How many wins?

[quick]

All indications are this is pretty much our team--the Chipper-Glaus injury consortium; rebuilt arms hither and yon; incentive contracts that will keep hurt players trotting out there on the field; the Heyward conundrum; Glaus playing out of position and having to really learn 1B this spring; a team built on the cheap; etc.

So, how many wins will this team have: 90?; 85?; 80?; 75?; how many games will Chip, Glaus, Wagner and Huddy miss? Can Mac continue to play so many games without breaking down and can he see this year? Will it make the playoffs? Will Bobby's last tip of the hat occur in game 162, or sometime in October?

Let's hear your expert prognostications. My hot stove seems to have hit a :banghead: with no AdGo deal....

[bmcvay10]

Suggestion: Insert a poll.

[quick]

Suggestion: Insert a poll.

Done. Good idea.:thumbsup:

[bravos4evr]

This team could win 90 games! This team could also win 80 games. It's just so hard to tell at this point and until I see how the offense comes together in April I'm not going to make firm predictions.

[Wahoo]

This team could win 90 games! This team could also win 80 games. It's just so hard to tell at this point and until I see how the offense comes together in April I'm not going to make firm predictions.


Which is why I am going 85. I can see this team making the playoffs, but I see no way they make it past the 1st round.

[Dreamscape]

I have a lot of trouble answering this. I need to look at the division more in detail and what the interleague schedule looks like. All that said, there are a lot of questions, but this is a playoff contender. A lot like last year. In fact, I would say overall, there is little differences between the 2010 team (as it looks) and the 2009 squad (entering the season). Yeah, there seems to be a chance for better offense, though the questionable situation in the pen compounded with a possible Lowe decline earlier than I thought hurt. But then, you have Hanson and Heyward. Either way, I don't really know how to answer this question.

[bravos4evr]

Which is why I am going 85. I can see this team making the playoffs, but I see no way they make it past the 1st round.

I disagree, IF this team makes the playoffs, I see them as being very dangerous due to the depth ofthe starting pitching. Not to mention how often playoff games are low scoring affairs...

[Agent-X-]

I had a similarly difficult time answering this question because I see a wide range of possibilities. Ultimately, I felt very safe voting for 85 wins. I voted 85 because I can see them doing a lot better if anything outside the pitching staff goes right.

I see us grabbing a playoff spot, so the Phillies definitely better watch out or they will be dethroned in the NL East in a flash. In order for that to be the case, though, we need decent production from Glaus and Jason Heyward to slug at an .850 OPS rate. Neither of these expectations are unrealistic, but they are questionable spots for us.

[CanadaBravesFan]

94 wins and Heyward wins the ROY.

[BigWorm]

I'd say the bench players we've added will mean more wins. One can assume anyone will do a better job than Norton did coming off the bench in close games. Suppose Cabrera is "clutch" that can add a handful of victories. With the addition of Hinske, it gives us another power threat off the bench late (which we absolutely didn't have last year). Also the pitching staff will have to continue to progress. That means Hudson must take Javy's place with no considerable drop off. KK will have to improve, along with Hanson. Lowe, while not expected to improve much can be offset if we get another huge year from JJ. I actually see these things happening which is why I voted for 90 wins. It helps to play the Nationals 18 times.