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Monday, September 24, 2007
Chipper and Braves take it to final week
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gonna crank out a scattershooting blog here between writing this four-part series they’ve had me working on, which begins tomorrow with a pitching story about the Braves’ rotation woes the past two seasons and what they might do to fix it before next season (hint: Tom Glavine’s name might make the story….)
I think they’re running a story I’m finishing on Andruw the next day (Wednesday paper), then the last two stories are running next weekend, on the closer situation and the offense going into for next season.
I’m partial to the first two stories in the series, which, to me, will be the biggest topics for immediate discussion as we wind this thing down and head into the offseason.
What’s that? Someone just said the Braves are still alive. Oh, that’s right.
Technically, yes. There is a faint pulse in their playoff dream. But folks, let’s be real: Braves waited a couple or three weeks too long to play the kind of baseball that would have won them the wild card or NL East (and the way the Mets have sputtered down the stretch, don’t think the Braves aren’t absolutely kicking themselves for blowing it in the last two head-to-head series against the New Yorkers).
The Braves just let the Mets and Phillies get too far ahead, along with a couple other teams in the wild-card race, which just gave them practically zero room for error in the final couple of weeks.
Must be maddening for Braves fans (and players), how the team that couldn’t answer the bell in so many must-win situations earlier is now reeling off wins when they’ve got nothing to lose and everyone’s written them off.
Braves have won seven of eight games. However, the Phillies have been nearly as good in that stretch, winning six of eight including three of four over the weekend at Washington.
Here’s two stats that don’t bode well for the Braves as they head to Philly for a three-game series starting Tuesday in a must-sweep situation for the Bravos:
The Phillies are 6-3 in the last nine games against the Braves, and, probably more pertinent, the Phillies are 9-3 with a .313 batting average and 23 homers in their past 12 home games, averaging nearly seven runs in that span at their cozy corportate-bank ballpark.
Chuck James gets the start Tuesday, and fortunately for the Braves, he’s cut down on the homer yield lately, giving up only two in his past three starts while going 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA. This after he served up nine bombs in under 20 innings over his previous four starts.
By the way, Chuck’s only given up one homer in 11 innings at Philly’s corporate-bank park, and he’s 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA in five career starts against the Phillies.
Big Menace Ryan Howard is only 1-for-14 with seven strikeouts and a homer against him. (Howard has five homers and 16 RBIs in 15 games vs. the Bravos this season)
Then the Braves have Hudson and Smoltz going in the last two games of the series, and they keep it in the park about as well as anyone.
So if Chuck, who’s really pitched well lately, can beat the ancient lefty Jamie Moyer on Tuesday, yes, a sweep is possible. Then things could really be interesting. But again, the Braves need continued help from the not-so-Amazins (Mets).
Sorry, folks, but I just don’t see it happening. Then again, I never play the lottery, either, which means I’ll never win the lottery.
This late surge by the Braves does, however, go to underscore how silly it was for a few folks here a few weeks back to suggest the Braves start playing all their kids as some sort of tryout for next season. Remember that?
Someone even said Smoltz should have been shut down the rest of the season, so convinced were they that he was pitching hurt and that there was no reason to keep him out there (as if he would have agreed to sit, when, at it turned out, he was being honest about the shoulder being sore for several starts, but then improving).
Not that it was ever going to happen, benching of veterans and playing all the kids with a month to go. Nevermind how it would have been perceived by other teams, giving an advantage to playoff contenders playing the Braves down the stretch — how about having fans who paid full price in advance for tickets to late-season games, to watch a glorified minor league team?
As it turned out, some very big crowds got to see some good baseball in the last homestand, including a couple of come-from-behind Braves wins and some stellar pitching from the starters and bullpen.
It’s almost certainly too late to matter this season, but it did provide plenty of enjoyment for those folks, and those watching on TV or listening on the radio, while also providing a glimpse of what should be a very strong team next season, provided the Braves fix their rotation. They simply must do that.
Chipper’s pursuit:The NL batting leader’s got his average up to .341, giving Chipper a four-point lead over Colorado’s Matt Holliday and six-point lead over Philly’s Chase Utley.
Who’d have thunk old Hoss would be going for his first batting title at age 35? And some who’ve continually derided his defense, you might want to start sending out e-mails or something, because I’m hearing a lot of talk about Jones possibly winning his first Gold Glove. If you watched the national broadcast the other day, you know what I mean.
Well, at least we won’t have to answer questions about Chipper moving to first base this offseason. Between’s his play at third and the presence of Mark Teixeira at first base, that tired subject will have to wait another year.
By the way, Chipper is 12-for-33 (.364) with five doubles, a triple and four homers in his past nine games against the Phillies.
And those wondering about the OPS, OBP and slugging “titles” as it were, some of you will be pleased to know that Barry Bonds has slipped form the Stats Inc rankings because of too-few plate appearances, and that Chipper now ranks first in the National League in OPS at 1.033, ahead of Holliday (1.009).
Potential Cubs owner A-Rod (1.059 OPS, possible $300 mill contract, are you freakin’ serious?) is the only major leaguer ahead of Chipper in OPS these days, with David Ortiz (1.032) just a tick behind.
Chipper’s second in the league in OBP at .428, behind Todd Helton (.433), and third in slugging at .604, trailing Holliday (.609) and Prince Fielder (.606).
Oh, and Chipper leads the majors by a wide margin with his .363 road average, ahead of Albert Pujols (.353) and Edgar Renteria (.336) in the NL (yes, Braves have two of league’s top three road averages).
Tampa Bay teammates Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton share the AL lead at .342.
If it was Andruw’s last game at Turner Field as a Brave, then at least he got a couple of hits and avoided most boo-birds. He played hard Sunday, and it was good to see him perform well in a win in the last home game of the season.
But there’s a reason, of course, for Andruw being been booed at Turner Field quite often this season. His .196 home average is 17 points lower than any other NL lineup regular’s home average this season.
His .220 overall average is second-lowest among league regulars.
By the way, Andruw hit .220 with 19 homers, 64 RBIs and a .774 OPS in 323 at-bats as the Braves’ cleanup hitter this season.
Mark Teixeira’s hit .325 with 14 homers, 49 RBIs and a 1.006 OPS in 191 at-bats as the Braves’ cleanup hitter.
Here’s what Andruw said when I asked the nine-time Gold Glove winner about being booed at home:
“It really doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’re going to get booed, you’re going to get cheered. There’s fans out there who boo you because they think you’re better than that, and some who boo you because they think you suck. It’s really no big deal.
“It’s their perception, their thinking, and you can’t change it.”
I then asked him if the roles were reversed, and he was a fan, would he boo this year’s Andruw Jones:
“I wouldn’t boo nobody,” he said. “You don’t know what he goes through. You don’t play the game [to give you the credibility] to criticize people. So it really doesn’t matter.”
Soriano suspension will hurt: The Braves could be without Rafael Soriano for three or four of the last six games depending on the outcome of his Tuesday appeal of a four-game suspension. It’ll hurt them, because he’s really dealin’.
Soriano has allowed eight hits and one run (on a homer) in 18-1/3 innings over his past 16 appearances, posting an 0.49 ERA and .127 opponents’ average with three walks and 24 strikeouts in that span.
Folks, I’d really be surprised if he’s not next year’s closer.
”GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY” by Bob Dylan
You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
You might be a rock ‘n’ roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another name
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you say
You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
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