AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 07
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Sixty down, 102 to go for Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, got 14 minutes to see what we can do with this blog, 14 minutes until the clubhouse opens and I have to get down there to see what’s going on. So here we go, let’s dive right in.
Carroll’s covering the draft, so I’ll leave it to her to discuss the picks in depth elsewhere here on our ajc.com Braves site. But I’ll just say it’s remarkable how the Braves keep filling the pipeline with legit standouts from within the state.
This Jason Heyward dude they drafted with the 14th overall pick today in the first round is from just down the road at Henry County High, and he’s a big, strong, athletic outfielder projected to hit for average and power.
This isn’t a case of picking a guy because he’s from in-state, either. This fella was projected by some to go in the first 10 picks. But it is uncanny how they keep getting guys from Georgia (though I should point out it’s easier to do that when you take as many high school players as the Braves do; that part of their strategy I don’t necessarily always agree with, because studies have shown that college players are more likely to become impact guys, and sooner. But hey, that’s a whole ‘nother discussion you guys may or may not be interested in, but I’ll leave it to you if you are)….
Now to the current Bravos: Look at the NL East standings today and you’ll see that only one team has a winning record in its past 10 games, and that’s a 6-4 mark. Everyone else is muddling along playing .500 ball lately.
So the Braves can be thankful, because this current 9-15 stretch they’re on could easily have dropped them to 8-9 games back if the Mets had pulled off a little run at the same time.
But the Mets didn’t, and they lost another outfielder to the DL yesterday, Endy Chavez. The Mets have a ton of talent, but are also a flawed team that doesn’t figure to run away with this thing as long as the Braves play the way they’re capable of playing. I still don’t like the Mets’ pitching for a 162-game season.
Folks, we’ve still got more than 100 games to go. Keep that in mind, before you start talking about ripping it up and aiming for next year. Most of you aren’t saying such things, but many are. And it’s preposterous on two levels: 1. It’s not going to happen; the Braves aren’t going to wave a white flag and aim toward next season, period. They don’t do that. Not ever, but certainly not when Bobby Cox, John Schuerholz, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones are in the twilight of their careers. This team is going to do everthing within its power and wherewithal to win this season.
Oh, and 2. They’re 3-1/2 games back, for God’s sake. Nevermind how poorly they’ve looked on occasion, nevermind that they’re pitching is very suspect behind the first three starters and a few bullpen guys, nevermind that Chipper is hurt and might be out another week or two, and McCann has played with nagging injuries that clearly have affected his performance, and nevermind that Andruw Jones is having the worst season of his career.
Nevermind all that, because the fact remains: The Braves are 3-1/2 games out of first place, and right in the thick of the wild-card race if the season were winding down. When you’re the Braves and you’ve had your division-title streak broken and you want badly to start another one, you’re playing to win now.
Not next year or two years from now. Now.
That said, they need to do everything they can to get another quality starter, though it doesn’t have to be this week as my colleague Mark Bradley said. I liked his column, but am not as pessimistic as him.
And I also am realistic. I know teams aren’t trading quality starters right now, and the Braves can wait another few weeks or longer, until some teams fall out of it and look to unload a pitcher or two. It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s reality. You don’t want to make a trade for a pitcher now, just to make a trade, and end up getting a guy who isn’t even as good as what you have.
Draft on TV is boring: Sorry, but even for us covering the sport, it’s boring. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you folks like it? The only part that’s funny for me is hearing Selig say, “from Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina,” and “from Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia.” But that was only funny for about the first 10 picks.
Andruw’s struggling, maybe you’ve heard? In case you missed it, the Braves center fielder isn’t having exactly the kind of free-agent “walk” year that he or Scott Boras probably envisioned.
And with 60 games in the books, it might be time to seriously start to wonder how much this could end up costing Jones. And whether his projected salary will fall low enough to make it sensible for the Braves to try and sign him.
Or, on the other hand, is this season an indication of an early fall-off for a player who just turned 30? Personally, I don’t think so. I think Andruw will have at least 3-4 more seasons like the previous two that he had, but he’ll have to get more consistent and solid in his approach at the plate. Pitchers have been able to exploit the holes that his unorthodox swing has created.
And the progress he made in late May seems forgotten now that Jones has dipped to .219 for the season. Repeat, .219. Andruw Jones, the 2005 MVP runner-up, has the second-lowest average among NL regulars, behind only Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo.
Even Adam LaRoche, after a start that was bad beyond belief, is hitting .221.
Andruw is hitting .188 this season at home, the worst on the team after Scott Thorman’s three-hit game Wednesday raised the rookie’s home average to .205.
Since May 2, Andruw has hit .185 (23-for-124) with four homers, 19 RBIs, 12 walks, 31 strikeouts, a .261 OBP and a .339 slugging percentage. In his past five games he’s 2-for-19 with two walks and no RBIs.
Alfonso is here, put away breakables: Alfonso Soriano had a couple of homers against the Braves last week at Chicago, and now the Cubs LF will take aim against them at Turner Field in a four-game series starting tonight.
In his past 24 games vs. the Braves, he’s 38-for-105 (.362) with nine doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 26 RBIs. Oh, my.
OK, I took longer than 14 minutes. Elvis takes us out as I head downstairs….
“BIG BOYS” by Elvis Costello
I am starting to function/In the usual way
Everything is so provocative/Very very, temporary…
I shall walk (I shall walk)/Out of this place (out of this place)
I shall walk/Out on you
cause you go silly/If she’s willing
Trying so hard to be like the big boys
So you take her to the pictures/Trying to become a fixture
Inch by inch trying to reach her/All the way through the second feature
Worrying about your physical fitness/Tell me how you got this sickness, oh ohhhh..
I was caught in the suction/By a face like a truncheon
I was down upon one knee/Stroking her vanity
I was stuck on a hammerhead/I came alive and left for dead
As my face returned to red/Choking on my pride and pity
We can talk (we can talk)/Until your face is blue (till your face is blue)
We can talk but she’ll get to you/After you’ve been loved and hated
By the ones you’ve watched and waited/Found that they were overrated
She’ll be the one — when the party’s over
She’ll be the one — when the girls have gone home
She’ll be the one — that you’ll wish you’d held onto
She’ll be the one — but it’s too late for you to
She’ll be the one — who knows all your history
She’ll be the one
So you can cross her off your list
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
To be like the big boys … oh!
