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Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Giles finally coming around
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It took far longer than the Braves imagined or hoped it would, but Marcus Giles is finally starting to hit the way they hoped he would in the leadoff spot. In other words, just the way he hit in the No. 2 spot and elsewhere in the lineup before this season.
That’s all they wanted from Giles; for him to be the guy he’d been the past 3-4 years for the Braves, not try to alter his game in order to fill the shoes of Rafael Furcal.
For whatever reason, be it self-induced pressure, missing so much of spring training because of injuries and family matters, or nagging injuries in the early season, Giles hit just .229 with one homer, 20 runs and seven RBIs in 35 games through May 16.
He slowly began turning it around at that point, and lately he’s really started to look like his old self.
Since May 17, Giles has hit .259 with a .347 on-base percentage, 28 runs, six homers and 23 RBIs in 44 games.
Since June 14, he’s hit .284 with a .372 OBP, 13 runs, four homers and 10 RBIs in 19 games, with no errors in the field.
And during the past seven games, he’s gone 8-for-22 (.364) with six walks, a .517 OBP, seven runs, and six RBIs. He’s got three homers in the past six games.
Where was this through mid-May? Like I said, I don’t know. But the Braves are certainly thankful it’s finally happening, because it’s not like they have a lot of other viable leadoff options (believe me, if they’d had a single other attractive option, they would have dropped Giles down in the order at the depths of his slump and tried something else).
If Giles had hit like this all season, would the Braves have been a lot closer to the Mets and first place? Sure. But the same can be said for the bullpen, and for Chipper for most of the season. And for LaRoche much of the season, and Andruw for almost an entire month, and Langerhans. Not to mention the skids of Hudson and Thomson in the rotation. I know I’m probably leaving someone out, but I’m in a hurry.
Point is, it’s taken a team effort to have such a disappointing first half. Giles wasn’t alone by any stretch.
And now, just as he’s coming around, the bullpen is making progress and Horacio and Chuck James have provided a shot in the arm for the rotation.
If it’s too late, somebody forgot to tell the Braves. They think they can win the wild card, at least. And with wild-card leader Cincinnati having lost four in a row before today, and coming to town for a four-game series starting tomorrow, and the parity in the NL West among teams that figure to keep beating each other up, there is legitimate reason to believe the Braves can be in the thick of the wild-card race in another month.
But it’ll take continued spark from the top of the order, be it from Giles or, if the Braves were floored by a trade offer for the second baseman, then from someone they might get in return for Giles in a trade. I don’t think they’d trade Giles without getting back a legit leadoff man as part of the deal. No way. Because they just don’t have another legit leadoff man on the roster right now, not with Langerhans struggling until recently. Diaz doesn’t walk enough to be a leadoff man, and I’m not even sold on him an an every-day player anyway. He’s good in his current role.
Giles, to me, is probably the Braves’ most attractive trade piece, along with Hudson. At least in terms of contending teams, the ones most likely to make a deal at the deadline for a veteran.
I think the Braves are/will listen to offers for both, but particularly Giles, since he’s going to make $5 million or more in arbitration next season and the Braves have middle-infield depth in their system. He’s expendable, as much as a guy who’s been one of the best 2-3 overall second baseman in the NL over the past few years can be expendable. A damn good player when he’s on top of his game, but the Braves have to shed payroll somewhere to fill other needs next season, and middle-infield is an area where they can bring up talented youngsters at minimum salary.
And again, while Betemit isn’t an every-day second baseman, he could get them through the rest of the season at the position, long as they got a quality leadoff man back in a trade for Giles. If they don’t, then I don’t see how they could make a serious playoff push with an out-of-position guy hitting in the leadoff spot and everyone crossing their fingers and hoping he could get it done.
OK, that’s it. Gotta get the new Johnny Cash CD that came out yesterday. If anybody’s got it, let me know how good it is (I know it’s gotta be great, so just confirm for me).
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