AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April > 15
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tex will hit, but how ‘bout Kelly?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Greetings to the denizens, and a few thoughts while noting that it’s chillier today in Fort Lauderdale (60 degrees with strong wind at noon) than it is today in Denver, where we were snowed out Friday.
Do you folks realize that the Braves have scored three runs or fewer in half of their 12 games? I didn’t think so. The fact that they’ve scored in double digits in four games has a way of overshadowing what’s been a lackluster offense.
And when you consider that the leadoff man isn’t leading off very well at all, and the cleanup hitter isn’t cleaning up much, you start to wonder how the erratic (so far) Braves offense has managed to put up the third-highest runs total in the league (67), behind only Arizona (81) and Pittsburgh (69).
(I should take a moment now to pat myself on the back by pointing out that I picked the Diamondbacks to win the World Series. Look it up. But I won’t point that out, since it’d be rather gauche to do so.)
Back to the Braves’ offense (hey, just thought I’d start off the blog by talking about something other than the bullpen and Glavine’s hamstring, since I know things will quickly veer in that direction regardless. By the way, I’ll let you know the other roster move, to go with Buddy Carlyle being recalled, soon as I hear anything, but that probably won’t be until we get to the ballpark.)
Braves leadoff hitters (Kelly Johnson 37 at-bats, others 14 total) are hitting .235 (10th in the NL) with one RBI (tied for last in the NL), a .304 OBP (12th) and a .314 slugging percentage (13th).
Braves cleanup hitters (Mark Teixeira) have the league’s worst slugging percentage (.383) and third-lowest batting average (.213).
Now, as I’ve stated many times, there is no need to worry about Teixeira, who is a notorious slow start who quickly gets things turned around and ends up with his usual solid numbers. Mark it down.
Tex is a .285 career hitter with a .370 OBP and .536 slugging percentage. But in April he’s got a career-worst .251 average (27 points lower than any other month), and a .435 slugging percentage that’s a whopping 91 points lower than his next-worst month.
So you see, this is very typical of him to struggle like this.
But Kelly Johnson … well, there I would not be so cavalier as to suggest there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about and that his track record says he’ll hit.
Because frankly, his track record isn’t quite long enough just yet, not after just one full season in the majors. We know Kelly can hit, period. And he’s got a great eye.
But pitchers seem to have made adjustments to him, and it’ll be interesting to see how soon Kelly can make adjustments to counter those moves. That, or just how soon he’ll start to hit.
Because if you’ll recall, Kelly finished the 2007 season on a skid. And he also didn’t do much this spring.
I’ll not including spring numbers, since they’re meaningless and it’d be hypocritical for me to start acting as though they’re important when I’ve said otherwise since we got down to Dark Star in February.
But let’s just go with his season-ending slump and this one to start the new season. Going back to Sept. 7, Johnson has now hit .204 (19-for-93) with just two doubles, two homers, seven RBI, nine walks and 21 strikeouts in his past 27 games.
He has a .282 OBP and .290 slugging percentage in that 27-game stretch, with as many errors (four) as extra-base hits, and as many GIDPs (one) as stolen bases.
Maybe he gets 6-8 hits in this Marlins series and starts to put slump talk to rest. But that’s becoming quite a stretch of unproductivity, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Cox shuffles the lineup a bit if it continues much longer.
Speaking of April duds…. There’s also been an awful lot of talk on the ol’ Braves/MIB blog about Matt Diaz’ slow start, some of you even starting to howl for a platoon (my, how quickly attitudes change in that regard).
Well, it should be pointed out that, like Teixeira, Diaz also does his worst work in the season’s first month.
Diaz is a .316 career hitter with a .351 OBP and .464 slugging percentage, but in April he’s got a career-worst .243 average, putrid .248 OBP and .333 slugging, far and away his worst in all of those categories. In fact, he’s hit at least .274 in every other month, including a robust .402 with a .633 slugging percentage in May, and .396 with a .705 slugging percentage in August.
That’s right, he goes from cold to hot in a hurry.
And even though it’s still April, something’s gotta give this week for Diaz. Either his April skid or his career-long wrecking job against Marlins pitching. Because he hits no one quite like he does the Marlins, especially at Dolphin Stadium.
The stats are absurd, really. I mean, what he does against Florida is hard to fathom: Diaz has a .436 career average (41-for-94) with 15 extra-base hits (six homers), a .461 OBP and a .745 slugging percentage in 31 games against the Fish.
And at the rather charmless edifice on the northern edge of Dade County, all Diaz has done is hit .472 (25-for-53) with four homers, 12 RBI, a .500 OBP and an .849 slugging percentage in 17 games. Yes, a 1.349 OPS.
He must like that lovely Miccosukee sign that covers the outfield fence from the left field corner all the way to center. The ivy at Wrigley has nothing over that thing.
By the way, Diaz has hit .522 (12-for-23) with three homers and eight RBI in his past eight game against the Marlins, including six games down here.
Plenty from the 2-3 holes: While the Braves wait for their leadoff and cleanup men to come around, they continue to get stellar production from the Nos. 2-3 spots in the order — from Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones, respectively.
At the No. 2 spot, Escobar is making folks quickly forget about Edgar Renteria. From that spot in the order, the Braves lead the NL in average (.367) and OBP (.446), rank second in RBI (10), and third in slugging (.571).
And from the Hoss hole, the Braves lead the NL with a .392 average, rank second in OBP (.429), tied for second in RBI (11) and fifth in slugging (.549).
OK, gotta get to the ballpark…. Just wanted to say, if you’re looking for a great CD by a local band, get the EP from Athens-based Dead Confederate on Razor & Tie records. These guys are gonna be very big, soon. Great guitars, drums, and brooding lead singer. And if you want a great CD by a couple of alt-rock legends who’ve never sounded better, get The Gutter Twins’ “Saturnalia.” The Twins are Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan, former grunge band Screaming Trees’ front man, but more recently a guest member of Queens of the Stone Age and the aforementioned Twilight Singers. These guys sound great together. Lanegan sounds like rum and cigarettes.
Oh, and if you want a great country album the way Steve Earle is country, then get the debut by newcomer Hayes Carll, called “Trouble in Mind.” You’ll thank me later.
I’d recommend the new James McMurtry and John Hiatt CDs (got an advance on the Hiatt, which isn’t out until next month), but I just picked them up yesterday and haven’t had a chance to play them. But McMurtry’s up for the drive to Dolphin Stadium.
Now, a tune that speaks volumes. Son Volt killed at the Variety on Friday night.
“BACK INTO YOUR WORLD” by Jay Farrar (Son Volt)
Living for the moment
It flashes and fades
And takes you down
Familiar deserted byways
Shelf-stored memories
Lead you where you been
No long ago
And guess who’s guessing now?
Let me back into your world
At the blink of the eye
No uncertain terms
Let me back into your world
You should know
What is real by now
Let the judges meet their makers
Can’t slow down
Burning that four-barrel speed
A battle cry to treat this absence
Let me back into your world
At the blink of the eye
No uncertain terms
Let me back into your world
Spent the promises
Spent the meantime
Through ins and outs
Of halfway house boundaries
Leave this impasse
If you’re gonna leave anything
Just don’t leave here
Without speaking your mind
Let me back into your world
At the blink of the eye
No uncertain terms
Let me back into your world
