By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The day after the Braves were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention in 2014 they fired General Manager Frank Wren.

It was merely the first domino in the Braves’ rebuild, a process that saw big league player after big league player traded away for prospects, tearing down what had been a division winning team just one year earlier and beginning to build back up.

When John Hart and John Schuerholz started making these moves, the boilerplate comforting line was that Atlanta would be built back up into a contending team by the time they moved into their new ballpark, Suntrust Park, in 2017.

Of course, that was ridiculous. There was no way a team was going to trade away Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis, Andrelton Simmons and more and then in TWO YEARS field a team that was anything but hard to watch. It was a fool’s errand. How could the Braves be in a position to excite their fan base in 2017?

Now, as February winds down and the spring games begin, ramping up for the 2017 season, how do the Braves look?

Honestly?…..Exciting.

Not World Series winning exciting; not yet. But against all odds, the Braves are going to field a decent team this year. Stranger still, that excitement rests on the backs of veteran players. All those prospects the Braves traded for aren’t even here yet. Instead, the Braves are looking to Matt Kemp and Brandon Phillips, to Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey; these are the players that have elevated the Braves to being a team that is going to win its fair share of ballgames.

There were times just last season where it seemed like the Braves were never going to win another game. Yet here we are, looking to break camp with an eye on finishing above the Phillies and Marlins in the division.

It’s exciting to have these players, not because they’ll carry the team but because they have a chance to support Freddie Freeman and Julio Teheran.

The Braves have had the centerpieces for years, there’s just been a void surrounding them. Now, as evidenced by the last month and a half of 2016, there’s an actual, living, breathing offense surrounding Freddie Freeman.

The pitching staff that showed its youth last season has been bolstered by stability but more importantly, by players that aren’t permanent. Bartolo Colon is going to start every fifth day, but you can be sure that he won’t be blocking anyone. If there’s a pitcher ready to come up to the bigs and stay, bet on John Coppolella moving those veterans out of the way.

Perhaps that’s part of the excitement. The Braves have had the talent in the farm system, but some, like Aaron Blair, didn’t have enough time to cook down there.

This year, the pressure is off the Braves to present those prospects to the public before they’re ready because they’ve got those veterans in place. So when we see players come up from the minors, they’ll be ready.

Some of that has already begun. Dansby Swanson will be the starting shortstop on opening day in 2017. Ozzie Albies won’t be far behind. Rio Ruiz is in camp and hungry to make his mark in Atlanta.

Look, the Braves didn’t acquire Chris Sale in the offseaon, they got Bartolo Colon. They didn’t trade for Brian Dozier, they traded for Brandon Phillips. There are obviously younger players in their primes than what the Braves have in Atlanta but look at last year’s stats for Phillips. That’s a guy who hit .291 now playing second base for the Braves.

Bartolo Colon won 15 games and was an All-Star last year. Now he’s the Braves number two pitcher.

It’s very unlikely that the Braves will make the postseason this year. But if we judge success on achieving the impossible, then Atlanta has already won; because the 2017 season starts soon and I’m excited.