5 Things I Learned At Spring Training

Champion Stadium, Kissimmee, Florida - March 13, 2018

Spring Training experiences are a lot like snowflakes. No two are exactly the same.

For those who don't know my annual trip to Spring Training has become, with the possible exception of Christmas, my favorite week on the calendar. It's rare to be in an environment where everyone wants to be there and everyone is happy. To paraphrase Terence Mann in 'Field Of Dreams': It's as if everyone has dipped themselves in magic waters. 

There's no stress of winning or losing. There's just sun, fun and glad tidings all around. 

For me it all started ten years ago on a trip to visit a friend. I realized I could squeeze a Braves Spring Training game into the trip and did. A decade later the baseball is the reason for the trip. Everything else is a distant second. The only thing I hate about it is that it somehow took me three decades to discover. I want all of those missed Spring Trainings back! 

While it's basically what I like to call "Grownup Spring Break", I also use the time every year to get a sneak peek at my beloved Atlanta Braves. If you know me well enough you know that my fandom makes me the opposite of a "homer". I tend to view the team through a more skeptical lens than most. The exception was last year when I thought the team should have been a Wild Card contender if enough "what ifs" went their way. And they were...until collapsing after the All-Star break.

Anyway, each year a handful of things stick out to me about the team and the franchise. Here are the 5 Things I Learned At Spring Training 2018:

5) Learn To Spell Foltynewicz - Because you're going to be talking about him a lot this year. Much has been made about the Braves question marks in the starting rotation. 1948 Boston Braves were led by the rallying cry, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain". I don't know anything that rhymes with Teheran and Foltynewicz, but that's sort of the way the Braves rotation stacks up at the moment.

Foltynewicz appears ready to put it all together in his fourth season in the big leagues. He has, at times, shown overpowering stuff reminiscent of John Smoltz. At others, but his own admission, he's allowed mistakes to snowball into big innings.

This spring he was as close to perfect as you can be. On our second day in Florida Foltynewicz dominated the Pirates allowing just two hits over four innings. He didn't allow an earned run until the final day of Spring Training. A breakout season from Foltynewicz would go a long way toward getting this team in the postseason hunt this year. 

4) Will The Real Dansby Swanson Please Stand Up? - It's been a tale of two seasons for the Braves' shortstop. His average fell 70 points last year from his debut in 2016. The Braves now admit the rushed him into being a "face" of the franchise and the pressure clearly got to him a year ago.

His results this spring are similarly a mixed bag. He hit just .208, but with two homers and  four RBI. He also stole three bases, which equaled his number from all of 2017. I paid particular attention to Dansby during our trip and one thing I noticed is that, when he wasn't in the game, he sat with the manager and coaches most of the time. He seemed to be listening intently soaking in every ounce of knowledge he could. I see a bounce-back season from Dansby. If it happens he and Ozzie Albies will form one of the more formidable middle infields in the game.

Editor's note: When watching Dansby, be sure you are actually watching Dansby. From a distance he and newcomer Charlie Culberson are almost indecipherable. 

Ronald Acuna, Jr. prepares to bat against Pittsburgh at LECOM Park in Bradenton, FL - March 10, 2018

3) In Ron We Trust - Each year there is a prospect that grabs my attention whose progress I can't wait to follow en route to Atlanta. I remember when it was Andrelton Simmons. Then Dansby.

This year I knew who it was before I got there. Ronald Acuna entered the spring ranked as the number one prospect in baseball and did not disappoint. We saw him hit two home runs during our trip, one of which would have gone through the outfield wall if it hadn't cleared it versus Toronto.

Overall he hit .432 with four home runs, 11 RBI and four stolen bases...which got him sent to the minors. Well, THAT didn't get him sent down. A weird Major League Baseball rule that will allow the Braves to control Acuna for an extra year if he spends the first two weeks of this season at AAA got him sent down.

He will be eligible to make his major league debut on April 13th. If the Braves can tread water through a brutal schedule the first couple of weeks of the season with the likes of Preston Tucker and Lane Adams manning left field, the addition of Acuna would be like making a blockbuster trade or signing a top-tier free agent in the middle of April.

2) In Ron We Trust (Part 2) - One of my favorite parts of the last few Grapefruit League trips has been watching Ron Washington coach. He's as affable as they come. Last year, unsolicited, he gave us a ball. He tried to again this year but one of those extended nets meant to protect people from themselves got in the way. Don't get me started on the extended nets.

Anyway, Washington is a gem. We usually sit down the third base line to watch him coach, eat peanuts (LOTS of peanuts) and interact with him between innings. By all accounts he is tireless in helping the Braves youngsters develop, routinely on the field running drills hours before anyone else. My opinion is he's the best manager in baseball not currently running a club.

That brings me to this: With few exceptions most Georgia football fans regard Mark Richt very highly for what he meant to the program. An increasing number of them simply came to believe the team had hit a ceiling under him. The administration didn't want to miss out on Kirby Smart, so a move was made.

A similar situation could develop at SunTrust Park this summer.  I absolutely adore Brian Snitker and think he should be given a very long leash to become the long-term manager. It's the least the franchise can do considering he's devoted his life to the Braves. Ideally the Braves improve drastically this year and he goes on to bring another World Championship to Atlanta.

That said, if things go the other way, the Braves may be forced to make a decision before another club steals Washington out from under them.

Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports. Spring Training Home of the Atlanta Braves

1) Dissing Disney - Look, I love Disney. We went to the Magic Kingdom on this trip for the first time since I was five and I had the time of my life. Holding your Spring Training at "The Happiest Place On Earth" is another thing entirely.

It all made sense when the Braves and Disney started this relationship in the mid-90s. The Braves were "America's Team" on TV screens across the country every night on the Superstation. They'd also appeared in four of the previous five World Series, winning it all in 1995. What better place for America's Team than America's favorite theme park?

But over the years Disney's Wide World of Sports has become more of a mecca for amateur sports, from cheerleading to lacrosse to basketball. For Braves fans this is a huge headache. Just to get into Champion Stadium to see the Braves play one must wind one's way through thousands of people you might see if you click on ESPN at 7am on a Sunday. While it can be fun to watch overbearing cheer moms live vicariously through their daughters, it's annoying when you're just trying to catch a game.

It also doesn't feel like the home of the Braves. Other than an "A" painted on the field and a sign on the outfield wall it's pretty generic. Meanwhile other Spring Training sites proudly claim their team with signs hanging from lamp posts, banners...you name it.

Add to that that everything from tickets to concessions has Disney prices instead of normal Spring Training prices and the Braves' impending move to North Port in 2019 can't come soon enough.

In conclusion, it's never good when one of the team's own writers enters the season saying breaking even would be an accomplishment. Much of that is based on the lack of headline-making moves by the front office during the off-season.

I feel about this team much the same as I felt about last year's team before Opening Day. IF a lot of things go their way they can be in the mix. Last year none of the "ifs" panned out. But with another year for the young prospects to mature, a bounce-back season from Dansby Swanson and the addition of Ronald Acuna I think this team can make things interesting this summer. Last year's team started out strong and fizzled. I think this year's team starts slow and gets better and better as the season progresses, not unlike...dare I say it...the 1991 team. Like that year pitching dominated in Spring Training. And unlike last year I think the front office will be willing to make key additions if this team is in it at the All-Star break.

My prediction? 84-78 and a possible Wild Card.