Fan Friday :: Why We're Still Excited About Spring Training

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Ask any professional baseball blogger if it's okay that the Braves haven't won many Spring Training games until this week + they'll say something along the lines of the outcome doesn't matter or it's all about brushing the rust off -- which is all fine + good. Then I want you to ask yourself, as a fan, how much do you like your team losing? I hate it when they lose. I also imagine them all as like 10 year old little leaguers who just want to make mom proud. Here are some reasons we should still be excited about Spring Training.
It means that actual baseball season is so so very close. The further we get into these games the closer we are to real baseball where the outcome absolutely matters. April is always an exciting month but you can't put too much stock into it. Last year -- the Braves won what felt like every single game we played in April + it gave us the best kind of cushion for later in the season when we had some key guys get hurt + needed to work new guys in their place.
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It means they'll be playing better as a team. You see a lot of professional teams who pay tons of money for their guys + they don't function well as a team. Some sports that's cool -- but not baseball. You have to work together + be able to count on the other guy to slow up when you call the ball + back you up just in case you undershoot it. You need to know that when you field a ground ball at short your second baseman is going to be ready for the 6-4-3 double play.
There are so many incredible prospects getting their shot at a big break. You have names that a casual fan recognizes (Tommy LaStella, J.R. Graham, etc) + you have guys who you may have never heard of before they got to Orlando (biggest example -- Evan Gattis last year.) These guys bust their butts in the minors + to get an invite to Big League Spring Training is a BIG deal. They might not immediately make the roster -- but we'll know how they mesh with the current guys + can definitely keep an eye out for them in the future. 

While we're on prospects -- in my completely biased opinion -- Atlanta has the absolute best farm + player development system. The guys with those huge off season contracts? Freddie Freeman, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Julio Teheran, Andrelton Simmons -- they all came up through the Atlanta farm system. Talk about an awesome ROI. I think that's the reason this team is always so strong.

Linking up with Venus for Fan Friday + Whitney for #backthatazzup Friday

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