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Thursday, May 11, 2006
Fix closer conundrum. Now.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Their lineup is punchless, they have no leadoff man, the rotation is only three-deep, the bullpen is full of riff-raff and castoffs, they can’t catch the Mets and maybe not even the Phillies.
The lineup will be fine, Marcus Giles will soon surge, Horacio Ramirez will fortify the rotation, the bullpen will improve with one or two trades, and they’ll overtake the Phils and Mets.
Like many of you, I am waivering on these Braves. Going back and forth. Wondering if history alone is enough to offset their obvious weaknesses and bring Atlanta a 15th consecutive division title.
After last night’s 11-3 debacle, it’s tough to sit here and argue that all is well. Because it’s not. If it weren’t for their history of overcoming deficits, and the presence of Bobby Cox and a few veterans who’ve been through this before, nobody - me included - could make a sound argument that the Braves are poised to win the NL East.
But as long as Cox and those veterans are here, and as long as John Schuerholz is still manning the front-office controls, many, if not most, baseball observers will give the Braves the benefit of doubt and not bet against them until the streak finally ends.
A few things that simply must be fixed for it to happen:
Closer. Chris Reitsma is a prince of a guy, smart and personable and one of my favorites to deal with, but he stinks right now, and he’s not been very good in the closer role for any sustained period during his entire career, unless five weeks last summer can be considered “sustained.”
The Braves must, and I believe will, find another guy. They’ll probably try someone in the organization, though the options are few. Oscar Villarreal, for as good as he’s been in a setup role most nights so far this season, has blown all nine save opportunities in his career, including three this season. That’s 0-for-9, and even if most were difficult situations, the nature of the beast for middle-relief and setup guys, it’s still 0-for-9. Of course, Kyle Farnsworth had a awful track record for saves until he actually became a full-time closer for the Braves.
Then again, Farnsworth choked spectacularly in the postseason, and that dude probably realized in his heart that closing wasn’t for him, which is why he took the Yankees’ only slightly better offer to set up, rather than close for the next three seasons for Atlanta.
It’s a tough job, which is why the Braves should have overspent a bit when the market blew up this winter. Everyone overpaid for closers, and the Braves should have, too. Of course, it’s not my money. So it’s easy to spend. But they simply must get a closer, a proven guy, because this team isn’t going to score enough runs to blow people out, and that makes all those close games so vital and the closer so much more important. They have to win the close ones, and his teammates have to believe their closer will slam the door. Reits? He doesn’t slam the door.
He went 2-0 and 9-for-9 in saves with a 1.04 ERA in 17 games from July 1 to Aug. 6 last season, winning the NL Rolaids Relief Man award for July. But since then, he’s had everyone reaching for the Rolaids.
I mean, this is Kolbian-level stuff, these numbers for Reitsma since Aug. 7: In 35 games, Reitsma is 0-5 with a 6.75 ERA, .352 opponents’ average, and - close your eyes if you’re squeamish - seven blown saves in 13 opportunities. He’s allowed 51 hits and nine walks - 60 BASERUNNERS! - in 33-1/3 innings in that stretch, with only 14 strikeouts. I don’t care how much he’s making, I won’t even mention it here because that’s not important and I’m not trying to take cheap shots or pile one. I’m just saying: End it now. Pull the plug. Send the good-natured Canadian back to a setup role, where he can thrive (I think).
Bring up a minor leaguer, try Villarreal, for god’s sake even try Jorge Sosa in the role, if nothing else (I can’t believe I just said that), but do something now. And do it while working tirelessly to make a trade sooner than later, far sooner than the July 31 trade deadline, because if they don’t have a good closer soon, it’s going to be too late to get one in July.
OK, we’ll talk about Andruw’s slump, Giles’ leadoff performance and other matters later. Or you can talk about them now.
Oh, and as for Davies, don’t jump ship yet. Remember, Maddux and Glavine and even Smoltz struggled just as much at the start of their career. I’m not saying he’s going to become great like them, but just that it’s far, far too early to make judgments. The Braves still love the kid’s stuff and his mental makeup, nothing’s changed in that regard.
That’s it. Gotta get going here and get to the ballpark.
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