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Wednesday, May 2, 2007
“Salty” gets the call
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Salty’s in the house, and in the lineup.
Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the Braves’ No. 1-rated prospect, was recalled from Double-A Mississippi and in the lineup tonight against the Phillies, batting seventh.
He was activated after Brian McCann and backup Brayan Pena were hurt in Tuesday night’s loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Pena was placed on the DL after being tested for post-concussion symptons Wednesday.
The Braves think McCann will only be out a few days, so they didn’t want to DL him. Bobby Cox said Salty will start tonight and possibly the series opener Friday vs. the Dodgers (Braves are off Thursday).
But he also made it clear that Salty is too young and good to sit the bench, so it sounds like he’ll return to Double-A as soon as Pena is ready, likely in the minimum 15 days.
McCann reinjured his left ring finger when he was hit by the bat on a Rod Barajas swng. He tried to stay in the game, but quickly realized he wasn’t able to catch a ball with his glove hand.
He originally hurt the finger 10 days ago during a game in New York, and McCanns said this afternoon it feels worse than it did the day after the initial injury. But it’s only a painful bruise on the fingertip, and he hopes to catch Friday.
Pena was hurt when he was hit in the head by Greg Dobbs’ follow-through swing in the ninth inning.
Saltalmacchia joins the Braves on his 22nd birthday. He was hitting .309 with seven doubles, six homers and 13 RBIs in 22 games for Double-A Mississippi, with 13 walks and 17 strikeouts.
It’s a good choice to bring him up. Bobby has never been afraid of throwing guys into the fire, and Francoeur and others have shown the move from Double-A to the majors can be made without a layover at Richmond. Salty’s got all the potential in the world, and this could be a good experience for him, to see where he is and know what he needs to keep working on.
He also reiterated today that he wants to catch, he prefers that, but whatever it takes to get to the big leagues, he won’t complain about.
Also going on the disabled list: struggling starter Mark Redman, who apparently has been pitching with an ingrown toenail on his left big toe. He’ll have outpatient surgery today or tomorrow, and Bobby Cox again said he thinks Redman has got good pitching left in him and indicated he’ll get another chance as soon as 15 days.
Braves won’t need a starter for that spot until next Tuesday (May 8), and Bobby said he hasn’t decided, that they’re considering a bunch of options. Oscar Villarreal and, yes, left-hander Dan Smith, are among those options. So might be Anthony Lerew.
By the way, Ol’ Double-A Miss was 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts last night in its 9-8 win over Mobile. Van Pople had three steals and the 235-pound Salty had one.
Redman slide continues: It has appeared Redman and Kyle Davies are in a race nobody wants to win, with neither of them pitching well enough to keep one of the final spots in the rotation.
(Oh, by the way: Villarreal’s 20 strikeouts in 13-2/3 innings ranks him third among NL relievers in strikeout rate.
Redman’s 10.62 ERA and .370 opponents’ average would each be the worst among major league starters if he had six more innings to qualify for rankings. He doesn’t have enough innings because he’s been knocked out of games too early.
In other words, he’s been too bad to be ranked as the majors’ worst.
Redman has four wins and a .345 opponents’ average in his past 17 starts, including the last 12 of his All-Star season with Kansas City (Once more, can we please rescind the archaic rule requiring All-Star representation for every team? That rule just doesn’t work with 30 teams, not unless you expand the All-Star rosters, which would then seem to dilute the honor of being an All-Star).
In his past nine starts, Redman is 2-6 with a 9.64 ERA and .375 opponents’ average, with 16 walks and 22 strikeouts in 42 innings.
Meanwhile, Davies is 1-5 with a 9.96 ERA and .352 opponents’ average in his past 10 starts, with 32 walks and 32 strikeouts in 40-2/3 innings.
Bobby Cox said today he thinks the toenail probably affected Redman, that he’s been dealing with it since early in the season. (Of course, that wouldn’t much explain his bad starts at the end of last season.)
Chipper playing like an All-Star: It’s still early, but Chipper Jones is doing everything possible to earn a spot the NL All-Star team. He last made the All-Star team in 2001, the year before he moved to the outfield to accommodate the pursuit of third baseman Vinny Castilla.
He’s been back at third since 2004, and right now Chipper is producing numbers that are All-Star worthy regardless of position.
He’s batting .317 with 18 extra-base hits including a National League-leading 10 homers, 20 RBIs, 18 walks, 16 strikeouts, a .418 OBP and .692 slugging percentage. His 1.110 OPS is second in the NL to Barry Bonds’ 1.273.
Oh, and he’s played in every game (I’d bet he’ll get a day off real soon).
He’s continued the tear he started last summer, and so far Chipper has stayed healthy, other than a quadriceps strain that he’s played through for a week or so.
In 75 games since June 25, Chipper’s hit a whopping .360 with 23 doubles, three triples, 29 homers, 71 RBIs, 69 runs, a .442 OBP and a .766 slugging percentage. During that stretch he’s totaled 15 homers and 40 RBIs in 37 home games.
And speaking of All-Star candidates, Kelly Johnson’s .482 leadoff on-base percentage in the best in the majors, and his 1.069 OPS ranks sixth overall in the National League.
It’s impossible to overstate how successful the Johnson “experiment” at second base and leadoff has been. Folks, keep in mind he missed the entire 2006 season and never played second base or hit leadoff before this year.
All-Star and Comeback Player of the Year? It’s possible. But early, still.
Braves keep slugging away: Some — including me — wondered if the Braves might have let a little too much power go from their lineup when they traded 32-homer man Adam LaRoche for reliever Mike Gonzalez in January.
We were wrong, apparently. The Braves lead the majors with 38 homers and rank second with a .462 slugging percentage. The Marlins are next with 33 homers, and Tampa Bay — Tampa Bay? — leads the AL with 32.
Chipper leads the the majors with five in the past 10 days.
The not-so-rosy numbers: The starting rotation has slipped to 11th in the NL in ERA, obviously because of the back end’s struggles.
The Braves are 9-9 since their 7-1 start, and haven’t won more than two in a row in those past 18 games.
The Braves are 3-4 at home during that stretch, including losses in two games in which they hit two homers.
WARNING: Music talk is next. If you don’t want to read it, simply skip it. There’s no more baseball talk from here until end of this post. So no need to complain about not wanting to read anything other than baseball on the Braves blog. Hit the scroll button, go to the posts below, and find something else to complain about, please. Thanks.
The Arcade Fire is en fuego: Their latest album, “Neon Bible,” is as good or better than anything else I’ve heard this year, and Arcade Fire’s concert last night at the Atlanta Civic Center was even better than the album. Terrific show, best I’ve seen since Drive-By Truckers in Detroit during World Series week.
I counted 10 people in the band last night, filling the stage and rockin’ out on everything from stand-up bass to violins, tons of guitars, and a drum that this hyper-kinetic band member carried with him into the audience at one point, climbing up a slender stairwell wall while he banged on the drum, a move that looked so precarious I feared for his safety.
But if he’d fallen, he’d have been caught by adoring fans. The place was absolutely packed, and I don’t think anyone left until the last song of the second encore was over and the houselights finally came up. What a show.
Tremendous musicians, and energy level off the charts. So cool to see a band that’s really into what they’re doing, and really wants to please the audience and not put it on cruise control. I’d guess I’ve seen 300-400 concerts in my life, and I’d probably put that one in the top 20. Really, it was that good.
Oh, and speaking of the Truckers, very good use of one of their songs on the great show The Shield this week.
