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Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Hampton out, Sosa in
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It isn’t often a team loses a starting pitcher and actually gets better. But for the short term, at least, that could be the case with the Braves after Mike Hampton went on the disabled list for the fourth time this season and Jorge Sosa returned to the rotation to replace him.
Let me be clear: Losing Hampton could be a major blow in the Braves’ playoff chances, because a healthy Hampton at the top of his game would give the Braves a No. 3 starter to match up favorably with any team in baseball, including Houston.
However, whether Hampton would have — or still can — get it all together before the postseason was already a major question mark, given that he hasn’t had a quality start (six innings or more, three earned runs or fewer) since mid-May — he’s pitched only 14 innings since then — and there’s only five weeks left before the postseason.
Even the optimistic Bobby Cox now concedes there may not be enough time left for Hampton to get going and be ready for the postseason, and Cox said that’s a big potential blow because he was counting on the playoff-seasoned Hampton to be big down the stretch for the Braves.
Whether Sosa’s Houdini-like escapes from pitching jams can continue through October remains to be seen, and he might give everyone ulcers doing that act in big games. But in terms of holding off the rest of the NL East in the next few weeks, gotta think Sosa has a better chance to help the Braves than Hampton did with his spotty performances between DL stints.
Walking a tightrope or not, Sosa has managed to go 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 12 starts entering today’s contest at Wrigley Field. Those are solid numbers, and at least he’s been healthy all year and reliable. Same obviously can’t be said for Hampton, who’s had a remarkable four stints on the DL in one season. That’s only one fewer DL stint than he has wins.
And to think, the Braves owe him $39 million over the 2006-08 seasons. Try trading that chunk of change.
