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August 2006
LaRoche hanging with impressive crowd
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He was booed by the home fans after his admittedly bone-headed error in May, but would you look at Adam LaRoche now?
No, really. Take a close look _ not at the questionable red-tinged goatee or the often-expressionless demeanor. The production, man. The stats. Do the vast majority of Braves fans realize just how good LaRoche has been since late June? How good he is, period?
The Braves, after wrapping things up tonight with the Giants, go to Philadelphia for a crucial four-game (if weather permits) series that features arguably the hottest two hitters in the NL, Ryan Howard and … Adam LaRoche? Yes, LaRoche.
How hot has he been? Hot enough to move into consideration for Braves MVP this season, if he continues his current scorching run.
If I had to vote now, I’d still vote Brian McCann, who is hitting .342 with 16 homers and nearly .400 OBP in his first full season while playing the most demanding position on the diamond.
But … LaRoche and John Smoltz would have to be close to McCann, and both are gaining ground fast.
Everyone knows what Smoltz has done _ 8-1 with 2.72 ERA in past 12 starts, 6-0 with 51 strikeouts and three walks in past six home starts, referred to the GM as “homeboy upstairs” _ but do folks realize just how torrid a surge LaRoche is having?
After his 4-for-4 with three doubles, a triple and three RBIs Thursday vs. San Francisco, the amiable outdoorsman is hitting .355 with 35 extra-base hits, 16 homers and an eye-popping .727 slugging percentage in his past 52 games, with 40 RBIs in that stretch despite hitting seventh or eighth much of the time.
He leads the Braves in virtually every major offensive category since the All-Star break, including average (.368), homers (14), RBIs (38), OBP (.439) and slugging (.797).
That post-break slugging percentage, by the way, is higher than surging Mets Carlos Beltran (.686) and Carlos Delgado (.681), higher than Florida’s Miguel Cabrera (.614) or St. Louis Albert Pujols (.611), higher even than Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard (.731), who’s hit .329 with 20 homers since the break.
LaRoche has been so hot since June 24, he’s moved into the NL’s top 10 in OPS (on base-plus-slugging percentage), which is the first stat that many scouts and front-office types look at first these days, and which your more astute observers look at when they’re making out their league MVP balloting.
LaRoche, the guy who hit like crazy on the road and stunk at home for much of the season, has his batting average up to .290 now and, most impressively, he’s climbed to eighth in the NL in OPS at .951 (.365 OBP and .586 slugging).
Now, I’m not math genius, as we all know (no comments from the peanut gallery), but that adds up to one helluva season. Consider the two names behind LaRoche’s in the OPS top 10: Matt Holliday and Jason Bay.
And just consider the only seven ahead of him: 1. Albert Pujols 1.088, 2. Lance Berkman 1.025, 3. Carlos Beltran 1.023, 4. Ryan Howard 1.020, 5. Miguel Cabrera 1.010, 6. Chipper Jones .991, 7. Alfonso Soriano .974.
Folks, that’s a virtual who’s who of past NL MVPs and/or current MVP candidates.
LaRoche has made it impossible for all but the most stubborn Braves fans to not appreciate his work. I might suggest if you still think he should be traded, a guy putting up those numbers while playing exceptional defense and making $420,000 (he’ll be around $2-2.5 mill next year), then you probably don’t have the best interests of the team in mind, but rather a personal dislike for LaRoche.
You might want to get over that, because he’s not leaving. Not this winter. And before anyone says, “Yeah, but he’s a cancer in the clubhouse with that laziness” or some other such misinformed opinion that I’ve heard from callers to the Braves radio postgame show, sorry, but that couldn’t be more incorrect.
Simply put, LaRoche is perhaps one of the three or four most popular players among his teammates and coaches. He has no enemies in the clubhouse, he works hard, and, though I realize this might not come across in interviews, he takes losses as hard or harder than anyone on the team. Anyone.
Andruw Jones said two nights ago that LaRoche has been the biggest reason for the Braves’ still being in the wild-card race, his hot bat and production from the bottom of the lineup, which Jones says still surprises a lot of opponents.
OK, moving on….
Snowball’s Chance, what did you think of the movie Oldboy? Did I oversell it or was it as good as I said it was? I mean, come on, it’s a great movie, no?
Grinch, weren’t you around when we discussed this a while back? I recommended _ strongly recommended _ this Korean movie Oldboy from a few years ago, said it was better than most Tarantino films, etc., with similar violence but an intensity that was just staggering, great acting, and stunning imagery including a couple of not-for-the-squeamish scenes that you won’t soon forget.
Today’s music recommendation, and it’s one I’m pleased to give: Bob Dylan’s “Modern Times,” which just hit stores Tuesday. Folks, it’s outstanding. This ongoing late-career resurgence by the 65-year-old legend is so cool, for me (as Bobby would say, if he were a Dylan fan, which I’m fairly certain he’s not). That’s three stellar CDs in a row for the bard from Minnesota, the great Mr. Zimmerman.
Any Dylan-phile will already have bought it, I realize. But I’m just trying to get some former Dylan fans who might have strayed, or some younger ones who might not have been turned on to him. Get it. Get it now. There’s no greater songwriter alive, still.
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Last wild-card hope: Davies’ return
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the Braves have any hope of getting back into the National League wild-card race, they need a lift from Kyle Davies like he gave them early last season.
It’s asking a lot for the young right-hander to do it again, though.
Davies hasn’t pitched in the majors since May, when he tore his right groin. But he’ll start Saturday at Philadelphia after finishing his minor league rehab with three encouraging outings.
As a rookie, Davies pitched five scoreless innings at Boston in his debut last May and allowed just two runs in his first 23 1/3 innings over four starts.
If he could come close to a stretch like that this September, the Braves might not be dead after all.
Pitching at Philadelphia will be almost as tough as going against the Red Sox at Fenway Park was last year. The Phillies are hot and the four games this weekend could end any last glimmer of hope for the Braves.
The hitting has come around. The pitching, however, remains a concern. Davies could be a big help.
Davies pitched eight scoreless innings Sunday for Class AAA Richmond and was 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA for the R-Braves after winning his last start at AA Mississippi. But the Phillies aren’t minor leaguers.
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Smoltz, Schuerholz hash things out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Braves Nation can rest easy, for J.S. and J.S. have had their summit meeting and both the pitcher and the GM (aka “Homeboy”) came away smiling.
I know Tuesday’s almost gone with the wind here, blog’s a bit late, but I wanted to wait to post it after heard from Johns Smoltz and Schuerholz regarding the infamous “Homeboy” reference the pitcher made to the 65-year-old GM in Jeff Schultz’s column in Monday’s AJC.
Anyway, brief synopsis (sorry, but I don’t have much time): Schuerholz called Smoltz today, had him come up to his office this afternoon for a meeting, and things are swell now. Or, swell enough not to interfere with business.
Smoltz told a few of us reporters after the meeting that he shouldn’t have said “Homeboy,” that he wasn’t expecting that to be in the column, but otherwise what he said was accurate, all the stuff he told Jeff about how he felt slighted and didn’t understand why the Braves would make him wait until after the season to exercise his $8 million option for 2007.
Smoltz wouldn’t say if Schuerholz gave him any assurances in the meeting, and Smoltz said only that he agreed he wouldn’t talk anymore about his contract publicly because he understands the Braves do everything privately and he should respect that and blah blah blah.
An hour or so later, we talked to the GM and he said it was a “very good” meeting and that he’s always respected John’s commitment to winning and intensity and blah blah blah, and that nothing has changed.
Asked if he’d spit up his coffee when he saw the “Homeboy upstairs” reference from Smoltz in the Schultz column, Schuerholz smiled and said, “I don’t drink coffee.”
When someone said, “So you weren’t offended?” Schuerholz smiled and said, “I didn’t say that.”
I asked John (GM … the actual GM … this gets confusing, doesn’t it?) why the Braves wouldn’t just tell Smoltz that they’re going to exercise his very reasonable option, whether the ownership change had anything to do with it, etc, and GM John told me that’s just the way they’ve always done things and that the ownership situation has “zero” to do with anything.
Folks, the Braves are surely going to pick up the option. And John Smoltz, by the way, when I asked him directly if he cared to answer to any of those fans _ i.e. certain bloggers _ wondering whether he might be angling for a trade or trying to get out of here, said he absolutely isn’t angling for anything, that he wants to win, that there’s time left this season to win if they get going, and that he wants to finish his career as a Brave.
He didn’t roll his eyes, smile, make any kind of signal to indicate he was being anything less than sincere when he said it.
OK, gotta get going. But first, I had to share the highlight of the day with you. Came during interview with Schuerholz on the dugout steps. He does have quite a sense of humor, hard as it is for some of you to believe.
I asked him if we should still call him John, or Mr. Schuerholz. He smiled, knowing what I meant, and said, “You can call me HB. I’ll know what you mean.”
I smiled and said to him, “Word.” And as he walked up the stairs, he smiled and _ I kid you not _ pounded his left breast with his right hand and said, “Word.”
I would not make something like that up. Several bystanders just about fell down laughing.
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The “homeboy” equation solved
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can you imagine if, say, Gary Sheffield had called John Schuerholz the “homeboy upstairs”? Man, would that have been fun, or what?
Anyway, gotta hand it to Jeff Schultz (or as I like to call him, the homeboy columnist). He got folks talking, which is what his job is about, in large part.
I’m not gonna call Schuerholz today for a comment about Smoltz’s comments to Schultz (or, J.S. to J.S. on J.S.) That can wait until tomorrow, since it’d be rather self-serving of the AJC, I think, to call and get a comment about being called “homeboy” by the (bearded) face of the franchise.
(Chipper would be the non-bearded face of said franchise. Or the homeboy at third base.)
Anyway, again, Smoltzie has stirred up a (bleep)storm for what, the third or fourth time this season? There was the interview where he said he’d be open to being traded somewhere else if it’d “help the Braves,” and his call for the front office to make a trade, and now this.
God love him. He makes our jobs a lot easier, being so candid. It’d be one thing if, say, Tyler Yates said it. Or Horacio Ramirez. Or just about anyone else, other than the Joneses. But when Smoltz says something, given his accomplishments and service to the franchise, it really carries substantial weight.
So when the Sunday baseball chapel-attending spokesman for Home Depot calls the dean of GMs the “homeboy upstairs,” it’s a bit jarring, to say the least.
I’d suggest Schuerholz probably spit up his coffee when he opened the newspaper this morning - but I’m pretty certain he was informed or directed to the quote sometime last night, since it was posted by early evening on our website.
Hey, say what you will about this rollercoaster of a disappointing season for Los Bravos, but there has rarely been a dull moment, has there? Man, this team used to be vanilla-bland, button-down, etc. Still are, relatively speaking, when compared to many other teams.
But when the 39-year-old former Cy Young Award and likely Hall of Famer calls the most respected GM in baseball (he is still that, folks, despite how this season has transpired) the “homeboy upstairs” well, what a country. What a game.
There’s something to be said for having the stature and confidence to say whatever the hell’s on your mind whenever you want, huh? Must be nice.
Oh, and for the record, of course the Braves should exercise the option - and do it now. At $8 mill next season, there’s no way they won’t exercise it.
And while the Braves and other teams always wait until after the season to exercise such options, especially on 39-year-old pitchers with extensive arm problems in the past, my opinion is they should make an exception in this one case, because they’ll not have another case like this ever again.
Pick up the option now. Smoltz deserves to have that security as he plows through these final six weeks of the season, leaving it all out on the field every start as he turns back the clock and continues this remarkable stretch. It’s just good for the entire team, a gesture to the future Seniors Tour golfer and to all the young guys on this team who respect him so much.
Just swallow the pride, put aside the ego, forget he called you a homeboy, and tell him the option’s being picked up (and by the way, this would be a good time to point out that this might just be the biggest ongoing clash of the towering egos outside of Dallas Cowboys training camp).
Even if something were to happen to Smoltz after the option’s exercised, he’s deserving of the $8 mill next season. Look at it this way: Combine his $11 mill salary this season and $8 mill next season, and the $19 mill isn’t much more than the one-year market rate these days for a pitcher of his ilk.
And that’s not even taking into account what he’s done for the Braves (and yes, I realize they’ve done plenty for him, too.)
Oh, today’s fun stat: Smoltz is 8-3 with a 2.60 ERA at home this season, while the rest of the Braves pitchers are 20-31 with a 5.06 ERA!
OK, what’s your favorite Monday song? I’ve got two here. You like either or both? Or have another, better one? And if you don’t like music, then skip over it and post a baseball thought, don’t bother complaining about the music being on the baseball blog. Nobody wants to hear that whining here.
I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats
*The silicon chip inside her head/Gets switched to overload.
And nobody’s gonna go to school today,/She’s going to make them stay at home.
And daddy doesn’t understand it,/He always said she was as good as gold.
And he can see no reason/’Cause there are no reasons/What reason do you need to be shown?
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
I want to shoot/The whole day down.
The telex machine is kept so clean/As it types to a waiting world.
And mother feels so shocked,/Father’s world is rocked,
And their thoughts turn to/Their own little girl.
Sweet 16 ain’t so peachy keen,/No, it ain’t so neat to admit defeat.
They can see no reasons”Cause there are no reasons/What reason do you need to be shown?
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
I want to shoot/The whole day down.
All the playing’s stopped in the playground now/She wants to play with her toys a while.
And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning/And the lesson today is how to die.
And then the bullhorn crackles,/And the captain crackles,
With the problems and the how’s and why’s.
And he can see no reasons/’Cause there are no reasons/What reason do you need to die?
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?/I don’t like Mondays.
I want to shoot/The whole day down.
Or?
“MONDAY, MONDAY” by The Mamas and The Papas
Monday Monday, so good to me,/Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be.
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn’t guarantee/That Monday evening you would still be here with me.
Monday Monday, can’t trust that day,/Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be/Oh Monday Monday, how you could leave and not take me.
Every other day, every other day,/Every other day of the week is fine, yeah/But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes/You can find me cryin’ all of the time
Monday Monday, so good to me,/Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn’t guarantee/That Monday evening you would still be here with me.
Every other day, every other day,/Every other day of the week is fine, yeah/But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes/You can find me cryin all of the time
Monday Monday …
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What happened to Andruw vs. lefties?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wasn’t “40 Minutes of Hell” the term for Nolan Richardson’s defense at Arkansas years ago? No longer. I’m stealing it to label my drive to Turner Field on Friday afternoon in Atlanta, the City Too Busy to Work Past Noon on Friday.
Anyway … we’ve arrived safely to the ballpark now, sitting here in the pressbox, staring out at those division “flags” flying above left field (actually metal signs screwed to the façade of the upper deck).
Well, at least they’re not going to have to re-arrange those babies to make room for a new one this year. Almost like they knew this was coming, because there’s not room for another one up there. They would’ve had to bump 1969 from the lineup (I don’t know that many in Atlanta would raise hell if they bumped the 1969 flag from the lineup, though I could be wrong).
And you know, I’m waiting for one of those flags to bust a screw loose and start swinging slowly back and forth during the game, making a creaking sound like the sign over a saloon in an old western after a shootout. Would just seem surreal and appropriate at the same time….
So I’m going to go down and ask Andruw about something I noticed today while doing research and crunching numbers and trying to find something fresh and new in this season that’s become stale and old.
And here’s what I found, which as far as I know, hasn’t been noted anywhere else: Andruw is hitting worse against left-handed pitchers with virtually every passing season.
He’s at a career-worst .216 (19-for-88) with just 11 RBIs against them this season, though he does have five homers. He’s slugging .409 against lefties, very low for a power-hitting right-handed hitter who led the majors in home runs last season.
Against righties, he’s hitting .279 with 24 homers, 91 RBIs and a .541 slugging percentage in 355 at-bats.
That’s .216-5-11 and .409 slugging vs. lefties, .279-24-91-.541 vs. righties, from a guy who entered this season with a higher average and slugging percentage against lefties (.276 and .522) than against righties (.265 and .497).
In the 2003-05 seasons, he hit .260 and slugged .531 vs. lefties, and .269/.524 vs. righties. But it’s been a steady erosion against lefties since he hit .312 with 12 homers against them in 1998. In his first season in 1996, Jones hit .379 with FIVE HOMERS in just 29 at-bats against lefties.
So what’s happened? Anybody out there have any ideas? We know why Andruw stopped being a 30-30 and .300 threat, because he gained weight and focused more on power. But why the decline vs. lefties in relation to righties? I’ll see if he has any clue at all. I know I don’t.
Anyway, going down to the clubhouse now.
Nothing can bother me today, not even the sophomoric posts from the small-minded dude who spewed bile all over our fine blog this morning. Because I’ve got a new pair of Chuck Taylors on today, and I saw X last night. All’s good.
And for those who don’t like the meanderings and ramblings of this blog, who don’t like to see us discuss music _ from Johnny Cash to Led Zep and back _ and barbecue and sweet tea in addition to the Braves, well, look elsewhere. It is what it is. Ain’t changing.
As Albert Einstein once said, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
I don’t know that we have any geniuses here _ though I wouldn’t doubt if a few of our frequent posters approach a 150 IQ _ but I know, without a doubt, we have a lot of great spirits here at Braves and The Man in Black.
Rock on. And pass the pie.
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Like having teeth pulled with a hammer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s a scene _ actually two scenes _ of teeth-pulling-by-hammer torture in the outstanding movie from a few years ago, “Oldboy.”
That’s all I could think of as I watched the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s Braves loss to the woeful Pirates.
Unfortunately for Braves fans, there have been many more than two torture-by-bullpen-meltdown scenes in this erratic season.
The bullpen has been improved since the addition of Bob Wickman before the trade deadline. Unfortunately, that improvement has been mostly limited to the part of the bullpen that features Wickman.
If it’s not the ninth inning with the Braves in the lead and Big Wick on the mound, then it’s still a roll of the dice every night with this unit. Or a pull with the hammer. And that’s no way to win a wild card.
Only Milwaukee (4.64) has a higher bullpen ERA than the Braves (4.62) in the NL, and check out this telling stat: Of the motley assortment of 20 pitchers who’ve worked in relief for the Braves this season, 15 have ERAs above 4.00.
Of the five who don’t, one is on the DL (Phil Stockman, 2.25), one is in the starting rotation (Chuck James, 2.38 ERA as reliever), one has only four appearances (Wayne Franklin, 3.86) and one is Chad Paronto (2.49).
If someone had told you in spring training that in late August, Paronto would have been your second-best reliever over the course of the season, Braves fans wouldn’t have believed it. Couldn’t have believed it.
So what are we to make of Danys Baez, who had another dance with pitch-command dementia in last night’s collapse? Well, we begin to see why the Dodgers were so willing to let him go, and why he crumbled in the glare of the L.A. spotlight as their closer earlier this season.
You just never know with Baez, whether he’s going have command of his nasty repertoire and dissect hitters in a quick 1-2-3 inning, or throw pitches that threaten to take off the heads of batters and/or frighten fans trying to make cell phone calls in the first row.
He’s an all-or-nothing guy many nights, reason enough to scare most teams from considering him as a closer next season. In 12 games with the Dodgers through April 29, Baez converted 8 of 9 saves while allowing no runs, a .208 opponents’ average and only one walk with 10 strikeouts in 13 innings
In 45 appearances since, he’s converted 1 of 8 saves with a .284 opponents’ average, 16 walks and 29 strikeouts in 46-2/3 innings.
And in 24 appearances since June 21, Baez is 1-3 with a 6.56 ERA, 24 hits and 10 walks allowed in 23-1/3 innings.
Last night he was charged with two hits, four runs and two walks while recording one out and blowing a lead. Two runs scored after he turned it over to Ken Ray, who did what he’s done way too often in the second half.
One more note on Baez: It was the fourth time since June 1 that he was charged with three or more runs, and in three of those games he recorded one or no outs.
Seven of his 13 walks in 32-1/3 innings since June 1 have come in three games in which he recorded a total of two outs (that’s two outs in three games combined), with two of those games as a Brave. In his other 31-2/3 innings since June 1, he has six walks with 20 strikeouts.
All or nothing, indeed. Not an attractive trait for a closer, just in case anyone still thought he was one.
And please, before anyone jumps in on the Betemit tip, please consider: Wilson Betemit went 10-for-20 with five extra-base hits and 10 RBIs during a torrid four-game run with the Braves July 15-18 at San Diego and St. Louis, when half the team was hitting as if possessed by some Pujols/Bonds demon.
In 29 games since then, with the Braves and Dodgers, Betemit has hit .216 (21-for-97) with nine extra-base hits, 11 RBIs, 28 strikeouts, and a .692 OPS. So please, let’s wait a bit longer before we make him out to be the next Dodgers superstar.
We all like Wilson Betemit, who’s a good guy. Everyone agreed would have been a candidate to play SS or 3B if the Braves had an opening there. But his initial impact with the Dodgers _ at a time when Furcal and others were also raking _ may have raised expectations for Betemit to unrealistic levels.
He went 14-for-45 (.313) with seven extra-base hits, eight RBIs and a 1.011 OPS in his first 13 games with the Dodgers. He’s 4-for-29 (.138) with zero extra-base hits, two RBIs and a .350 OPS (.212 on-base and .138 slugging) in nine games since that opening tear.
But back to the Braves:
As for Ray, well, the Braves got more _ far, far more _ than they ever could have expected this season from a 31-year-old rookie. But now, well, he’s pitching like a journeyman pitches.
Ray had a stunning 1.38 ERA and .182 opponents’ average in his first 26 games though May 31. But in 32 appearances since then, he has a 6.02 ERA and .295 opponents’ average.
And the numbers have really gotten ugly lately. Since July 21, Ray has a 9.49 ERA and bloated .400 opponents’ average, with 22 hits, 13 runs and seven walks allowed in 12-1/3 innings over 14 appearances.
Oh, by the way: The Braves are now 14-26 with a 5.16 ERA and 41 homers hit in their past 40 home games.
In their past 42 road games, they are 24-18 with a 4.23 ERA and 77 homers.
On a bright note, Adam LaRoche is 2-for-3 with two homers off tonight’s Pirates starter, Ian Snell (sounds like a soccer player, doesn’t it?)
On the other hand _ taking his good/bad, glass half-full/half-empty thing all the way to the end of this blog _ the game is at home. Not best for LaRoche.
Here’s the update on his ridiculous home/road splits: On the road since July 1, he’s hit .375 with 11 homers, 22 RBIs and a gaudy .903 slugging percentage in 21 games.
At home since then? He’s hit .273 with one homer, six RBIs and a .394 slugging percentage in 19 games.
Yes, .903 slugging on the road since July 1, .394 slugging at home since then.
Oh, and if it seems like Todd Pratt is really struggling, well, he is. He’s 1-for-20 with seven strikeouts in his past 10 games.
But not all Todds are slumping (what a transition; that’s why I get the big bucks):
TODAY’s STRONG RECOMMENDATION: Todd Snider’s brilliant new CD, “The Devil You Know.” Might be his best, and that’s saying plenty. Great singer/songwriter, for those not familiar with him. If you like Steve Earle, you’ll like this guy.
Here’s a couple of comments of praise from others:
“He reminds me of me.” _ Billy Joe Shaver (BLOGMASTER NOTE: That should be enough for anyone to buy it, when the great Shaver says that).
“A Southern songwriter in a Steve Earle vein who writes incredibly knowing songs about rambling and debauchery.” _ Blender Magazine
“Todd Snider writes great songs and also is a great performer. He totally connects with every audience. Hardest act to follow since Steve Goodman. _ John Prine (BLOGMASTER NOTE: I saw Snider open for Prine in Houston this summer, and it was quite a rich evening of music)
“Todd Snider is a true songwriter.” _ Kris Kristofferson
Davies healing, Prado impressing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Smoltz didn’t have the Braves’ only dominating pitching performance Monday night. Kyle Davies was pretty good, too.
Ten days ago, it seemed like Davies was a long way from rejoining the Braves’ rotation. Not any more.
The right-hander, who tore his groin in May and underwent surgery, allowed a run on three hits over seven innings for Class AAA Richmond at Louisville, walking two and striking out three. He threw 85 pitches, 50 for strikes.
It was the second strong outing for Davies, who is scheduled to make one more rehab start for Richmond. In his fourth and final game for Class AA Mississippi, he allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings.
A healthy Davies could be a big boost for the Braves in September, although a wild-card berth still seems like a long shot.
Meanwhile, Martin Prado could be auditioning for time at second base next season. The 22-year-old from Venezuela couldn’t keep Smoltz from losing his no-hit bid in the sixth inning against the Pirates, but he was 2-for-4 with a two-run double.
Giles, out with a hand injury, is a candidate to be traded this offseason and Prado could be a possible replacement, along with Wily Aybar.
Braves manager Bobby Cox was impressed with Prado when he was up with Atlanta for a couple games in April, and Prado certainly looked good again against the Pirates.
A .500 record still possible
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chipper Jones said that the Braves couldn’t afford a 4-3 road trip. Of course, that’s exactly what happened.
Despite Adam LaRoche’s weird play on Sunday, the Braves are playing better. It’s just not nearly good enough.
If general manager John Schuerholz had signed Bob Wickman last winter, the Braves might have been able to slip back into the postseason for the 15th consecutive time.
But that is more because of the weakness of the National League than any strength of the Braves.
The NL is a mess, which makes the slid of the Braves even harder to take.
If the New York Mets lose Tom Glavine, there isn’t a team in the NL that has a chance in the World Series. The American League, which has two consecutive World Series sweeps, is just that much better.
John Smoltz, who pitches Monday night against Pittsburgh in the opener of the Braves’ nine-game homestand, has said that the Braves goal now should be to get back to .500.
Even that appears to be a tough task. Of course, .500 could possibly mean a playoff spot in the low-rent NL.
LaRoche in full road rage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Over the course of a season, the home/road splits tend to even out for most players, provided they don’t play in an extremely pitcher-friendly or hitter-friendly ballpark.
And then there’s Adam LaRoche.
This has become nearly unbelievable, the difference between the first baseman’s hitting at home and on the road. I’m not exaggerating when I say LaRoche is one of the best road hitters in the major leagues this season.
And at home? Uh, let’s just say he’s not been one of the best.
Here’s what I’m talking about: LaRoche is batting .304 with 20 home runs, 52 RBIs and a 1.093 OPS on the road (.392 OBP, .701 slugging). Those are Pujols-like numbers, people. Seriously.
And at home: LaRoche has hit .238 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a .686 OPS (.293/.393).
That just doesn’t happen very often with such a productive hitter, unless we’re talking about Coors Field (pre-humidor), where Colorado sluggers used to routinely hit over .400 with huge power numbers, then hit in the low-200s on the road.
But Turner Field is not a severe pitcher’s park. It’s a pitchers’ park more than hitters’ park, yes, but not severely so. And in the past, LaRoche hasn’t had anything resembling this year’s disparity. In fact, it leaned the other way.
Before this season, he had a .281 career hitter with 18 homers, 64 RBIs and an .843 OPS in 118 games. On the road, he was a .254 hitter with 15 homers, 59 RBIs and a .751 OPS in 133 games. Not exactly scintillating either way, but solid for a young player who missed time with a separated shoulder.
Anyway, see what all that booing him in the early season did, people? You ruined him.
Kidding, of course. Even LaRoche says that has nothing to do with it. Besides, he’s not getting booed at home anymore, or at least no more than others do if he screws up, etc.
If he can find a way to hit anywhere near as well at home as he has on the road, the man would be putting up absolutely huge numbers. But even with the huge dichotomy, he’s putting up damn fine numbers for a few months now.
Since June 24, he’s hit .329 with 14 homers and 31 RBIs in 42 games, and 38 strikeouts in that span aren’t overly significant when you consider the 1.076 OPS in those 42 games.
He’s probably played himself into being kept by the Braves for next season, if there was ever doubt. Because he still will make less than $2.5 mill next year in first year of arbitration, and that’s not too much for a guy who might hit 35 homers and play way above average defense.
OK, gotta get down to the clubhouse. Talk amongst yourselves.
Oh, and let me know if any serious typos in this; I’ll fix ‘em when I get back upstairs. Don’t even have time to re-read the thing right now.
Thankyouverymuch.
The Vulture no more
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So I’m late getting out of RFK, late getting on the subway (sometime after 6 p.m.) and absolutely certain that I’m going to miss my 8 p.m. flight to Atlanta and thus miss my connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale, because I’m certain that security at Washington/Reagan airport has to be brutal right about now …
And I’m pleasantly _ no, make that ecstatically _ surprised. Because here I sit in the Delta Crown Room rushing to hack out a blog, just one hour after leaving the stadium on the other side of town, 10 subway stops and one transfer away.
It’s great to expect the worst and then have things go so well, I tell you. But it just reminds me of how hellish our own ginormous airport is by comparison. I mean, I literally made it through ticketing AND through security here in a total of 10 minutes. Unbelievable.
Having said that, and feeling so good about how things have gone, I’m sure I’ll now get some wrench thrown in the works via a mechanical failure or a hold on incoming flights at Hartsfield-Hell International. But we’ll see.
OK, but enough of my travel itinerarary, because I’m sure a few of my agitators here will rip me for even sharing that much and not talking about the Braves within the first four paragraphs.
So the Braves. How ‘bout that Vulturreal, eh? Henceforward, until further notice, I’ll call Mr. Villarreal by his given name. Because he stepped up today and stuck it right up … uh, down the throats of us skeptics who questioned whether he could even make it through three innings without giving up a pair of homers to Alfonso Soriano.
Oscar, you’ve earned a reprieve, not to mention another start. He’ll get at least one more turn in the rotation, and if it goes like this one _ five innings, one hit, one walk, no runs _ you can bet he’ll get more than that.
But I’m certainly not ready to predict he’ll repeat this. We’ll see.
Talk about a must win, though. That’s the second time he’s responded hugely after a Smoltz disappointment. The other time, of course, when Villarreal took over in the second inning at Tampa Bay when Smoltz hurt his groin. No runs in 4-1/3 innings that day.
Is he best suited for starting? Maybe, because he throws a bunch of different pitches. But it doesn’t make sense that the guy can barely get through two innings as a reliever without giving up a bomb, yet can go five in a park where balls have been flying out, and not even give up an extra-base hit.
Oh, well. You can’t ever figure this game out. We all know that.
Braves had to have it, and of course did exactly what we discussed a few days ago. We know they’re almost certainly out of this thing, but yet every time you get the shovel out and start to throw more dirt on ‘em, they stick a damn hand up through the dirt and we have to stop shoveling and let them live for another day.
But after splitting in Washington, I’d say they absolutely need to sweep the Marlins, and at worst win two of three. They’re tied with Florida in the NL East and wild-card standings, so maybe it’d help mentally to put some distance between them and the $15 million-payroll Marlins this weekend.
God, think of that _ $15 million payroll. And tied with the Braves. Yikes.
OK, gotta catch my flight. Sorry can’t offer more. I’m really, really, rushed. This took _ let me check _ 7 minutes to write. And please don’t bother pointing out if there are typos. If you do, you’re an anal-retentive geek. Kidding. Sort of.
Onward and upward. I’ll share some soil with you Atlantans for 30 minutes in about 2 hours. Leave a pie for me at the airport atrium, if you’d like.
Two days a microcosm of season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is our nation’s capital not close enough to the South — if anyone here claims to live in the South, they’re delusional — for folks to at least know how to make both kinds of tea, the wrong kind and sweetened?
Just got back from walking to get some lunch, and got it to go. I get back to my room and take a sip of my tea and — aaargh! I know I asked her for sweet tea.
Anyway … well, now haven’t we had a perfect two-day microcosm that demonstrates exactly why this season went south and why this team is almost certainly going to be watching the postseason from the first round through the World Series?
(Hey, on a bright note, at least they can’t lose Game 5 at home this year, right? Whatever happens, they can’t lose the last game of a first-round playoff series at Turner Field! Even if they were to somehow rally and win the wild card, the Braves would be on the road for a Game 5 in the first round, which we know can only be good. Turner Field is where other teams traditionally go to clinch playoff series).
But anyway, the microcosm: Team inconsistency demonstrated over two days, particularly with pitching, but also with some hitters. Now, granted, Astacio pitched perhaps the greatest game of his life last night; the old man was flat spot-on with his command. Give the geez credit.
But the Braves did their usual no-patience thing and got behind in counts, which is death against a guy with as good a command as Astacio had when he needed to make a big pitch. The aggressiveness has paid some dividends for the Braves, who lead the majors in first-pitch homers, lead the majors in first-pitch slugging percentage, and rank second in the NL in first-pitch average.
But besides Andruw and Francoeur, who have 21 of the Braves’ 39 first-pitch homers — is that amazing, or what? — the first-pitch ginormous swings aren’t generally as productive as might be taking a pitch or two to gauge a hurler and see what he’s got.
But the real inconsistency, of course, is the pitching. That’s what happens, as we’ve said countless times, when you don’t have the starting pitching depth to cover for injuries (Horacio, J.T., Davies, et al) or underperforming guys (remember that guy Jorge Sosa? J.T. can go in this group, too).
When two- or three-fifths of your rotation at any time is a concession speech (gotta thank an unnamed broadcaster for dropping that line on me; don’t want to get him in trouble) then you really aren’t a contender, regardless of how mediocre the rest of the field is.
Cormier wasn’t terrible last night. He was actually decent. But he needed to be a lot more than that on a night when Astacio was great and the Braves’ fielders had a couple of costly errors (Pena’s was a bad hop, I agreed after seeing the replay).
Tonight you’ll have Smoltz going and probably doing his usual thing, pitching his butt off and leaving it all on the field, being exactly what the Braves wish all their pitchers could be, if not matching his talent then at least approaching his determination. The Braves will probably win.
Then tomorrow you’ll have Vulturreal pitching in the series finale. Oscar Villarreal, first start since 2003.
And if the Braves win tonight and we look at the wild card race and see they’re only five back or whatever, and maybe they’ll pass a team tonight, then tomorrow Villarreal will pitch and probably be mediocre in 4-5 innings, then at least one reliever will have a bad inning and the Braves will lose.
Then tomorrow night we’ll look at the standings and come to our senses again and realize the Braves face an almost impossible task. Then Hudson will pitch Friday, perhaps have another good start like his last two, and we’ll think … well, they’re still just five back … then Chuck might do the same Saturday.
Then the dreaded “undecided” (it’s going to be Cormier) will pitch Sunday and we’re back to reality.
And so it goes. What a year.
Here’s another indication of the Braves’ chances of playing .700 or so ball the rest of the way: They haven’t won even three in a row since their seven-game streak sandwiched around the All-Star break. They’ve had four-game and three-game losing streaks since they last won more than two in a row.
Last night, by the way, was the first time the Braves were shut out on the road since May 20 at Arizona, when they got crushed 13-0. That game was also their previous hits low (four) on the road until they were two-hit by Mr. Astacio last night.
Since that game at Phoenix, the Braves had been 21-16 on the road before last night, and racked up 202 runs and a crazy 73 homers in 37 games.
Just makes you wonder what this team might have been with just two things: A closer like Wickman for the entire season, and a starting rotation with two aces (like they were supposed to have) and three other guys capable of winning 12-15 games (like they were supposed to have).
If they had signed a closer last winter and got what they were supposed to out of their starters, I’ll go out on a limb and say the Braves, who lead the majors with 100 road homers — only other teams with 90 are Red Sox (97) and Tigers (93) — would be in a race to the wire with the Mets for the NL East.
And at worst, they’d be winning the wild-card race by about five games.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda, right?
Pass the sweet tea and the pie, dammit. What? No, I don’t want Equal!
Chipper and Matt Show Was Smashing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This would not be the first time I’ve suggested the Braves aren’t going to trade Chipper Jones anytime in the foreseeable future, but today’s probably a good time to reiterate.
Last night’s three-homer performance was one of those that makes you glad you were working (or attending) the game. The 34-year-old 3B didn’t just hit three homers _ he absolutely crushed two of them.
No fence-scrapers among the trio of blasts, but the last one, the one to right-field upper deck, was of Frank Howard proportions.
I was assured by several Washington media members that no more than two balls have been hit as far in two seasons at decrepit RFK Stadium, though old Frank (Howard) hit several longer ones in the first go-around of major league ball at this yard.
Howard’s prodigious shots are marked by white seats scattered throughout the upper deck, including one that’s probably 500 feet or more in straightaway center field, halfway up the upper deck.
I saw Big Cat (Galarraga) hit a 529-foot rocket off Kevin Brown at then-Pro Player Stadium, and saw Big Mac hit a 545-footer off Livan Hernandez at old Busch, the longest of McGwire’s.
But Chipper’s wasn’t far off those two, in terms of the majestic arc of the ball and the exlosion off the bat or distance, I’d imagine. They don’t give official estimates at RFK, but everyone agreed somewhere around 475-490. I’d say closer to 500, based on the other two I mentioned seeing.
When you witness a homer like that, it just looks so different, sounds so different even, than a typical 400-footer. There was a gasp in the pressbox when Chipper hit that third one. And more than one “Oh … my … God.”
Anyway, it’s just too bad Matt Diaz couldn’t have done the 10-for-10 thing on any other night, because it was truly worthy of huge headlines. Any time you tie a National League record, it’s obviously special. Incredibly special. Hadn’t been done since 1992, when Bip Roberts pulled off the feat.
The major league record, by the way, is 12 straight hits.
So what does it mean for Diaz? His recent performance will likely keep him in the lineup and might even give the Braves reason to consider _ at least consider _ him for an every-day job next year. More likely, it at least means he’s a quality hitter who will be playing somewhere next season in the majors, probably Atlanta. How Tampa Bay or Kansas City didn’t see potential enough to keep him, I have no idea.
Diaz can flat-out hit. No Gold Glover fielder, obviously, and not a ton of power, but he can hit enough to stay in a lineup for a lot of teams.
Check out his recent stats: .370 (40-for-108) in past 47 games, though only nine extra-base hits (three homers) and 12 RBIs. Many of those games were as a pinch-hitter.
In his past 20 games, he’s 22-for-50 (.440) with three homers and 10 RBIs. Very solid. Oh, and 10-for-11 with two doubles and a homer in his past three games. Not bad.
Chipper? Uh, he’s on another planet. Batting .339 with a 1.016 OPS this season, which trails only Pujols and Berkman in the NL. And lately he’s the hottest hitter in the majors, despite the DL stint in the middle of his scorching run.
He’s hit .367 with 38 extra-base hits, 51 RBIs and a .439 OBP in his past 57 games, and _ hold on to seats, please _ .500 (47-for-94) with 11 homers, 30 RBIs and a 1.519 OPS in his past 24 games. That’s not a typo. A .500 average and 1.519 OPS over 24 games? That’s ridiculous.
Critics of Chipper, until further notice, stand down.
And now, as promised:
38 (no, make it 39) Clash songs as good or better than Rock The Casbah, many of them far better:
- Janie Jones, 2. I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., 3. White Riot, 4. Hate And War, 5. London’s Burning, 6. Career Opportunities, 7. Police And Thieves, 8. Garageland, 9. Safe European Home, 10. Tommy Gun, 11. Julie’s in the Drug Squad, 12. Guns on the Roof, 13. London Calling, 14. Brand New Cadillac, 15. Rudie Can’t Fail, 16. Spanish Bomb, 17. Lost In The Supermarket, 18. Clampdown, 19. The Guns of Brixton, 20. Wrong ‘em Boyo, 21. Death Or Glory, 22. Koka Kola, 23. Four Horsemen, 24. I’m Not Down. 25. Train In Vain, 26. Clash City Rockers, 27. Radio Clash, 28. White Man In Hammersmith Palais, 29. I Fought The Law, 30. The Magnificent Seven, 31. Ivan Meets G.I. Joe, 32. Somebody Got Murdered, 33. Charlie Don’t Surf, 34. Know Your Rights, 35. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?, 36. Straight to Hell, 37. Overpowered by Funk, 38. Sean Flynn, 39. Complete Control.
Strong recommendation of the day (besides any of the first five albums by the Clash): Townes Van Zandt’s Texas Rain (The Texas Hill Country Recordings). Beautiful, live versions of the late _ and criminally underrated _ singer-songwriters’ greatest gems, with duets with Emmylou, Willie and other appearances by James McMurtry and the like along the way. Recorded during early ;’90s but not released until 2001, it’s a great intro to a man who ranks among the greatest songwriters this country’s produced. If you like Earle, Cash, Lovett, etc, you’ll love Townes. He’s right there with them. Sheer greatness.
Do you still believe?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is it.
No, this really is it.
Before every homestand or road trip in the past month or more, the Braves and their fans have said, this is it. The team needs to start picking off teams now, needs to start making its move to have any playoff hopes.
But this truly is it.
Whatever flickering playoffs hopes the Braves have, the seven-game trip that begins tonight vs. Washington is probably going to go a long way toward keeping them alive or quashing them, once and for all. If they go 3-4 or worse on this trip, it-s over, for all intents and purposes. Maybe even if they go 4-3.
Because with nine teams ahead of them in the wild-card standings and 46 games to play, the Braves need to have a torrid stretch run and hope that not one of those other teams has an equal run. They need to win both series against the Nats and Marlins, which would require at least five wins in seven games.
It starts tonight, with the first of four against a last-place Washington team that had some chairs flying and finger-pointing and general clubhouse tension after yesterday’s 3-1 loss to the Mets, when the Nats gave one away.
The Braves need to take three of four in this series, if not sweep.
You know there’s a sense of urgency when Chipper Jones — the same dude who downplayed the urgent call by John Smoltz when Smoltz said the Braves needed to win eight of 10 in their homestand before the All-Star break — when Chipper says the Braves need to try to win all seven games on this road trip.
There’s no downplaying anything anymore. No sitting back and saying, it’s only July. It’s mid-August now, and by mid-September it’ll be too late if the Braves don’t start a big run that includes some series sweeps.
They’re only 54-62, and even I, who disputed the notion that it would necessarily take 88-90 wins to win the wild card just because that’s what it required in the past, even I know it’ll surely take 85 wins or so, minimum.
That’s 31-15 the rest of the way, folks. And with this Braves starting rotation, I just don’t know if that’s possible.
It’ll take Hudson to repeat what he did the other night about seven more times, and for Smoltz to continue what he’s done for two months for another two months, and it’ll take one or two other starters stepping up and going deep into games, 6-8 innings to take pressure off the bullpen.
There is absolutely no indication that that’s about to happen. But stranger things have happened before. Not many, that I can think of off the top of my head. But I’m sure there have been. Right? Maybe?
Anyway…I’ll repeat what I said last week, only change the name from Kevin Berry to Lance Cormier: There is no way, no how, that Lance Cormier should be starting a crucial series opener for the Braves in August, when every win is of utmost importance.
But he is.
That’s why the Braves should add some starting depth this winter, at least one veteran to go with the starters they have returning and Mike Hampton coming off the DL. They need one more veteran guy that can be counted on to give them 30 or more starts and 180-200 innings. Because it won’t help to bolster the bullpen — the other absolute offseason must-do — if they don’t have a starting rotation that gives them a solid chance to win at least four nights out of five.
It all starts with starting pitching. The team’s success was built on it for a decade and a half, and its failure in recent postseasons and this regular season has come down to depleted starting pitching.
Injuries before playoff series that left the Braves with only one or two healthy starters on top of their game against teams that had two or three aces cranking out their best work, and injuries this season that left John Smoltz and Tim Hudson as the only starters who made every turn, with only Smoltz giving the Braves a real good chance to win most every time out.
Anyway, what’s the best thing about Cormier’s start Tuesday? That it’s coming against Pedro Astacio, whose 4-16 career record against the Braves is his worst against anyone, by far. In his past four starts against them, he’s 0-3 with a 10.71 ERA and 10 homers allowed in 19-1/3 innings.
Andruw Jones is 9-for-31 with five homers against the former Rockie/Ranger/bunch of others. Todd Pratt is 6-for-9 with a homer against him, which might not help Brian McCann’s batting-title hopes, because McCann needs to play almost every day to finish with enough plate appearances to qualify.
Before I go to catch a cab and head to the ballpark, I leave you with these statistics to savor before what could be a two-man home run derby this week at RFK: Alfonso Soriano has hit .389 with six homers and 12 RBIs in eight games against the Braves this season, and a ridiculous .388 (19-for-49) with nine homers and 20 RBIs in 11 games over the past two seasons against them.
Then there’s Andruw vs. the Nationals. He rakes against them, has for years, and he’s coming into this series with his power stroke in a groove. Against the Nats, Andruw has hit .316 with 18 doubles, 27 homers and 76 RBIs in his past 73 games, including 17-for-51 (.333) with seven homers and 18 RBIs in 14 games since last Aug. 31.
Strap in for Andruw vs. Alfonso and a make-or-break trip for the Braves.
Are you guys feeling any hope whatsoever for the Braves, or do you have more a sense of it’s-over-but-I’ll-tune-in-just-in-case?
Either way, should be an interesting series with a lot of fireworks. Consider this, just one last stat to mull over: Smoltz (3.41) is the only one of eight scheduled starting pitchers in this four-game series with an ERA under 4.60.
The last game, unless the Braves make a switch, is set to feature Kevin Barry (7.71 ERA) vs. Jason Bergman (7.62). Yikes! Now I’m not feeling very good about making that 8 p.m. flight I’ve got scheduled out of D.C. on Thursday.
Feels like postseason _ the weather, that is
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Always thinking about the denizens of the Braves and the Man in Black blog, your hard-working correspondent has decided to knock out a quickie here during the first inning of the game.
And why not, since it doesn’t appear that Kevin Barry is in any hurry to get through this thing quickly tonight. So much for the notion of Smoltz’s stellar performance creating any kind of momentum.
There’s a playoff atmosphere out here at the ballpark. Wait, what I meant to say was, the weather feels like October out here. It most definitely is not a playoff atmosphere.
Barry’s two-run first inning served to underscore what I’ve said for weeks _ this team, while not a great assemblage of talent, was certainly good enough to compete for a playoff spot this season were it not for injuries and lack of depth on the pitching staff.
Journeymen pitchers to the left of me, overmatched kids to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle of boos….
I realize that diagnosis _ lack of quality pitching _ hardly makes me a genius, but some of you insist this is just a bad Braves team living down to its potential. Not so, in my opinion. It’s a bad Braves pitching staff, certainly compared to staffs during the Braves’ run of division titles.
But the lineup is good enough, and the defense well above average.
The closer situation dragged them down early _ 20 of 40 blown saves before Wickman arrived was absurd _ and the erratic work of the injury-plagued starters other than Smoltz has bitten the Braves all season, and with increased frequency of late.
There is no way that Kevin Barry should be starting a game for the Braves in August when they’re trying to win every series to stay in the wild-card hunt. No way. But because of their lack of depth, he is.
That’s why I’d strongly suggest getting at least one accomplished starter this winter to supplment returners Smoltz, Hudson, Hampton and presumably Ramirez and Chuck James.
The minor league system no longer has starting pitcher prospects lined up 3-5 deep in the upper levels (the guys near-ready for the majors) like the system had in the past, so the Braves need to replenish it.
They must do so, whether that means trading a top position-player prospect and/or someone in the current lineup. Much as I like Marcus Giles, he might be the logical guy to be dealt for younger talent only because a lot of teams would give up a lot to get him, and because the Braves might decide that Yunel Escobar, Willy Aybar or Martin Prado can handle second base next season. I don’t know. Too early to know.
I’ve already suggested re-signing Wickman. That, to me, should be job No. 1.
On other matters…. I just posted something on the previous blog about Aybar. He’s got a non-displaced chip fracture of a small bone in his left hand and a sprained middle finger, and he’s going on the DL tomorrow to open a spot for Chipper to come off it.
Aybar’s been playing with the injury, Bobby Cox said, since he got hurt sliding into second base on the last out of his four-hit debut July 30.
That would explain why Aybar’s swing has looked so weak since that game. Bobby said he’s just been trying to lay the bat on the ball and scratch out hits, and that he never complained or used it as an excuse.
Aybar was 4-for-6 with two RBIs in that debut July 30 against the Mets, and 8-for-39 (.205) with no extra-base hits or RBIs in his next 10 games while filling in for Chipper and batting leadoff.
Trust me on this one: While Aybar hasn’t done much at the plate in his past 10 games, he got some big points with the manager playing hurt and not complaining. Very big. That won’t be forgotten.
“He’s a smart kid,” Cox told a couple of us before the game tonight. “He’s got tools. He’s got talent.”
I’ll be shocked if Giles isn’t back in the leadoff spot tomorrow when Chipper returns. Pete Orr played third and batted leadoff tonight, but Chipper’s coming off the DL tomorrow and unless Bobby really shakes it up and tries Edgar or perhaps Matt Diaz at the leadoff spot, it’ll have to be Giles there. I’d bet Giles.
Everyone here was still talking about Smoltz’s performance last night.
Do you guys realize that Smoltz, the 39-year-old many predicted wouldn’t be able to withstand the rigors of starting again because of his surgically-repaired (four freakin’ times) elbow, was third in the majors with 169 innings pitched before Saturday, behind only Roy Halladay (170) and Johan Santana (169.1) and Bronson Arroyo (169)?
Ohh, my _ as I wrote that, Bill Hall just hit a two-run homer to dead center off Barry to put the Brewers ahead 4-0. Looks like I want have to be updating any info on the Bob Wickman story that’s posted online and will run in tomorrow’s paper.
I think I’ll go back to the press dining room and look for some pie. And coffee. Definitely coffee.
Wickman rockin’ in the free world … er, on the mound
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So I spent part of my Thursday night writing a Bob Wickman story for Sunday and part of it watching “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” (hilarious show, in case you’ve missed it), and didn’t go to the CSNY show last night at Philips.
Now I’m angry, because I’ve been told it was a strong performance, and this came from my friend who’s a fine drummer in a local band (The Lord is My Shotgun, great name for a band, huh?), so I respect his opinion.
I figured it’d be the mighty Neil Young trailed by three fading dinosaurs, but was told the entire band was actually rockin’ and tight, especially Stephen Stills wielding a mean ax alongside Neil.
Anyway … hey, can’t see them all. And Tom Waits last week was enough to hold me over for some time.
Now onto the Braves, since I know just reading four paragraphs about music is enough to turn off a few of the serious, baseball-only posters here at the Braves and The Man In Black corner of the blogosphere.
I’ve got to do this one quickly, because I’m running late to get to the park (always say that, but always am running late).
Anyway, regarding Wickman. The man has converted 6-of-6 saves since being traded to the Braves and allowed only four hits and no walks _ REJOICE! _ with seven strikeouts in seven appearances. Dating to July 1, he’s reeled off 11 consecutive scoreless appearances while converting 10-of-10 saves for the Indians and Braves.
So what do you think? Maybe time to talk to this guy about an extension, wouldn’t you agree? I know, he’s 37 and had Tommy John surgery after the 2002 season, but the big load is healthy and he’s a force out there, a stabilizing presence who’s outstanding in the clubhouse and doesn’t mess around walking guys or running up huge pitch counts or wasting time between pitches.
He gets ground balls, lets his defense work for him, and looks like he could play pulling guard if necessary. And you’ve gotta like that toss of the big ‘ol chaw after he finishes off the last batter (you don’t have to like that? Oh, well I do.)
Anyway, I talked to him Wednesday about the retirement rumors I’d heard when he was traded. He looked at me as if waiting for someone to ask him that so he could go off. He was quite upset at whoever started that rumor and said he fully intends to pitch next season if he stays healthy and feels as good as he does right now. I actually feared momentarily that he was going to twist my neck until my head popped off, believing it was I who started those dastardly rumors. But then he was cool.
And guess what? He’s loved his Braves experience so far, likes the teammates and Bobby and Roger McDowell. He’s fit in great, from taking some of the young relievers out to dinner right away to get to know them, to keeping some guys around in the clubhouse to drink beers and talk baseball after games, to doing exactly what he’s supposed to do on the mound, most importantly.
When I asked John Schuerholz on Thursday whether the Braves would consider re-signing him, he told me they haven’t even thought about next year yet. I believe him, pretty much. Braves won’t know exactly what their budget is and what their biggest needs are and which ones will be easiest to fill until after the season and after the postseason (I didn’t say Braves postseason, so don’t start on that). But they do believe the budget won’t change significantly under new ownership.
If you ask me _ and the Braves won’t _ I’d say if Wickman is affordable, say anywhere around the $5 mill he got for this season, then it’s a solid investment for next season. The Braves absolutely cannot go into another season without a proven, veteran closer. And Danys Baez can’t be the guy. Too erratic. And Reitsma… uh, let’s not start.
If they can do better than Wickman this offseason, fine. But unless they’re ready to spend more than $5 mill and give out a multi-year contract to a closer, then I doubt they can do better.
Braves need to overhaul their bullpen and also add a starting pitcher in order to try and assure this year’s pitching deficiencies don’t return to undermine next year’s team. They also need a proven leadoff hitter next season, but that’s another discussion.
For now, what do you good folks think about re-signing the man with the big semi truck idling out in the players’ lot (just kidding, but Wick does look like he could handle a big rig, or a jackhammer on a road crew, doesn’t he?)
Neil Young, sorry I missed you.
“Old man take a look at my life, I’m a lot like you. I need someone to love me the whole day through. Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true….”
A Braves nemesis in Philly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you folks want to see something as scary as Wednesday’s seventh-inning Braves bullpen debacle?
OK, not quite that scary _ for me, only a couple of scenes from the original “The Omen” (not the throwaway remake) have been as unsettling as that bullpen performance) _ but definitely frightful for Braves followers.
I bring you Ryan Howard’s offensive totals since Aug. 9, 2005. I got to thinking today about how last season Howard tore through August and September, and how he’s torn through the first two-thirds of this season. And so, I decided to go back to about this point last year and see what his one-year totals would be (why I’m working this hard on an off-day blog, I don’t know; I’m a man of the people.)
So I sent to the point where he really started to blaze last August.
You ready?
Read ‘em and weep: 157 games, 587 at-bats, .298 average with 25 doubles, three triples, 55 homers (yes, FIFTY-FIVE) and 144 RBIs, with 73 walks, 186 K’s, a .376 OBP and .632 slugging percentage. Oh … my … goodness.
Ladies and gents, barring a supreme act of stupidity by the always-capable-of-such-acts Phillies, Howard will be their first baseman for at least the next 4-5 years and possibly much longer.
Oh, and do you know where and against whom he’s hit for his highest average? Right on both counts: He’s hit .390 with seven homers and a .701 slugging percentage in 30 career games against the Braves, including .410 (16-for-39) in 12 games at Turner Field.
Anyway, I won’t dwell on Mr. Howard too long; I realize it might be painful. But just FYI, here’s what a few Braves have hit since Aug. 9, 2005 compared to Howard’s .298-55-144 with 1.008 OPS in 157 games:
— Andruw Jones: .263-44-139 with .871 OPS in 159 games.
— Chipper Jones: .325-27-96 with 1.005 OPS in 128 games.
— Jeff Francoeur: .256-27-103 with .732 OPS in 161 games.
— Adam LaRoche: .267-29-82 with .854 OPS in 149 games.
— Brian McCann: .328-16-68 with .899 OPS in 118 games.
Oh, and one other guy:
— Albert Pujols: .316-44-119 with 1.070 OPS in 144 games.
What does it say? Howard is a phenomenal talent in his second full season in the majors (really, Dave, we didn’t know that…). LaRoche is a lot more productive than people give him credit for. McCann is an underappreciated (nationally) talent who would be getting much more attention if he had enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title (he should end up with enough) and it weren’t for no-ordinary-Joe catching in Minnnesota. It says a lot of things. Oh, and Andruw and Chipper are still pretty good.
OK, moving on to a few other matters I’ve mulled on this off day:
Who’s the Braves MVP this year? Too early to vote. Gonna be a three-way race with McCann, Renteria and Andruw (Smoltz could even get a vote or two). If I had to vote now, I’d go with McCann, who’s batting a sublime .352 with 14 homers, 52 RBIs and a .975 OPS while playing the toughest position on the field.
McCann, by the way, has hit .372 with 11 homers, 46 RBIs and a .430 on-base percentage in 71 games since April 19. That’s really, really outstanding.
Much has been made of the fact that Jeff Francoeur ranks third in the NL with 39 two-out RBIs (he led the majors for much of the first half). Not to take anything away from that impressive accomplishment, but you might find it interesting to know that McCann has far been than Francoeur and every other Brave with runners in scoring position and two outs.
McCann has led the majors in that category most of the season and currently owns a .467 average (14-for-30) with RISP and two outs, with eight walks and a 1.423 OPS in those plate appearances. That’s just ridiculous.
Wilson Betemit was 10-for-23 (.435) in those situations before getting traded, and the next-best Brave is Chipper Jones (.321, 9-for-28, with 12 walks).
Francoeur leads the team with 24 RBIs with RISP and two outs, but is only hitting .250 (18-for-72) with three walks and 16 strikeouts in those spots. That’s far and away the most at-bats on the team with RISP and two outs; next is Andruw, who’s 17-for-61 (.279) with 12 walks.
— No other Brave has more than 44 at-bats with RISP and two outs. So you see, Francoeur is getting a lot more chances to drive in runs in those spots. Again, I’m not trying to downplay what he’s done, but just trying to add some perspective. Francoeur has the same average with RISP and two outs as Ryan Langerhans (.250)….
— OK, here’s an intersting one: 16 of Andruw’s 26 hits since July 6 have been extra-base hits, including six doubles and 10 homers. He’s hit .271 with 30 RBis, 17 walks, 24 K’s and a 1.020 OPS in that stretch….
— At the risk of being accused of bashing Betemit (which I’m not; he’s played well since he went to L.A.), it’s another former Braves infielder who has fueled the Dodgers’ hot streak.
Rafael Furcal has hit .358 with a .405 OBP since July 4 for the Dodgers, including .406 (26-for-64) with 13 extra-base hits, 12 runs and 13 RBIs in the past 15 games.
— Betemit’s not even the hottest-hitting former Braves utility man — not by a long shot. That’d be Mark DeRosa, who’s on fire with the Rangers.
DeRo has hit .317 with eight homers and 29 RBIs in 32 games since July 3, including .463 with four homers and 18 RBIs in his past 10 games. Uh, I believe DeRo’s good enough to play every day now, whaddya think?
In the Braves’ defense, the dude did fall on his face when he had a chance to play 3B every day.
But wow, could they use him about now, or what? Great guy, and now turning out to be a better player than anyone here imagined.
— How about the changed fortunes of Tyler Yates? After giving up three runs in his first Braves appearance, Yates posted a 1.85 ERA and .190 opponents’ average in 26 games over a two-month span through Aug. 2, with 13 walks and 23 strikeouts.
— But in his past three appearances, he’s allowed six runs, three hits and five walks with one strikeout in 1-2/3 innings. He’s given up more earned runs in three games (six) than he gave up in the previous 26 (five).
— And finally, if the Braves aren’t the streakiest team in the NL, who is? They went 15-5 from May 7-28, 3-29 from May 29-June 22, 15-6 from June 23-July 18, and are 7-12 since July 19.
MAMA TRIED, by Merle Haggard
The first thing I remember knowing/Was a lonesome whistle blowing,/ And a young un’s dream of growing up to ride;
On a freight train leaving town/Not knowing where I’m bound/No one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child/From a family, meek and mild: My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
Despite all my Sunday learning/ Towards the bad, I kept on turning/Til Mama couldn’t hold me anymore.
And I turned 21 in prison doing life without parole/ No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied/ That leaves only me to blame ‘cos Mama tried.
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul/ Left my Mom a heavy load/ She tried so very hard to fill his shoes.
Working hours without rest/ Wanted me to have the best/ She tried to raise me right but I refused.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole/No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied/ That leaves only me to blame ‘cos Mama tried.
Hot day at the ballyard … where’s everybody?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Did they have the wrong starting time on tickets today? Hello, anybody here?
While it’s not anywhere near Dolphins Stadium-small, the throng on hand here at Turner Field today isn’t exactly shoe-horned in. Whatever the actual attendance is announced, there’s perhaps 15,000 in their seats at the start of the second inning.
But hey, with the heat and school starting or open-houses or whatever it is they’re doing today (I saw lots of cars in the lot at the high school by my house, so they’re doing something), it’s not too surprising.
I think if I had a choice, I’d probably be sitting at home in the air conditioning, working on a Montecristo and a pot of coffee, listening to Skip and Pete (or Don or Joe or Chip) on the radio.
But anyway…
OK, quick rundown before I get to my other newspaper duties. I swear I’ll keep it brief today, which I’m sure plenty of you will be thankful for, the ones who don’t much appreciate my epic posts.
The news: Lance Cormier won’t start Saturday, but he’ll start Tuesday. Saturday’s starter almost certainly will be Kevin Barry.
How to put this without sounding cynical or sarcastic … Umm, if the Braves could line up the ideal rotation that gives them the best chance to make a late run at this wild card, said rotation would include neither Cormier nor Barry.
There, that was tastefully done.
OK, on to Chipper. “The Kid,” as he once referred to himself (forever gaining my admiration and respect; you guys haven’t lived until you’ve heard Chipper Jones, in that country drawl, refer to himself in the third person as “The Kid.” I mean it, there’s moments in this job that are more entertaining than anything you can see on television). What was I saying? Oh, yeah, Chipper will rehab Friday and Saturday at Ol’ Double-A Miss, and be in the Braves lineup Sunday afternoon against Milwaukee and Tomo Ohka, barring any unforeseen developments.
Chipper reminded us that the last time he came off the DL this season, he also faced Tomo in his first game back _ and took him deep. Chipper smiled when he relayed that bit of info this morning.
And if you folks in the greater Jackson area want his autograph, may I suggest you get thee to the Bass Pro Shop near the ballpark Saturday, because that’s where a certain third baseman intends to spend some time prior to the game.
OK, leadoff. What’s Bobby going to do about leadoff Sunday? I asked him this morning and he said he doesn’t know yet. He seemed sincere. Maybe. Sort of.
If I had to bet, I’d say Giles will be back in the leadoff spot, because he’s so hot now the Braves probably believe it’s worth the gamble that he’ll keep going strong after moving back to leadoff, better than gambling by switching up the order and having Renteria or someone else lead off. But we’ll see.
LaRoche is out of the lineup again today with that sore left forearm. Dr. Gary Lourie, hand specialist, was going to check on Horacio just before the game (we haven’t gotten the report yet, but it shouldn’t be different that yesterday’s diagnosis _ out at least a month, possible the rest of the season) and Lourie also planned to check on LaRoche while here (forearm’s close to the hand, right?).
OK, I really need to get going on my notes for tomorrow’s paper. Chuck James has already thrown 50 pitches and recorded six outs as I write this, but at least there’s no runs on the board.
Oh, and if any of you were here at the game last night, was the country & western theme great, or what? Hank, Patsy Cline and Dwight Yoakum songs on the PA system, and the, uh, Braves’ Tomahawk Team in cowboy hats and cutoff shorts.
I honestly thought it was the greatest night ever at Turner Field … Because of the music, of course.
Starting rotation is in shambles
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since we’ve spent a good portion of this pock-marked Braves season castigating the bullpen, today it’s time to focus aim squarely upon the starting rotation.
Now, someone please pull the trigger and let both barrels blaze.
How bad have the starters been? With the obvious exception of John Smoltz, who’s been his usual dependable self, the starting pitching has been a disaster.
It really has been, especially when held up against Atlanta’s former standards for starting pitching. But by almost any standards, it’s been awful.
As I’ve said here before, if the rotation had done anything approaching the work expected of it entering the season, the bullpen deficiencies wouldn’t have been nearly as damaging to the Braves.
It’s a simple truth: When your starters are going 6-8 strong innings almost every night, with occasional complete games thrown in, like the Braves starters did for more than a decade, well, you can get by with a patchwork bullpen and less-than-overwhelming offense.
But when those starters are going three innings one night, five or six sloppy innings the next, and recording only four outs once every week or so … well, that’s when bullpen deficiencies becomes a huge, glaring problem.
And when you’re using 4-5 relievers many games, and blowing leads like the Braves did most of the season, it wears on everyone’s psyche. The whole house of cards becomes unstable. Before you know it, it’s cats living with dogs, real wrath-of-God stuff.
Anyway, the rotation. It’s the worst since before the Braves’ division-title run began.
Braves starters are 31-46 with a 4.90 ERA that ranks 11th in the 16-team NL. They’ve pitched the sixth-fewest innings among NL starters and allowed the sixth-most homers.
That’s bad enough by Brewers or Pirates standards, and absolutely horrendous by Braves standards.
While it’s inaccurate to compare based on ERAs from year-to-year (what with steroids, smaller ballparks, tightly-wound balls some seasons, changing strike zones, etc.), it’s fair to compare the Braves to the rest of their league.
And based on such comparison, it’s safe to say this is worst Braves rotation since the 1990 starters went 48-69 and ranked 11th in the 12-team NL with a 4.39 ERA. The NL average ERA was 3.88 that season, and the Cubs were worst at 4.48.
The NL average ERA this season is 4.22, which means the Braves starters (4.90) are higher above the league average this season than they were in 1990.
Ten pitchers have started at least one game for the Braves this season, and Smoltz (3.54) and journeyman Travis Smith (4.15 ERA in one start) are the only ones with ERAs below 4.48.
Smoltz (9-5) and Chuck James (4-3, thank you huge run support) are the only ones with winning records.
Remove Smoltz from the equation, and hold onto your seats before reading these totals: 22-41 with a 5.35 ERA. That’s the other nine starters, folks. Nurse, the sedatives, please.
Tim Hudson: 8-10, 5.22 ERA. If he’s not the biggest disappointment on the team this season, given what was expected of him, then tell me who is?
And please don’t say Reitsma, who most of us didn’t seriously expect to be a dominant closer. Besides, the man did just have elbow surgery, and that big, jagged scar he showed me yesterday on his elbow was all the proof I needed that he was legitimately, and seriously, injured.
Anyway, I don’t know who the Braves will have replace Horacio Ramirez if the MRI today comes back with bad results. Hell, right now they aren’t even sure who was going to do the fill-in start next week for John Thomson, after sending down Jason Shiell and his 9.75 ERA in three starts.
The just-arrived lefty reliever Wayne Franklin is a possibility (he’s a former starter). Cormier could be brought back for a start (Lance, not Rheal).
Bobby Cox said Kyle Davies probably was still two weeks away, three more rehab starts. I don’t think they’ll rush him just to fill in a week earlier.
Why the Braves didn’t put in a claim on Livan Hernandez, I don’t know. I would have.
Even before Horacio got hurt last night, they still needed some pitching depth to get through this season, and they have at least $2-3 mill in their original budget that hasn’t been spent. He went to Arizona, which has a better record _ and thus was lower on the claiming ladder _ than the Braves.
Anyway, I’ll let you know when I get to the park and hear something about Horacio. If Hudson and the Braves don’t win tonight and snap their five-game home losing skid, it’ll be a couple more shovels of dirt on their grave for even the most optimistic Braves fans.
Until the last homestand, I really thought the Braves had a better than 50-50 shot at winning the wild card. But now, in light of the last terrible homestand, the 3-3 road trip, and last night’s loss, coupled with Ramirez’s status … no. I’d be shocked if the Braves made it to the postseason this year.
The Dodgers are surging, the Reds made improvements, the West teams are playing hard trying to win their division, and even the Phillies are playing better ball than the Braves, whose rotation is basically in shambles, save for Mr. Smoltz.
Glad I could bring a ray of sunshine to your day. Pass the pie.
Braves better off ‘gone’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thirty-one of the Braves’ final 52 games will be played Turner Field. Who would’ve thought that could be a negative?
No one imagined the Braves would be so much better on the road than at home, but that’s precisely what’s happened. And no, I still haven’t heard a plausible answer as to why it’s happened.
The Braves, entering tonight’s homestand opener vs. Philly, are 29-31 on the road and 22-28 at home. They have the fewest home wins in baseball, fewer even than the putrid Kansas City Royals, whose 38-73 record includes 23 home wins.
Granted, the Braves have played fewer home games than any team except Washington (the Nationals have also played 50), but that disparity doesn’t begin to explain away the Braves’ home record.
They’re just not very good at home, especially lately.
Read this and cringe: The Braves are 10-22 with a 5.39 ERA and 34 homers in 32 home games since May 29, averaging fewer than five runs per game in that stretch.
In their past 35 road games, the Braves are 20-15 with a 4.41 ERA and 69 homers, averaging 5.5 runs.
The Braves have hit 96 road homers while no other NL team has as many as 80. But their 53 homers at home is better than only two other NL teams.
The Braves lead the NL with 334 runs on the road, but rank 14th with 240 runs at home.
Strange thing about this is, the Braves’ performance at home has gone south in a season when home attendance has actually inched upward.
After seeing declining attendance at Turner Field every year from 1998 through 2004, the Braves leveled off last season, and this year have enjoyed a 4-percent attendance increase.
The only Braves regulars who produce better offensive numbers at Turner Field than on the road are Jeff Francoeur and Marcus Giles.
Francoeur is hitting .296 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs in 50 home games, the fourth-highest home RBI total in the NL behind Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols.
But Francoeur is hitting just .224 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 60 road games.
Giles has hit .292 in 50 home games. On the road, he’s hit .239 in 49 games.
Other than those two, most Braves regulars have hit far better away from home.
The extreme example is Adam LaRoche, who has hit .293 with 18 homers, 48 RBIs and a robust .680 slugging percentage in 56 road games. His 18 road homers is tied for second in the NL with Howard, and LaRoche is third in NL road RBIs.
He doesn’t turn into a pumpkin at home, but relatively speaking, it’s close. LaRoche is hitting .247 with five homers, 15 RBIs and a .409 slugging percentage in 47 home games. That’s .247-5-15-.409 at home, .293-18-48-.680 on the road.
Andruw Jones is hitting .284 with nine homers, 37 RBIs and a .489 slugging percentage in 50 home games. But his power numbers spike on the road, where he’s hit .266 with 17 homers, 58 RBIs and a .550 slugging percentage in 57 games.
Chipper Jones has hit .365 with a gaudy 1.024 OPS in 45 road games, and .289 with a .929 OPS in 36 home games.
Brian McCann has hit .359 with nine homers, 31 RBIs and a 1.020 OPS in 46 road games, and .322 with five homers, 21 RBIs and an .873 OPS in 37 home games.
There are others, too. But you get the point.
While the easy answer is to dismiss the difference as a result of Turner Field being more of a pitchers’ park than bandboxes in Cincinnati, Houston and so many other cities, the Braves haven’t had anything like this disparity in recent memory.
Besides, if Turner Field favors the pitchers so much, shouldn’t there also be a greater disparity in Braves pitchers’ home and road numbers?
They have a 4.81 ERA and 64 homers allowed in 60 road games, and a 4.69 ERA and 68 homers allowed in 50 road games. A difference, yes, but nothing remotely close to the hitters’ dichotomy.
It’s extremely tough to make the playoffs with a losing home record. This year or any year.
So maybe you should bake the boys a pie or something, make them feel at home. But maybe not. Maybe you should just boo them and make them feel like they’re on the road? Perhaps fans could hold up large pictures to form a mural depicting a San Diego backdrop? Something. Anything.
Because at this rate, the Braves’ flickering wild-card hopes will be snuffed out by too much time at home in August and September.
The last word (please) on Andruw
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So I’ve been up in the Canadian Rockies a few days, out of cell-phone range (or Verizon Broadband laptop communications range). Anything happen?
Kidding, folks. (We who either cover or pull for the Braves still can smile, joke and discuss matters with something other than grave tones, right? Good).
Anyway, back to the fine denizens of the blogosphere. Scanning the weekend’s posts, it appears some of you have either pawned your computers or turned attention to college football or the Falcons.
For those still out there, it’s good to be back. Hopefully you’re just dormant and will return in force for these final seven weeks of ‘ball before the postseason (hey, I didn’t say Braves postseason).
By the way, I saw one of the greatest concerts of my life last week _ Tom Waits at the Tabernacle. Phenomenal in every sense (but we’ll avoid music today, because of the noted music-hater who’s a regular here and said last week he has his reasons to hate music and comes here to get away from it. Pity the person who hates music, but whatever. We’ll give it a rest _ for today, at least).
Anyway, I’d known Andruw Waivergate was going to be blown out of proportion into the biggest headline-making matter since Smoltz Asked To Be Traded To Detroit (wink), I’d have scheduled to work this road trip and took a different one off.
That, plus I missed the discussion of banana pudding. (People, you can’t be serious if you don’t line it with ‘Nilla wavers and serve it warm, with merinque on top, just like my momma did)
But understand, I’ve got to pick about 20 games out of 81 road games to miss each year, and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in August are always going to be high on my list of NL cities to avoid if at all possible.
So anyway, what did I think of Andruw and waivers? As I offered in one post early in the week _ before the thing was stoked into such a perfect storm that I opted to stay out until it diminished _ this simply was not a major story. At least not nearly as huge as some made it out to be.
As has been pointed out by everyone savvy in these matters, most players, including star players, have been put on waivers and cleared waivers more than once in their careers. That includes, yes, Chipper and Smoltz.
The thing that made Andruw’s case different and newsworthy was the confluence of the waivers filing coming two weeks before Andruw gets his 10/5 status and ability to veto trades, and its coming on the heels of last week’s Red Sox trade “talks” _ which, as pointed out several times here, were initiated by Boston’s Theo Eptstein, and involved one phone call to John Schuerholz, who ran down the king’s ransom that it would take to get Andruw. End of that call.
The Braves’ only mistake, in my view, was not calling Andruw when this firestorm spread, when he was clearly peeved. The Braves’ front office (Schuerholz) can be stubborn and set in its ways, perhaps a byproduct of 14 consecutive division titles and operating under a cloak of secrecy on all matters.
I don’t fault them, usually, for that approach. But in this case, as Andruw said, make a call to the man. It seems like it just would’ve made good sense.
Call your perennial Gold Glove center fielder _ ask him to please keep the phone call’s contents private, if you must _ and explain to him that waivers are supposed to confidential, and that it has little to do with their desire to move him and instead is a business decision designed to cover their butts just in case there’s somebody desperate out there ready to fork over that king’s ransom _ or more _ that Schuerholz told the Red Sox it would take to get Andruw.
Before some knee-jerk reactionaries howl about what I just said, and twist that into a Braves-dissed-Andruw-and-I’m-drinking-the-Kool Aid stance, let me ask: Would it make much sense for the Braves to simply say, we love Andruw too much to ask waivers on him?
Then what if the Red Sox became desperate after, say, a season-ending injury to Manny Ramirez this week? What if they called the Braves back and said, “We’ll not only give you all you asked for last week in exchange for Andruw Jones _ top 22-year-old lefty starter Jon Lester (no longer merely a prospect, by the way, but a good young pitcher in the major league rotation), plus Coco Crisp and 22-year-old rookie reliever Craig Hansen _ we’ll also throw in (fill in the blank with two other top prospects)?”
Because the Red Sox suddenly might do that, if they needed a big bat to replace Manny (don’t ask me what they’d do in LF; this is just hypothetical, OK?).
Anyway, what if that happened? If Andruw hadn’t been through waivers, the Braves would have to tell Epstein, “We’d like to do it, but first we’ll have to try to put Andruw through waivers.” Now, given the New York Yankees’ fiscal position and disdain for rival Boston, do you not think they’d put in a claim to block Andruw from going to Boston after figuring they might try to get him to replace Manny?
Yes, they would. And then if the Yankees didn’t want to make a deal, they could offer nothing of value for Andruw and the Braves could do nothing but pull him back off waivers and not trade him to the Sox or anyone else this season.
Was that likely to happen? No, but it certainly could have.
Manny could get hurt, or Johnny Damon, Vlad Guerrero … any free-spending contender could have a major injury to a key run produceer and get desperate this week _ before Andruw is a 10/5 player _ and be ready to offer far more than they would under normal circumstances in order to get a replacement. Andruw, perhaps, if he’d gotten through waivers.
I should point out, that Red Sox trade proposal wouldn’t happen in August, at least involving Lester, Hansen and Crisp, because all of those guys would be claimed on waivers, certainly the young pitchers would be claimed immediately, without question.
The only reasonable hypothetical involving Andruw being dealt after July 31 would’ve involved another player from another team with a huge salary, perhaps with that team picking up some of that other player’s salary, etc. Something unusual like that. Again, the team would have to be desperate and see Andruw as the perfect guy to fill a huge void immediately.
But it doesn’t matter now, because Andruw was pulled back from waivers. So he’s not going to be traded the rest of the season, and in the future if he’s traded at all, he’ll have to approve the deal now, because he’ll be a 10/5 guy on Aug. 15.
Still, I hope I’ve made my point: The Braves wouldn’t have been very savvy if they hadn’t performed the simple step of seeing if they could get him through waivers. If for no other reason than to get a better idea of just how much interest there might be in him should they decide to trade him later.
There was nothing to lose, except potential harm in their relationship with Andruw, which they could have avoided by simply telling him what was going on, especially after word of his being put on waivers was leaked and he voiced his displeasure.
Then, it wouldn’t have mattered if the story was overblown in the media and fans were stirred into a frenzy, because ultimately all that mattered was/is Jones’ relationshp with the team when it comes time to try and re-sign him.
Judging from Andruw’s comment Saturday, about it being no big deal in the end because he wasn’t traded, tells me that he probably won’t hold it against them. He’s not that type of guy, and he does love playing in Atlanta for Bobby Cox.
And Scott Boras doesn’t seem to have quite the same influence on Andruw that he has on most of his other clients, as Andruw demonstrated when he worked out his last contract with his dad’s assistance, rather than Boras driving it as high as it could possibly go with the Braves.
Which brings me to one other important matter: Do the Braves plan to re-sign Andruw?
Though some of you might believe otherwise, the Braves will try to retain him, barring an unexpected development such as a huge payroll slashing by new ownership if and when that group takes over.
But the Braves simply don’t know yet what Andruw’s going to ask for, and where the market is going to go. That’s just the way it is. The unanswerable question, at this stage of the game.
We’re going to have to wait, if not until next year, then at least until this winter when the likes of Carlos Lee hit the free-agent market. Then perhaps the Braves have at least a better idea where the market could be headed a year later and if they should listen to offers for Andruw this winter or wait until next summer, or perhaps sign him to an extension before it even comes to that.
The Yankees, Red Sox and Angels drive the market each offseason, with a suddenly big-spending team like Toronto or the Mets getting into the mix when a new ballpark, TV deal or eager owner comes along looking to make a splash.
So as much as Jones would stay with Atlanta if all things were equal, and perhaps if they were even reasonably close to equal, the Braves don’t expect to keep him if some team suddenly decides to raise the bar and offer Jones $20 mill a year for 4-5 years.
While the Yankees have Johnny Damon tied to a huge contract that might keep them out of the potential Andruw sweepstakes, the Red Sox and White Sox are two teams that have talked to the Braves in recent years about trading for Jones. So those two teams might get involved in the bidding, and two deep-pockets teams and Scott Boras can make for a huge bidding war in a hurry.
That said, the Braves are not at all conceding that Jones will be impossible to sign. Despite speculation _ and it’s just that, nothing but speculation _ from fans and some media, Braves front-office officials have been given no reason to believe that Liberty Media would significantly alter their payroll if and when they take over as owners.
This is based on recent conversations I’ve had with more than one Braves and/or Turner officials. Very recent conversations. The Braves are not in rebuilding mode, and don’t anticipate anything less than going into next season with their usual goals of playing for a division title and more (hey, that’s their stance, don’t jump on me for relaying it).
The $80 mill payroll is very reasonable for an established team with a good stadium lease and attendance that stopped its decline last year and is actually up slightly this season (despite predicitions otherwise, this bad season on the field hasn’t been reflected in attendance figures).
The Braves have long-term commitments to only four players beyond next season: Mike Hampton, Tim Hudson, Chipper Jones and Edgar Renteria, and those commitments total about $47 million in 2008 (using the $8 million figure the Braves apply for their annual commitment to Hampton, and $6 million for Edgar Renteria, the amount they’re paying on his contract annually).
There is room, if the Braves decide to go that direction, to fit $15 million or maybe even slightly more for Andruw Jones, especially if the salary is somewhat backloaded. And especially since their only current commitments for 2009 are to Hudson and a vesting-option year for Chipper Jones (if Hudson ever pitched like the old Hudson again for any length, he’d be tradeable if necessary. I know, big if.)
Chipper’s restructed deal that he did last winter includes a vesting option year in 2009 worth between $8 milland $11 mill, the amount to be determined according to performance levels in 2007-08.
If the Braves decide that Andruw Jones should stay productive for several more years, they will try to keep him. But at some point, they have to draw a line.
That’s what I don’t understand about the type of reasoning that I heard from a couple of radio guys the other day, who said flatly that successful teams keep their best, most productive players. Really? So, if the Red Sox offer Andruw a four-year, $80 mill contract, the Braves should offer him at least a four-year, $76 mill deal and hope he’ll give them a “discount?” Even if that’s a quarter of their annual payroll? Is there no reasonable limit to what they should offer?
I’m sure if the Braves did that, if they met or matched any offer to keep Andruw, and then he slipped a bit three years from now, then those same guys wouldn’t be critical at all of the Braves having a quarter of their payroll tied up in one guy. Riiiiight. No, no one would criticize that, would they?
They have Andruw under contract at $13.5 mill next season (2007), and he’s been durable and avoided any significant injury so far in his career.
While he can veto any trade after becoming a 10/5 guy, Andruw, like Chipper, isn’t likely to veto a deal if the Braves came to him and told him they wouldn’t be able to re-sign him and that so-and-so contending team wants him badly and probably would re-sign him to a lucrative extension.
In the interim, the Braves were only being smart trying to get him through waivers, because if he made it through, it would’ve allow the team to be nimble and consider a potential over-the-top trade offer before he becomes a 10/5 guy.
Their mistake _ and it was an easily avoidable one _ was in not simply making a private call to Andruw and explaining to him exactly what they were doing. Far as I can tell, there was no excuse for not doing that.
And no excuse for outsiders to not accept the fact that waivers are part of the game, for almost every player who wears a uniform. Put aside the passion for a moment and view the procedural move for what it was.
Sorry for beating this horse, if it’s dead already. Just wanted to offer by 2 cents (or 2,000 cents, given the length of the post).
A thriving bullpen, for a change
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves’ bullpen has gone from awful to outstanding. Can this last?
Trade acquisitions Bob Wickman and Danys Baez have been even better than hoped and the holdovers have thrived in reduced roles.
When Wickman was acquired from Cleveland, the Braves had converted just 20-of-40 save chances. Wickman is 4-for-4.
It has been a pleasant surprise that Wickman has gotten strikeouts as well as ground balls. He had struggled with the Indians before the deal.
Baez didn’t pitch like he or the Dodgers wanted in Los Angeles, but he has been able to throw both his fastball and curve for strikes with the Braves.
General manager John Schuerholz was criticized for the Baez trade, but the bullpen had to be further upgraded if the Braves were to have a chance to make the playoffs.
With Chipper Jones going on the disabled list, the timing wasn’t great. But Willy Aybar, obtained with Baez for Wilson Betemit, has looked good at third base and in the leadoff spot.
The Braves play the Reds in Cincinnati this weekend in a key wild-card series. Having a better bullpen makes playing at the cozy Great American Ball Park less scary.
LaRoche ready for Reds?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At least there were a couple bits of good news for the Braves despite the 3-2 loss at Pittsburg on Thursday.
Adam LaRoche reported that his strained right hamstring feels better and Tim Hudson turned in what is considered a quality start for the first time since June 10.
LaRoche, hurt on Wednesday, insists that he will be available for the important weekend series in Cincinnati, although manager Bobby Cox will likely hold his first baseman out of the lineup for at least one more game.
The Braves need the hot-hitting LaRoche back playing regularly as soon as possible. But they need Hudson pitching like the old Oakland ace even more if they are going to make a playoff run.
Hudson (8-10) bounced back after giving up nine runs against the New York Mets last Saturday, but he was still much less than at the top of his game against the Pirates.
Hudson made it through six innings for the first time since July 8. But still struggled with his command, his pitches not showing the movement they once had.
After the Braves scored in the top of the first, he gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning. Then he allowed what proved to be the winning run in the sixth, although he was able to end the inning with a bases-loaded double play.
The Braves took two of three from the Pirates, although scoring just nine runs. Expect much high-scoring games in Cincinnati, where the Braves need to also win at least twice.
Starved for quality starters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kyle Davies won’t be ready to rejoin the Braves until late this month. But his first minor league rehab start gave hope that help will eventually arrive for the team’s slumping rotation.
Davies pitched two scoreless innings for Class AA Mississippi against Carolina on Tuesday night, not allowing a base runner and striking out three. He threw 33 pitches, 22 for strikes.
The young right-hander has been on the disabled list since tearing his groin in May and requiring surgery. He will need at least three more starts before he is ready to be activated.
John Smoltz had another strong outing Tuesday night in the 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh, but the Braves obviously need better starting pitching if they are to contend for the National League wild-card.
All the Braves starters except Smoltz have been inconsistent, with Tim Hudson being a major disappointment.
The Braves can no longer expect John Thomson, still bothered by shoulder problems, to be a major factor and Jason Shiell doesn’t look like the answer as the fifth starter.
Horacio Ramirez pitches the middle game of the series against the Pirates and then Hudson goes on Thursday. Chuck James, victimized by homers lately, pitches Friday at Cincinnati, followed by Shiell and Smoltz.
The Reds lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, so the Braves are now 5 1/2 games back in the NL wild-card standings.
With the additions of Bob Wickman and Danys Baez, the Braves have upgraded their bullpen. The rotation, however, is nothing like what Braves fans have come to expect.
Braves need hot August boost
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves’ dismal homestand didn’t end the their wild-card chances. But a bad road trip certainly will do just that.
The Braves play three games in Pittsburgh, then three more against the wild-card leading Reds in Cincinnati. A sweep would put they right back in the thick of things. At least four victories is mandatory.
It won’t be easy, especially with Chipper Jones out. But the Braves have played their best baseball on the road, with most of their hitters thriving away from spacious Turner Field.
John Smoltz pitches the opener against the Pirates and the finale against the Reds. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he is the Braves’ only consistent starter at the moment.
The lowly Pirates have won five in a row. In fact, they have a winning record at home.
But Pittsburgh made four trades at the non-waiver deadline and the moves weakened the roster for the moment.
The Reds continued to try to upgrade their pitching again with deadline deals and definitely appear to be the wild card favorites. But they remain far from an uncatchable team.
The Braves, though, are 6 1/2 games back and have eight teams between them and Cincinnati. It’s a tall order to pass that many teams.
Losers of four straight, the Braves need to get going fast. August just began, but time is running out.
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