AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2007 > July > 09
Monday, July 9, 2007
It’s true: Braves only two back at break
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes, it’s a flawed team that must get more innings from its starting pitchers after the All-Star break, along with more production from its center fielder, and probably needs to make a change at first base and strengthen its bench.
That said, anyone watching the Braves the past two weeks, during a 9-4 run in which they hit .311 and averaged 6.5 runs per game, has to feel better about the team’s chances of making the postseason than you did in mid-June.
That is unless you’re watching with a jaundiced view or not considering the competition.
Or haven’t you noticed, the NL East-leading New York Mets are 2-6 with a league-worst 6.57 ERA in July?
As much as some folks keep insisting the Mets have a bank vault — Citi Bank is their big new sponsor, right? — that they can dip into and solve all team deficiencies for the stretch run, the reality is that simply throwing money around can’t do it.
The few teams that have impact pitchers they’re willing to trade before the July 31 trade deadline are asking for top prospects and/or young players in return. It’s the Braves who have more of those than most teams, including a pair that other teams are drooling over, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Yunel Escobar.
It’s probably going to come down to this question: Are the Braves willing to potentially sacrifice a future star or two for a pitcher, or for possibly another hitter, who might not be anything more than a rental for the rest of the season?
In the next three weeks, they’ll have to decide if such a proven talent is necessary to get them over the hump, or to at least greatly enhance their chances of making the postseason.
If Braves officials believe they can get to the postseason without giving up Salty or Yunel — or maybe both, though I doubt it strongly — they certainly would prefer not to trade them now, but rather hold onto them until the offseason.
Because doing so would allow them to sit back, see how the rest of the season plays out at the major and minor league levels, decide where all pieces fit best, and see if their young kids might be cheaper options for starting roles next year, which would allow the Braves to clear up some payroll by trading a veteran position player during the winter, that kind of thing.
But again, it’ll come down to whether the Braves officials believe they absolutely have to get another starter now, at any cost, or add another bat now, at almost any cost.
Those are the kind of pressure decisions they face in the next few weeks, decisions that can cause executives’ underarm heat to increase a little each day as the calendar clicks toward July 31, if those NL East standings don’t look quite the way they want them to in the morning paper.
Ok, couple of quick statistical notes before I board a flight from San Diego to S.F. for the All-Star Game:
Shhh. Andruw’s waking up: It took half a season, but Andruw Jones finally appears to be coming out of the worst slump of his career and one of the worst in recent memory by a marquee free-agent-to-be in a “walk year.”
Braves fans are understandably skeptical, having watching his flailing, off-balance exploits at the plate for nearly three cringe-inducing months. But you gotta admit, he’s finally showing real progress. These numbers don’t lie.
After hitting .164 (30-for-183) with six homers, 23 RBIs, 47 strikeouts and a pitiful .542 OPS from May 2 to June 25, Andruw has hit .292 (14-for-48) with four homers, 12 RBIs and a .968 OPS in his past 12 games.
OK, so six of those hits and five RBIs came in three games at Petco Park, where Andruw always rakes while Padres whine about the park’s dimensions. And OK, so his .211 average is still the worst among NL lineup regulars.
Nevertheless, he’s looked far better at the plate while getting at least one hit in 11 of those past 12 games, and he hasn’t been collapsing on his back leg and causing Little League dads to cover their sons’ eyes when he swings.
We’ve seen it before, what Andruw can do when he goes on one of his torrid two-week runs. It remains to be seen if this San Diego series started one, or whether the All-Star break came at the worst possible time for him (he says it most definitely did not, because he’s as tired as he’s ever been at the break and needed to rest his entire body).
McCann getting in sync: Brian McCann is a proud guy who refuses to make excuses, so we might never know exactly how much his finger and ankle injuries affected his approach and performance this season.
But he got out of sync with his swing, especially the timing of his toe-tap and his hand placement before the pitch was delivered. He’s been working on that for a few weeks with hitting coach Terry Pendleton since Pendleton spotted a flaw when comparing McCann’s swings in 2006 and 2007.
The work seems to have paid off the past couple weeks. After hitting .250 with five homers, 35 RBIs and a .698 OPS in his first 63 games, McCann has hit .325 with four homers, 14 RBIs and a 1.047 OPS in his past 14 games.
That included a couple games where he had one plate appearance as a pinch-hitter or late-inning sub. He’s 13-for-39 with six extra-base hits (four homers) and 14 RBIs in his past 12 starts.
And he’s headed to his second All-Star Game in as many full seasons in the majors, after his peers voted him to go (McCann is the first to say, sounding embarrassed, that other catchers deserved consideration; I’m telling you the kid is as salt-of-the-earth good as it gets).
That he was selected says plenty about the respect he’s developed, at 23, among players around the league.
By the way, McCann has nine homers and 49 RBIs at the break. Last season he had six homers and 29 RBIs at the break, then piled up 18 homers and 64 RBIs after playing in the All-Star Game.
K.J. ends on high note: He lost his leadoff spot weeks ago and has been sharing second-base duties with Escobar, but Kelly Johnson hasn’t let the reduced role affect his performance.
The second baseman went 12-for-27 (.444) with five RBIs and a .516 OBP in his last 10 games before the break, including a homer off Greg Maddux in Sunday night’s win at San Diego.
He hopes to get back into the every-day lineup again instead of platooning, but I’ve got a hard time seeing that happening unless there’s an injury elsewhere or Escobar is traded before the deadline.
For the record, Escobar has hit .333 (18-for-54) with five doubles vs. lefties; Johnson has hit .255 (28-for-110) with five doubles, three triples and two homers vs. lefties.
Meanwhile, Johnson will try to get a handle on this home-road disparity.
His .346 road average is the third-best in the NL (Chipper leads at .361), and Johnson has hit .390 (32-for-82) with 15 RBIs and a 1.042 OPS in his past 23 road games. He’s a road hitting machine.
But at home, he’s hit just .178 (16-for-90) with nine RBIs and a .572 OPS in his past 25 games.
OK, I’ll post another blog in a couple days,with more at-the-break stuff and some humorous anecdotes and such from the first half. But for now, I gotta get going or I’m gonna miss my flight.
Take us out, Otis….
”(SITTIN’ ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY” by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun,/I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ come.
Watching the ships roll in,/Then I’ll watch ‘em roll away again.
Yeah, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay,/Watching the tide roll away.
Ooh, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the day,/Wastin’ time.
I left my home in Georgia,/Headed for the Frisco bay.
I have nothing to live for,/Look like nothin’s gonna come my way.
So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay,/Watching the tide roll away.
Ooh, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the day,/Wastin’ time.
Look like nothing’s gonna change/Everything still remains the same.
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do/So I guess I’ll remain the same.
Just sittin’ here resting my bones,/And this loneliness won’t leave me alone.
Two thousand miles I roam,/Just to make this dock my home.
Now I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay,/Watchin’ the tide roll away.
Ooh, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay,/Wastin’ time.
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