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Monday, January 28, 2008
Dreams, bullpen stressing me out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last night I dreamed I was sent out to Turner Field in the middle of a Braves game, having seen not one minute of spring training and told to come up with something to write, ready to turn in at the end of the game.
Oy.
I used to have the old recurring stress-out dream in my beat-writing days. But now? Here I am the back-up beat writer in the middle of January. I’m dreaming this the night before I’m supposed to write one lousy fill-in blog for DOB?
Such high standards you see, for the Braves/Man in Black. Or so sayeth my subconscious.
Let me back up for a second. For those not reading carefully it’s CARROLL again - hey! Wassup? Long time! - and I’m feeling a little out of it after submersing myself in hockey (hockey?) and a little Hawks and Falcons for the last three months.
But with pitchers and catchers reporting in the we-can-almost-taste-it-now range, it’s time for me to reacquaint myself with the little stitched round ball. And thank heaven for names with vowels. (Though I must say, Kovalchuk rolls off the fingertips pretty well by now….)
Camp Roger opens on Friday. And we’ll enter the long-awaited no more talking, predicting, guessing portion of the program. But in the meantime, since you guys didn’t know I was hopping back on-line, I’ll take my first question from a closet blogger who’s got the inside track: my brother Chip.
He just told me on the phone he wants to know how come people aren’t panicking that the bullpen has been decimated. Well, he didn’t use the word “decimated” or the word “panic.” But it sounds nice and dramatic. And he’s my brother; I can misquote him if I want to.
But he’s like me, and has a hard time letting go of the known in favor of embracing the unknown. And when you stack the names side-by-side, there has been some talent lost from the well-stocked bullpen of last year.
There’s Chip’s personal favorite Oscar Villareal. There’s Ron Mahay (oh the Braves would have loved to keep him, had he come more affordable). Octavio Dotel (yes he was hurt, but remember the two outings against Milwaukee the second-to-last weekend of the season? Nice.)
Young-uns Jose Ascanio. Joey Devine and Macay McBride. McBride is fairly old news, but Chip brings him up, so he makes the blog. Chip also wonders about Chad Paronto, but I explain to him that ultimately, I think, the Braves figured his physical conditioning was a little too similar to another guy they bid adieu to last year - Bob Wickman.
So what’s left to ease Chip’s mind? No. 1 Rafael Soriano of course. What he lacks in closing experience, he makes up for in fastball. Mike Gonzalez is on his way back from Tommy John. The Braves haven’t seen the real Gonzalez yet and maybe they will by midseason.
Manny Acosta was probably the best of the young arms, which is why he’s still here and not Ascanio. And Devine? Gosh, the nicest guy, a Wolfpack (how do you make that singular, NC State grads?), with first-round pick stuff. Personally I think his is one of the most poignant stories to come around for the Braves in a long time. I remember a fellow writer describing him after the playoff game in 2005 in Houston where he gave up the game-winning home run to Chris Burke in the 18th inning. This was after the grand slam debacle earlier in the season. The writer described seeing Devine in the dugout after the game with a tear rolling down his cheek.
But I, for one, think the guy could use a fresh start. For his sake. How do you ever move past his rookie season while wearing a Braves uniform? Though he did a valiant job working his way back in the minors the last two years and never complained when the Braves flew him all over creation last year.
And do the Braves want a reminder that they rushed this kid into the majors too quick? I’m not one to take shots at the way the Braves develop players, but I take issue with this one. I know it’s too easy, but tell me I’m wrong.
The Braves got a badly-needed missing piece for Devine (Mark Kotsay.) And the Braves got two players for Ascanio (lefty reliever Will Ohman and utility infielder Omar Infante),
So would it be great to have a bullpen of Mahay, Dotel, Soriano, Acosta, Yates, Moylan and Villareal? With Gonzalez coming back in there in June or July? Heck yes. But we don’t need to be quite that greedy. We’ll just have to wait a little while and see how this one shakes out.
Five spots are looking pretty certain with Soriano, Moylan, Yates, Acosta, Ohman. One more is a matter of time (Gonzalez). And perhaps Blaine Boyer is ready to return as a regular in the seventh spot.
As for Chip’s favorite guy - Villareal - let’s hope long relief isn’t nearly as important next season as it was last. If the last three members of this rotation can’t make it longer than three innings per game this time around, there’s tons more to gripe about than the bullpen.
That’s my take. Good to be back. Ready for some baseball.
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