chance, and we could see that. If Rafael Soriano doesn't work out for the rest of the season, he could plug in a veteran in or go after a middle reliever with closer stuff. Let's take a look at some options.

• One option would be to sign a veteran reliever that has had pass successes closing out games. Antonio Alfonseca, Rodrigo Lopez, and Jose Mesa could all be options at the reliever position. Throw in Russ Ortiz, David Wells, Eric Milton and Freddy Garcia in the mix if the Braves are targeting starters.

• Trade could be a very good option for the Braves. A couple of teams that fit right off the head are the Brewers, with Derrick Turnbow, the Tigers with recently designated Fransisco Cruceta, and possibly the Rockies with either Brian Fuentes or Manny Corpas. I also like the thought of bringing in Anthony Reyes of the Cardinals. The Braves have a lot of depth in the Outfield prospects, and could use either Gregor Blanco, Justin Schafer, Justin Heward or Gorkys Hernandez.
  

-Dexter Sports
1:01 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox

We saw a streak end in the National League, The Tigers and Brewers got away from their losing ways and the Rays continued their winning ways, and will look for the sweep this afternoon in Oakland. First off, let's take a look at the news from around the league.

• Atlanta Braves Right Fielder Jeff Francoeur's 370 straight games started streak came to an end on in game 2 of last nights double header. Francoeur needed a day off due to his struggles at the plate. Hitting .211 and with only 7 RBIs, Francoeur has not been able to see the ball well so far this season. In the opener of the double header he went 0-3. Bobby Cox ultimately made the decision to sit Francoeur, stating it was important to have a bit of rest and have some fun on the bench. The Braves pulled off both games against the Mets yesterday.

• Jon Rauch gave up his first run of year as the closer for the Washington Nationals. Rauch already has ten saves after replacing Chad Cordero in the beginning of May. Cordero is on the disabled list. Rauch could be a great fantasy option for those of you that need a couple more saves in your league. The Nationals face the Phillies tonight. The Phillies lead the league in homers.

• Arizona Starter Billy Buckner (no pun intended) has finally figured out what has caused such a slow start after coming over to Arizona from the Kansas City Royals. The Right hander was told when coming over that he was tipping his pitches, but didn't do much about it. Buckner since then has made an adjustment and its proving to be the factor that slowed him down. Before the adjustment Buckner had a 9.97 in 22 innings. In the last 27, Buckner has a 1.67 ERA in AAA Tucson. If it continues Buckner could be returning to the pen for the parent club.

• David Price will make his professional debut tonight for Vero Beach of the Florida State League. Baseball fans got to see the talent this kid has in the Ray's spring training. Price has been said to be more polished at this point of his career than Scott Kazmir. Price led the NCAA in strike outs with 194 his junior year (see image above).

• Sports Illustrated covers the fact that the Rays have been the team to beat in the NL East. The cover, which is a comic of Carl Crawford holding up Derek Jeter in the air brings up some good points. Simply, Jeter is on the decline, and the Rays youngsters are the players to watch now in the AL East. I really feel this team has a shot at winning the AL Wild card or their division.

-Dexter Sports
2:44 PM

John Smoltz has been a staple of the Atlanta Braves franchise. He is possibly the most versatile pitcher since Goose Gossage and Dennis Eckersley. He is the only pitcher to accomplish 200 wins and 150 saves. The last few seasons he has reclaimed himself as one of the best starters in the game. Now, after a stint on the disabled list, The Braves will have to make a decision on what to do with Smoltz.

With Rafeal Soriano also on the DL, this bullpen is taking a hit as well. Mike Gonzalez is also out and GM Frank Wren cannot do anything but hope his pitching can get healthy again. With Hampton still fighting injury, It is going to be hard to put something together, but I still believe that the Braves best option is closer for John Smoltz.

Though the rotation is a bit weak at this point, I think that we will not see a major move done to add pitching at this point, because what is available is not any better than he can put on the mound already. Jo-Jo Reyes will get the shot on Saturday, and I think he is the best option. Reyes, a former top 10 prospect of the braves, has seen a lot of time at AAA Richmond.

When everyone gets healthy, this could simply be the best bullpen in the NL East. It could be a bonus down the stretch.

Heres a look at my amended rotation and bullpen when everyone is healthy:

Rotation:
1. Tim Hudson
2. Jair Jurjens
3. Tom Glavine
4. Buddy Carlisle
5. Jo-Jo Reyes

Bullpen:
Closer: John Smoltz
Set up: Mike Gonzalez/Rafeal Soriano
Middle Relief: Peter Moylan/ Manny Costa
Long Relief: Chuck James/Mike Hampton/Jeff Bennett
Lefty Specialist: Will Ohman

- Dexter Sports
2:02

Last night's action saw pitching at the forefront. Tim Lincecum and Chris Young battled in San Diego, both throwing very well, while fantasy sleepers Cliff Lee and Brian Bannister battled it out in Kansas City. In this around the horn, we will look at the best players of April.

• Joakim Soria- The Kansas City closer has only pitched 8 innings, but ever single at bat has been flawless. He is perfect in saves going 5/5 so far this season. Soria has shut down 20 straight batters in his current stretch, with 8 of his 11 strike outs coming in those 20 batters. The Mexico native is compared to Mariano Rivera in New York. He has a bright future in this league

• Chipper Jones- Jones has had the best April of his career. His .461/.506/.750 line is probably the best in baseball. Throw in his six home runs and 16 RBIs this month and you have the hottest player in April. At this rate, the Braves wont miss Andruw Jones one bit. I do believe a lot of his success has to do with having Mark Teixera protecting him in the order.

• Chase Utley- Who cares that slugger Ryan Howard is struggling. When you look at Utley's numbers you have to take a second look just to make sure your eyes aren't creating the amazing line of .375/.451/.807 in April. Utley has gone deep 8 times with 19 rbis this month.

• Tim Lincecum- This is a simple no brainer. Linceum is 4-0 to start the season with a 1.23 ERA and 36 strike outs. Opponents are hitting .250 against him. Lincecum has thrown 16 1/3 straight innings straight of scoreless baseball. Lincecum went 6 1/3 scoreless innings last night.

• Ben Sheets- Sheets is also a no brainer. He has a 1.25 ERA in April with batters only hitting .160 against him. The most telling stat of his success is his whip, which is .65. He has only walked two compared to striking out 17.

-Dexter Sports
2:14 PM

Man Alive, I have never imagined that so many Milestones could be breached within one day. In this edition we take a look at what milestones we could see very soon.

• Chicago Cubs- The franchise could see it's 10,000th win tonight against the Rockies in Colorado. Rich Hill will take the mound in a rubber match. Franklin Morales will look to defend his home turf tonight. The Cubs are 14-6, which is the best start for the north side since 1975. Here is a list of the best starts in team history.

• Atlanta Braves: Veteran John Smoltz eclipsed 3,000 strikeouts last night. Smoltz is the only pitcher to have 250 wins and 150 saves in his career. It is good to see one of the good ol' boys reach another milestone. Smoltz is a definite hall of famer.

-Dexter Sports
7:50 PM

In a day that was supposed to be all about the match up of Johan Santana and Ben Sheets, MLB saw two near no-hitters. Gavin Floyd threw 7 1/3 innings of no hit baseball. He shut down a tigers offense that still hasn't showed up in '08. The best part of the performance was the nasty, rainy conditions that saw only one-third of the crowd show up. Throw in the fact that it was windy and about 39 degrees, I don't blame them one bit.

On the other side of the country, In warm, sunny California, Matt Cain took a no hitter into the seventh inning today. Man does it suck to be a Giants pitcher these days. Either the offense doesn't give you any run protection, or the pathetic offense doesn't show up to the ball park. Anyways, here are some more things brewing up in baseball:

• Milwaukee's big boys are asking manager Ned Yost to switch the two in the batting order and revert to the way they hit last year. I say, why not go for it. It couldn't hurt. Fielder hit 50 homers last year and Braun put up possibly the best rookie campaign to date. It is unsaid whether Yost will bite into it. One of the big reasons that Fielder is batting third is because of Jason Kendall in the ninth position of the lineup.

• Rays Reliever Al Reyes will not be punished by his current team after his latest run in the law. Hmm, I wonder why? Maybe it is because they cant give up Reyes or any of their arms in the pen for any length of time.

• In the latest deal between MLB and the Player's Union, both came to the agreement that players in the Mitchell Report will be given amnesty. ARE YOU SERIOUS BUD SELIG? Ok, we go after these players to prove a point that this needs to be stopped, and then we back out of our allegations... What was the point of this Bud? Selig and President Bush should get together and talk about how big of a backfire you get from the American public when you deceive them. Well, Paul LoDuca, Eric Gagne, Miguel Tejada, Greg Zaun, Roger Clemens, and all of you other roid pumping ballplayers in the Mitchell report, consider this your lucky day.

• Scott Speizo was released by the Braves earlier today. GM Frank Wren explained the situation being that Spezio needed more time to rehabilitate from Alcohol abuse. Spezio was released by the Cardinals after a drunk driving incident this off-season.

• Finally, I'm not usually one to spread rumors but I wonder if the Tigers continue to struggle badly down the stretch, if they would be willing to dump some payroll. I say why not. If it really comes down to it, they could trade Jeremy Bonderman or a Nate Robertson type pitcher bundled with a prospect or two to Texas or Seattle. Why Texas or Seattle? They both have the catching prospect that the Tigers so desperately desire. If Texas or Seattle are in the hunt and is looking for pitching at the trade deadline, look for the tigers to be aggressive and go after a Jeff Clement or Jarrod Saltalamacchia. That way, they wouldn't have to resign Ivan Rodriguez, and they could go after one of the big name starters in the 09 free agent market, such as Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. Other options could be Ryan Doumit or Ronny Paulino in Pittsburgh.
  

-Dexter Sports
9:30 PM

Braves top Prospect Jordan Schafer became the first to test positive to HGH after the Mitchell Report, Baseball America reported today. Schafer is considered the Center Fielder of the future and the main reason the Braves felt comfortable letting go of Andruw Jones. Schafer becomes the first minor league to test positive for HGH. To think that this era was over... There has not been an official release saying how Schafer tested positive, since urine testing isn't used, but the braves have made an official release.

-Dexter Sports

12:26 PM

Nate Robertson will take the mound at 1:05 as the tigers look to get their first win in 08. The tigers, who were automatically dubbed a championship caliber team by most analysts, have started the season 0-3 after being swept by the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers will look to Robertson, who had a tremendous spring to shut down a White Sox offense that did struggle at times last year. Though many are worried about the tigers after being swept away, tigers fans should not have any fear. The lineup is working without catalyst lead-off hitter Curtis Granderson and Third Baseman Miguel Cabrera. Today, Gary Sheffield will sit out because of a jammed finger, and should be back sometime soon. Anyways, here is what's going on around the league.

• Mike Hampton was pulled twenty minutes before game time last night. Hampton strained his left pectoral warming up in the bullpen before the 7:05 start against the Pirates. Hampton will find himself on the DL yet again. The Braves are optimistic (as always) and it looks like Jeff Bennett will get that position in the rotation for now. Hampton has made 12 starts since 2005, making a total of 12 starts (Carl Pavano anyone?).

• Reds Rookie Johnny Cueto was brilliant in his debut yesterday. Any that watched it could say his 96 mile an hour fastball was impressive and his nasty slider was just plain wrong. Cueto finished with 10 strike outs. Who would have thought it was him instead of Homer Bailey in the rotation. Reds fans should be glad that Cueto is a red instead of Erik Bedard or Joe Blanton.

• The Nationals seem like a team to be reckoned with in their first week of action. First a walk-off home run in the new nationals park, a new stadium that puts the nationals as GM Jim Bowden puts it, "from the outhouse to the penthouse." We all knew this team would hit, but who would know that Odalis Perez would get the job done and that Tim Redding would throw a one-hitter. Who knows, maybe this rotation and bullpen can hold up and acutally give Washington D.C . a good representative.

• Phil Hughes sparkled in his season debut last night. He did leave a couple curves hanging, but showed why the Yankees were not worried about bringing in anybody else this off-season beyond Andy Pettitte. Ian Kennedy will make his first start tonight.