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Friday, May 19, 2006
Hot ATL hits sizzling PHX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greetings from the blast furnace that is Phoenix, where it’s already 90 degrees at 10 a.m. and headed toward 104 this afternoon - I would say as hot as the bats of Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Matt Diaz and Johnny Estrada, but that would be too easy and make me a real hack.
Anyway, now that the Braves have completed a most rejuvenating homestand and done what they were supposed to do during a 10-game stretch against the lowly Marlins and Nationals, fattening up to make this NL East a tight three-way race, the next test awaits. A three-city trip starting against the much-improved D-Backs (22-20 record includes 11-5 since April 30) and NL West-leading Padres (23-18) before finishing against the Cubs.
The Braves have won nine of their past 10 at home, including 3-0 in that stretch against Rockies (two games) and Mets (hot start began with last game of that series). But the Braves have dropped 12 of their past 18 games on the road, which includes a 2-1 series win at godawful Florida in their last series away from the friendly confines of Francoeur Field.
By the way, Frenchy’s numbers in Atlanta are getting just absolutely silly. He’s batting .351 at home this season, including a 1-for-8 in the first two home games. In 16 home games since then, he’s hit - let me take a swig of coffee to prepare to type this - .377 with eight homers, 25 RBIs and a .754 slugging percentage. Take it further: His last 10 home games, he has five homers, 19 RBIs, and a couple of dip-the-spikes-in-bronze moments with his walkoff granny and his tying homer off Dontrelle Willis.
Francoeur’s hitting just .204 on the road. But after getting off to a dreadful .132 start in his first 17 games away from home, he’s gone 11-for-30 (.367) with two homers and seven RBIs in his past six, against the Mets and Marlins. So maybe he’s got that whipped, too. We’ll see on this trip.
(An aside: Speaking of D-Train, don’t be shocked if you soon hear the Braves mentioned in trade rumors involving Willis. If and when the Marlins shop him, the Braves, perhaps more than any other team, have the type of prospects the Marlins would be looking for in return. And Willis is affordable for a few more years. So while some speculate on a possible return of Tom Glavine, to me it seems at least as plausible that the next great Braves lefty could be one barely half Glavine’s age.)
OK, back to Francoeur. It seems absurd now that we were even discussing six weeks ago what Bobby should do with him - send him down, bench him a few days, platoon him, etc.
Now, Francoeur has 25 home RBIs, and only Albert Pujols and Jason Giambi have more in the majors. Think about that. The Braves have played fewer home games than almost any team, yet only two superstars have more home RBIs than Francoeur.
As for McCann, he merely leads the NL batting race by 15 points at .353, which includes a .423 average in his past 23 games. He also leads the majors with a .714 average with runners in scoring position, albeit in limited chances (5-for-7).
Diaz, the out-of-nowhere story of the moment, leads the majors with a .650 average (13-for-30) over the past 10 days and is doing just what the Braves hoped he might when they got him, only doing it better than even they could have imagined. They got him because he’s raked against lefties and they wanted that bat as a fourth outfielder and possible platoon guy in left field. So far he’s played far better defense than expected and is hitting .386 overall, incliuding a team-high .412 on the road (14-for-34).
With him and Langerhans in left, Braves are set. Langy plays spectacular defense and, even after his recent slump, still leads the Braves with a .417 average with runners in scoring position, tied for fifth in the NL.
Oh, almost forgot Estrada. For those wondering, the winter trade that sent him to D-Backs for relievers Villarreal and Cormier is a classic case of a deal that helped both teams. While McCann has emerged as an All-Star caliber catcher at 22, Estrada has regained his pre-home-plate-collision form with Arizona. After hitting .182 with no extra-base hits or RBIs in his first 11 games for Arizona, Estrada has hit a whopping .368 with 11 doubles, three homers, 26 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS in his past 22 games. Very impressive.
So much other stuff I don’t have time to get to right now, including Chris Reitsma’s quiet recent resurgence. (Do you guys know he’s changed his approach at McDowell’s suggestion, using a lot more sinkers instead of relying on changeups that hitters were waiting for?) And how about Death Ray? Kenny Ray has been spectacular, not giving up a run in more than a month since giving up three vs. San Diego on April 16.
Roswell High’s Ray (though he now lives in Arizona) has reduced his ERA to 1.35 by allowing just nine hits and no runs in 15 innings over his past 14 games. Wow. In his past seven games, he’s allowed no hits in six and no hits OR walks in five. Not bad for the ultimate journeyman.
Speaking of journeymen, Travis Smith tomorrow night vs. unbeaten Brandon Well. Yikes. Hey, at least the Braves have Tim Hudson going against old friend Juan Cruz in the series finale Sunday. And with Thomson going against Miguel Batista tonight, I like Braves chances of a 2-1 series win.
