AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 26
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Where are Atlanta All-Star votes?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What was the slogan our city used to use, “Atlanta, The City Too Busy to Hate”? Maybe they still use it, I don’t know, since that “ATL, Where Every Day’s An Opening Day” thing seemed to go over like a lead balloon.
But here’s another one, though obviously aimed at a more specific audience: “Atlanta, The City Too Busy to Vote for All-Star Teams.”
How else to explain why so few Braves show up among NL All-Star leaders in fan voting? (OK, there’s a few other explanations, like the team ain’t what it used to be, TBS bailed on them and no longer carries all the games nationwide, the red Sunday jerseys are a bit much, and oh, yeah, they’re barely above .500).
But let’s not get distracted by those factors. Besides, it isn’t as if Craig Biggio (third among NL second basemen in fan voting) is tearing it up for a defending World Series champion or anything, and last I checked Johnny Estrada (third among catchers) wasn’t exactly a marquee player on a huge-market team.
This is a metro area that’s grown to more than 5 million people. And I read recently that we’re the second-most “wired” (as in internet, not meth) city in American, behind Seattle. You can vote on the internet, you realize, right? God knows we’ve got the traffic to show for the population explosion, so why not the All-Star votes?
And while TBS is too busy showing cheaper, more profitable programming including syndicated TV reruns to show the entire 162-game schedule like they used to, they still have shown more Braves games nationally than all but a handful of other teams (last I checked, Astros and Brewers games aren’t carried nationally on a Superstation, or even semi-nationally on a Modeststation).
So is this just another sign of somewhat jaded and/or spoiled fan base? (Don’t send me missives about calling fans jaded and/or spoiled, I’m just asking).
Or is this team just so uninspiring that you don’t want to punch those ballots for the likes of your hometown guys, the Edgar Renterias (not in the top five among NL shortstops), Kelly Johnsons and Brian McCanns (granted, not having an All-Star caliber season, but he was the best NL catcher last season and trails Estrada by more than 100,000 votes in the latest voting numbers).
The only Brave in the top five at his position in fan voting is Chipper Jones, who’s third among third basemen, behind David Wright and Miguel Cabrera and ahead of Scott Rolen and Aramis Ramirez.
Now, the New York teams always get a ton of reps because they simply have such an advantage in metro-area size and national exposure, etc. (I mean, Carlos Beltran’s a great player, but not having one of his best seasons, and he leads NL outfield voting). Same for the L.A. teams, and even the Cubs, long as they’re not awful (and sometimes even when they are).
But Milwaukee? I mean, Prince Fielder deserves to be ahead of Albert Pujols in the first-base voting, so I’m glad to see he is. He should be the leading vote-getter in the NL, in fact (he’s not, Beltran and Wright of the Mets are 1-2).
But have you compared the size of Milwaukee’s and Atlanta’s markets? And their national exposure?
Again, I commend voters for recognizing Fielder’s remarkable season. But as we know, it’s not like the best players traditionally get voted as starters at every position by fans. It’s a popularity contest, for the most part. Fielder’s just been so good, it’s impossible for many voters to skip over him.
But at shortstop, where there’s six guys worthy of All-Star selection, how can Renteria, who was a very popular player in St. Louis, not have enough votes to even crack the top five (the Cardinals’ current SS, David Eckstein, is fifth in the voting, though not having half as productive a season as Renteria).
OK, I’ll stop there. Six weeks ago, I thought the Braves might get four or even five All-Star selections, the way Smoltz and Hudson started out, and Kelly and Renteria and Chipper.
Now, I’m thinking they might get only one or two. Rafael Soriano’s ERA has risen high enough now, through a few homers given up in blowouts, to possibly keep him from getting selected (I really thought until recently that he’d make it, since they’ve taken some setup men on All-Star teams in recent seasons).
Despite not being in the current top five vote-getters, I do think Renteria’s got a good chance to make it, for two reasons: He’s putting up All-Star worthy numbers, and Cardinals (and NL All-Star) manager Tony La Russa loves him.
McCann’s numbers: It says something about how great a season McCann had in his first year in the majors that his current season could be characterized in such a poor light by so many. And yes, I agree he’s way, way down from last year’s production, in terms of defense and especially clutch hitting, where he was the best in the majors last season by several measures.
But consider this. Despite McCann’s recent slump (he hit .174 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 24 games before going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a three-run homer last night), Braves catchers still rank third in the NL in batting average (.276), second in RBIs (45, including 39 by McCann) and tied for second in homers (nine, including six by McCann, two by Salty, one by B. Pena).
Only Dodgers catchers (Russell Martin is the NL leading vote-getter at the position) have more RBIs and a higher slugging percentage (.443) than Braves catchers (.434).
Rising from Down Under: Just one more note, because gotta keep it short today and get by the bank on my way to the ballpark. Peter Moylan. Are we noticing how good a season the Aussie right-hander is having?
Moylan gave up three runs in his first appearance, when he was still wiping sleep from his eyes after a red-eye from Richmond. Since then, Moylan has posted a stellar 1.60 ERA and .176 opponents’ average in 29 games, with 23 hits, 13 walks and 27 strikeouts in 39-1/3 innings.
His opponents’ average is .193 for the season, including .189 by lefties (ninth-best among qualifying NL pitchers, whether starters or relievers). There’s your situational “lefty” right there.
In 15 road games, he’s allowed just a .150 average and .257 OBP (it’s .227/298 in 15 home games, including that first one, the three-run, three-hit, one-out season debut vs. Florida on April 15, after his callup).
Oh, and he’s got a 1.59 ERA in 20 night games (3.97 in 10 day games).
The heavily tattooed lad is quietly putting together a very strong season.
And now, let’s let a real country artist take us out:
”TELL LORRIE I LOVE HER” by Keith Whitley
If I were alone in the desert/Without a drink of water around
With my knees and hands in that white scorching sand/With the hot Sahara, sun beating down
If I could be granted my wishes/Anything I want would come true
I know that it might sound funny/But here’s what I want you to do
Tell Lorrie I love her
Tell Lorrie I need her
Tell her everything would be ok if I could just see her
Tell Lorrie I love her
Tell Lorrie I need her
And If I leave this old world tell her she’s the only girl for me
If I were a drift on the ocean/A vessel with no sails or steam
Floating aimlessly on the endless sea/Hopelessly lost it would seem
If all of the fish in the water/Could echo my last dying plea
I know you might not understand it/But here’s what I want it to be
Tell Lorrie I love her
Tell Lorrie I need her
Tell her everything would be ok if I could just see her
Tell Lorrie I love her
Tell Lorrie I need her
And if I leave this old world tell her she’s the only girl for me
And if I leave this old world tell her she’s the only girl for me
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
