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April 2006
Can Braves hold edge over Mets?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chipper Jones was up to his old tricks with a home run Friday night and the New York Mets still have a horrid past in Atlanta. Maybe things will work out after all.
History is on Atlanta’s side, and that doesn’t mean just the 14 consecutive division titles.
Jones and Turner Field have been a no-win combination for the Mets.
The Braves third baseman has a .333 average in 155 career games against the Mets and has hit 35 homers while driving in 104 runs. With the offense sputtering, the Braves need Chipper to come through again.
The Braves need the Mets’ Turner Field jinx to hold as well. Even with Friday’s 5-2 victory, the Mets are 21-51 since the ballpark opened in 1997 - 5-22 in the past three seasons - and had a six-game losing streak here.
Although the teams play another three-game series in New York next weekend, this is the crucial set. The Braves need to keep their psychological edge over the Mets.
It won’t be easy. The Braves now trail the Mets by six games in the NL East. They need to shave two games off that by the end of the weekend.
Braves’ broadcasters shuffled
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fox Cable Networks announced it will replace the familiar Turner South broadcast team of Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson and Chip Caray. Beginning next week, the Braves games on Turner South will be called by FSN South’s broadcast team of Bob Rathbun and Jeff Torborg. What’s your opinion of the change?
Are we having fun yet?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Swept in a series for the first time by the Brewers — ever.
Losing record (3-5) on a trip that included stops at Washington and Milwaukee.
A .197 average in their past 10 games, with three runs or fewer scored in eight.
A sub-.200 average with runners in scoring position in their past 15 games.
Nine strikeouts in six innings Wednesday for Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets, who has 52 in 37-2/3 innings against the Braves in his past five starts against them.
A right fielder batting .190 with nine RBIs, no walks and 18 strikeouts.
A league-worst .298 opponents’ average with runners in scoring position before Wednesday.
A league-high 173 strikeouts by Braves hitters and league-low .312 on-base percentage.
The first-place Mets coming to town and Pedro Martinez and resurgent Tom Glavine pitching two of the three games.
Fortunately for the Braves, there’s 141 games to play.
And John Smoltz, Friday’s starter, is 6-0 with a 2.54 ERA in his past 13 home starts.
And Edgar Renteria is due back in the lineup Friday.
Because otherwise, there might be cause for concern.
Chipper’s homer not enough
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Milwaukee — Chipper Jones provided a spark in his first game back from the disabled list, but it wasn’t enough to crank the stalled engine that is the Braves offense.
Jones hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, but the Braves couldn’t add anything and Tim Hudson didn’t protect the two-run lead in a 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
“We’re awfully disappointed in the way we’re playing right now,” Jones said after the third loss in four games for the Braves (9-11), who need a win this afternoon to avoid being swept in the three-game series. “We’re just not scoring enough runs. We can’t string anything together offensively.”
The Braves are 3-4 on a three-city trip that ends Wednesday. They’ve hit .190 in their past nine games and generated three runs or fewer in eight, after batting .289 and scoring four or more runs in their first 11 games.
Jones had two hits, while five other Braves had a single apiece. That was it.
“That’s about all the offense we got,” first baseman Adam LaRoche said of Jones’ homer. “We threw a couple other hits in there, but it didn’t really matter. Huddy pitched great, but they just took advantage of every opportunity.”
Hudson (1-2) threw a three-hitter against the Mets a week ago and looked to be in similar form during the early innings against the Brewers.
But after allowing only one baserunner through three innings, he gave up a Geoff Jenkins solo homer in the fourth and two runs on three hits in the sixth, including two-out singles by Carlos Lee and Prince Fielder.
They added a run in the seventh as Hudson finished with seven innings, nine hits and four runs.
“He should have fared a lot better,” manager Bobby Cox said. “He pitched great.”
Hudson said, “I felt good, man. I felt a lot better than a 4-2 loss, that’s for sure.”
Tomo Ohka (2-1) limited the Braves to two runs and seven hits in seven innings, improving to 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA in his past four starts against them.
Jones homered in his second at-bat after a 15-day stint on the disabled list for a sprained right knee and ankle. His opposite-field homer to left-center off Ohka gave the Braves a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.
It was the second consecutive year he homered in his first game after coming off the DL. On July 18 at San Francisco, he homered in the first at-bat after six weeks on the DL with a foot injury.
The Braves entered Tuesday trailing the NL East-leading Mets by 3-1/2 games, with a three-game series against New York beginning Friday at Turner Field. They wanted to make up ground at Milwaukee and have an opportunity to overtake the Mets this weekend.
Now they’re trying to avoid what would be the first-ever Brewers sweep of the Braves. Their win Tuesday gave the Brewers their first series win against the Braves in Milwaukee, and they’ve won five of the past seven games between the teams. Struggling Jorge Sosa faces Brewers right-hander Ben Sheets in today’s finale.
“There’s a little bit of pressure [today],” LaRoche said. “It’s a big game. There’s no other way around it. But we can’t go out there and play not to get beat. We’ve got to go out there and play to win.”
“It’s not too early to get frustrated,” Jones said. “We’ve got a lot of guys in here frustrated. Yeah, it’s only 20 games. But if you keep saying that … the next thing you know it’s 100 games and you’re 10 games out. And we don’t want that to happen.”
Former Braves prospect Jose Capellan pitched a perfect eighth with one strikeout, and closer Derrick Turnbow struck out Jeff Francoeur swinging at a full-count pitch with LaRoche on first base to end the game.
The Braves’ average was down to .248 before Tuesday, 15th in the National League. Their .315 on-base percentage was the NL’s worst, and 155 strikeouts by Braves hitters was the league high.
Getting Jones back should help in those areas, as will Edgar Renteria’s scheduled return Friday. But the Braves are going to need a lot more production from others.
Andruw Jones hit .424 with five homers in 33 at-bats against Ohka before Tuesday, when he went 1-for-4 with a single and lined into a double play. The center fielder is 2-for-15 with two singles and six strikeouts in his past four games, after hitting five homers in the four prior games.
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Tough call on Frenchy looms
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What happened? I woke this morning and it was 38 degrees with a wind chill factor of 27. I thought it was the last week in April?
Oh, that’s right; it’s Milwaukee. Never mind.
I was going to say that I was as cold this morning as the Braves’ offense. But I didn’t want to exaggerate — I wasn’t THAT cold.
How does a .186 average and 25 runs in eight games sound? That’s what Braves hitters have produced beginning April 15, the day John Smoltz threw a four-hitter to beat San Diego.
They have won four of eight games during this hitting slump, with three of the wins coming in complete games by Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Kyle Davies, the latter two tossing three-hitters against the Mets.
So as long as Braves starters throw complete games and allow four hits or fewer, the Braves are fine….
But seriously, they get Chipper back tonight and Edgar Renteria could return tonight or Wednesday, unless Bobby Cox decides to be extra-cautious and wait to play Renteria in the homestand opener Friday against the Mets, after the off day Thursday. They want to be certain Renteria doesn’t come back too soon and have this side-muscle strain nag him all year, and it’s difficult to argue with that reasoning.
They need Edgar if they are to win the division again and have any hope of advancing in the playoffs. He’s had more success in the postseason than any other Brave, or at least more success-per-postseason trip.
Renteria has been to six postseasons, four NLCS, he’s won pennants with Florida and St. Louis, and a World Series ring with the Marlins in 1997. He has a .304 average with five doubles in 11 World Series games.
But that’s getting way ahead of ourselves. The Braves have a lot of work ahead before they can even begin thinking about the postseason.
If it’s not No. 1 on the list of priorities — No. 1 has to be pitching, always — then it could be No. 2. We speak of the Frenchy Dilemma. Slumping Jeff Francoeur, what to do with him?
It’s not as if the Braves have a lot of OF options, what with Kelly Johnson still not able to throw at full strength and possibly looking at more surgery on his elbow if it doesn’t respond soon.
Brian Jordan isn’t an everyday outfielder anymore. James Jurries? Could be an option, but he hasn’t spent a day in the majors yet. So I doubt the Braves are ready to bring him up, put him or Diaz at an OF corner and let Langerhans take over in RF.
I doubt they’re ready to do that, and I know they don’t want to give up on Francoeur, or even send a signal that they’re giving up on him for the immediate future. They want desparately for him to hit his way out of this looooong funk, but it ain’t happening.
He’s batting .184 overall and a hard-to-fathom .096 (5-for-52) on the road, worst in the majors. His .203 on-base percentage is the third-worst in the majors and second-worst in the NL, better than only St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina. His .518 OPS (on base-plus-slugging percentage) is fourth-lowest in the NL.
Francoeur is hitting .183 (11-for-60) against right-handers. Batting with two strikes, he’s 1-for-29 with 16 strikeouts. Heard enough?
He started out the season with a 3-for-37 slump, went 6-for-8 with three homers in consecutive games April 13-14 against S. Diego and Philly, then went 5-for-31 with one extra-base hit (double) in his last eight games through Monday, including 0-for-11 in the past three.
He still hasn’t drawn a walk, and he’s swung at a majors-leading 55.7 percent of first pitches. Anaheim’s Vlad Guerrero (54.9) is the only other major leaguer who’s swung at as many as 47 percent of first pitches.
Finally, there’s this: Francoeur hit .379 with 10 homers, 30 RBIs and a .734 slugging percentage in his first 33 games in the majors last season, through Aug. 20.
In 50 games since Aug. 28, he has a .207 average with seven homers, 22 RBIs and a .362 slugging percentage, with 44 strikeouts in 188 at-bats.
What’s the answer? I don’t have it. The Braves are going to have to make a tough call soon, unless Francoeur can bust out of this thing before his average dips closer to .150 than .200.
Koskie’s homer dooms Davies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Milwaukee — The way the Braves lineup is scuffling, pitcher Kyle Davies needed a nearly flawless performance Monday night to have much chance.
And he had one going until the seventh inning, when Corey Koskie broke a tie with a two-run homer that sent the Brewers to a 3-2 win in the series opener at Miller Park.
“I made one bad pitch,” Davies said, “and it left the ballpark.”
Davies had allowed only two hits and one run until the seventh, when Prince Fielder hit a leadoff single and Koskie blasted a 1-0 fastball to the right-field second deck. They were his first RBIs of the season in his 51st at-bat.
It was supposed to be a fastball away, but it came back over the middle.
“I think he thought Koskie was trying to bunt,” said Braves manager Bobby Cox, who based that on his belief that Davies was pitching too well to that point to leave a pitch over the middle of the plate.
But Davies said that wasn’t the case. He just made a bad pitch.
With how the Braves are hitting, one bad pitch can be too much to overcome.
The couldn’t put anything together against Brewers starter Chris Capuano, who allowed three hits and one run with six strikeouts in seven innings.
After he left, the Braves loaded the bases with none out in the eighth on a hit, walk and error. But the Braves squandered the opportunity, getting only one run when Matt Diaz grounded into a double play. Andruw Jones grounded out.
“It’s no secret that our pitching started a little slow,” said Marcus Giles, who had a triple in his return to the lineup after missing three games with a finger injury. “Now our offense has slowed up.”
The Braves had five hits Monday to drag their anemic average to .186 in their past eight games, with three runs or fewer in seven of those. This after they hit .289 in their first 11 games and scored four or more runs in each.
They hope the return of Chipper Jones from the disabled list today will spark a lineup that’s gone stagnant. “Yeah, get some power in there,” Cox said.
Even Andruw Jones has cooled to 1-for-11 with six strikeouts in three games.
The Braves are confident their center fielder won’t slump for long. The same can’t be said for right fielder Jeff Francoeur, whose alarming tailspin has continued nearly unabated since late August.
He was 0-for-4 Monday to reduce his average to .184 and his road average to .096, the worst in the major leagues.
After hitting .339 with 12 homers in his first 50 big league games, he’s hit .196 with five homers in his past 39 games.
The Braves scored first after Giles’ leadoff triple in the third inning. Wilson Betemit bounced out to Capuano before Diaz grounded to shortstop J.J. Hardy and Giles took off for home. He slid safely under the high throw.
The Brewers didn’t advance a runner past first until Geoff Jenkins’ leadoff walk in the fourth. Fielder singled to put runners on the corners with one out.
The Braves bungled a play to let in the tying run. Fielder isn’t as huge as his dad Cecil, the former Tigers slugger. But he’s close, listed at 260 pounds.
On a 3-2 pitch to Koskie, Fielder took off for second, his only chance of avoiding a double play if Koskie hit a grounder. Koskie struck out on the pitch and catcher Todd Pratt came up firing for a potential inning-ending double play.
He made a strong throw in plenty of time to nail Fielder, but shortstop Wilson Betemit misread the play and came up to catch the ball in front of the base.
Betemit still might have had an out at home, but bobbled the exchange and Jenkins scored easily, the first steal of home by a Brewer since Scott Podsednik in 2003.
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Liberty Media closing in
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While a deal has not been finalized, all indications are that Colorado-based Liberty Media Corp. is the leading contender to acquire the Braves from Time Warner.
What’s your take on this? Do you think Liberty Media is the type of ownership that will spend more on the ballclub; or is any deal based primarily on its tax benefits doomed to failure on the field?
Permalink | Comments (252) | Categories: Braves sale
‘Druw’s power suspicion-free
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Among the many astounding stats regarding Andruw Jones’ home-run explosion are these: He’s got 47 homers in 432 at-ats over his past 117 games, or one every 9.2 ABs. And in 41 road games since July 18, he’s hit 22 homers in 155 at-bats, or one every 7.05 at-bats.
Folks, that’s absolutely Bonds-ian power production. Or, given the plummeting fortunes and dark clouds hanging over the giant Giant, perhaps I should say, that’s absolutely McGwire-ish. Wait, given the andro controversy and implausible denial of the giant ex-Cardinal, perhaps I should say, that’s Sosa-like. No, wait…
Which brings me to my point, and it’s a sensitive one that I’m not going to get too commital over: Steroids and Andruw…. Yikes. I can hear the squirming of team officials and fans alike now, as they read that.
But I’m not here to make irresponsible accusations. No, no. I’m only addressing this because I’ve gotten some e-mails from fans and whispered questions from folks who have no idea and just want to know about Jones - specifically, do I think he’s been on the juice? And while I have no way of knowing, I also have no reason to suspect, in terms of what I see in the clubhouse and what I’ve seen in his physical development.
By that I mean, each of those aforementioned players got massive and ripped in the latter stages of their career, with low body fat and impossibly large muscles in their mid to late-30s. I saw each in the clubhouse, and it was rather frightening, the sheer, unnatural muscle mass.
Andruw is much larger than when he broke into the majors, but it’s overall size…. Hmmm… how to put this kindly? He’s not going to be on the cover of any fitness mags with that body.
He’s strong as a bull, but not ripped up like so many other sluggers or linebackers or bodybuilders. He’s a bit lumpy, not much different than the guy next door who lifts weights.
Again, he’s strong as a bull, because he works hard and he’s been blessed with speed and strength. I can’t think of another baseball athlete with the power and grace that he has in such an unimposing package.
He just doesn’t show any of the classic signs of steroid or HGH usage, from back acne to huge shoulders and the thin waist and V-shapped upper body I’ve seen on other players who are widely perceived as users.
Also, there are always whispers among players, scouts, writers, etc., about guys who are known users. And Andruw’s name never gets brought up in that discussion. Other players don’t suspect he’s a juicer. He was a fantastic player when he broke in the majors, and he still moves in the outfield as fluidly and effortlessly as ever. Again, not what you’d expect from a juicer. He doesn’t get the muscle and ligament tears that so many juicers get when they start to break down. He plays every day and doesn’t get dehydrated like some juicers and those who take massive amounts of legal creatine.
Some will ask, why even bring it up? Well, because I think it’s worth mentioning that Andruw and Derrek Lee are about the only guys who’ve hit a ton of homers recently who are never, ever mentioned under a steroid suspicion by other players, and players know this stuff, believe me. They all know who’s using, or have a very good idea.
Lastly, he has none of the mood swings or rage that some users show. Not that that’s a certain sign, but it’s just another red flag. He’s actually a kinder, gentler player than he was two years ago, more mature after getting married and having two kids. He’s become a go-to guy for quotes and a pleasant conversationalist, willing to discuss anything - yes, including steroid use.
He openly says that supplements, greenies and ‘roids have been around a long time and plenty of guys use them, and he’ll talk off the record about the subject at length. Never once have I sensed any kind of uneasiness or reluctance from him in those discussions, which one might expect if a guy was being hypocritical and talking about something he himself is doing.
I’m not going to say he does or doesn’t, because I don’t know and because that’s the kind of claim that could blow up in my face if I were to speculate on something I don’t know about. I’m just going to say, I think it’s pretty special what he’s doing, and even more so that he’s doing it, near as I can tell and from what I’ve heard, without the artificial aid that so many others have used or been suspected of using.
OK, discuss among yourselves. And please, don’t accuse me of stirring up something. I’m not.
Making room for Prado
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Someone’s going to have to be bumped off the 25-man roster to make room for infielder Martin Prado, and my guess is it’ll be a reliever, most likely Aussie Peter Moylan.
The Braves can afford to go with one less reliever this weekend because the bullpen is completely rested after consecutive complete games from Kyle Davies and TIm Hudson in wins Tuesday and Wedneday against the Mets, who were brought back to earth after jumping out to the fastest five-game lead in major league history.
The lead’s at three now, and the Braves have a weekend series against the struggling Nationals.
Since it sounds like Giles could be ready in a few days and Renteria is expected back by the end of the weekend, that’s why it only makes sense that a reliever would be the one moved to create a spot.
Some might suggest — or beg — that Jorge Sosa get the axe, but that’s not going to happen, or at least I’d be shocked if it did, because they need him to start Tuesday. Horacio Ramirez won’t be ready for another week or two, and Chuck James isn’t stretched out enough to go five or six innings if they wanted to move him to the rotation.
That, plus I don’t think Bobby is ready to give up on Sosa yet. They’re paying him a couple mill, and as awful as he’s been, it is still very early.
Moylan is the most likely candidate because he’s been a non-factor, pitching in just one game on April 12. He pitched a scoreless inning with one hit that day vs. Philly, but hasn’t been called upon since, which should tell you something about his position on the bullpen totem pole.
Prado is a good one, a strong kid with good hands, strong arm and quality bat. He’s already on the 40-man roster, unlike Yunel Escobar, the charismatic Cuban shortstop prospect. Also, Prado is hitting a lot more than Escobar at Double-A, and he’s got versatility, which he showed while playing some second and third base during spring training. He can play all the infield spots except first.
Braves could move a reliever, then recall one next week after Renteria and hopefully Giles are ready, when they won’t need to have both Prado and Tony Pena on the 25-man. For right now, though, they need another healthy infielder.
Sprained finger to keep Giles out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He doesn’t have a broken finger, but Marcus Giles does have a sprained ligament that will keep him out at least a few days.
That was the report from the second baseman’s MRI exam Thursday morning in Atlanta. Giles had feared there was a broken or chipped bone in his swollen left middle finger, which he injured while sliding at the end of a stolen base Tuesday night at Shea Stadium. He returned to Atlanta after the series finale Wednesday, while the Braves went on to Washington for an off day today before their weekend series with the Nationals.
Though Giles will probably avoid going on the DL, the Braves will recall infield prospect Martin Prado from Double-A Mississippi and get him to Washington in time for Friday’s game. They had to do it because they would be short-handed by two positions players otherwise, since Edgar Renteria isn’t expected to play before Saturday or Sunday at the earliest.
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Split-squad day at Shea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Welcome to lovely Shea Stadium, folks, where Tom Glavine and the Mets will be facing the Braves in a split-squad game this afternoon.
But seriously, take a look at this Bravos lineup, which has been further diminished by Marcus Giles’ finger injury sustained last night and to be evaluated after an MRI Thursday in Atlanta.
Oh, and before I forget, blog nation probably won’t be shocked to hear that Jorge “2005 Was A Very Good Year” Sosa is getting skipped in his next rotation turn, or rather pushed back. Kyle Davies will go on four days’ rest Sunday, while Sosa won’t pitch again until 25th on seven days’ rest.
Now, back to the lineup. Feast your eyes:
2B Pete Orr
SS Wilson Betemit
LF Matt Diaz
CF Andruw Jones
RF Jeff Francoeur
1B Brian Jordan
C Todd Pratt
SS Tony Pena
RHP Tim Hudson
Have fun, Huddy. And, uh, you might want to limit them to one or no runs.
Giles’ finger was sore and swollen today, and he’s headed back to Atlanta tonight for MRI tomorrow. Could be ligament or even a break, though X-rays at ballpark were negative. Initial X-rays don’t always catch everything, and ligament stuff usually needs MRI anyway.
That’s three-quarters of infield and the team’s 1-2-3 hitters down in a span of eight days.
LaRoche was scratched from lineup today because the Braves have placed him in bubblewrap in order to prevent the rare complete infield injury sweep.
But seriously, no, Bobby wanted to give Jordan some at-bats. LaRoche understood, but wished he’d do it against a pitcher other than Tom Glavine. LaRoche wants at-bats against lefties, and happens to be 3-for-4 with a homer off Glavine, whom he called a “comfortable at-bat.”
As for Giles’ status, the DL is a distinct possibility, but won’t know more until tomorrow. Yunel Escobar or Martin Prado most-likely callup options if Giles or Renteria goes on DL. Braves will decide on off day Thursday what they need to do.
Chipper Jones hit left-handed in cage today wearing bulky brace on sprained right knee and felt good. He’s going to be ready for second game in Milwauke, first day he’s eligible to come off DL.
Edgar Renteria is doing little better each day, no definite return date yet. Still a DL possibility, but Giles is more of one now, it appears.
Other than, the Braves are doing just fine…
Oh, and considering the lineup and the fact that Hudson’s ERA is more than six times higher than Glavine’s 1.50, it’ll probably go the exact opposite of what all logic says should happen today. We’ll see.
Mets also have a skeleton crew of sorts, because of injuries to Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran and Anderson Hernandez. But they’ve still got Jose Reyes leading off and four guys hitting well above .300 in the next four positions — Chris Woodward, Braves-kiiller Carlos Delgado, David Wright and Xavier Nady, who has a .396 average entering today and has three homers and five RBis in his past six games.
Concerning Braves-Mets…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First, a few numbers: 9-9, 8-8, 6-6, 6-6, 8-11, 9-9, 9-9, 9-8, 8-8.
Those are the Braves’ mid-April records in nine of the past 11 seasons, beginning in 1995 and not including this year’s current 6-8.
The only exceptions to their otherwise mediocre starts in that span were 13-3 in 1997 and 12-6 in 1999.
The common thread in every season, is, of course, this fact: The Braves won the division every time.
That’s why guys like Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones aren’t getting too stressed over this latest underwhelming beginning, and why I still believe the Braves can and (probably) will win the division.
But I have added a probably, and that’s because the Mets’ rotation looks a lot better than I thought, and the Braves’ a lot worse. After only two or three starts by most pitchers, it’s way too early to judge. But I’m just saying that Tom Glavine really does appear to have it turned around, and it’s only a matter of him staying healthy. If he does, he’ll win 15-18 games minimum with this lineup. And Pedro is Pedro, able to win without his best stuff, and still a charismatic leader that can really help a contender.
Before some scoff or fire off response about Glavine, consider this: Entering his start against the Braves on Wednesday, he is 11-6 with a 2.38 ERA in his past 21 starts, and 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his past six. And against the Braves, who absolutely pummeled him for the first nine starts he made against them after going to New York, Glavine went 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA in three starts after the break.
He was 1-8 with an 8.81 ERA in his first nine starts against the Braves, before acknowledging he needed to alter his plan against them and other teams that had him figured out. He’s throwing inside more now, using a cutter, and not just going changeup away like he did for so many successful years.
OK, here’s the other part of why I’m concerned about the Braves, other than their starters. Well, first something on them: I’m confident Smoltz will win 15-18, but beyond that… Hudson looks just good for the past two years, and not even that many nights. Only a few times in two seasons has he looked great. Thomson is the only guy I’ve heard of who didn’t scratch and claw to stay in a game when he was throwing a one-hitter through six innings. He gave Cox an ambivalent answer regarding whether he wanted to stay in, and that’s not good at all.
Sosa looks terrible. Out of shape and unable to do anything against lefty hitters. Davies looks like a kid trying to figure it out again, and the first-inning thing with him is troubling.
Now, the other matter. The leadoff problem. How much do the Braves miss Rafael Furcal? Well, consider this: Right now, Atlanta leadoff hitters (Giles in all but the past two games, Orr in those) have a league-worst .182 with a .318 OBP, one RBI, and one stolen base.
Last year with Furcal, Braves leadoff men hit .295, with 68 RBIs, 46 SBs and a .356 OBP. Orr is 1-for-10 with five strikeouts as a leadoff man, and Marcus Giles’ career average as a leadoff guy is down to .254 (he’s hit second past couple of games while Edgar Renteria is hurt).
There’s other concerns, but things I think the Braves will get ironed out. The starters and the leadoff problems, coupled with the simple fact that the Mets look as good as any team that’s challenged the Braves’ run, are the reasons I see this as a bit different than other times the Braves have faced challenges within the division.
Underdogs? That’d be us
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sitting here eating a chicken parm sandwich in my hotel room, listening to “Essential Dean Martin” and getting ready to catch the infamous No. 7 train at Grand Central Station for the lovely ride to Shea and the start of the most eagerly anticipated Braves April series since … well, I don’t know, probably since last April.
But anyway, it’s pretty big. It would be real big, if Smoltz was facing Pedro (or Smoltz was facing anybody in the series), and if Chipper and Renteria weren’t hurt and out of the lineup. But it’s still pretty big. Sort of. If for not other reason than the Braves can see what they’re up against down the line, provided the Braves can stay in the race long enough to get their own ship righted and healthy, which I’ll assume they will do (get healthy and stay in it, that is).
The Metropolitans and their long-suffering faithful are geeked up, and so are the tabloids. Back page screaming banner headline today isn’t about the Yanks, but the Mets: “Bring ‘Em On!”
The “em” would be the Braves, of course.
But if their fans believe now’s the time to finally end the Braves’ divisional dominance, well, the Mets’ players and manager know that talking the talk is one thing, but walking the walk….
“I always feel good going into each series, no matter who it is,” Mets manager Willie Randolph told reporters after his team improved to 9-2 with a rout of the Brewers on Sunday. “But feeling good playing the Braves doesn’t mean a whole lot. You want to win the series. You can feel good going in, and not feel too good going out.”
But frankly, folks, the Braves simply must be considered heavy underdogs against the Mets, at least in this week’s series with the Mets at full strength and surging, and the Braves’ lineup without two key components and the bullpen perhaps showing signs of the heavy early workload.
Meanwhile, their first two starters for the Braves in the series are Jorge Sosa and Kyle Davies, who’ve been shaky to say the least, and Tim Hudson (9.20 ERA) will go against the rejuvenated Tom Glavine in the finale. Whew. If the Bravos can win this series somehow, it’d be huge for their confidence and, more importantly, would remind the Mets and their faithful that it doesn’t really matter what kind of shape the teams are in, the Braves seem to always have the upper hand, or at least most of the time.
Here’s one to keep any eye on right away: Sosa tonight, coming off two bad outings in his first two starts, will face nemesis Carlos Delgado, who kills the Braves in general, but no one worse than Sosa, both before and since he joined the Braves. Delgado is an absurd 12-for-25 with six homers off Sosa. SIX HOMERS!
That’s not amore.
Starters can’t get worse (right?)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves’ starting pitching has to get better. It can’t get much worse. Can it?
Pitchers have been getting hammered all over baseball, but the situation with the Braves is the most dramatic because of the mound success the team has had during its run of division titles.
With San Diego coming to Turner Field for a weekend series, it should be time for the Braves’ pitchers to get well.
If they don’t, it could really get scary. On Monday, the Braves open a three-game series with the streaking Mets in New York.
Everyone will be watching Tim Hudson in the series opener against the Padres. His first two starts have been awful. Is there something wrong physically with the right-hander?
John Smoltz will pitch Saturday and John Thomson on Sunday. Both had encouraging outings in their previous starts.
Of course, the encouraging news out of Thursday night’s loss to Philadelphia was the hitting of Jeff Francoeur, who broke out of his slump in a big way.
The Braves can’t keep wasting all these runs. It is past time for the pitchers to step up, beginning with Hudson.
No more big innings, please.
Maddog, Glav — can we talk?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Where have you gone, Greg Maddux (and Tom Glavine)? Braves Nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
OK, so many around Braves Nation wouldn’t want Glav back even if he wins 15-18 games this season, which seems possible given his performance this spring and the lineup that will give him far more support than he got last year. Never ceases to amaze me how a comment made here or there can become forever ingrained in the minds of some, forever shaping their view of a person. Glavine’s a good guy, but hey, I understand he’s said some things that really rubbed people the wrong way, particularly his unbending pro-union stance on so many issues.
Maddux, who’ll be 40 next week, is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA after allowing one run in six innings yesterday against homer-happy Cincinnati with the wind blowing out at Wrigley. The man never ceases to amaze. He looked close to finished when he left here, honestly. But here he is, on his way to yet another 15-18 wins, doing it with pure pitching prowess the likes of which we have not seen in the past couple of decades from anyone else.
How much do you think Bobby Cox would like to have Maddux and/or Glavine to turn to right now, to get at least 6-7 quality innings and give the bullpen a much-needed break? Someone besides Smoltz, who did it his last time out. No other Braves starter has gone more than five innings. That’s amazing. And ridiculous.
(Just one more aside, before moving on: If either Maddux or Glavine is healthy and affordable next season, it wouldn’t shock me to see one of them back in Atlanta again, since they’d both love to be here if given a comparable offer to other teams. But I know, this isn’t the time to start talking about Maddux and Glavine. Let’s get back to the mess at hand.)
What was I saying? Oh yeah, the starters. No quality starts, an 0-4 record and a league-worst 8.24 ERA in nine games.
And please don’t give me the Leo-is-gone story. This team finished sixth in overall ERA last season and 12th in bullpen ERA. The bullpen has actually improved this season, while the same group of starters has simply not performed, be it because of the cold weather in California, sickness or whatever. Sosa just hasn’t been able to wiggle out of jams like he did last year — he’s allowed a .545 average (6-for-11) with runners in scoring position, after allowing just a .194 average (24-for-124) in 2005. ‘Nuff said.
If Sosa’s already forgotten what Leo told him, well, I don’t know what that says for Sosa. And Smoltz, Hudson and Ramirez would tell you that Leo’s absence has absolutely nothing to do with their early struggles. Nothing.
Hudson is alarming, since his slide began in 2004, his last year with Oakland. He no longer looks like the guy who was the winningest pitcher in the AL over five seasons.
After going 2-0 with an 0.94 ERA in his first four starts for the Braves in 2005, he’s gone 12-10 with a 4.34 ERA in his past 27 starts, with only 99 strikeouts and 63 walks in 172 innings. His third start is against San Diego on Friday, and the Braves have to hope he’ll go beyond four innings for the first time this season. Their bullpen can’t take too much more of this workload.
Chuck James, asked to go two innings in each of his first three appearances, did so without giving up a run. He was asked to go three last night and gave up two homers and three runs in the third inning of that stint, the first runs the undersized lefty has allowed. 8-2/3 innings in four appearances is an awful lot of work for a reliever when we’re not 10 days into the season.
The Braves lead the league in runs (63), and their .295 average includes a league-high .360 with runners in scoring position. But the offensive work of Andruw, McCann, Renteria, Langerhans, Betemit and others is being undermined by the big early deficits the Braves have faced and their inability to hold an early lead when they get one.
Maddog and Glav, can we talk?
Bullpen upstarts impressive
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Day 2 of the home schedule, wherein we resume to solve the problems of the Braves, with the world’s woes next on our agenda.
Has anyone else noticed Jeff Francoeur is off to a bit of a slow start? We kid … but seriously, a lot of folks aren’t entirely shocked by this development, considering how the young and undeniably talented Frenchy finished his mostly resounding rookie campaign.
As pointed out here many times, his .300-14-45 production in 70 games as a rook overshadowed the fact that it was split almost evenly between a stellar first six weeks and fairly alarming slide in the last six.
That slump has continued right into the new season, and here are the latest numbers, hot off the calculator (Frenchy-philes, you may want to cover your eyes):
In 45 games since Aug. 21, Francoeur has hit .193 with four homers, 17 RBIs, a .247 OBP, .560 OPS and 42 strikeouts in 166 at-bats, with five errors.
This after hitting .379-10-30 with a .394 OBP, 1.128 OPS and 23 K in 124 ABs, with one error, in his first 33 games in the majors.
That’s no mere bump in the road, folks, that’s a big ol’ trend, and it’ll be interesting to see when and how Francoeur gets it turned around.
Sending him to the minors isn’t the answer, at least not yet, in my opinion. But he needs a few days off, a few days to work in the cage, talk to Terry Pendleton, talk to Chipper on the bench, whatever. Just to cool his jets and relax, if that’s possible for the hyper-energetic kid that everyone loves and most everyone is pulling for, I’d imagine (unless they have something against nice, pleasant local kids).
By season’s end, I’d suggest his numbers will be in the .265-.275 range with 20-25 homers and 70-80 RBIs. A bit below my earlier projections, but still quite decent for a 22-year-old who came into the year with only a half-season above the Double-A level.
Couple other pertinent matters: How awesome have the last two episodes of “The Sopranos” been? I mean, I was losing faith during those first three episodes of the new season, which I thought were the worst back-to-back-to-back during the show’s long run. But these last two weeks have completely restored my faith in the best show on television (slightly ahead of “The Shield” and a cut or two above “24”).
The old Tony appears to be back, judging from the beatdown he gave the bodybuilder. Good stuff. Reason enough to pay for HBO.
Listening to some Ryan Adams, some Willie Nelson & Ray Price, and some Arctic Monkeys (silly name, very good band) as I prepare for my first evening at Turner Field, after getting Monday night off (mercifully) following the long trek back from San Francisco. Last week feels like a distant memory now, what with this great weather in Atlanta and all.
Anybody have any reports on the improvements they made at Turner Field? Were they even noticeable? Was the parking as nightmarish as a couple people told me? Hey, opening day is like that. I’d suggest you folks get their early tonight, too, because the turnout’s probably going to be decent for the 40th anniversary and all.
Back to our regularly scheduled blog for a moment: It’s not been mentioned enough how well a few members of the ‘pen have performed. Lance Cormier and especially Chuck James and Kenny “Death” Ray have been oustanding in the early going.
James (.059) and Ray (.077) rank among the NL relief leaderes in opponents’ batting average, and Oscar Villarreal (3-0) was only major leagur with more than one win before today, albeit two of those wins coming in blown-saves by Oscar himself. He’s still pitched quite well.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Aussie, Peter Moylan, can do in his first-ever major league stint. If he sticks, Braves will have two highly improbable stories in their bullpen with him and Death Ray.
Oh, and the Braves had more relief wins (four) and more blown saves (four) than any other NL team before today.
Patience, Frenchy, patience
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No game tonight, as the strangest schedule in recent memory continues its course. Seven games in seven days on West Coast, home opener next day without a day for travel, then a day off after the opener of a three-game series. Hey, works for me.
Now, a couple of quick hits on matters Braves Nation is mulling:
Do you folks realize Braves relievers already have an NL-high four blown saves (in seven opps)? Villarreal is 0-for-2 in saves, but has a 3-0 record. Go figure. By the way, the Braves had the third-most blown saves in NL last season, when they converted only 38 of 62….
Frenchy to Richmond? No. Ain’t gonna happen. Bobby Cox kept Kelly Johnson in the lineup after a 1-for-30 start, and that was at the START OF HIS CAREER.
Francoeur’s batting .061 in eight games, but he’s got a bit of a body of work, albeit only a half season.
Cox isn’t going to demote him just because he fears what a slump might do to his psyche, etc. Fans who know Cox should know that. He’s the king of patience (Cox, not Frenchy. Frenchy is not the king of patience; he’s the king of swinging at first pitches).
Francoeur is ultra confident and knows he’s going to be a very good player for a long time. He also knows he needs to be more patient. But folks, he had a hit robbed last night and another in San Francisco. (I don’t remember the others that Cox cited, but I do know those two. Point is, it hasn’t been quite as dreadful as the stats - and 2-for-33 is, no question, pretty dreadful.)
When he starts struggling in the field, we’ll know something’s wrong. Oh, wait. Uh, when he stops being upbeat and energetic, we’ll know something’s wrong? Yeah, that’s it.
Anyway, his error and bad throw notwithstanding, he doesn’t need to go to Richmond - or Pearl, Miss. - or anywhere else. Maybe to the bench for a games, however. I see nothing wrong and plenty right about having him take a game or two - or three - off and work with T.P. in the cage, talk to Chipper on the bench about patience. There’s no more patient hitter than Chipper, and he’s conveniently situated on the bench for a while. So use him.
Francoeur has swung at first pitches 60 percent of the time (21 of 35), while no one else in the majors was as high as 55 percent before today.
Francoeur’s .146 OPS is lowest among NL qualifiers, as is his .061 average, his .061 slugging percentage and his .086 on-base percentage. But other than that…
Hey, the kid can rebound and hit .260-.275 with 20-25 homers and 90 RBIs. Maybe. Point is, he’s going to be good. But he needs to get more patient, really does, and stop giving pitchers every advantage….
Against right-handers, Francoeur is 1-for-26, while the ever-improving Ryan Langerhans is 10-for-20 with two doubles, two homers, seven RBIs against righties….
Tim Hudson’s start is alarming, giving that his last two seasons have not met previous career standards, either. His strikeouts have been in decline and walks and hits on rise, and the trend continues so far this season. His .359 OPP average is fifth-highest in NL.
In 30 starts since last April 29, Hudson is 13-10 with 3.92 ERA and .262 opponents’ batting average, with 116 K/67 W in 195 innings. Yikes….
Adam LaRoche is 2-for-5 against lefties with two doubles, two strikeouts and one walk; Brian Jordan is 0-for-4 with two walks against lefties….
LaRoche leads the league with 12 strikeouts, but on other hand, he’s also 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and two walks in late-and-close situations. Gotta look at the good and bad with him.
Not too early to worry
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fans who thought that the Braves should have never let pitching coach Leo Mazzone get away are looking pretty smart right now. But don’t blame all the staff’s ills on Roger McDowell just yet.
McDowell needs a grace period and so do the pitchers.
The weather was awful in California and big scores were the norm in the majors everywhere during the first week of the season. Now that the Braves are back home for a week, we can give the pitchers a more true evaluation.
That said, those in worry mode have a right to be. The bullpen remains unstable, Tim Hudson may not be a true ace anymore and the injury to Horacio Ramirez leaves the rotation without a lefty.
John Thomson, who lost his starting spot in spring training, is now back in and will start the home opener Monday night against Philadelphia. A seven-inning effort is what the Braves need, but that may be asking an awful lot.
Meanwhile, Chipper Jones won’t be in the lineup and Marcus Giles is questionable.
The Braves’ 3-4 record in Los Angeles and San Francisco was bad enough, but all the injuries are even more troubling.
About the only good thing to say is that the Braves are finally back in Atlanta, where the weather should be much better. Who said that California was sunny?
Early ERAs misleading
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was 17 years ago today when Atlanta’s Rick Mahler pitched his third opening-day shutout, tying an NL record.
Just thought I’d bring that up, since Atlanta starters are 0-2 with a majors-worst 13.19 ERA and .448 opponents’ batting average after four games. The four of them have worked a total of 14-1/3 innings, with only John Smoltz (five innings) recording as many as 13 outs.
Now, I’m fairly certain it’s going to get better. A lot better.
But still … man, has this been the worst demonstration of starting pitching you’ve seen in some time, at least from a non-expansion or payroll-purged team?
Leo Mazzone might be smiling, considering the way that his contributions seemed to be minimized by so many Braves who were asked about the ex-Braves pitching coach’s departure to Baltimore in December.
However, folks would be wrong to point a finger at Roger McDowell. Really, this has nothing to do with the new pitching coach, in my opinion and that of so many others in the clubhouse.
Look at the bullpen — they’re pitching well. Take out the four hits Blaine Boyer allowed before he was sent to Richmond and the rest of the ‘pen has held hitters to a .174 average (12-for-69). Even with Boyer’s numbers included (and they must be), the bullpen ranks fifth in the NL in opp. average (.213) and sixth in ERA (3.20).
And you can’t tell me that Leo’s departure has anything to do with first-game struggles of starters John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Horacio Ramirez, who were three of the most adamant when it came to expressing their opinion that Leo’s departure wouldn’t be a big deal and that the starters policed themselves and Roger would be great, etc.
Smoltz said his problem in his first start was was grip in the cold rain, Hudson just came apart in the fifth inning, and Ramirez had a horrible first inning, not unlike so many big innings he gave up last season.
I do think Jorge Sosa could be the one guy really adversely affected by Leo’s departure, since he’s also the one guy who’s come out and credited Leo for turning around his career last season. Mazzone got him to throw more breaking balls to lefty hitters and to simplify his approach otherwise, things like that. Of course, it probably hasn’t helped Sosa that he packed on about 20 pounds since last season and has a belly, but…
Anyway, give the boys another go through the rotation before making any judgments. I’m confident they’ll be fine, at least the Braves hope so. Kyle Davies makes his first start tonight. Who’d have thought, three or four weeks ago, that Kyle Davies would need to be the “stopper” in the rotation? Then again, three or four weeks ago it was still unclear how the Braves would get him in the rotation, back when they were dangling John Thomson for trade and trying to clear a spot for Davies. Now, Ramirez is hurt, Thomson’s back in the rotation, and so is Kyle.
Baseball’s crazy like that. Everything can change so quickly. But a pitching-rich team doesn’t all of a sudden become a bottom-dweller in the ERA rankings, though. And this team won’t, I think it’s safe to say (the Braves hope and pray it’s safe to say).
Well, there’s Reitsma…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves thought Blaine Boyer was ready, but he wasn’t. At least not ready for this. The Braves need relievers who can pitch back-to-back days, and they don’t want Boyer doing that yet after missing most of the spring with a sore shoulder.
Boyer was optioned to Triple-A Richmond on Thursday, after making two relief appearances in the three-game Dodgers Series, neither of them impressive.
Also, Horacio Ramirez, as expected, was placed on the 15-day DL with a pulled hamstring after he was hurt in Wednesday’s win.
To fill their spots, the Braves recalled Joey Devine from Richmond and purchased the contract of 31-year-old Ken Ray from Richmond. Ray is the journeyman from Atlanta and Roswell High who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 1999 when he had a cup of joe with the Royals. The Braves will be the 16th team he’s pitched for during a well-traveled career through minor leagues and independent leagues.
The Braves used 13 relievers in three games at L.A., and closer Chris Reitsma was the only one who was exceptional. Oscar Villarreal also did some quality work, but for the most part, the rest of the bullpen struggled just like starters Tim Hudson, John Smoltz and Ramirez (the starters had a National League-worst 11.25 ERA after allowing 23 hits and 15 earned runs in 12 innings at Dodger Stadium).
Some were surprised when Devine was left off the opening day roster, but the Braves thought Boyer was ready and liked what he could do in a setup role. Remember, while Devine had 20 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings this spring, he also allowed 13 hits and four walks, and not against the greatest hitters most of the time when he was in games.
As for Boyer, the Braves obviously thought he’d do better than this: He was charged with three runs and four hits while recording just one out in Monday’s opener, and faced two batters with one walk Wednesday.
The bullpen is worn thin already, and manager Bobby Cox said the Braves needed to get some arms here that could be used in consecutive games without fear of injury.
Meanwhile, John Thomson moves into the rotation spot vacated by Horacio, who pulled his left hamstring pretty badly running out a bunt in the fourth inning Wednesday. He’s going to be out longer than 15 days, most who saw him this morning believe. He heard the muscle pop, never a good thing. That means it’s more than just a mere strain.
Thomson didn’t sound at all confident about his ability to crank out innings, which I was kind of surprised by. Asked this morning if he’d be ready to go 5 innings Monday in the home opener, he hemmed and hawed and said after two weeks out of the rotation he’s out of sorts, etc. Not what you expect to hear from a pitcher, most of whom will always put up a positive front even if they have doubts.
Oh well, and so it goes. Braves won two of three at L.A., and the lineup looks potentially better than last year. If they get Chipper and Francoeur going, it could be formidable top to bottom, especially with Renteria, McCann, Andruw and Langerhans looking as good as they have.
But that pitching staff … well, it must get better, let’s put it that way. The bullpen has a lot of holes, hence the decision to turn to a 31-year-old like “Sting” Ray, who looked good enough this spring in his five appearances with the Braves (one earned run in six innings) to open their eyes. They don’t have many other options, frankly, and they want to keep Lerew starting instead of relieving in the minors, at least for now.
So here’s to the Death Ray, No. 38 on your program. May he provide some needed relief, so the Braves don’t have to turn to Reitsma every time they run into trouble in the eighth inning.
Seriously, Reitsma looks so good right now, and you just hope Bobby doesn’t feel like he can’t turn to anyone else and ends up overusing Reitsma before the All-Star break. They can’t afford another second-half fade, not unless they go out and get another horse between now and then.
Good news, bad news
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The good news: Adam LaRoche is tied for the NL lead in homers (two) and RBIs (five), and Braves hitters are 8-for-14 with runners in scoring position, including 3-for-5 by Andruw Jones, who would have run away with the MVP award last season if he’d hit closer to .300 with RISP instead of the .207 he finished with.
The bad news: Braves pitchers have given up 27 hits and 15 runs in the first two games of the season, and aces Tim Hudson and John Smoltz have struggled even more than the bullpen has.
The good news: It’s not raining, for now, as of 12:35 p.m. in L.A.
The bad news: Even if the Braves get tonight’s game in, on time, yours truly will get approximately 90 minutes of sleep from the time I return to my hotel, and the 3 a.m. wakeup call I’m going to need in order to get to LAX for my 6 a.m. flight to San Francisco. Leaving so early because the damn game in San Francisco is at 1 p.m. because it’s the Giants’ home opener, and can’t risk a flight delay or anything else.
The Braves are going to be a bit tired, too, but at least they get to take a charter flight that’ll be waiting for their arrival tonight after they bus from Dodger Stadium to the airport.
OK, couple other things: Not clear yet if Barry’s going to play for Giants in series opener. Because they were rained out last night (Tues.) at San Diego, and the original plan was for Bonds to play Tuesday, rest his creaky body Wednesday and play Thursday. Just for those who care and were preparing to throw tomatoes at your TV screen or whatever.
Is anyone getting concerned for Frenchy (Francoeur)? I’ll write this and then he’ll go 3-for-5 with a homer tonight, just watch. But man, his torrid Grapefruit League start has been followed by quite a slump, sort of how his unbelievable first six weeks in majors last season were followed by significant dropoff in the last six weeks.
He went 9-for-13 with three homers in his first five Grapefruit League games after returning from WBC, then went 1-for-16 the rest of the spring. Now he’s 0-for-8 with no walks and two strikeouts to start the season. That makes him 1-for-24 with no homers, four strikeouts and one walk since his five-game initial Grapefruit League burst.
The good news (since I’m Mr. Positive, always looking for the ray of sunshine): Francoeur is 3-for-3 with a homer off Noah Lowry, San Francisco’s scheduled starter for Thursday’s series opener.
In case you didn’t see my follow this morning on other blog, regarding last night’s loss and Smoltz’s performance (five runs allowed in five innings, including four in the first inning), here it is again:
Smoltz’ big thing — reason or excuse for the problems — was his grip. He said the cold and rain didn’t allow him to throw his slider and other “feel” pitches. He threw a flat one to J.D. that he hit for the homer, and after that Smoltz said he was reluctant to throw the slider, which is one of his best pitches.
Hey, I’m just reporting what the man said, folks. It was terrible weather. Of course, Smoltz also acknowledged the obvious — Brad Penny had to pitch in same conditions, and he managed to make enough good pitches to get out of jams and record eight strikeouts with one run allowed in five innings.
I didn’t agree with the Braves that the umpire’s no-call on the ball that everyone swore hit the Dodgers’ runner (James Loney) in the foot in the first inning had a huge effect on the outcome. In hindsight, it was convenient explanation, but that’s one of those things that must be overcome.
You can’t look at everything that happens after an incident like that and go, “It wouldn’t have happened if not for that.” I never liked that kind of logic.
Braves made a nice comeback attempt, but fell short. Hole was too deep. Jordan whiffed to end the big three-run eighth inning, and that was that.
Rocky first too familiar to Smoltz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Los Angeles —In the first inning Tuesday, John Smoltz pitched like it was opening day. By the time he snapped out of it, the damage was done.
Smoltz allowed four runs in the first inning, including a J.D. Drew home run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers held on for a 5-4 victory against the Braves on a cold, rainy night at Dodger Stadium.
The Braves scored three runs with two outs in the eighth on doubles by Matt Diaz and Andruw Jones and Adam LaRoche’s second home run in as many games, a two-run shot that cut the lead to 5-4.
But Brian Jordan struck out to end the inning and the Braves’ final scoring threat.
One day shy of the anniversary of his opening day debacle last season at Florida, Smoltz struggled inexplicably again in the first inning of his regular season debut — and, like last season, after having an outstanding spring.
He was charged with five runs and nine hits in five innings Tuesday, including four hits and two walks in a 28-pitch first inning.
It was the second game of the season for the teams, after the Braves won Monday’s opener 11-10 despite a shaky start from Tim Hudson.
They will play the rubber game Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, then the Braves will fly to San Francisco for a four-game series that begins Thursday afternoon with the Giants’ home opener.
Smoltz allowed only one homer and three walks in 23 innings during spring training, when he was 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in five starts.
A year ago, after a similarly dominant spring, he surrendered seven runs (six earned) in 1 2/3 innings of a 9-0 opening loss to the Marlins, including five runs and a Juan Encarnacion grand slam in the first inning.
That dropped him to 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in three opening day starts. Smoltz joked this spring that he didn’t care about starting another opener, he just wanted to finally win his first start.
Instead, he’ll try to recover like he did after last year’s opening loss.
He had a 2.84 ERA in 32 starts after opening day last season, and allowed more than four runs just one other time — five in a loss against St. Louis on Aug. 5.
He gave up his fifth run Tuesday in the third inning on a Bill Mueller sacrifice fly that made the lead 5-1.
In the first inning, Smoltz retired former Brave Rafael Furcal on a groundout, but the next six batters reached base. After No. 2 hitter Jose Cruz Jr. walked, Drew homered on a 2-1 slider that Smoltz left flat and up in the strike zone.
Drew had a .198 average and no homers in 34 games against the Braves before Tuesday. The Georgia native played for Atlanta in 2003 and has 143 career home runs, including multiple homers against every other National League team.
Smoltz also walked rookie James Loney in the first inning on five pitches in his first major league plate appearance. Loney singled off Smoltz in the third.
The Braves stranded two runners in each of the first two innings against Dodgers starter Brad Penny — who threw 28 pitches in the opening inning, same as Smoltz, but got out of it without giving up a run.
After one-out singles by Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones in the first inning, Penny struck out Andruw Jones and LaRoche.
Brian McCann homered with one out in the second, but the Braves left runners at second and third when Renteria flied out.
The Braves’ only hit over the next three innings was Jeff Francoeur’s leadoff single in the fourth. He was stranded at second when Penny struck out Ryan Langerhans and Smoltz to end the inning.
After manager Bobby Cox used six relievers in the last five innings of the opener, the Braves needed more than a few innings from Smoltz. He gave them five, despite the raw conditions and 25-minute rain delay in the second inning.
Smoltz was struck on the right shin by a Jeff Kent single to start the fifth inning, but he stayed in and induced a double-play grounder and groundout.
Permalink | | Categories: Game Night
Braves Report: Hottest hitters carry it over
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Los Angeles — Andruw Jones, Adam LaRoche and Ryan Langerhans were the Braves’ hottest hitters when the 2005 postseason ended, and that trio combined for three homers and eight RBIs in Monday’s 11-10 opening win against the Dodgers.
Jones led the majors with 51 home runs in 2005 and hit another homer in the division series. It will be difficult to match that breakout performance, but he started with a three-run homer and RBI single Monday.
With two runners on base in the fifth inning, Dodgers starter Derek Lowe tried to fool Jones with a sinker inside. He crushed it for an 8-1 lead.
“You have to give [Jones] all the credit on that one,”veteran Dodgers catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. said. “That was a good piece of hitting by a great hitter.”
Jones’ two hits and four RBIs Monday made him 8-for-23 (.348) with six homers and 11 RBIs in his past six games against Los Angeles, including four homers and eight RBIs in his past three at Dodger Stadium.
“The dude’s on a level of his own now,” LaRoche said of Jones. “It’s got to feel totally different as a pitcher, pitching to him compared to the other guys. Even Chipper [Jones] — Chipper will hurt you and take you deep, but Andruw, you can’t make a mistake against. If you do, it’s gone.”
LaRoche, after a career-worst 20-game slump through Sept. 14, hit .416 with six homers and 16 RBIs in his final 19 games in the regular season and playoffs. That included a grand slam in an 18-inning Game 4 division series loss.
Monday, the first baseman hit a three-run homer in the first inning. Tuesday, his two-run homer in the eighth cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-4.
“It’s good, because I’ve been such a slow starter my first two years,” said LaRoche, who hit .206 with two homers last April, .214 with one homer in April 2004.
After struggling most of the spring, he asked to play in a minor league game the last weekend of spring training. He got nine at-bats in the game, hitting once every inning and swinging at very few pitches.
He did it to track pitches and get more comfortable before the opener.
“I just wanted to start out more consistent this year, so I’m not having to fight back after such a slow start,” LaRoche said.
Last season as a rookie, Langerhans hit .321 with a .412 on-base percentage in 34 regular-season games after Aug. 21, and was 4-for-12 with three walks in the division series. His eighth-inning home run Monday wound up as the game winner.
“When I hit it, that was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Langerhans, whose solo homer pushed the lead to 11-5. “It ended up being a pretty big hit.”
Just rusty, Boyer vows
Dodgers hitters knocked him around in the eighth inning Monday, but Boyer seemed confident he’d be back up to speed soon.
He missed most of spring training with a sore shoulder and made the opening day roster after pitching only 2 1/3 innings in three Grapefruit League games.
Boyer said there was rustiness when he gave up four hits in five batters in the opener. He was charged with three runs for an 81.00 ERA after one game.
“I noticed it when I reached back for my fastball,” said Boyer, who wasn’t able to generate extra velocity.
He also lacked control and got behind hitters.
“I’ll be back soon,” said Boyer, who added that his shoulder felt fine in the game and on Tuesday. “It’s stuff that can be fixed.”
Homecoming for Ramirez
Los Angeles native Horacio Ramirez rounded up about 50 tickets for family and friends to see him pitch tonight against the Dodgers.
“Just about everybody here [on the Braves team] is from the South, not many from the West Coast,” said Ramirez, who purchased tickets from the allotment that went unused by teammates.
He’d prefer his friends don’t witness the type of history that was made during his last visit.
Ramirez allowed two runs in seven strong innings on May 13 at Dodger Stadium, his first start against the team he grew up cheering. His work was overshadowed by what happened after he left.
LaRoche hit a grand slam in the eighth, but Milton Bradley countered with a slam off Reitsma in the bottom of the inning for a 7-4 Dodgers win.
It was the fourth time in 30 years opposing teams hit grand slams in the same inning.
Permalink | | Categories: Game Night
It’s pouring here, folks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sitting in my downtown hotel room on the most dreary day I can remember in L.A., staring out at traffic creeping through the rain on the I-10 freeway.
As of 12:30 p.m. local time (3:30 in Atlanta), no word on whether they’re going to try to play, but I can’t see how they possibly can. It’s been raining steadily since 6:30 a.m. and no sign of it stopping, from what I can discern on the weather channel.
If they cancel this game, they’ll schedule a doubleheader tomorrow, which isn’t good for the Braves because they already had a rough turnaround for day game in San Francisco on Thursday, the Giants’ home opener. But hey, what are you gonna do? Gotta get ‘em in.
With Smoltz scheduled to pitch tonight, a rainout would move him back a day to tomorrow, then give him short rest before his next scheduled start — final game of road trip Sunday at San Francisco. I don’t think the Braves would have him do that, given that he’s already said he’d take an extra day of rest or even skip a start when necessary this season, part of that whole new approach of his. Working on short rest in the second start of the season would fly in the face of all that.
Among the options would be to have John Thomson make a start Sunday and have Smoltz come back to start the home opener Monday at Turner Field. Thomson is stretched out enough from starting all spring until his elbow problem in the last week. He could at least give them 4-5 innings. Just a thought, but Bobby hasn’t discussed the options with us yet, if it comes to that. Chuck James would seem a less likely option, given that he didn’t work as a starter the last couple weeks of spring.
Couple thoughts from Braves’ 11-10 opening day win Monday: Bobby used six relievers, so a cancellation today would help at least in that regard. The most effective reliever of the bunch was Oscar Villarreal, who gave up only a hit in 1-1/3 innings. Appropriate that he got the win, rather than starter Tim Hudson, who only lasted four-plus innings and couldn’t protect an 8-1 lead. Mike Remlinger was also fairly effectively, giving up one hit and recording two outs. The rest? There’s work to be done.
Braves can only hope Boyer is still shaking off rust, because this outing — five batters, four hits, three runs — was even worse than the one he had in his second Grapefruit League game after returning from shoulder soreness a little over a week ago. But starting out with an 81.00 ERA — that’s rough.
Reitsma has to just be thankful to come away with a save, given his struggles against Dodgers in recent years. In his past six appearances against them, including yesterday’s 1-1/3 innings with two runs and two hits, Reitsma has posted a 24.75 ERA and .500 opponents’ average, which includes 12 hits, 11 runs and three homers allowed in four innings, with only one strikeout — the very big one that he got yesterday to bail out Boyer with two on in the eighth.
Too early to start making judgments, of course. Reitsma pitched very well this spring and wants the closer job badly, so he’s going to get a fair shake from Bobby and not be jerked out of the role after a bad appearance or two.
The best news for the Braves, besides the win itself, was the fact that Andruw, Langerhans and LaRoche all began the new season the way they ended the regular season and playoffs last year _ hitting very well. All homered on opening day, and LaRoche also made a couple of very nice defensive plays, including a leap to catch Chipper’s throw to first to end the game, a play that perhaps saved the game for the Braves.
OK, as I’m filing this, it looks like the rain has at least slacked off a little bit. Still thick, ominous gray clouds hanging over the city, the tops of the downtown buildings not visible and no hint of sunshine. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything. If they’re going to bang this game, hopefully they do it before everybody has to drive over to Dodger Stadium, though I doubt we’ll be so fortunate.
Braves play late in L.A.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Game Night
Rain lets up; let’s play
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, this isn’t good. About 40 minutes until the first pitch of the new season, and the field covered with tarp, there’s a steady drizzle — and Hootie and the Blowfish are playing on a stage set up in center field.
No part of that is good.
Here at Dodger Stadium, I’ve never seen a rain delay in 12 years covering ‘ball. But that streak is almost certainly going to be blown in a big way today and/or tomorrow. We might — might — get this one in today, but it’s supposed to rain in biblical proportions tomorrow (at least by Southern California standards).
Hey, but what are you gonna do? Eat another Dodger dog and wait.
Game’s supposed to start around 4:10, no announcement yet whether it will happen, but it’s only light rain now so they might be able to.
They’re going to do everything possible to get this game in, since there’s no off day this week and no return trip to L.A. for the Braves. We could end up playing a doubleheader Wednesday, then flying to San Francisco for Giants’ home opener Thursday at 1 p.m. The Braves have four at San Francisco with no day off before their home opener Monday at Turner Field.
MLB usually builds an off day into the first series in case of rain, but probably assumed they’d be safe doing without the off day in L.A. And why not _ there’s only been 17 rainouts in 43 years at Dodger Stadium.
It’s about 60 degrees, too. And going to be in 50s tomorrow night when Smoltz pitches in the rain, if they have the game.
Speaking of injuries — Nomar almost made it to opening day without getting hurt. Almost.
The man the Dodgers are spending more than $6 mill on this season already has an intercostal muscle injury. Hasn’t been decided if he’ll need to go on DL, but he’s not playing today.
What a way to start that Dodger career, huh? Intercostal strains (muscle near ribcage) can be nagging things that last weeks and weeks, or just a few days. You never know, just depends on severity, guy’s position, etc. But it’s not a good one for a ballplayer, whether hitter or pitcher.
Tim Hudson did a month on the DL with an intercostal strain last summer. John Thomson couldn’t pitch in postseason in 2004 because of an intercostal strain.
I had the over-under on a Nomar DL stint as May. But hey, at least J.D.’s in the lineup. It’ll be interesting to see how many times Nomar and J.D. are in the same lineup. I’ll guess 30.
Speaking of lineups, no surprises in Braves’ opening day lineup — Giles, Edgar, Chipper, Andruw, LaRoche, Francoeur, McCann, Langerhans, Hudson.
Enjoy the game _ or the rain delay programming.
I’ll check in later, but won’t be able to update like in spring training. Too much to do on deadline.
Oh, filing this now and tarp’s off, introductions being made. We’re gonna play some ball, folks.
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