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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
In a woeful season, LaRoche shines
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves reign of division titles officially ended at 14 when the NL East-leading New York Mets rallied to beat Florida 6-4.
Few really took note, however. After two long rain delays, the game in Florida didn’t end until early Wednesday morning.
The Braves were eliminated almost as early as in 1990, the year before their winning began. That woeful team lost its mathematical chance of catching Cincinnati in the NL West on Sept. 11.
Actually, all hope of catching the Mets this year ended in June. By then the damage was done.
Now, any hope of making a very late wild-card push has all but ended. There are just too many teams ahead of the Braves.
Adam LaRoche has been a symbol at times of the Braves’ struggles this year. But despite his occasional brain cramps, the first baseman has been one of the bright spots for the team.
The Braves couldn’t even be hoping for a wild-card run without LaRoche’s second-half hitting tear.
LaRoche, who hopes to play in at least one game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with Philadelphia despite his sore hamstring, has lifted his batting average 45 points - from .251 to .296 - since the All-Star break.
In 50 games, LaRoche is hitting .365 with 17 homers and 46 RBIs. He is third in the NL since the break in all three categories and is second only to the Phillies’ Ryan Howard in slugging percentage.
LaRoche’s 30 homers are the third most for an Atlanta first baseman. Andres Galarraga hit 44 in 1998 and Fred McGriff had 34 in 1994.
Give LaRoche some credit. He is one Brave who has had a better season this year than last.
