AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2007 > September > 30
Sunday, September 30, 2007
This is it for Bravos, end of the line
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few observations and facts I consume another grande from the ubiquitous coffee behemoth that has one of its locations in my hotel lobby, before heading across Houston to witness the last game of a season that’s flown by, hasn’t it?
Seriously, it seems like yesterday when I was pulling into Dark Star in the rental sled, settling in for seven weeks of spring training for a season when I was sure the Braves would take back the NL East.
They didn’t. But here we are 7-1/2 months later, after seven weeks of spring training and 161 regular-season games for every team, and still the NL East title hasn’t been won.
Which only makes the Braves’ wasted chances all the more difficult for them to swallow, of course. Folks, this was the year when the Braves could’ve played mediocre and still won the division. Oh, well … water under the bridge.
Moving forward now. Or rather, looking back. Or sidways. Whatever. Before I forget, don’t be surprised if the Braves announce soon that all of their coaches are coming back next season, along with Bobby Cox.
OK, this isn’t going to be a big, definitive anything blog today. No season-in-review. We’ve already done enough of that, haven’t we?
Just a couple things off top of my head as we wind down. (I still have to pack and check out of my hotel in next hour, because I’m going straight from ballpark to airport tonight.)
Willie Harris ain’t the answer: Hopefully any of you who thought he could be the regular center fielder (really, there were some here suggesting that) have seen why that’s not an option. Not even remotely an option.
Dude had a real good season. Surprised us all. Tip of the cap. But it’s been a reality check lately. How does 9-for-82 (.110) average in his past 30 games sound, with seven RBIs, 22 strikeouts, a .202 OBP and .220 slugging percentage.
Not to mention, he has a sub-.200 career average against lefties and one homer in 200 at-bats against them.
Francoeur’s had a second wind down the stretch, hasn’t he? A few weeks ago I figured he was getting too tired to produce much in the latter stages, but he’s hit .310 with three homers, 22 RBIs and a .376 OBP in his past 22 games.
Sure, you want more power from the right fielder, but a .294 average with 40 doubles, 19 homers, 105 RBIs and a .339 OBP that’s up over 40 points from last season? That’ll work for a 23-year-old who’s only going to get better.
I’ll predict at least a .285-30-110 season from him next season.
Andruw’s finish a head-scratcher: I know him and Bobby Cox said Andruw Jones is beat up and no sense in playing these last three games, but really, aren’t you guys a little stunned by the decision? I mean, this is a guy who prided himself on playing almost every day for more than a decade.
And now, in what could be his final three days in a Braves uniform, he’s content to watch from the bench? I mean, it ain’t like he’s protecting a .300 average or anything, either.
Oh, well. Add it to the lifts of life’s mysteries. Way down the list, though.
Chuck’s shoulder: I’m inclined to believe it’s just the typical wear-and-tear and soreness that so many pitchers work through late in a season. But the problem is, I don’t know that Chuck really has an idea what’s acceptable soreness and what’s the kind that should raise a red flag.
And since he doesn’t usually begin his winter throwing program until early January, it would seem like a precautionary MRI should be done just to be on the safe side, right? (Maybe one has been scheduled, and neither Chuck or Cox knew. But I doubt it).
Chipper’s chase: Another head-scratcher, for me, is why he didn’t stay in the games the last two nights and try to get a couple more hits. The way he’s been raking, he had a good chance against Houston pitching to get two or three hits a game, instead of going 1-for-3 and leaving in the sixth inning both nights.
It was Bobby’s call to sub for him, but believe me, if Chipper wanted to stay in, all it would take is for him to tell Bobby he wanted to. No question.
Colorado’s Matt Holliday went 2-for-4 before coming out of his game near the end last night, raising his average to .340, just above Chipper’s .339 entering today.
If Chipper falls a hit short of a batting title….
By the way, it’s startling to see how the disparity has increased in Chipper’s left/right averages, which were really close for a lot of his seasons. Not the past couple, not at all.
This season he’s hit a whopping .382 with an 1.181 OPS vs. righties, and .274 with an .803 OPS vs. lefties.
Last season, he hit .332 with a 1.036 OPS vs. righties, and .293 with an .885 OPS vs. lefties.
But during the 2002-05 seasons, he hit .283 with a .917 OPS vs. righties, and .282 with an .878 OPS vs. lefties.
That’s a very significant change the past couple of seasons.
This season, his average vs. righties leads the majors by a wide margin, but he’s a handful of plate appearances shy of qualifying for the Stats Inc. leader list in that particular category.
That says plenty about the extremely inordinate number of lefties the Braves have faced this season, because Chipper didn’t miss enough games to knock him out of qualifying for any other statistical categories.
Considering how he hit vs. righties, it’s easy to imagine Chipper would’ve hit .345 if this had been a normal season in terms of the breakdown for the Braves against righties and lefties, if they hadn’t faced so many more lefties than any other teams.
My head’s spinning as I try to digest the possible playoff scenarios in the National League going into this final day, when the Braves have been reduced to irrelevance outside our little corner of the baseball world while four other teams fight it out for the final spots in the October tourney.
Oh, well, at least I can gear up for the big Sunflower State showdown next weekend, when my Jayhawks take on the Wildcats of Kansas State, who are coming off a shocking win over Texas.
By the way, I’d like to thank Craig Biggio for picking this year to retire, because it’s made what might have been an otherwise depressing atmosphere at corporate orange-juice ballpark in the last weekend of the season.
I mean, sellout crowds over 40,000 for each of the final three games between the long-dead-in-the-water Astros and recently deceased (in terms of postseason chances) Braves? Very unusual, and good.
Plus, the swag’s been sweet _ three Biggio t-shirt giveaways, one for each of the uniform eras he’s played in with the ‘Stros, from the rainbow-stiped numbers to the forgettable blue/white/gold ensembles of the latter 90s to today’s rather generic red (do half the teams in the majors now have red as a primary color?)
”CHILDISH THINGS” by James McMurtry
Aunt Clara kept her Bible Right next to the phone in case she needed a quote
While she talked to someone
In my memory she smiles While the blessing is said
And visions of freeze tag dance in my head
She says I’ll grow up bigIf I eat all my roast
I’ll still believe in heaven
But I won’t believe in ghosts anymore
I’ll put away childish things
Every other weekend at the age of thirteen
With my fishing pole and my Field and Stream
Ridin’ back home on the Trailways bus
I looked out the window
‘Til I saw too much
And I called my parents by their own first names
I played in the alley
But I didn’t play the game anymore
I put away childish things
The wolves howl all night long
They won’t stop and they won’t go home
Beneath my window they run
Probably it’ll be alright
If I keep it all locked up tight And wait ‘til daylight comes
Now my boy goes like a house on fire
He’ll never burn out and he’ll never retire
And I remember when I used to think like that
When I was young and the world was flat
But I’m forty some years old now and man I don’t care
All I want now is just a comfortable chair
And to sell all my stock
And live on the coast
I don’t believe in heaven
But I still believe in ghosts.
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
