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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Tex will be fine, but that bullpen….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Those of you who’ve expressed concerns about Mark Teixeira due to his woeful spring and 1-for-10 start to the regular season, let me reiterate: No need to worry about him. Your trepidation would be better spent on other matters.
Like, for instance, determining at what point do the hazards of hitch-hiking become acceptable in the face of the soaring costs of gasoline and the nickel-and-dime gouging by airlines?
But seriously….
Concerns about the Braves? Yes, there are a couple, though it’s silly to judge things based on the first two games of a 162-game season. Particularly when one game was a season-opener at a new ballpark the Braves saw for the first time a few hours before they played the game, and the other game was their home opener played the next night after the team arrived home at 4 a.m.
Still, only hitters named Yunel, Chipper and McCann have done much of anything, and the bullpen has absolutely blown … er, blown leads.
And by the way, who’d have ever thought that a Sunday afternoon blowout loss at Pittsburgh last May 13 would be the turning point of the Braves’ fortunes, and that they’d be just another mediocre baseball team forever after that?
Kidding, of course. Well, sort of.
Take a look at these numbers: The Braves were 24-12 with a 3.83 ERA before that 13-2 loss at Pittsburgh on a getaway day May 13. Other than Anthony Lerew getting lit up, the game taking forever, and the one-sided loss making for less than a party atmosphere on the charter flight to Washington, there really wasn’t any reason to fret much over one loss after the strong 36-game start.
But in 128 games beginning that day in the Steel City, the Braves have gone 60-68 with a 4.22 ERA.
What does it mean? Well, other than they’re eight games under .500 for their past 128 games, I don’t know what it means. Just thought I’d point it out.
By the way, in that same span since May 13, the Nationals are 64-64, the Phillies are 72-55, the Mets are 67-62 (despite their September collapse) and, just FYI, the Cubs are 69-60.
Anyway, back to the bullpen. The Braves expect to have Mike Gonzalez back the first week in June, and they can only hope he doesn’t take too long to get back to something resembling dominant form.
Because it looks like they might need him more than some expected. (OK, now there I go, putting too much value on the results of two games in a 162-game season. I’ll try to remember that the next time I chastise someone else for doing what I just did.)
The bullpen cost the Braves a shot at coming from behind to win Sunday at Washington (after they’d tied it in the ninth), and Tim Hudson again had nothing to show for a fine pitching performance (this time he got no run support; last year he had four leads blown by Wickman).
And relievers spoiled Tom Glavine’s homecoming and an absurd ninth-inning Braves rally fueled by patience (four walks in five batters), Hoss (Chipper’s clutch hit and hustle), and one of the worst two-out fielding blunders imiginable by two Pittsburgh outfielders who watched a popup land between them.
Still, like I said, two outs is way, way too soon to brand this another shaky bullpen. Lot of great arms down there. We saw enough of Manny Acosta and especially Peter Moylan last season to believe that their performances in the first couple of games this week had more to do with being too geeked up and/or trying to get into a rhythm, rather than being ominous signs of things to come.
(However, I will say that the undeniably talented Acosta is awfully young and inexperienced to be cast in the role of important setup man; might be better to ease him into the role over the first couple of months, though your setup options other than Moylan do all come with some question marks or concerns.)
But back to Teixeira for a moment. Yes, he hit .211 with two homers, 12 RBIs and 15 strikeouts in 57 at-bats this spring, and his .351 slugging percentage in Grapefruit League slugging percentage was barely higher than Brent Lillibridge’s .345. But as Teixeira told me in Florida, he’s had bad springs most years and expects them, because he doesn’t focus on anything at spring training other than getting ready for the regular season, with extra weightlifting and hitting most days during camp.
As for his 1-for-10 start to the season, consider this: In his first 15 games last season for the Rangers, Teixeira hit .192 (10-for-52) with one extra-base hit (double) and two RBI.
Then in his next 22 games, he hit .349 with 12 doubles, five homers and 16 RBI.
Tex will be fine.
Kelly Johnson, on the other hand…. We’ll know more about Kelly’s sore right knee after we get to the ballpark today. As I wrote on opening day, it’s something that bothered him not just this spring, but since last spring training.
He said the Braves haven’t been able to determine what causes the occasional soreness on the outer part of his knee, but that it’s more an annoyance than anything else, not something that’s prevented him from playing.
But he tweaked it early in Monday’s game and came out after four innings (and after making a costly fielding error).
For those scoring at home, Kelly’s not done much with the bat since Aug. 5, notwithstanding a pair of singles in six at-bats in the first two games.
Including the last 43 games of the 2007 season, he’s had a .219 average and 12 extra-base hits in his past 160 at-bats. Throw in his lackluster spring (.226, two doubles) and it’s a .221 average with 14 extra-base hits in 213 at-bats.
That said, he’s a streak hitter capable of reeling off a 30-game sizzling stretch at any time. Kelly told me he’s trying hard this season to be more consistent, so it’s not something he takes a cavalier attitude about.
In fact, he’s as diligent a worker as there is on the team, one of three or four hitters that Terry Pendleton could usually count on seeing every morning in the batting cage at 7 a.m., long before most Braves arrived.
But hey, it’s not like the Braves don’t have another leadoff option if Kelly has to miss any time. You’ve probably noticed, the kid hitting behind him, Yunel Escobar, rakes wherever he’s at in the order.
Said it last fall, said it all winter, and will say it again now: Escobar will be a star. Very soon.
OK, quick music talk: What a terrific week for new music releases, including strong new albums by R.E.M. and Black Keys and a borderline-brilliant debut CD from Steve Earle’s son, Justin Townes Earle (the fact that Steve’s got a son old enough to make great songs about hard living makes me feel old).
If you like the Black Keys, you should run, not walk, to the store to get their new Attack and Release CD produced by Danger Mouse, the former UGa student and non-singing half of Gnarl Barkley. The Black Keys have their usual Led Zep roar, but the production adds whole new wrinkles to their sound, stuff that all works to make this as good as anything they’ve put out (and that’s saying something, because every Black Keys album has been good to great).
It’s blues, rock and soul all rolled up in a big, tasty ball of sound. For my money, the Black Keys are better than the far-more-celebrated White Stripes, who have plenty of similarities, beyond the fact that it’s basically just two folks producing that wall of sound each band produces.
Earle’s The Good Life is the rootsy slice of Americana you might expect from the offspring of Steve Earle, a kid named after the great Townes Van Zandt (how tough is it to live up that, by the way?). He’s only 25, but young Earle has the songwriting chops and just enough punk attitude to give a strong edge to his old-timey sounding country- and bluegrass-tinged tunes. And he’s smart enough to surround himself with a great band, including Pete Finney on pedal-steel. Georgia folks, especially those down around Macon, should love the tune, “South Georgia Sugar Babe.”
And finally, the album that’s got me stoked. My old favorite band is back. Not that R.E.M. ever retired or anything, but I mean, they’re really back with a vital sound and a rockin’ record some of us wondered if they’d ever make again unless Bill Berry were back on drums. He’s not, but the CD Accelerate absolutely rocks, start to finish (and it’s nice and short, like albums used to be, full of no filler).
It’s better than Green or Monster, far better than Up, or Reveal or Around the Sun, and as good or better than New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which was their last really strong, energetic rocker of an album (that was 1996).
Give me a few weeks before I decide if I think it’s as good as Out of Time, Fables of the Reconstrution or Document. If not, it’s close to being as good as each of those, which rank near the top of R.E.M.’s deep discography.
Is it their best? No, in my humble opinion. It’s not as good as Automatic for the People” or Life’s Rich Pageant, not to mention seminal albums Murmur or Reckoning. All four of those are solid-A albums. This one, probably a B+ or A-.
All is right again in my music universe.
Long live the greatest band from the rich musical hotbed of Athens, Ga. (and if these lyrics aren’t correct, we’d appreciate Mr. Stipe or anyone else pointing out any mistakes).
”MAN-SIZED WREATH” by Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)
Turn on the TV and what do I see?
A pageantry of empty gestures all lined up for me — wow!
I’d have thought by now we would be ready to proceed
But a tearful hymn to tug the heart
And a man-sized wreath — ow!
Throw it on the fire
Throw it in the air
Kick it out on the dance- loor like you just don’t care, oh
Give me some
Wave the palms, steal the alms, fists in the air
A motorcade of benign strength shows the people that you care — ow!
Nature abhors a vacuum but what’s between your ears?
Your judgement clouded with fearful thoughts
A headlights and a deer — ow!
Throw it on the fire
Throw it in the air
Kick it out on the dance floor like you just don’t care
Look at what I’ve found
Everybody look around
Everybody looking like they just don’t care, oh
Give me some
Well I’m not deceived by pomp and odious conceit
But a tearful hymn to tug the heart
And a man-sized wreath - ow!
Throw it on the fire
Throw it in the air
Kick it out on the dance-floor like you just don’t care
Look at what I’ve found
Everybody look around
Everybody looking like they just don’t care
Throw it on the fire
Throw it in the air
Kick it out on the dance floor like you just don’t care, oh
Give me some
Give me some
Give me some
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