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Friday, August 10, 2007
Ready for another key series? Better be
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I would say it’s out of the frying pan and into the fryer for the Braves, but that would be a hackneyed cliché and we don’t use those here.
So let’s just say, they go from one very tense and important series at Shea Stadium to another big series here in Philly at the bandbox of a new park where the Phillies flat-out rake.
This is a series between the hottest-hitting teams in the NL, the Braves leading the league with a .307 average since the All-Star break, the Phillies second at .303.
They are also the top two in the league since the break in OBP (.391 Phils, .371 Braves), in doubles (65 for each team), and runs (169 for the Phils, 163 for the Braves).
But the Braves have taken it to another level lately, batting .344 with 18 homers and 80 runs during their current 7-3 run. This surge came on the heels of a 4-9 skid in which they hit .277 with just seven homers.
With Mark Teixeira added to an already-strong lineup, I can’t see the Braves having many more 13-game offensive slumbers like that. And it’s a good thing, because this bullpen can’t seem to get in synch, can’t seem to get more than a couple of guys going well at once.
And with Bob Wickman having an MRI today in Atlanta (we should know the results by late this afternoon), there exists the potential for more disruptions. To me, it’s time to make Moylan one of the two key guys at the back, in a setup and even a closer capacity. But I still doubt we’ll see him closing, when they’ve got Octavio Dotel with closer experience and all.
But Moylan’s been their most effective reliever, and how’d you like to have a guy with these stats closing for you: In his past 50 games, he has a 1.44 ERA and .183 opponents’ average, with 39 hits, four homers, 21 walks and 43 strikeouts in 62-1/3 innings. Not a ton of strikeouts, but that’s not what he relies on most of the time. He gets loads of groundouts.
While I’m thinking about it, let me offer what has to be one of the most shocking and impressive stats of this season: Philly’s Ryan Howard has 65 RBIs in road games. SIXTY-FIVE!
Magglio Ordonez leads the Al with 53, and no one else in the majors has more than 46 road RBIs. And Phillies stud Howard has 65. That’s astounding, to me.
So those who’d try to minimize his accomplishments by saying his ballpark’s a big reason he’s put up huge numbers, give it a rest. Howard leads the majors with 19 road homers, and no one else has more than 16.
Fact is, he’s hitting .228 with 13 homers and just 28 RBIs in 44 games at Citizens Bank Park, with 63 strikeouts in 158 at-bats.
In 52 road games, Howard is hitting .306 with 19 homers, 65 RBIs and 71 strikeouts in 193 at-bats.
OK, enough about Ryan Howard.
Besides, the real Philly shocker is Pat Burrell, who I’ve made fun of in the past. Pat “The Bat” is finally living up to his nickname, and he’s probably the hottest hitter in the majors right now.
He’s only at .265 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs for the season. But in July and August, he’s an otherworldly 39-for-98 (.398) with nine homers, 26 RBIs and more walks (27) than strikeouts (24) in 32 games.
He hit .435 with a .564 OBP and .768 slugging percentage in July, and already has 81 walks (and a .419 OBP) for the season. Where in the world has this been for the past couple of seasons?
Is there anything more boring and inconsequential in our lives than the Beckham-entered-in-the-72nd minute updates from ESPN? I don’t care. Do. Not. Care. How many are with me on that?
I’ll take the 1080s on skateboards and double-back flips on motorcycles over Beckham news, any day of the week.
Couple more hitting stats: Braves lead the NL with a .292 average with runners in scoring position, and it’s not even close. Dodgers are next at .277, Cubs at .276. Atlanta also has league-bests .377 OBP and .462 slugging with runners in scoring position.
Braves have a .287 road average, second in the majors to Detroit’s .290.
Braves are middle-of-the-pack in pitching, their bullpen ranked seventh in the NL with a 3.80 ERA and now up to 13 blown saves in 43 opps, after totaling only seven blown saves before the break.
The starters are seventh in the NL with a 4.34 ERA.
However, Braves are third in the NL in overall ERA since the break, at 3.75, just ahead of the Cubs (3.86), Mets (3.88) and D-backs (3.88).
If Lance Cormier must start again, then couldn’t ask for a much easier matchup in Saturday’s game. He’ll face Adam Eaton, who’s 2-3 with a 7.35 ERA and .335 opponents’ average in his past nine starts. Eaton has one win and a 6.54 ERA in his past six home starts, with 24 hits and four homers in 16-1/3 innings over his past three.
He’s 3-2 in seven starts vs. the Braves, and 1-1 with a 9.28 ERA in two this season.
Of course, this will only be Cormier’s third start, and first since getting shelled for 13 runs and seven homers in 7-2/3 innings of two in June against the Cubs. Oy.
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