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Friday, April 18, 2008
How will Andruw be greeted?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, they’re home. The aftertaste of that Braves trip wasn’t as rancid following last night’s resounding 8-0 win fueled by the old dudes, Smoltz and Hoss (and Bobby, in a pregame closed-door meeting the boys called perfect).
So now they’re back at Turner Field, where the Braves have hit .312 in five games (compared to .252 on the road, even after last night’s 15-hit, five-homer blitz at Miami).
It’ll be interesting to see how last night’s win carries over to tonight’s opener against Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal and the rest of the visiting Dodgers from Chavez Ravine.
Oh, yes, Andruw. Once again we’ll witness the return of a longtime Braves star wearing a different uniform. The man who won 10-time Gold Glove Jones and racked up 368 home runs and 1,117 RBIs in 12 seasons for the Braves.
And we’ll ask again: What do you think the reaction is going to be? Will it be something like the huge applause the Turner Field customers give Greg Maddux? Or the warn reception they gave Julio Franco?
Will it be a mixed reaction, like Tom Glavine got in his latter visits with the Mets? Certainly it’s not going to be anything like the nasty receptions that Glavine got when he’d return during his first seasons with the Mets. No way.
If I had to guess, I’m going with big ovation. Big standing ovation, even. I really believe that’s what the reaction will be.
After all, it’s not like he turned down a Braves offer to return. Not like he’s bad-mouthed the organization or anyone in it since he left.
And, oh yeah, he did provide a hell of a lot of big moments for Braves fans during the past decade.
Jeff Francoeur told me yesterday that he’s talked to Andruw quite a bit, and Brian McCann said he talks to him all the time. McCann and Andruw were close friends and worked out together a lot in the offseason.
I used a McCann quote in my Braves notebook in today’s paper and online, but here’s one I got from Francoeur:
“I’ve talked to [Andruw] a couple of times, and he watches us sometimes out there before their games,” he said. “And if they have a day game he’s watched some of our games at night. You know, he misses being here.
“He misses being part of the team and having everybody around. But I know that’s part of baseball and it’s what you’ve got to do.”
On Andruw’s slump, he said, “Hopefully he’ll get it going for them. I think he will.”
Hitting coach Terry Pendleton said of Andruw: “That’s my boy. It hurts me to see him struggling. I want to see him have success, but not necessarily against us. We’re all hoping he has success, because we love him.”
I asked Frenchy about the impression many fans have that Andruw doesn’t care much because of the smirk or smile he has after so many strikeouts.
“He cares,” Francoeur said. “He’s going to do everything he has to do to help the team. I always said, he came to play every single day. You’ve got to give him credit for that.
“I’d like to see our fans give him a good standing ovation and then give him a hand for what he’s done for Atlanta for so long. It’s not like he wanted out. It just kind of happened that way. So, it’d be nice to see them do that.
“He loves Atlanta. He’s still got his house here. It’s not like he’s leaving. He’s staying with his family. He loves Atlanta, and just happens to play somewhere else now. Hopefully the fans will give him what he deserves.”
Me talking again now: All that said, it’d be a stretch for anyone to suggest the Braves would be better off with him right now.
Andruw signed a two-year, $36.2 million contract with the Dodgers, more money per season than anybody but Scott Boras imagined he’d get after hitting .222 with 26 homers and 94 RBI for the Braves last season.
He’s hitting .157 with no homers, two RBIs and 16 strikeouts in 51 at-bats for the Dodgers, including 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. In six road games he’s hit .095 (2-for-21) with two singles, one walk, eight strikeouts.
Uh, yikes.
Andruw (and his girth) have become a target for acerbic, relentless (and quite witty) L.A. Times columnist T.J. Simers. That is not a good thing, if you are Andruw Jones.
If you haven’t read any of Simers’ recent work directed at Andruw, all I’m going to say about that is, the center fielder will not want to read the L.A. Times for the rest of the season if he doesn’t start hitting. Soon. Seriously.
Speaking of slumps, you might remember this isn’t a recent thing with Andruw. He’s hit .184 (25-for-136) with two homers, 12 RBI and 32 strikeouts in 39 games going back to Aug. 31 with the Braves.
His batting average really began to plummet in late July 2006, though he kept hitting plenty of homers for the rest of the ’06 season.
In 231 games dating to July 21, 2006, Andruw has hit .219 with 40 doubles, 43 homers, 137 RBI, 202 strikeouts, a .322 OBP and a .429 slugging percentage in 835 at-bats.
For some comparison: Chipper Jones has played 50 fewer games (181) in that same period, and hit .339 with 52 doubles, 44 homers, 143 RBI, 97 strikeouts, a .421 OBP and a .622 slugging percentage in 685 at-bats.
Andruw hasn’t given home crowds a lot to appreciate at the plate during that span. He’s hit .200 in 435 at-bats in 124 home games since July 21, 2006, though he does have 27 homers in those games (only 19 fewer homers than singles).
He’s got to be eager to face old friend Tom Glavine on Saturday. Andruw is 16-for-43 with four homers against the old lefty.
Speaking of Chipper…. He’s hitting an otherworldly .443 to lead the majors by a wide margin after last night’s 4-for-4, two-homer game at Florida. The only other hitter in either league with an average higher than .385 is none other than Rafael Furcal (.407), who has 11 extra-base hits and a .500 OBP.
Chipper, at 35, is on a seemingly unlikely career surge. He leads the majors with a .338 average since the beginning of the 2006 season, ahead of Seattle’s Ichiro (.333). Chipper has a .421 OBP and .606 slugging percentage in that span.
That’s .338/.421/.606 for Chipper, compared to Ichiro’s .333/.380/.419 and, just for curiosity’s sake, Alex Rodriguez’s .303/.405/.584 in that span.
The knock on Hoss, of course, is that he’s only played 259 games in that period, while Ichiro has played 339 and A-Rod 329.
Chipper has 73 doubles and 59 homers in 985 at-bats in that period, A-Rod has 63 doubles and 93 homers in 1,223 at-bats.
But the most amazing stats with Chipper began in the middle of the 2006 season, after he got over some early injuries and hit a hot streak that really has continued pretty much unabated, save for a cool week here or a DL stint there.
It began after a slump in which he batted just .222 with four homers and 11 RBis in 29 games during May 21-June 23, 2006.
Here’s what he’s done in 200 games since then, and no, these are not typos:
In his past 200 games, since June 24, 2006, Chipper has hit .358 (273-for-763) with 61 doubles, 6 triples, 52 homers, 167 RBI, 113 walks, 104 strikeouts, a .437 OBP and a .658 slugging percentage.
And in 102 road games during that period he’s hit .376 (153-for-407) with 36 doubles, 5 triples, 29 homers, 86 RBI, a .445 OBP and a .703 slugging percentage. That’s a 1.148 OPS in his past 102 road games. Astounding.
Top and bottom of it…. The NL’s two highest and two lowest batting averages belong to former Braves teammates. Chipper (.443) and Furcal (.407) lead, while Andruw (.157) and Adam LaRoche (.143) bring up the rear.
Against right-handed pitchers, Chipper (.441) and Furcal (.439) also lead the majors, ahead of Albert Pujols (.417) and Derrek Lee (.404).
Andruw (.086, 3-for-35) is last in the NL against right-handers.
Chipper has hit .444 with one homer in 27 at-bats against lefities, .441 with three homers in 34 at-bats against righties. He’s hit .455 at home, .436 on the road. He’s hit .324 with no one on base, .593 (16-for-27) with runners on.
He’s hit .409 (9-for-22) after an 0-1 count, and .485 (16-for-33) after 1-0.
Folks, he’s flat-out raked.
Speaking of splits… Mark Teixeira has hit .400 (6-for-15) with a homer and four RBI in four day games, but just .136 (6-for-44) with two homers and three RBIs (and a .191 OBP) in 11 night games.
He’s hit .119 in the first through sixth innings, and .412 after the sixth. Hey, it’s early. You can get some crazy splits early in a season.
Smoltz’s fast start: Heard the guys on ESPN mention that this is the first time Smoltz has won his first three starts in his entire major league career. Yes, the first time.
But while that is a surprising stat, Smoltz is still a very, very long way from coming close to matching his best starts. He’s had a few stunning ones.
In 1996, he lost his first start when he gave up six earned runs in 6-1/3 innings against San Francisco. Then Smoltz went 11-0 in his next 11 starts with a 1.76 ERA, .163 opponents’ average and two complete games. Wow.
He went 14-1 in his first 16 starts that season.
More recently, he went 4-0 in his first six starts in 1998, and 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his first six starts in 1999.
One last stat: In his past 53 starts, since July 2006, Smoltz is 29-12 with a 3.05 ERA and 336 strikeouts (with 81 walks) in 342-2/3 innings.
And he’ll be 41 next month.
”FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD” by Bruce Springsteen (and covered splendidly by Johnny Cash)
Where the road is dark and the seed is sowed
Where the gun is cocked and the bullet’s cold
Where the miles are marked in the blood and gold
I’ll meet you further on up the road
Got on my dead man’s suit and my smilin’ skull ring
My lucky graveyard boots and song to sing
I got a song to sing, keep me out of the cold
And I’ll meet you further on up the road.
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Where the way dark and the night is cold
One sunny mornin’ we’ll rise I know
And I’ll meet you further on up the road.
Now I been out in the desert, just doin’ my time
Searchin’ through the dust, lookin’ for a sign
If there’s a light up ahead well brother I don’t know
But I got this fever burnin’ in my soul
So let’s take the good times as they go
And I’ll meet you further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
One sunny mornin’ we’ll rise I know
And I’ll meet you further on up the road
One sunny mornin’ we’ll rise I know
And I’ll meet you further on up the road.
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