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April 2008
Why Smoltz could be headed to bullpen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington — John Smoltz moved to the bullpen midway through the 2001 season because his surgically repaired elbow couldn’t withstand the rigors of starting.
He might go back to the bullpen this season for a similar reason, just substitute the word “shoulder” for “elbow.”
It hasn’t been surgically repaired, but Smoltz knows it would probably be just a matter of time before surgery would be needed if he kept pushing it the way he has with his shoulder since late May 2007.
Talking to him on the phone last night, I heard a guy who’s willing to do whatever he can to get back on the field and pitch for at least the rest of this season, including the possibility of moving to the closer role.
“Yes,” he said when I asked him about the possibility. “Right now I’m sitting at ground zero, taking it day by day, looking at every option to help this team get to the playoffs and end my career the way I’d like to end it.”
If that sounds like an about-face for Smoltz, it is. But the reason he’s suddenly changed his position and is open to moving back to the bullpen, after pleading (successfully) for a return to starting in 2005, is because his health situation has changed completely.
Here’s a chunk of the quotes I typed as Smoltz was being open on the phone last night. He was talking about pitching in pain, about not always saying publicly how much he might be ailing, and about the reasons he’s kept going through injuries, why he’s kept pitching and not gone on the DL every time he’s been hurt.
You might also note the edge in some things he said, which, if you know Smoltz, you understand is a reflection of how much he pays attention to what people are saying and writing about him, and how much that both motivates him and burns at him, whether or not he’ll admit the latter.
“I chose to deal with things the way I chose to deal with them, which leads a lot of people to speculate or wonder or come up with their own opinion,” he said. “But it’s the way I have to deal with things.
“Certainly this news [the diagnosis of a strained rotator cuff and severely inflamed biceps tendon] is not new to me. At the same time, I’m not going to pitch again [right away]. I just can’t right now. I went as long and as far as I could to give as much as I always have.
“The body will definitely let you know when it’s time….
“People are going to say what they want, speculate how they want. Who knows what’s going to happen? I’m totally content with where I’m at and what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to wait. Wait and rehab.
“I’m in great hands with the doctors I have….
“I’m never happy to go on the DL, but I just couldn’t keep pitching this way.”
(Keep in mind, this is a guy who, before he gave up seven hits and four runs in four innings Sunday at New York, was carrying a 0.78 ERA and .179 opponents’ average, and had recorded 20 strikeouts in 12 innings during his previous two starts, including his 3,000th career strikeout on April 27.)
“I’m never a guy that just because I’m not successful, means it’s time to sit,” he said. “This has nothing to do with that.”
He converted 154 of 168 saves for the Braves in 3-1/2 dominant seasons as closer, but Smoltz explained to anyone who would listen during his last year or two in that role, that his elbow, once he got past the second year of recovery from Tommy John surgery, could be better maintained as a starter.
He said the every-fifth-day work schedule of a starter was better for his arm than the erratic schedule of a closer, who might pitch two or three days in a row, and while making mostly max-effort pitches.
As it turned out, he was right. The elbow continued to cause Smoltz problems during his closer years, and he had another surgery after the 2003 postseason (not reconstructive surgery, but also not merely an arthroscopic procedure).
The Braves agreed to move him back to starting after he agreed to a contract extension following the 2004 season, and the elbow has not been an issue since Smoltz moved back to the rotation.
But the shoulder has. Beginning with a sub-scapula tear in 2005, when Smoltz pitched with a great deal of pain late in that 14-7, 3.06 ERA, 229-2/3-inning season and during the division series against Houston.
He had so much inflammation in his last start against the Astros, Smoltz almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to pitch if the Braves had advanced to the NLCS that year.
Smoltz bounced back from that to tie for the NL wins lead in 2006, when he went 16-9 in 35 starts and 232 innings, leading the Braves in wins and innings for the second consecutive season — at age 39.
Then there was the slip on the mound at Milwaukee last May 29, a warmup pitch that he won’t ever forget. He strained his shoulder, an entirely different area of the shoulder, but Smoltz made his next start.
He skipped his next rotation turn after that because of the lingering discomfort - Smoltz always cause it “discomfort,” but I think you or I would refer to it as “pain” - and eventually relented and went on the DL, but even then he and the Braves made it overlap the All-Star break, because Smoltz wanted to minimize the starts he’d have to miss.
A lot of people ask me how long Smoltz has been pitching with the shoulder pain he’s currently feeling. I’ve said I thought it might go all the way back to late in the 2005 season, at least to varying degrees.
But he told me last night that the ’05 injury and the strain last season were unrelated. However, when I asked if he’s been pitching in pain to some degree since Milwaukee, he said, almost sheepishly, that was a fair assessment.
“It’s fair to say that,” he said, almost sheepishly. “I‘m not claiming to be hero, or trying to be viewed as one. I‘ve been through a lot. It’s not for everybody to know. I choose to do it.
“I’ve been through a lot, and I’m not going to give in to any circumstances. This now, it’s no different than things that faced me before. I’m just older.”
Smoltz will be 41 on May 15.
“People are going to assume my time’s running out,” he said. “So be it. It might be. But that doesn’t affect my desire. When my desire to overcome these things is not there, I’ll be [finished]. But that’s not the case.”
It’s almost like he views it as a weakness, admitting that he hasn’t been able to get rid of the shoulder pain. Dude’s got a different mindset, for sure.
(Me, I’d be pulling reporters aside all this time and saying, ‘Man, my arm’s freakin’ killing me and I’m still making half the hitters in the league flail at my pitches like minor leaguers.’ On a different note, if I was a big star athlete I’d not suffer fools who ask stupid questions. I’d be, like, ‘Dude, that’s the worst question I’ve ever been asked. Come back when you’ve got something pertinent to ask.’ Come to think of it, I’d call me a real prick if I was a reporter covering me.)
But back to Smoltz.
I asked if this injury he’s got now could be compensatory, or whether the trapezius strain he had during spring might have been. And from his quick response, I could tell this is something he has been told or discussed with team trainers and or Dr. Andrews.
Yes, he said, it could be. Actually, he said it as though it probably was true. That most of his shoulder/neck problems are probably related to a degree.
He also mentioned an incident many of us have forgotten from last season, the May 14 game at Washington when he dislocated the pinkie finger on his throwing hand, a grotesque-looking injury that was caught close-up by the TV cameras.
Remember that? He didn’t miss a start.
In fact, he threw seven scoreless innings in each of his next two starts, before the Milwaukee slip-up. But in those two starts after the finger injury, Smoltz made adjustments, like he has for most of his career, to compensate for pain that certain arm angles or pitches might cause.
And after all the years of making adjustments for this throbbing shoulder or that stiff elbow, the old dude is, in my unsophisticated view, simply breaking down. It happens, especially when you’re not jacked up on HGH to get you through the fading years.
All of us over 40 marvel at what he can do, but it can’t last forever. There’s not much else to compensate with, when he’s injured all the various parts of his shoulder and elbow, and been under the knife or the ‘scope repeatedly, and continued to pile up more innings than pitchers half his age.
By the way, anyone who doesn’t understand or recognize what the man has sacrificed - and I’m just talking health, not personal matters you probably know about - isn’t looking with a nonjaundiced view.
Yeah, he’s made millions and reveled in a lot of glory (and played every great golf course).
But I’m guessing that shoulder and elbow are going to be seriously arthritic for the second half of his life, which has probably already begun.
I’m also thinking that, more than it affects you, me, or many other injured pro athletes, being told he cannot pitch, or having to sit and watch his team scramble to fill in and then lose without him, absolutely eats away at Smoltz.
He wants to go out on his own terms. Wants so badly to go out with one last blaze of glory. Wants to shine once more on that big postseason stage where he was so good for so long.
For his sake, you’ve got to hope he gets the chance.
Getting back to why he’s open to moving back to the bullpen (sorry, I just realized how much I’ve rambled here), I think it’s because this shoulder thing has forced him to chance his course at midstream, or midseason.
He said to me that, honestly, that trapezius strain this spring was entirely unexpected, and that it was more neck than shoulder. That his shoulder was not the reason he was throwing in sim games for the early part of spring training.
But it might well have led to this inflamed rotator cuff and severely inflamed biceps tendon that he’s dealing with now, and that’s going to take at least a few weeks, I’d imagine, before he’s able to pitch.
And now that he’s got this stuff going on in there, and he’s seen how ineffective it makes him as a starter when it gets to this point, Smoltz has been forced to accept the fact that, once again, his health might not (probably won’t) allow him to pitch even 6-7 innings every five days.
It sounds to me like he knows the tank is running low, and he wants to make the remaining fuel get him at least through this season and, he and the Braves hope, the postseason. He doesn’t have many arrows left, wants to use them sparingly.
Maybe an offseason of rest will allow him to return in 2009. There’s no way of knowing that right now, or even knowing how much Smoltz is thinking beyond this season or wants to think beyond this season.
As he’s said several times since last fall, he’s going year-to-year at this point, and now perhaps even day-to-day. He wants to make the most of what he’s got left.
With setup man Peter Moylan likely headed for season-ending surgery, and closer Rafael Soriano dealing with recurring elbow soreness and still not ready to return from the DL, the bullpen needs Smoltz as bad as he might need it.
”BLAZE OF GLORY” by The Alarm
It’s funny how they shoot you down
When your hands are held up high
And you open up your heart and soul
I remember this much
There is nothing
You shouldn’t speak of
If you got something to say
And there is no one
To be scared of
Just get them out of the way
Going out in a blaze of glory
My heart is open wide
You can take anything that you want from me
There is nothing left to hide
Going out in a blaze of glory
My hands are held up high
I’m learning how to hit back
I’m learning how to fight
The law of the jungle says
You look after yourself
But I remember this much
I love as I’ve been loved myself.
Don’t forget what I told you now
When the question keeps on coming
And it’s how much more can you take
When they’ve ripped your clothes to pieces
Shouldn’t you be gone by now
But you keep on
Going out in a blaze of glory
Setting your sights for the sky.
They can offer you anything at all
But your dreams must not be sold.
Going out in a blaze of glory
No price is high enough
I’m fighting back with feeling
I’m fighting back with love
When the nails are biting into your hands
And the cross is heavy on your heart
Now is the time to really make a stand
My hands are held up high.
Going out
In a blaze of glory
Going out
In a blaze of glory
Going out
In a blaze of glory
Going out in a blaze of glory
My heart is open wide
You can take anything that you want from me
But you cannot take my soul
Going out in a blaze of glory
My hands are held up high
I’m learning how to hit back
Yes I’m learning how to fight
Going out in a blaze of glory
Going out with my heart wide open
Going out with my hands held high
Going out in a blaze of glory
Going out in a blaze of glory…..
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Hey, the Braves have done it before….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With less than one-sixth of the 162-game baseball scheduled completed, and the Braves sitting 1-1/2 games behind New York and Philly in the NL East, a segment of the Braves-rooting populace is already writing off 2008 and looking to 2009.
Either that segment is very pessimistic or can’t remember way back to the early part of the century — yes, the 21st century.
The current Braves team is 12-13, with a strong lineup, a good bullpen that could be very good if Rafael Soriano gets healthy (Peter Moylan is likely done for the season, so I’m not really considering him).
The rotation? Questions have to be answered, obviously. But the rotation can be outstanding if John Smoltz and Tom Glavine can pitch 30 or so times and Tim Hudson can win 14-17 games. It can still be good if Smoltz has a few stints on the DL and pitches only about 20 times, if Mike Hampton can give the Braves something along the lines of 12-20 starts (stop laughing; it’s possible).
If Smoltz’s shoulder problem is serious (he’ll be checked later today) and prevents him from having a productive season, then the Braves’ rotation will obviously need strong seasons from Hudson, Glavine and Jurrjens, and something decent from Hampton and/or Chuck James, Jeff Bennett or someone else.
But even in that scenario, they can still have an adequate rotation, believe it or not, and they have trade pieces to make a move this summer in whatever area they need to reinforce most, provided they’re in contention.
Now, getting back to the history lesson, for those who seem to be either dismissive of the recent past, or simply forgot or choose not to acknowledge it.
In 2001: The Braves were 12-14 at the end of April and 17-21 on May 13, with a .239 batting average and 4.09 ERA. They finished 88-74 and won the NL East by two games over Philly (86-76) and six over the Mets (82-80).
The Braves’ top starters that year were Greg Maddux (17-11, 3.05), Glavine (16-7, 3.57), John Burkett (12-12, 3.04), Kevin Millwood (7-7, 4.31), Odalis Perez (6-6, 4.57) and Jason Marquis (4-6, 3.26).
In 2002: The Braves were 12-15 at the end of April, with a .241 batting average and 3.60 ERA. They went 89-44 the rest of the way to win the division by 19 games over Montreal.
The Braves’ top starters that season were Maddux (16-6, 2.62), Glavine (18-11, 2.96), Millwood (17-8, 3.25), Damian Moss (12-6, 3.50) and Jason Marquis (8-9, 5.04). In fact, no other starter won a game that season.
(Reminds us what having three strong starters who give you 200 or more innings can do, not to mention a fourth who’s as good as Moss was that season. Five good starters? That’s a luxury few teams have, even teams as good as this one was. Marquis only pitched 114 innings in 22 starts that season).
In 2004: The Braves were 13-14 at the end of April, with a .262 batting average and 4.32 ERA. They went 83-51 the rest of the way, hitting .271 with a 3.62 ERA in those last 134 games, and finished 96-66 to win the division by 10 games over the Phillies (86-76).
The Braves’ best starters that season were Jaret Wright (15-8, 3.28), Russ Ortiz (15-9, 4.13), John Thomson (14-8, 3.72), Mike Hampton (13-9, 4.28) and Paul Byrd (8-7, 3.94). No Cy Youngs among that crew, and Ortiz was the only one who pitched 200 innings that season. All other starters were a combined 3-8.
My point? You can win divisions with a lot of different recipes, and Bobby Cox’s teams have founds ways to do it after relatively slow starts (at least in the eyes of outsiders). That above was three times in the past seven years.
Do I think this Braves team will do it? I have no idea. Their chances are far greater if Smoltz can give them a quality season and Glavine can stay off the DL the rest of the way. But like I said, even if Smoltz were to have problems, they could still compete — as long as they’re getting contributions from the likes of Hudson, Glavine and Hampton (but we all know the latter is a mighty big “if”) or perhaps James.
The Hudson quandary: I received an interesting e-mail from J.C. Bradbury, the Kennesaw State U. economist and seamhead whiz over at sabernomics.com.
He computed the pitch speeds in Hudson’s recent starts, and disputed the assessment by Bobby Cox and Hudson that his velocity was normal Saturday at Shea, when Hudson gave up seven hits and four runs and was pulled after three innings.
“I think the Braves are being misleading,” he wrote me. “I tracked Hudson’s fastball on MLB’s Gameday, and his last start was very similar to his April 16 start against the Marlins in terms of fastball speed. On April 16 his average fastball was 88.81 MPH, and on April 26 his average fastball was 88.53 MPH. In his April 21 Washington start, his average fastball was 90.58 MPH.”
Hudson gave up six hits and four runs in just three innings of that April 16 start at Florida, and sandwiched those two three-inning outings around a 6-2/3 inning performance vs. Washington on April 21, when he gave up 10 hits and two runs (one earned).
I’ll trust his figures. Got no reason not to.
But I’m not ready to jump to the same conclusion that some on the blog have made, that Hudson has got to be hurt if he’s throwing like this.
And my reasoning is two-fold: For one, I’ve seen Hudson enough to know that he’s a bit different that most other elite pitchers, in that he’s so capable of being entirely underwhelming one start, then dominant in the next.
Don’t know if that’s because of the type of pitcher he is, or because of his mental approach in some games, or if his smallish physique makes him more inclined to be affected by aches or illness or whatever. I really don’t know.
But I said two-fold, and here’s the other part: In a few times in the past, when Hudson’s looked fairly awful for a few starts in a stretch, some have raised red flags and said he’s headed for surgery. Only to see him storm back.
I’ll point to two such incidents in the same season, the 2000 season with Oakland: Hudson gave up 11 hits, 11 runs and three homers in just four total innings during consecutive starts April 15-20 against Boston and Cleveland.
Then he went 9-0 with a 3.40 ERA and .210 opponents’ average in his next 13 starts.
Late that season he went 1-3 with an 11.72 ERA during a four-start span Aug. 6-23, giving up 27 hits in 17-2/3 innings including starts of 2-2/3 innings and 3-2/3 innings.
Then he went 7-0 with a 1.16 ERA and .163 opponents’ average in seven starts the rest of the season.
He went 20-6 that season.
Is he going to bounce back from this slump in similar fashion? I have no idea. All I know is, he says his arm feels perfectly fine, that he felt great physically in his last start.
Of course, he also didn’t say much about his strained side muscle a couple years back until he was going to the DL.
But if you were Hudson, and you struggled as much as he did in two of his past three starts, would you really say, “Actually, I felt great” after lasting only three innings at a time when your bullpen is worn and you want badly to produce a great start? I’m thinking, no, you’d probably at least say something along the lines of, “I’m dealing with some physical things, but it’s not a big deal.”
I don’t think you’d say, “No, actually I felt great.”
But maybe that’s just my thinking.
Francoeur’s progress: Now that the concerns about Jeff Francoeur’s sore foot/ankle seem to have subsided, might be a good time to point out that the right fielder has hit .333 (11-for-33) with six doubles and five RBI in his past eight games, and his strikeout Sunday was his only one in that span.
He’s hitting .294, leads the Braves in doubles (10) and extra-base hits (14), and ranks second with 19 RBI (Chipper has 20). Eight Braves have struck out as many or more times than Francoeur, whose nine whiffs are five behind Kelly Johnson and fewer than half of Matt Diaz’s team-high total (21).
So much for the slow start: After his typical early April slump, Mark Teixeira is 14-for-38 (.368) with six extra-base hits and 10 RBI in his past nine games.
He hit .203 with five extra-base hits and seven RBI in his first 16 games….
Also, Duluth’s own Blaine Boyer’s 18 strikeouts are tied for third-most among major league relievers.
Big disparity: Matt Diaz is hitting .447 (17-for-38) against lefties and .170 (8-for-47) against righties. Mark Kotsay has hit .364 (16-for-44) against righties and .158 (6-for-38) against lefties.
Rookie outfielder Gregor Blanco is 10-for-28 (.357) with five walks and a .455 OBP against righties, and 2-for-5 with two walks against lefties. It’s way early, but Blanco, who’s strong defensively, is starting to look like at least a solid fourth outfielder, and maybe more.
The O-for Braves: Still the only team in the majors without a win in one-run games (0-8), and now 0-10 when trailing after six innings…. Yet the Braves lead the league in hitting (.282; Cubs ,280) and rank third in runs and third in ERA (3.63) behind Arizona (3.03) and St. Louis (3.51) and ahead of the Cubs (3.68).
Telling stats: Braves starters rank third in the NL with a 3.50 ERA, but are dead last in innings with only 131. Six NL teams have over 150 innings from starters, including the Cardinals with 164-1/3 and the Padres with 161-1/3 (it’s OK to have one veteran going 5-6 innings per, but not three or four doing it)…. The Braves lead the NL in team batting average, but rank second-to-last in close-and-late situations at .197. Only the Padres (.186) have been worse.
Great CD: Forgot to mention one of the CD’s I bought during my late-night splurge at Virgin records in New York. It’s DeVotchKa’s A Mad & Faithful Telling and it’s very good, odd, totally original. Been playing it for two days on the little machine in my D.C. hotel. Something about it. Don’t even know how to describe it (hey, I’m no music writer), but sounds to me like if the late Jeff Buckley fronted Calexico, but with all sorts of Eastern European influence on top of, and what sounds to me like a toy piano in the background.
“LIVE FOREVER” by Billy Joe Shaver and Eddy Shaver
I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now
You’re gonna want to hold me
Just like I always told you
You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone
Nobody here will ever find me
But I will always be around
Just like the songs I leave behind me
I’m gonna live forever now
You fathers and you mothers
Be good to one another
Please try to raise your children right
Don’t let the darkness take ‘em
Don’t make ‘em feel forsaken
Just lead them safely to the light
When this old world is blown us under
And all the stars fall from the sky
Remember someone really loves you
We’ll live forever, you and I
I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now
I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now
I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now
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Glavine ready, Soriano … not so fast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New York — You can expect to see Tom Glavine on the mound Tuesday night at Washington, probably see Chipper Jones at third base for that series opener against the Nationals, and possibly see Yunel Escobar.
But don’t expect to see closer Rafael Soriano come off the DL at least until we get back to Atlanta and play a weekend series against the Reds.
That’s the long and short of developments this morning within the Braves infirmary, er, clubhouse.
Oh, and good morning (or early afternoon) from Shea, where we’ll spend one more chilly, damp day here in scenic Flushing before heading south for an off day in D.C. (and a two-game series against the Nats, the result of moving a game to make ESPN happy and create a single-game special opener at Nationals Park).
Chipper’s back spasms have subsided, but he said he’s still got pain in his middle back and that there’s no way he could field his position or swing at 90-mph pitches without making things worse.
“I could try to play, but they’d be carting me off the field in the first inning,” said Hoss, who added that the back thing made it difficult watching the NFL draft in his room last night. Dammit.
He was here early this morning, doing the hot tub, stretching and getting “adjusted” by the trainer. Chipper said he hopes to be ready to play Tuesday and sounded optimistic about it.
Escobar said the swelling in his injured right index finger has decreased and that he expects to play Tuesday. But Bobby Cox said “we’ll see” and pointed out that Escobar couldn’t even grip a bat on Saturday.
Glavine threw a bullpen this morning and felt good. Said he injured right hamstring felt much better, and barring any unexpected setbacks he’ll come off the DL to start Tuesday.
Soriano, that’s another story. He threw a bullpen today, first time he’s thrown off a mound in exactly three weeks, since an April 6 game against the Mets, after which he went on the DL with elbow tendinitis.
Said the elbow felt better today, but still had a bit of soreness in there. Didn’t throw anything but fastballs, either. So yes, there’s reason for concern, if you ask me.
Cox said it was “encouraging,” however, and that Soriano would throw another bullpen in D.C., then probably one more after that.
Let’s say both of those sessions go well. That’d still probably take it through next weekend before he’d be activated, since Braves are off Thursday and I wouldn’t expect him to throw that second bullpen Cox alluded to on an off day (yes, two scheduled off days for Braves in next four days. Not typical.)
But we’ll just have to wait and see on Soriano. I’m going to guess that it’ll be at least Sunday or Monday before he’s activated. And even then, I don’t know if they will need to monitor him when he gets back, to make sure he doesn’t make back-to-back appearances or whatever until the elbow feels completely healthy.
Today’s lineup: Looks like we’re going to start on time, and hopefully get in a game before the rain arrives.
Braves have three young’uns in the lineup — Gregor Blanco in left, hitting second against RH Nelson Figueroa, and Martin Prado and Brent Lillibridge in the seventh and eighth spots in front of Smoltz.
The full lineup: 1. Johnson, 2B; 2. Blanco, LF; 3. Francoeur, RF; 4. Teixeira, 1B; 5. McCann, C; 6. Kotsay, CF; 7. Prado, 3B; 8. Lillibridge, SS; 9. Bearded Icon.
A big absence: Chipper leads the majors with a .433 average, but did you realize he’s batting .550 (22-for-40) with runners on base? Pat Burrell (.474) is second in the NL, and Reed Johnson (.464) is third.
Bringing up the rear? Andruw at .100 (4-for-40) and another frequent blog subject, Austin Kearns (5-for-40).
Campillo, bueno: If he keeps up anything close to this pace, reliever Jorge Campillo is going to make a Braves scout and the front office look very astute for signing him off the scrap heap this winter. Already has, really.
I mean, who could ever have expected this from the journeyman and longtime former Mexican League pitcher?
Campillo’s two hitless, scoreless innings with four strikeouts on Saturday reduced his ERA to 0.96 in 9-1/3 innings and trimmed his opponents’ average to .103, second in the NL to Mets closer Billy Wagner, who’s yet to give up a hit in nine innings entering today.
His 6.4 baserunners per nine innings ranks third among NL relievers.
On the road, Campillo has allowed one walk. That’s it. Opponents’ are 0-for-21 with eight strikeouts and one walk against him on the road.
And regardless of where he’s pitching, he’s not allowed a hit with two strikes. In two-strike situations hitters are 0-for-25 with one walk and 11 strikeouts against him.
All this from a guy who made five appearances last season for Seattle and had a 6.75 ERA, with 18 hits and 10 earned runs allowed in 13-1/3 innings.
Wow.
Even other Braves pitchers are amazed at the unusual movement he’s getting on his pitches. Bobby says his success all stems from locating the fastball, first of all.
Campillo doesn’t say much. Doesn’t speak English, and walks around with a serious look that says, I’m here to pitch and only to pitch.
I like it. You need that in a reliever or two, don’t you? Especially when the scowling closer isn’t able to scowl on the field these days.
City never sleeps: Stopped by the Virgin music store in Union Square last night, was amazed it was no only open but crowded at almost 1 a.m. Roamed their huge selection. Dropped some coin on six CDs, including two of the Replacements expanded reissues, Let It Be and Hootenanny, plus the new Billy Bragg CD, and the debut by the duo She and Him (him is M. Ward, she is versatile and extremely cool actress Zooey Deschanel), and a remastered, first-time-on-CD version of 70s folk/blues singer Karen Dalton’s In My Own Time. Ever heard of her? Without exaggerating, she’s one of the greatest female singers ever. I mean, Billie Holliday-like greatness. And a serious guitar player, to boot.
OK, game’s starting. Fill it up, folks.
My dad used to play some great music on his newfangled car cassette player when I was a kid, including a lot of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, Fats Domino, Lorette, Sinatra, Nat King Cole … and this: From her seminal album “Tapestry.” (Hey, my old man had eclectic taste.)
“IT’S TOO LATE” by Carole King
Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There’s something wrong here, there can be no denying
One of us is changing
Or maybe we just stopped trying
And it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died
And I can’t hide and I just can’t fake it
It used to be so easy living here with you
You were light and breezy and I knew just what to do
Now you look so unhappy and I feel like a fool
And it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died
And I can’t hide and I just can’t fake it
There’ll be good times again for me and you
But we just can’t stay together, don’t you feel it, too
Still I’m glad for what we had and how I once loved you
But it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can’t hide
And I just can’t fake it
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Chipper, chop shops, and Shea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New York — So here we are, back at Shea Stadium for the first of our three visits in the swan-song season of the multi-purpose relic located across the streeet from many of Flushing’s finest automobile chop shops.
Far as I know, they haven’t planned any beer dousing or other special presentation for Chipper Jones, the man that iron-lunged Shea fans love to hate most (well, except for that brief period when he was supplanted by John Rocker).
Chipper comes to town on one of his best surges in years, and the Braves are on a good run themselves. Or had some of you forgotten? I know, those back-to-back mid-week losses against Washington and Florida took some of the oomph out of it for many of you, particularly the disappointing loss on the night John Smoltz got his 3,000th strikeout.
But the fact remains, the Braves are 6-2 with a .313 team batting average and 2.13 ERA in their past eight games. They have the best record, batting average and ERA in the NL East in that span, better even than the Phillies, who’ve crushed 18 homers in their last eight games (5-3).
The other three teams in the division have a .500 or below record in their past eight games, including the Mets, who’ve hit .242 with a 4.07 ERA while splitting their last eight games.
Speaking of Chipper, as good as he’s been lately, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be the NL Player of the Month (he was already passed over for the weekly honor despite back-to-back two-homer games).
Because while Chipper is batting a majors-leading (by a wide margin) .442 with four doubles, seven homers, 20 RBI and a 1.217 on base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS), Philly’s Chase Utley is hitting .385 with more extra-base hits (20), more homers (10), more RBI (21) and a higher OPS (1.288, best in the majors).
The American League has been known as the superior offensive league for years, but right now, this month, senior-circuit stars are putting up far superior numbers.
In fact, the top seven OPS totals in the majors are by National League players, led by Utley and teammate Pat Burrell (1.224). Chipper (1.217) is third and Albert Pujols (1.135) is fourth.
The NL’s seventh-highest OPS belongs to Lance Berkman (1.102), while the AL leader is Manny Ramirez (1.101).
But enough statistical overload…. I saw the latest Judd Apatow comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, yesterday. Loved it. But I have to disagree with one of our denizens who said it was funnier than Superbad or Knocked Up.
Funniest movie I’ve seen since Juno, yes. But not funnier than Superbad, in my opinion. But I’d put all of Apatow’s recent movies, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall on my all-time list of comedies, a top 25 or 30 or whatever.
Hey, I’m not offended by raunchy comedy, not when it’s as clever as what Apatow and his crew put out. This stuff is laugh-out-loud brilliant. And they showed previews for yet another one that’s coming out this summer.
Don’t know how long he can keep his golden touch going, but it’s been an impressive run, for sure.
OK, back to statistical overload…. To underscore how much more depth the Braves have in their rotation now compared to a year ago at this time, consider this: Atlanta starters rank second in the NL with a 3.05 ERA, just behind Arizona (3.04).
This despite the fact that John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton and Chuck James have all spent time on the disabled list.
Think about that — Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton and James have all been on the DL, or are still on it, and we’re only 21 games into the season. And still, Braves starters rank second in the NL with a 3.05 ERA.
The Braves have managed to use only six different starters, despite all the health woes. The only one of the six who has an ERA over 3.20 is Chuck James (2-1, 7.62), whom the Braves probably didn’t plan to have in the majors this early, after he rested his shoulder all winter to heal a partial rotator-cuff tear.
James (three) and Bennett (two) have also given up five of the seven homers yielded by Braves starters. The other four starte4rs have given up a total of two homers in 90-1/3 innings.
In overall staff ERA, the Braves’ 3.50 also ranks second in the NL, behind Arizona’s 3.09.
The largely inexperienced and injury-depleted bullpen has been shaky some nights and ranks ninth in the league with a 4.17 ERA. But given that they’ve been without their best two relievers, Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano, for much of April, I’m frankly surprised the Braves don’t rank below ninth in ERA.
And by the way, for those who keep saying you’re not sold on Acosta, what does the guy have to do exactly? What’s it gonna take to convince some of you?
The guy was tagged for four runs in his first appearance March 31. But since then he’s pitched 10-1/3 scoreless innings in nine appearances, with a miniscule .147 opponets’ average in that stretch, no more than one hit or one walk in any appearance until he walked two in two hitless innings last night.
Seriously, that’s enough stat talk…. There are a few good bands this weekend in New York, now we’ll just have to see if we can avoid rain delays Saturday and Sunday and try to make it out to see some music after a day game.
American Music Club is playing at the Music Hall I Williamsburg (Brooklyn) Saturday and the Mercury Lounge on the Lower East Side on Sunday. That would be cool to see. Definite possibility. Fiery Furnaces are playing Saturday, but they’re a bit too odd for my tastes.
Paul Simon is also playing a sort of American music retrospective with the great Gillian Welch and Grizzly Bear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, but all nights are sold out Friday through Sunday.
Several great shows — Crowded House, Feist, Was (Not Was), Van Hunt, etc. — here next week, but I leave for D.C. on Monday morning.
Hey, while I’m thinking about it. Just saw footage of Wesley Snipes leaving court after his sentencing yesterday on tax-evasion charges (three years; yikes). Someone should’ve told Wesley that the glasses and Nipsey Russell haircut made him look sort of peculiar for a courtroom appearance in 2008.
OK, just one more stat flurry: David Wright strikes me as sort of the Mets’ version of a young Chipper Jones. But you’ll have to excuse the Braves if perhaps they don’t fear Wright as much as some other teams do, or at least if they’re not quite as mindful of Wright as the Mets are of Chipper.
Because against the Braves, The World’s Most Interesting Man (I’m aping the Dos Equis commercials, which, by the way, seem to me like a total ripoff of the SNL Bill Brasky skit) hasn’t exactly cut great swaths with his bat.
Or maybe it’s because they have been mindful of him in the past couple of seasons, after Wright hit a bunch of homers against them earlier.
Anyway, Wright has a .262 career average and .346 on-base percentage against the Braves, compared to .311 overall career average and .390 OBP. He had six homers against the Braves as a rookie in 2005, and a two-homer game against them in ’06.
But in his last 27 games against the Braves, Wright has hit .198 (20-for-101) with 26 strikeouts, a .287 OBP and more errors (five) than home runs (four).
Chipper hasn’t shredded the Mets in recent years anywhere near like he did in 1999 and a few other seasons. But since the beginning of the ’05 season, he’s still hit .285 with six homers, 20 RBI and a .375 OBP in 35 games against them.
By the way, Chipper has more homers (38) against the Mets than against any other team, but he’s hit for a higher average against three NL teams than his .328 vs. the Mets (.334 vs. Philly, .331 vs. Houston, .330 vs. Arizona).
And his best overall numbers against an NL opponent are actually against Philly. He’s hit .334 with 37 homers, 116 RBI and a 1.060 OPS in 178 games against the Phillies, and hit .328 with 38 homers, 118 RBI and a .988 OPS in 179 games against the Mets.
But he named one of his sons Shea for a reason: Chipper’s hit .310 in 83 games at Shea with more homers (19) and RBI (53) than at any ballpark outside Atlanta.
He’s got higher slugging percentages at several other NL parks than he does at Shea (.565), including the current parks at San Diego (.813, are you kidding me?), Houston, Cincinnati and Colorado.
But even if he were to have another child, I don’t think there’s any chance he’d name him or her PETCO, Minute Maid (or Enron), Great America, or Coors.
At least I hope not.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: Hoss is 1-for-4 with a homer against tonight’s Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, and 4-for-7 with a homer against Saturday starter John Maine.
Since we’re at Shea…. Let’s go out with a tune by the coolest four guys who ever played at Shea — the Clash (and don’t argue the Beatles were cooler, please. Bigger, yes; cooler, no.) This one was written by bass player Paul Simonon, not Joe Strummer.
“GUNS OF BRIXTON” by The Clash
When they kick out your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun
When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting in death row
You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you’ll have to answer to
Ohh, Guns of Brixton
The money feels good
And your life you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell
You see, he feels like Ivan
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called survivin’
At the end of the harder they come
You know it means no mercy
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun
You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you’ll have to answer to
Ohh, the guns of Brixton
When they kick out your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun
You can crush us
You can bruise us
And even shoot us
But ohh, the guns of Brixton
Shot down on the pavement
Waiting in death row
His game was survivin’
As in heaven as in hell
You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you’ll have to answer to
Ohh, the guns of Brixton
Ohh, the guns of Brixton
Ohh, the guns of Brixton
Ohh, the guns of Brixton
Ohh, the guns of Brixton
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Upon further review … Braves aren’t swinging so well
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, first, the happy news, as in Happy Birthday Chipper. Can’t believe he’s actually 36 …. which I think makes me 30 …. almost 8. How the heck did we get here this quick?
OK, nevermind. On to other less happy stuff. Should somebody put out an APB for a clutch hit?
As easy a target as the bullpen is for what happened in the late innings the last two nights, the offense has done little to nothing to pick up the team. Pick at Chris Resop all you want, if the Braves get a lead, he’s not pitching.
After watching the Braves get a dozen hits last night and score only two runs, you’ve got to wonder how in the world. Well, 11 of them were singles (with the exception of a Matt Diaz homer.) And this isn’t exactly a team built to manufacture runs.
Overall, the Braves have the second-best batting average in the National League (.282, behind the Cubs’ .289) but they’re tied for seventh hitting .255 with runners in scoring position. And maybe that doesn’t really do it justice either. So I looked up close-and-late situations and a-ha — Braves are hitting only .205 (27-for-132) close and late, which is 15th in the National League. The only team hitting worse close and late is the Nationals at .199.
The best? These Marlins at .315.
Not to name any names, but let’s have a look at who’s hitting what in close and late situations, shall we?
(And for those like me who wanted a definition of close-and-late, it’s basically like a save situation for a hitter. The game is in the 7th inning or later, and the team that’s batting is either ahead by one, tied, or has the potential tying run at least on deck.)
Kelly Johnson .250 (3-for-12)
Yunel Escobar .071 (1-for-14)
Chipper .214 (3-for-14)
Mark Teixeira .583 (7-for-12)
Jeff Francoeur .143 (2-for-14)
Brian McCann .133 (2-for-15)
Matt Diaz .200 (3-for-15)
Mark Kotsay .200 (3-for-15)
It’s not exactly a huge sampling but it gives a pretty good indication that nobody has been Mr. Clutch - except surprisingly, perhaps Teixeira - and that’s a hard way to win ball games.
And I looked these numbers up too, so I’ll throw them out there: the regulars with runners in scoring position:
Kelly Johnson .250 (3-for-12),
Yunel Escobar .250 (4-for-16) but with a double, a triple and a homer.
Larry Wayne .375 (6-for-16)
Mark Teixeria .261 (6-for-23)
Jeff Francoeur .333 (7-for-21)
Brian McCann .136 (3-for-22)
Matt Diaz .348 (8-for-23)
Mark Kotsay .174 (4-for-23)
In other news, with right-hander Burke Badenhop going tonight, it’ll be interesting to see if Diaz is in the lineup. Based on what Bobby Cox alluded to Sunday to DOB, the answer is probably no. When Cox was asked if he was thinking of platooning Diaz with left-handed hitting Gregor Blanco, he said: “I don’t know. Just want to get him in there. Diaz was struggling a bit. [Blanco] deserves a chance.”
In the last three games - all against lefties - Diaz has gone 3-for-4, 2-for-4, and 2-for-4. Maybe that just means the idea of a platoon is going to work. Diaz, being the amazingly standup guy that he is, had this to say about looking for his name today when he walks into the clubhouse.
“I’ll check the lineup, but in all honesty Gregor’s been playing great,” Diaz said. “He’s been hitting righties. He’s actually hit lefties well too. I’ll hope it is, but I’m not going to expect it. I wouldn’t be arrogant enough to come to the field and expect that.”
You know how they say the way you respond to adversity defines your character? After talking to Diaz about this, all I can say is wow. He’s got it. When I asked him about his thoughts on being in a platoon again:
“I don’t want to sound flippant but I really don’t care,” Diaz said. “As long as you’re being used in some way, shape or form….I don’t know who it was who asked me about my individual goals. I have a lot of individual goals, but none of them take place on that field. I’ve made it to the big leagues. I’m playing in a great organization. Those were my baseball goals. The next one is make it to the playoffs. So whatever way we get there is fine. All my individual goals are about my family and my faith. Individually, baseball-wise, I’m done. Now it’s just total team thing.”
During the five-game winning streak, Diaz started twice against left-handers. Gregor Blanco started three games against the righties and got hits in all three, going 5-of-9 (.556). And here’s what Diaz had to say about that:
“I don’t know how many times in the last two years we’ve (won five in a row),” Diaz said. “And I’ve only started one out of the five I think it is, two out of the five, but I’ve had more fun in these five games than I’ve had so far in this game. I’m having a blast.”
Coming this Sunday is a Q and A with Tommy Hanson, Myrtle Beach pitcher and Braves No. 9 prospect according to Baseball America in my Inside Braves stuff. (Shameless tease? You bet.) A preview would require me to transcribe my tape, which I haven’t done. But I will tell you, I came away impressed with the way Hanson talks about attacking the strike zone. And does it ever show in his ridiculous statistics — 32 strikeouts in 22 innings, six walks. He’s allowed only five hits in four starts and his ERA is 0.00.
He’s scheduled to pitch tonight, by the way. Perhaps there’s a denizen out there that might feel like keeping us updated on that. Or I’ll try to track it down between innings.
And one final thought — as if I didn’t get sappy enough this week with the Smoltz stuff, I thought I’d share something I came across perusing the notes group stuff this week. Kinda puts things all in perspective real quick. This from the venerable Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.
“The Yankees had an off-day Monday between Baltimore and Chicago, and Joe Girardi spent it visiting his father, Jerry, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a nursing home near Peoria, Ill. ‘It’s the best my dad has been in a year,’ said Girardi, who says he turned down the chance to manage the Orioles last year in order to spend time with his father. ‘He hadn’t opened his eyes in two weeks. He really hadn’t said much more than ‘yes’ in a month. It was unbelievable.’ ”
Maybe it’s because I just sent my dad off this morning from an overnight visit here — and thankfully, he’s healthy — but it struck a chord with me. Maybe it’s because Chipper and I are getting older.
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Smoltz and the Hall of Fame
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now about that Furcal proposal….
Just kidding, folks. We exhausted that debate from every possible angle, and a few things have transpired since the Dodgers left town anyway (including Andruw Jones moving to eighth in L.A.’s batting order, then to the bench last night).
John Smoltz and the Braves, that’s what we’re here to discuss.
It was unfortunate that Smoltz’s historic 3,000th strikeout last night had to come in a loss that snapped a five-game Braves winning streak. Errors, a few terrible pitches by relievers, and no big hits conspired for a 6-0 defeat.
But if you were there, you know that there was an electric atmosphere that raised the hairs on your arms when Smoltz got to two strikes on Felipe Lopez in the third inning. Only 23,000-plus in attendance, but all of them were on their feet and clapping when Smoltz delivered that nasty split that Lopez flailed at.
And so, Atlanta’s Bearded Icon joins a club with only 16 members, the 3,000-strikeout group. Look at those names on that list and you again start to wonder how there could even have been a debate in the last couple of years over whether Smoltz has done enough to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Of course he has. Let’s see: 210 wins, 154 saves (in 168 opportunties) and 3,006 strikeouts, not to mention a 15-4 postseason record and four saves with 194 strikeouts and a .218 opponents’ average in 40 postseason games (27 starts).
All this despite four elbow surgeries and a full season lost to TJ surgery rehab.
At this point, I really think the debate is turning to whether Smoltz will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, not whether he gets in. And I don’t know about first ballot.
Probably needs to have a couple more solid seasons to make it on the first ballot. Given the way he’s viewed by voters, if it’s an otherwise borderline call he’ll get it. Can’t think of any pitcher in this era, except Greg Maddux, who has better numbers and also has as much universal respect while also being completely free of any PED suspicion (a legit consideration these days when folks are voting).
Future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine has far more wins, while Smoltz has the edge over his buddy in strikeouts, ERA, postseason numbers and obviously the closer stats, a unique variable when voters go to consider Smoltz. Only Eckersley is a comparable case, but even his numbers are very different — 600 fewer strikeouts, 13 fewer wins (and counting), but 236 more saves. In the postseason, Eck had a 5-6 record and 15 saves.
The point is, I can’t see Smoltz being kept out of the Hall. Not after his success in his return to starting. He’s surpassed seemingly everyone’s (except his own) expectations since moving back from the bullpen.
Many of us thought it was a bad move by Smoltz, that his elbow wouldn’t withstand the rigors of starting. Many of us were wrong.
Since returning to the starting rotation in 2005, Smoltz is 47-25 with a 3.14 ERA in 104 starts, with 608 strikeouts against 161 walks in 690-1/3 inings.
And few pitchers are a smarter bet at home than Smoltz, who in that span has produced a 27-14 record and 2.73 ERA in 53 starts at Turner Field.
And while he’s not churning out the innings he once did, Smoltz, particularly at home, has actually been more consistent since the middle of the 2006 season, despite pitching many games in varying degrees of shoulder pain.
Since July 1, 2006 he’s 18-8 with a 2.53 ERA and .222 opponents’ average in 29 home starts, with 194 strikeouts in 195-2/3 innings. In those eight home losses, the Braves scored one or no runs while he was in the games.
”A 19-year-old righthander”… An AJC colleague did some research to find the first mention of Smoltz in our paper, and the story he found makes for excellent perspective, or context, or whatever the right word is, in light of Smoltz’s 3,000th strikeout last night.
It was written by Gerry Fraley, the fine former Braves beat writer for the AJC who went on to write great stuff for the Dallas Morning News and is now free-lancing for several publications.
I’m just going to run it for you in full. Read the whole thing. The Braves/MIB denizens will get a kick out of it, I think. It ran on Aug. 13, 1987:
San Diego — The Atlanta Braves, diving wholeheartedly into a rebuilding process, wrote off 1987 Wednesday by trading Doyle Alexander to Detroit for a minor-league pitcher.
The Braves, who defeated the San Diego Padres 2-1 Wednesday night, acquired John Smoltz, a 19-year-old righthander with Glens Falls, N.Y. (Eastern) from the Tigers. To replace Alexander, the Braves recalled lefthander Tom Glavine from Richmond, Va. (International).
Glavine, who is 6-12 with a 3.40 ERA at Richmond, will make his major-league debut Monday at Houston. Smoltz, known for throwing hard but not always accurately, will go to Richmond.
“We want to keep adding arms and build for the future,” general manager Bobby Cox said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t want to win now. Trading Doyle doesn’t affect that.
“Our plan has been to get as many good arms as we can. There’s no question Doyle is one of the top pitchers in the game. But right now, he’s better off with a team that’s a contender.”
There could soon be other trades as the Braves dispatch veterans and add players for their farm system. The Braves have had talks with the New York Yankees and Toronto concerning starter David Palmer and reliever Gene Garber.
Palmer’s start Thursday afternoon against San Diego will be significant to the process. Toronto has sent another of its top scouts, Gordon Lakey, to judge Palmer. Because AL East rival Detroit acquired Alexander, the Blue Jays may feel more urgency to act on Palmer.
“One thing might get them all started, “ manager Chuck Tanner said. “We like the direction we’re going in. We’re doing things this year for the future.”
The change in the state of the Braves can be measured by Alexander’s stay with them. They acquired him from Toronto on July 5, 1986, for Duane Ward. The Braves were 2 1/2 games out of first place that day, and they added Alexander to help in the try for a title.
Now, Detroit chases a pennant and looks for short-term help. The Braves regroup for the future. Smoltz, the Tigers’ 22nd-round pick in the June 1985, draft from Lansing, Mich., Waverly High School, was 4-10 with a 5.68 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 81 walks in 130 innings at Glens Falls.
“It’s interesting because of the situation we’re in now,” outfielder Dale Murphy said. “We’re going to a youth movement. I’m not going to stop feeling positive about the club. I’m confident about the direction our club is going in.”
Alexander, as a free agent, held out until early May. He took a one- year contract at $400,000 with an option on a second season. The contract haggling soured Alexander, and he expected to be traded. Alexander was 5- 10 with a 4.13 ERA. He had just one win in his last 10 starts.
“With everything that happened with this ballclub last winter, it’s probably just as well this happened,” said Alexander, going to his eighth major-league team. “There are still some hard feelings between us. But I went out and did the best I could. That’s all I could do.
“This team needs young talent. It’s a lot more exciting to be in a pennant race. That’s where everybody wants to be. I would have liked to have done that here, but unfortunately this ballclub isn’t there. This organization has a long way to go.”
The Braves will use the final 50 games for experimentation. At least one pitcher, Peter Smith, and possibly several more could be recalled from the farm system when rosters expand Sept. 1. Derek Lilliquist is a strong possibility to appear in the majors this season.
The Braves will also use 21-year-old shortstop Jeff Blauser for at least the next three weeks. Starter Andres Thomas was examined in Atlanta on Wednesday by Dr. Robert Wells. He found a sprained medial collateral ligament in the left knee and suggested Thomas be held out of action for at least three weeks.
This is Thomas’ second stay on the disabled list for 1987. The Braves would like to use him in the final weeks, but they are not optimistic.
“It depends on how much he can do and whether he’s worked out,” Tanner said. “It would be good for him to finish the season strong, but we don’t want to do anything that could hurt him.”
Blauser has made fielding errors in his first two major-league starts. Something about his play, however, triggered memories for San Diego manager Larry Bowa.
“He’s smooth,” said Bowa, whose .980 fielding percentage for 16 major-league seasons is a record for shortstops. “He’s got good actions. He sort of reminded me of myself. I saw a little bit of me in him.”
Eventually, the Braves must decide whether Blauser plays shortstop or second base. If he remains at shortstop, the Braves must choose between the flamboyant Thomas, who has 41 errors in 199 major-league games, or the solid if unspectacular Blauser. “I like the steady shortstop who makes all the plays,” Cox said.
“Everybody loves the great plays, but how many of them really are there? Blauser can play great defense. So can Thomas. We have to wait and see what way to go.”
The planning for the rise starts now. Out with the old and in with the new for the Braves.

Kotsay against lefties: Mark Kotsay is off to a fine start against right-handed pitchers, batting .342 (13-for-38) with five extra-base hits, four walks, four RBI a .405 OBP and .579 slugging percentage.
But against lefties, the veteran left-handed hitter is just 5-for-32 (.156) with one extra-base hit, one RBI, a .229 OBP and .188 slugging percentage.
Though Gregor Blanco also hits left-handed, the rookie might get more at-bats against lefties as long as he wields a hot bat. Blanco is 2-for-3 with a walk against lefties and 6-for-15 (.400) against right-handers.
Speaking of lefties, the Braves have faced more of them than any other team in the majors so far this season, just as they did last season (that’s really strange, that stat).
And while the Braves are hitting a solid .283 against lefties (sixth in the NL), their .332 OBP against lefties is very low. They’ve got far more strikeouts (34) than walks (23) in 297 at-bats against lefty pitchers.
The pitching streak: The Braves’ winning streak ended, but it didn’t do much to hurt their ERA. Four of six runs last night were unearned, the sixth consecutive game in which the Braves have allowed two earned runs or fewer.
They are 5-1 with a .311 team batting average and 1.17 ERA in their past six games, outscoring opponents 31-12 in that span. Of course, five of the games were against the Dodgers and Nationals….
Speaking of Dodgers, Andruw Jones was dropped to eighth in the order two nights ago, and was benched last night (he struck out as a pinch-hitter late).
For those of us who didn’t think Andruw could possibly have another season as as he had in 2007, I’m starting to wonder. His .156 batting average is second-lowest among NL regulars (former Brave Adam LaRoche is worst in the majors), and Andruw is a majors-worst 4-for-45 (.089) against right-handers.
He’s third in the NL with 23 strikeouts (in 64 at-bats).
Andruw is 2-for-34 with runners on base, 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Yates, etc.: The decision to keep Chris Resop and trade Tyler Yates has stirred debate on the Braves/MIB front, understandable as Resop has been rather woeful a few times out, and Yates got off to a very strong start.
But as a few astute denizens have pointed out, let’s not jump to conclusions too quickly, at least regarding Yates. He’s given up five runs, four hits and four walks in 1-2/3 innings over his past two appearances.
His ERA’s up to 5.06 and he has nine walks with six strikeouts in 10-2/3 innings.
So while Resop remains a question mark (will he ever fulfill his potential?), at least there is a question. Does anyone who watched Yates all of last season believe he’d be a difference-maker for a contender?
Since July 1, 2007, he has a 6.97 ERA and .291 opponents’ average in 48 appearances, with 48 hits, 25 walks and 40 strikeouts in 41-1/3 innings.
Observations: Anyone who thinks some visiting managers who like to smoke cigars are going to have to go out to the parking lot to do so now at the fully “smoke-free” Shea Stadium … well, I’ll believe that when I see it. Political correctness doesn’t transcend the clubhouse door, which frankly is quite refreshing in most cases…. Braves face Andruw Miller tonight in the opener of a two-game set with Florida. The former Detroit prospect is 0-4 with a 12.15 ERA and .408 opponents’ average in seven starts since Aug. 3. Yikes.
Great tunes: So many great new releases in recent weeks, hard to keep up. Three that I’ll give strong recommendations: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Dig, Lazarus, Dig in which the Aussie-born bard and his band are in top form, dark and humorous. Sun Kil Moon’s April. If you liked the previous work by Mark Kozelak (Red House Painters), you’ll like this. If you didn’t like the other stuff, or aren’t familiar with him, then try to sample it somewhere first. It’s not for everyone. Not party music, that’s for sure. But for sitting around on a rainy morning or late at night, or contemplating where your life went wrong, it’s perfect. And finally, John Hiatt fans are going to love his new one, out May 6. Don at Ella gave me an advance copy, and it’s tremendous. Hiatt is hitting another peak.
Oh, and can’t forget the expanded reissues of The Replacements’ first recordings on the Twin/Tone label. They’re out now, and if you were too young or just missed the ‘Mats when they ruled a certain corner the alt-rock earth, then by all means do yourselves a favor and splurge on their brilliant Let It Be album (Yes, they had the stones to name their album Let It Be). No better band from a period during the 1980s. Maybe a couple that were as good (REM, Smiths, Husker Du, etc.), but none better.
Really good story on Replacements in latest issue of Spin, with fine cover story on My Morning Jacket. Anyone heard any advance stuff of their forthcoming (at least I don’t think it’s out yet) CD? Can’t wait to get that. MMJ’s a stellar unit.
”LITTLE BONNIE” by Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
On the day that she was buried
Her daddy stood out by the cemetery fence
Prayed to God for forgiveness
For surely all of this is punishment for my sins
They put her in the family garden
Said you could hear his heart breaking miles away
All the men pitched in and bought a marble angel
To mark the piece of land where little Bonnie lay
My grandma said she would keep her in the mornings
So her mama could sleep a bit and do the chores and such
She’d read her stories about little girls and magic powers
That would never let a pretty angel hurt
Her mama’s always been a beauty
She’s still beautiful to this very day
But they say Bonnie’s crystal eyes put the stars to shame
Maybe heaven needed Bonnie’s face
My grandma said she would keep her in the mornings
A swollen angel who never would complain
She’d read her stories about little girls and princesses
Whose daddy’s don’t feel punished for what heaven takes away
Little Bonnie never married
Little Bonnie never even made it four
But I grew up in her presence
Even though she was gone before I’s born
Even though she was gone before I’s born
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Smoltz feat worth witnessing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In case you hadn’t heard, John Smoltz needs four strikeouts tonight against the Nationals to reach 3,000, and I bet he’s good for it.
Not that I’m prepared to offer you your $40 back if he doesn’t get it (no, I’m not including the dog and beers), but if you’re in town, head out to the park will you?
Shoot, I’ve gotten e-mails from people who said they saw Smoltz’s first major league start in Shea Stadium 20 years ago (OK, one). And who could predict what a big deal that would be? This is a slam dunk - or so I’m predicting.
Smoltz is about to become only the 16th pitcher to ever reach 3,000.
It’s not necessary a Hall-of-Fame shoo-in number - ask Bert Blyleven - but it’s close enough. And actually, fewer players have reached this milestone than the big three Hall-of-Fame numbers: 23 players have won 300 games, 23 have hit 500 homers and 27 have 3,000 hits.
And you could see it tonight in person. I know you didn’t go to the game last night, so it wouldn’t be redundant. (Attendance was announced at 16,706 last night. It wasn’t the smallest crowd in Turner Field history, but it wasn’t far off.)
Weather.com says it’ll dip only into the mid-60s by the end of the game. Bring a sweater. So it’s the Nationals. All the better chance he’ll get there, right?
When’s the last time Smoltz didn’t have four strikeouts in a game? Last April 22 vs. the Mets at Shea. He had three in 5 2/3 innings.
But even when going only five innings in each of his first three starts this year because of his shoulder, Smoltz has strikeout totals of 6, 5, and 10. When Smoltz faced the Nationals two starts ago in DC, they didn’t have as many right-handers in the lineup (four) as Florida did (five) his last time out, but he still struck out five.
Smoltz was quick to point out all the righties in Florida’s lineup yesterday when he was in the midst of trying to downplay the likelihood he would roll up big strikeout numbers tonight. He said when he struck out 10 in Florida, he had a stiff wind in his face, which he says helps the break on his slider.
He said the way his shoulder is feeling, he doesn’t know how his “stuff” is going to be until he gets in the bullpen before the game.
(Maybe we should start a phone tree? I’ll get bullpen coach Eddie Perez to give me a call and tell me how Smoltz is looking before the game tonight, and I’ll get on the horn. Who’s first? I think I still have Gil in Mechanicsville’s number. Oops, he’s not exactly local.)
Smoltz said yesterday that he wasn’t trying to make a big deal out of this. Somebody on the blog said, then why should we? Listen, don’t believe him.
That’s his mind games, that’s how he keeps from putting more pressure on himself than he already does. Think he doesn’t want this? That’s how he deals with the expectations that come with hitting this kind of milestone when his shoulder isn’t 100 percent.
But even with the shoulder soreness, he’s still allowed only one run in 16 innings to win his first three starts. He’s only the fifth 40-something pitcher to do that in the last 50 years. (For those who missed it yesterday, Kenny Rogers was 3-0 last season, Roger Clemons was 7-0 in 2004, Nolan Ryan was 4-0 in 1990 and Phil Niekro was 4-0 in 1984.)
Let’s not kid ourselves, when it comes to Smoltz and big moments, when is the last time he didn’t deliver? Honestly, last time I remember is maybe Game 4 of the 1999 World Series and that was bigger than Smoltz. That was a Yankees’ buzzsaw.
Big moments for Smoltz are his feeding frenzy. His 200th win last year might not have seemed like it should be that huge a deal. But last year, when he got there on May 24 with a 2-1 win vs, the Mets, there was a magical feeling at the Ted.
Somehow it’s different with Smoltz. There’s something special about Turner Field, Braves fans and John Smoltz. Am I right? Maybe it’s because he’s the one guy left who has been there continuously from the start of this run. He’s never had a Glavine-like falling out with fans over union outspokenness, or wearing a Mets uniform. And he was always more open and engaging than Maddux.
Maybe it’s because he followed John Rocker as closer - going from a great talent who carried controversy around in his back pocket to a guy with more talent, who shines in the public eye.
Maybe the fans love him and relate to him because he lets his emotional guard down. He’s not afraid to show exactly how much it means to him to win.
Or perhaps it’s D) all of the above.
Look, not to be anymore sappy than I’ve already been here, but the guy turns 41 next month and we can’t count on having moments like these happen again and again.
And maybe with a little extra moral support tonight, Smoltz will push himself to get it. If he doesn’t get it tonight, Braves fans won’t get to see it at Turner Field, barring something unforeseen. It would happen Sunday at Shea Stadium.
While that would stink for me and a little pelting I might take on the blog (naw, would I?) that has its own symmetry too, doesn’t it? In the final season at Shea Stadium, Smoltz going back where he got strikeout No. 1 against Darryl Strawberry.
See Smoltz has a flair for the drama, one way or another. Might as well be a part of it.
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Bottom of rotation comes alive
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So four in a row, huh?
There was plenty to feel good about over the weekend for the bloggers and the Braves nation in general. Me? I was just trying to grab hold of something that might not have been talked about yet - so not Chipper’s bat or Chipper’s quad, not Andruw Jones whiffing, not Mark Teixeira’s bat waking up - and I came up with this:
Right there in the middle of a four-game winning streak were back-to-back-to-back wins in games pitched by the 3, 4, and 5 spots in the rotation. Here the Braves are coming off a sweep of the Dodgers and they’ve got Tim Hudson going tonight and Smoltz tomorrow night.
How often does that happen?
Well, last year, it was only once. (I know, I was surprised it was even once) but I found one: September 17-20. The Braves won four in a row - three over the Marlins and one over the Brewers. Smoltz won the first game, and then taking wins in the next three were Jo-Jo Reyes, Chuck James and Jeff Bennett.
(Come to think of it, I probably made a big deal out of that while covering some of those games last year, but what can I tell you, things fly out my head sometimes.)
This time it was Bennett - he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday before Will Ohman got the win - Chuck James won Saturday and yesterday it was Jair Jurrjens (who is the key to making this possible). They combined to go 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA (2 ER in 16 2/3 IP) vs. the Dodgers.
Maybe the Dodgers offense is that weak, or maybe the Braves can feel that much better about their rotation this year in spite of the injury rash. Even with Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton on the disabled list and while trying to piece together starters, the Braves put together a good run. The bullpen gets kudos for making it stick.
These are the runs they need to win the division, or the wildcard, or so that winning one time through the back of the rotation isn’t simply too-little-too-late in September.
The Braves put together winning streaks of more than three in a row only fives times last year - and the longest winning streak was five games.
They can match that tonight with Hudson vs. Matt Chico of the Nats, and then top it Tuesday with Smoltz vs. John Lannan. Just over a week ago in DC, those match-ups netted the Braves back-to-back wins by a total of 13-2.
Of course, there was something mystifying going on with Hudson’s velocity in his last outing in Florida. A lot of eyes will be on the speed-of-pitch indicator tonight (including my own), and that has to make this start amazingly pressure-filled for Hudson. But maybe it really was just malaise from the flu bug he had. We shall see.
In the next couple of (ok Biff?) days, I’ll also be keeping an eye on Chipper’s quad, Matt Diaz’s playing time, the rehabbing of all the M.A.S.H. boys, oh yeah and Smoltz coming up on a certain milestone.
One last aside - which I thought of while reading about Jimmy Rollins going on the DL yesterday with a sprained ankle. When the heck are the Braves going to play the Phillies? They’re going round No. 2 with the Nationals and Marlins and Mets this week and won’t face the Phillies for the first time until May 13-15. Can’t really say I get that.
Anyway, heading off into the beautiful spring afternoon. Perhaps the Ted will be filled accordingly these next few games.
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Imagine a Furcal-Escobar DP combo….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t know if it’s worth cranking out a new blog before this early Sunday afternoon ballgame, but we’ll give it a go and let the comment volume answer that question.
In other words, let’s get a lot more of that good Braves/MIB discourse going here today.
And I’ll start by asking what you think of this idea: The Braves should re-sign Rafael Furcal as a free agent after this season. That suggestion was made to me by someone connected to the Braves (I’ll leave it at that; not going to tell you whether it was a player, coach, team official, etc). And it made me think.
And I gotta say, much as I like Kelly Johnson’s potential as a hitter, the thought of Furcal and Yunel Escobar as a double-play combo and 1-2 combo at the top of the order is … well, wow.
Yes, your leadoff problem would be solved for, say, three years, if you could get Furcal to accept another contract as short as the one he signed with the Dodgers when he left Atlanta.
And you would have the best, most entertaining double-play combination in baseball with Furcal and Escobar at second base and shortstop, whichever way you want to arrange it.
It would probably cost you more than $15 million per for Furcal, but I have a very strong suspicion the Braves aren’t going to pay $20 mill a year for Teixeira. So “Fookie” could be your big-ticket free agent. Give him $16-17 mill a year, if that’s what it takes.
(And if it takes $16-17 mill to sign Furcal, you can bet that will be a marketplace that will guarantee $22 mill or more for Tex, in a longer deal, at least six years.)
Furcal’s worth it, long as you can keep it to three seasons, with perhaps a fourth-year option. The Braves have the money. Spend on him and a starting pitcher next winter. That’s all. Add another $10-15 mill to next year’s payroll and you’re there.
Furcal, 30, is hitting .409 with five doubles, two homers, seven RBI, 15 runs and a .500 on-base percentage. Not bad. And he’s got an absolute cannon for an arm, he disrupts pitchers with his speed on the basepaths, and he’s a great presence who gets along with everyone from every nationality and brings energy to a clubhouse.
The cons to such a move? Obviously, the Braves would still have to find a first baseman. But they’re easier to find than a leadoff man/middle infielder in the prime of his career, who loves Atlanta and the Braves.
I don’t think Tyler Flowers could be ready to play first base next season for the Braves, so that’s probably not a serious option. But the Braves have got plenty of trade pieces that other teams want, a surplus of young outfielders and middle infielders that are serious prospects, and all of them can’t play here.
And obviously, if they planned to pursue Furcal, it would mean that Kelly Johnson would be expendable. And there are plenty of teams that would love to have Johnson. So there’s another potential big trade piece.
All I’m saying is, there are players/prospects you could deal to find a first baseman if you went into the offseason with that as a targeted position to fill. Frank Wren is a very creative GM; he could make that happen.
I don’t think Chipper Jones has any interest in moving to first base, and the way he’s playing the Braves would be crazy to ask him to do something he didn’t feel good about. So forget that as an option.
But here’s my own idea, and let me know what you think: Simply move Kelly over to first base. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a great second baseman, and he certainly has the athleticism to play first. And the power to be a 25-homer guy. I like his bat too much to move him (and he’s affordable for several years).
Kelly is a very good hitter with the potential to be a great hitter. If I were the Braves, I’d start planning now to move him to first base to take over for Tex. And I’d start feeling out Furcal and his agent about the possibility of coming home.
Folks, with Furcal, Escobar and Chipper in the first three spots in your lineup, you’d have the potential to have one of the most dynamic teams in the league. And like I said, the double-play combo would be worth the price of admission, with those two covering more ground than any other middle-infield pair in the league and possessing the best two infield arms in all of baseball, gunning down runners from everwhere. Think about it.
Now write your congressman and make it happen.
OK, let’s play ball. It’s Sunday and it’s beautiful out here at Turner Field and the Braves are going for a sweep of Andruw and Los Dodgers. As I said on the other blog, Gregor Blanco is back in left field for the third consecutive game against a right-hander.
And Bobby Cox acknowledged this morning that it could be a platoon situation emerging. If so, Matt Diaz sure didn’t get much time to prove himself as an every-day player.
This was not a good time for Diaz to struggle, though he’s always been a slow starter in April, as we discussed a few days ago here. I’m guessing Bobby will just play Prado while he’s got a hot bat, but that it won’t be a straight platoon. At least not yet.
But we’ll see.
The Earle is in town: We’re going to see Steve Earle tonight at the Variety Playhouse, with his talented and beautiful wife Allison Moorer on the same bill.
Steve once famously said, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that!”
Well, I don’t know that anyone’s better than Dylan. Ever. But Steve and Townes are definitely in the conversation. Right now, this one’s particularly good for me:
”GOODBYE’S ALL WE’VE GOT LEFT TO SAY” by Steve Earle
I could tell it when I woke up this mornin’
‘cause i can smell it when a heartache’s comin’
Not that i’m in such a hurry to lose you
I’d call you up but there’s nothin’ that I can do
Talkin’ won’t do any good anyway
‘cause goodbye’s all we’ve got left to say
I don’t think that it’ll get any better
So maybe you could just write me a letter
And i could open it up when I’m stronger
Another ten or twelve years, maybe longer
Guess I just don’t feel much like bad news today
Goodbye’s all we’ve got left to say
Don’t try to call me ‘cause i’m takin’ my phone out
‘cause if it rings, i’ll know what it’s about
And don’t you worry ‘bout me ‘cause i’m alright
Maybe you’ll run into me somewhere, some night
And if you do just keep goin’ your way
Goodbye’s all we’ve got left to say
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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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This. Trip. Must. End.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — The only perfect ending for this Braves road trip would be a three-game series on the Seventh Ring of Hell. Though Dolphin Stadium is close enough.
This three-city debacle of a road trip will end tonight, barring natural disaster. When it’s over, the Braves will have lost either six or seven of nine games since leaving Atlanta, including (at least) four one-run losses.
But that’s just the start of what’s made this trip one the Braves won’t soon forget (without therapy).
Catch your breath. Now here we go.
Since leaving Atlanta the Braves:
— Placed their two best relievers on the DL with elbow injuries.
— Lost their top prospect to a 50-game suspension for HGH.
— Watched Tom Glavine limp off the field with a first-inning hamstring injury.
— Learned that Braves legend Hank Aaron’s mother died last week.
— And Braves Hall of Famer Tommy Holmes died Monday.
— Brought up Chuck James, then sent him back to Triple-A 15 hours later after he lasted three erratic, hard-to-watch innings in one start.
— Had one game snowed out and another delayed 90 minutes by rain.
— Released troubled veteran Scott Spiezio for showing up at the ballpark in a state resembling me each morning during spring break, Daytona Beach 1984.
— Did I mention lost six of eight games (with one to go)?
To say this has been a rough trip is to say that commercial air travel has become slightly inconvenient (the Braves don’t fly commercial, but if they had to, they might just have called it a season after this trip).
What’s the mood in the clubhouse, some denizens of the Braves/Man In Black blog have asked.
Folks, it’s been somber. So quiet after most games, you could hear the sound of a pin drop (or blood pressure rising … or a calcium deposit scraping against a ligament).
Here’s what Chipper Jones, whose .404 average ranks second in the NL to former teammate Rafael Furcal’s .407, said when I asked whether he could even take any satisfaction from starting out hot at the plate, given the team’s struggles.
“Obviously I’m happy with the start individually,” Hoss said, “but it’s not a lot of fun, period, whether you’re producing or not, if you’re not winning games. We’re not getting it done. The injury bug’s hit us pretty hard here the first two weeks of the season.”
But he’s not one to mince words or make excuses. And he continued:
“We’re not consistent out of the bullpen. Our starting guys have done pretty well, but we’re just not consistent out of the bullpen. Our offense, it seems like we either score one run or 10. That, again, is inconsistency out of guys up and down the lineup.
“And one thing you try and stress is, each guy has got to go out there and try to produce a run a game, and get on base so that the next guy can do something productive. We’re just not getting it done, one way or another, through the course of each and every game.”
I asked if there was anything he or John Smoltz or other veterans could say to the rest of the team, to try to get things turned around.
“Obviously with the injuries we’ve had, we’ve got to have [other] guys step up,” Chipper said. “But I don’t think there’s anything we can really say until everybody gets healthy and everybody gets in there.
“The every-day lineup has stayed pretty healthy. But obviously when the middle of your lineup has struggled the way Tex and Frenchy — you look at Frenchy’s numbers and they’re not that bad. But he had one monster game. You take that game away and he’s struggled.”
(He’s right. Francoeur is hitting .281 with three homers and 12 RBI in 14 games, but he had two homers and seven RBI in one game at Washington. In his other 13 games he’s hit .250 with one homer and five RBI in 52 at-bats, including eight games without an RBI.)
(Oh, and Teixeira is hitting .204 overall including 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, after hitting a ridiculous .509 in 53 at-bats with RISP for the Braves in August and September.)
“B-Mac [Brian McCann] has hit into some bad luck, hasn’t gotten a lot to show for it,” Jones said. “Whenever you have the meat of your lineup not producing runs and getting big hits, you’re gonna struggle. And that’s where we are right now.
“Those guys hopefully will run into some warmer weather here pretty soon and guys will heat up.”
Home at last: The Braves can only hope that getting home can help them snap out of this funk. They’ve hit just .237 on the road, while at home the Braves have a .312 average that ranks second in the NL to Arizona’s .327.
By the way, the Braves also finished the 2007 season mired in a road malaise. Going back to Aug. 21, they’ve now lost 20 of their past 30 road games.
A few stats: The home that Jeff Bennett gave up to Luis Gonzalez in the seventh inning Wednesday was the league-high sixth homer allowed by Braves pitchers in the late innings of close game. Meanwhile, Braves hitters rank last in the NL with a .196 average (22-for-112) in those situations…. Since going 24-12 to start the 2007 season, the Braves are 10 games under .500 (65-75) in their past 140 games. They’re 31-43 on the road in that period.
OK, now for something great: The new James McMurtry album Just Us Kids isn’t good, it’s terrific. Simply outstanding. My early candidate for album of the year, though it’ll make few best-of lists because not enough music critics seem to have a clue about his brilliance.
I’m not going to say this tall Texan is our generation’s Bob Dylan, because it’s a bit much to say anyone is the next Dylan. But McMurtry turns a phrase like no other artist to come along the last two decades, and he’s put out a string of provocative, intelligent albums that each contain more well-written songs than some more heralded artists of a similar genre produce in a career.
This one’s even better than 2005’s Childish Things. Though I should warn some of you, don’t even reach for it if you believe musicians shouldn’t express dissenting points of view. I’ll leave it at that, and won’t get into those particular lyrics in this forum. I certainly understand and respect that we have differing views among the motley assortment of good, opinionated folks here.
No need to let those views cause any problems in our discussions of baseball, movies, TV, BBQ (not enough of that discussion lately, by the way), etc.
Plenty of the songs on this McMurtry masterpiece are of the stuff he’s always written about, tales of blue-collar folks and hard-luck inhabitants of the American underbelly. Five-minute character studies that contain more depth and detail than most authors put in a book.
But some of these new songs are very much his reaction to the times we live in.
In this Braves/MIB forum, I just feel like it’s fair that I advise some of you not to spend your money if that’s not what you want to hear, because I don’t want anyone angry at me for spending money on something I recommended that they find objectionable when they hear the lyrics.
OK, that said, those of you who like such fare, run to your finer record stores (like Ella Guru, for instance) and buy it.
Now let’s go out with an older McMurtry tune, one of my favorites:
”LIGHTS OF CHEYENNE” by James McMurtry
Look off down the highway
at the glittering lights
Like windshield glass
on the shoulder tonight
As the diesels come
grinding on up from the plains
All bunched up like pearls on a string
And I guess time don’t mean nothin’
Not nothin’ at all
And out on the horizon
the broken stars fall
Old broken stars they
fall down on the land
And get mixed together
with the lights of Cheyenne
Well I’ve been up all night
and I’m down on my back
Workin’ the counter
to take up the slack
`Cause the money tree’s light
and the whiskey stream’s low
You ain’t worked a week
since July
You say the gravel pit’s hiring
After the first
But you don’t have the
nature for that kind of work
You might get hired on
But you won’t make a hand
And I’ll still be here lookin’
at the lights of Cheyenne
You stand in the sky
with your feet on the ground
Never suspectin’ a thing
But if the sky were to
move you might never be found
Never be heard from again
We go on good behavior when
our youngest comes home
She comes up from Boulder
but she never stays long
And that oldest still fights
me like she was 18
Stopped in for a six-pack awhile ago
And she’s got a cowboy problem
And this last one’s a sight
All dressed up like Gunsmoke
for Saturday night
And they were off to the bars
for lack of a plan
Racing the stars to the lights of Cheyenne
And you’ve kept all that
meanness inside you so long
You’d fight with a fence post
if it looked at your wrong
Well the post won’t hit back,
and it won’t call the law
I look at you right,
or I don’t look at all
Now take a crumpled up
soft pack and give it a shake
Out by the dumpster on a cigarette break
With one eye swelled up from
the back of your hand
And the other eye fixed
on the lights of Cheyenne
You stand in the sky with
your feet on the ground
Never suspectin’ a thing
But if the sky were to
move you might never be found
Never be heard from again
Now there’s antelope grazing
in range of my gun
Come opening weekend
you won’t see a one
They’ll vanish like ghosts
`cause somehow they know
But now they’re up to the
fence in the early dawn
And it’s warming up nicely
for this time of year
The creeks are still frozen but
the roads are all clear
And I don’t have it in me
to make one more stand
Though I never much cared
for the lights of Cheyenne
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It’s noon, how’s your elbow? Hammy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - It’s almost noon, and still no new Braves injuries to report. That’s progress, right?
We’ll have at least one and probably two bullpen sessions to monitor this afternoon at the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie, where banged-up old lefties Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton are expected to test their sore parts.
Glavine said he would throw today or tomorrow (but most likely today) to see if his right hammy is fit for competition, so he can tell the Braves whether or not he can make Saturday’s start against the Dodgers.
I’m guessing he’ll avoid what would be his first-ever DL stint and make the start, just knowing Glavine and how much he realizes the weary Braves need him to pitch.
Not that I think he’ll do something stupid and make a minor injury something worse by rushing his recovery. It just sounds like he’s made steady progress in an injury that wasn’t severe to begin with.
Did I mention the Braves really need him to pitch?
Not that Jeff Bennett couldn’t do a solid job replacing him for a game. But the Braves are already expected to have Buddy Carlyle going Friday, and if you follow Carlyle with Bennett, you’re probably talking about a couple of four-inning starts and a lot more wear on an injury-riddled bullpen.
As for Hampton, today’s test isn’t such a big deal, simply because he’s missed enough time now that he’s not going to be able to jump right back in the rotation even if he has no problems today with the pectoral muscle he strained almost two weeks ago.
He’ll almost certainly require a minor league rehab assignment, so don’t expect to see Hampton make his season debut for the Braves for at least two weeks, and possibly closer to a month. But I’m just educated-guessing there.
A little levity: Bad as things have been with the losses and injuries on this Bataan Death March of a road trip, it’s important to have a little levity injected into the clubhouse from time to time.
Bullpen coach Eddie Perez provided some yesterday, walking around with a Braves hooded sweatshirt that he’d doctored a bit. It was a postseason sweatshirt from a few years ago, with “MLB postseason” above the Braves logo.
Eddie took two pieces of athletic tape, covered the year before “MLB postseason” on one side and something else I couldn’t read on the other. And on the left (if you’re facing him) piece of tape he wrote “1999” on the right he wrote “MVP.”
Perez, you might recall, was MVP of the 1999 NLCS against the Mets, when he went 10-for-20 with two homers and five RBI.
More humor: On a daily basis, you see snapshots of cultural bonding in a clubhouse. Take Tuesday afternoon, for instance. The big screen TV in the back corner of the visitor’s clubhouse. Jair Jurrjens and Mark Teixeira sunk comfortably into leather furniture watching a DVD of Dazed and Confused.
I might not share musical tastes with many Braves, but we can certainly agree on some great movies, and that’s one of them. Great stuff. Matthew McConaughey as Wooderson, long before McConaughey became severely annoying.
Bullpen update: Royce Ring and Chris Resop, two of the out-of-options relievers the Braves decided to keep over Tyler Yates this spring, have ERAs of 13.50 and 11.12, respectively.
Ring’s spiked past 13 last night when he was tagged for two hits and two runs while recording two outs in an appearance that spanned the seventh and eighth innings. He’s allowed four runs, four hits and a walk in 2-2/3 innings over five appearances.
Resop finally had a clean inning. Well, almost clean. He gave up one hit. And almost an inning. He recorded two outs.
Bobby Cox wasn’t pleased at all with the ‘pen letting things get away late, turning a 2-0 deficit to a 4-0 gulf. Not just the fact that any remaining hope of a comeback vanished, but because Cox and the Braves need the other relievers to concentrate and produce, to pick up the slack while key guys are hurt.
They didn’t do that last night. Even veteran lefty Will Ohman, who’s been reliable, came on with two out in the ninth and issued a pair of bases-loaded walks. Ugly. Hard for the manager (and most of you) to watch.
Most of the 732 fans in the Marlin Mausoleum (aka Dolphin Stadium) loved it.
On a brighter note, the other of the three out-of-options relievers the Braves kept this spring, Blaine Boyer, has 13 strikeouts with only two walks in 7-2/3 innings. He ranks third among NL relievers with 15.26 strikeouts per nine innings.
Oh, and another positive, this time for Braves hitters: Strikeouts are way down, their 69 tied with Cincinnati for the league-low this season. Hey, nothing wrong with a positive stat to break things up.
The close-game problem: Want a good idea why the Braves have stunk in close games so far this season? Well, here’s a telling and alarming stat.
In close-and-late situations as defined by Stats Inc. (basically tied or one-run games after the sixth inning, though it’s more complicated than that), the Braves rank dead last in the NL with a meager .188 batting average.
Yes, they are 19-for-101 in those situations, including 0-for-10 by Jeff Francoeur, 1-for-10 by Yunel Escobar, 2-for-12 apiece by Matt Diaz and Brian McCann, and a combined 0-for-11 by bench guys Gotay, Prado, Blanco and Miller (no first names until there’s a close-and-late hit among them).
The only Brave hitting at least .300 in those situations? None other than Mark Teixeira, who’s 5-for-9 with a double and two homers in close-and-late situations. Mark Kotsay is 3-for-11 and Chipper Jones is 3-for-12.
While Braves hitters are last in the NL, opposing hitters are hitting .242 against Braves pitchers in close-and-late situations, and the five homers allowed by Atlanta pitchers is tied with Houston for the league high.
Bottom feeding, or starving: The Braves are a combined 12-for-90 (.133) with seven RBI from the last two spots in their batting order, and five of those RBI are from the ninth spot.
Braves No. 8 hitters have a .192 OBP, .200 slugging percentage, and two RBI. Oh, my. That includes Kotsay’s 3-for-23 and Diaz’s 2-for-17 with seven strikeouts from the position.
We have an answer to the team’s offensive malaise: An exorcist for the 8-hole.
One final stat to depress you all: The Braves have scored 27 runs in seven games on this road trip, and 10 of those were in one game. That’s 17 runs in the other six games, if my public-school math is accurate.
“I’LL SLOW YOU DOWN” by Warren Zevon
You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
Why don’t you go pick on someone your own size instead?
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down
You always say you know me somehow I don’t think you do
Maybe you should buy another vowel
You’re jumping to conclusions so I can’t keep up with you
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down
I’ll just hold you up
When I fall behind
I’ll just throw your schedule off
So you get going if you’re so inclined
You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
You think you’re pretty tricky but you’re simply overbred
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down
Go on…
Go on…
Go on…
Go on…
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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
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Will ‘resilient’ Glavine go on DL?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I woke up this morning with a little tightness in my right hamstring. Seriously. Either I was walking a bit too briskly to catch the Metro for the airport last night in DC, or I’ve got some sympathy pains for a certain left-hander.
What to make of Glavine’s hamstring? Not exactly sure. Shoot, Glavine’s not exactly sure. This is brand new territory - him having a leg muscle issue. So before I get too far on the blogging, why not take it directly to the source?
I just sent Glavine a text, which I’ve learned is a pretty good way to get a fast response from him, and I did.
He told me his hamstring is no worse. He’s going to play some catch tomorrow, and if that goes well, he plans to get on the bullpen mound on Wednesday.
In his mind, he’s still on track to make his next start next weekend. His spot comes up Friday vs. the Dodgers but the Braves can insert a fifth starter there and give him an extra day if he needs it.
From what Glavine said after the game yesterday, he figured if he woke up feeling worse this morning, he was in some trouble. But he didn’t. So my translation is, that’s a positive sign. Too soon to say if it means he won’t miss a start, obviously, because it sounds like the kind of injury that doesn’t really bother him until he’s going all-out, extending on a pitch.
Glavine tempered his thinking this morning by pointing out: “I’ve never been through this before. And I’m a little stubborn.”
But that stubbornness could work in his advantage too. This is a guy who pitched with a broken rib. He’s as tough as they come.
He’s had a few minor problems (that we know about - he managed to hide the rib thing at the time, believe it was 1992 or 1993). But somehow he has stayed off the DL in 21-plus seasons.
Just from a quick look through his media guide bio, I’m reminded that Glavine had arthroscopic surgery on his knees for a meniscus cartilage problem and a bone spur removed from his ankle after the 1997 season. So yeah, in the offseason.
In 2003, he left a game with inflammation in his left elbow and missed his first major league start with a bone spur in his elbow. Later that month he had to come out of the game with abdominal muscle tightness. But he was back in the rotation before long and never went on the DL.
In 2004, he had a couple teeth knocked out in a taxi cab accident in New York and didn’t start for 13 days, but again, no DL. Then in 2006, blood clots in his shoulder were causing coldness in his ring finger and the freakiness forced him to missed two starts but no more.
The guy is resilient.
But what he doesn’t want to do is attempt to stay off the DL just to keep his streak alive, for pride basically, and end up causing the Braves, and the bullpen, headaches.
“I’m not going to push to stay off the DL for my own personal reasons and put our team in jeopardy,” Glavine said after the game Sunday. “When you do what I did today and come out of the game in the first inning, it’s taxing on the bullpen. Thank God we’ve got an off day tomorrow and everybody can recover.”
There’s a lot to watch for in Florida the next couple of days. Mike Hampton had talked about throwing his first bullpen on Tuesday. This would be a great time to have him back if he could get back from the pectoral problem. It’s hard to count on him, but he’d be a great option. He pitched so well in spring training. It’s in there, just need to get it out in the major league open before this jinx chases him into retirement.
The Braves need a fifth starter for either Friday or Saturday’s start, depending on Glavine. Jorge Campillo might have just pushed himself ahead of Jeff Bennett for that chance, with two perfect innings in relief yesterday.
If Glavine has to go on the disabled list, Jo-Jo Reyes has been pitching well in Richmond. He’s got nine scoreless innings in two starts, allowing only four hits, three walks and striking out 14.
Thanks to the Richmond denizens for pointing out Reyes had eight strikeouts and one walk in four innings yesterday vs. Lehigh Valley. Also, he could go Friday or Saturday on regular rest. Though my boyfriend has taken to calling him Yo-Yo Reyes for the trips back and forth to the minors. Could be for the inconsistency once he gets here too.
I’m sure the MIB/Braves bloggers would join me in wishing Greg Maddux a happy 42nd birthday today. He won his 349th game yesterday, pitching five shutout innings for the Padres to take a 1-0 win over the Dodgers. He’ll go for 350 next Saturday at Arizona, a place he traditionally pitches horribly. He finally won there last September (6 1/3 IP, 2 ER) to go to 1-6 with a 5.37 ERA at Chase Field.
He’s breathing down Roger Clemens’ neck now. Five more wins and he’s tied with Clemens at 354. Watch out.
A couple tidbits from what I read…Maddux balked for the first time in 248 starts. Who’s to blame? His old teammate Rafael Furcal, who got to first base in the first inning on a bloop single. And speaking of former teammates? Andruw Jones drew a walk off Maddux in his first plate appearance. But Maddux got him the second time around, swinging. Or as Maddux would say, fishin.
Speaking of Fish. DOB will be taking the reins again as he gets back to his old stomping ground in south Florida. He’ll have plenty to sink his teeth into.
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Time for a turnaround
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Blogging it to you live from 30,000 feet today, high above Greensboro, then Richmond, and so on, or so the pilot tells me. Hard to see what’s down there through the clouds. ….
Actually I’m not exactly live. I started this on my flight up to DC but I will push the “send” button once I’m back on the ground in a hotel room. I’m not sure what would happen if I stuck my wireless card in the laptop and got on the Internet now, whether a Delta flight attendant would come and smack me up side my head for interfering with the plane’s navigation system, as they say.
Probably wouldn’t, but hey, I’m a wimp about breaking rules. I never liked being sent to the principal’s office. I never was, in fact.
Anyway, I’m sitting next to a guy who’s reading his Sports Illustrated baseball preview as he’s been intensely reading about the Kansas City Royals. Either this guy is a totally legit fan, or the Royals are on to something. Somebody call Dayton Moore! (Not to belittle their 6-3 start…They are, apparently, on to something.)
Too bad I pick up the Braves on this trip with a little less excitement going on, by comparison. But time for a turnaround. (Maybe I’ll actually be a boost to the luck of team this year. I’m 1-0. There, that’s my scientific study.) But hey, all reasons for concern aside — Soriano, Schafer, Hampton — how can you not like a Nats series with Tim Hudson, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine going, at sea level (basically), against a team all three have pitched well against? Oh and a team that has lost seven in a row.
So they’ll be going without Rafael Soriano. I’m beginning to think my brother was right to be a little worried about this bullpen. But we’ll see how the closer-by-committee situation works out.
Interesting to see how swiftly the Braves acted on Chuck James yesterday. Wild. Ineffective. Lasted only three innings. Send him to Richmond to figure it out. Last year he would have made eight more starts. See how this pitching depth stuff works? (Or I should say starting pitching depth.)
Anyway, I’m anxious to see what Nationals Park looks like and glad that I won’t be quite as frisked as DOB was when he came here for the opener a couple of weeks ago with the Prez and all.
After beating the Braves that night and winning the next two, the Nats have fallen back to earth - 0-7 since. Also hear attendance hasn’t been so good. Only half-full stadium since the sell-out for opening night. Wow. And these are the people who were filling up my inbox for years with why baseball needed to come back to the nation’s capital? And they’ve got this beautiful (I hear) new stadium and only half filled it up in Game 2! Hey I’m all for getting baseball back here. But geez, that’s lame.
That’s the kind of thing that should only happen after 14 years of winning divisions….hm. I know. It’s hard to throw stones from the ATL. And some of the excuses given by our friend Stan Kasten were sounding a little familiar.
He blamed the weather, and at one point the NCAA basketball title game. Hey, it’s not like Georgetown was playing Villanova or anything. At least he didn’t say it was because school was in session.
So, as I head to meet the team, and without a whole lot of access to the players for four days, let me turn to our baseball notes network to fill you guys with a few tidbits, before I get out to the stadium. (And land on the ground. So does this make me an official member of the mile-high blogging club? … Not quite the same, is it. Hmm.)…
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos is apparently playing a little nicer with the Nats these days. Apparently he’s not quite so threatened anymore. And actually he’s now in business with them through their local TV network. He actually said golly gee, it’ll be OK if Oriole fans go to see a few Nats games.
“There’s no law against visiting the other franchise,” Angelos told the Baltimore Sun. “One’s a National League city and one’s an American League city….We definitely want them to succeed. We’re partners in the MASN baseball network, and we have an excellent relationship with the Lerner family [the Nationals owners] and with [team president] Stan Kasten, who is an old friend of mine.”
And from Tracy Ringolsby with the Rocky Mountain News who writes that Rockies manager Clint Hurdle asked Bobby Cox to be an assistant coach on his NL staff for the All-Star game. Cox politely declined, but tells you something about what Hurdle thinks of Cox.
Here’s what Ringolsby’s wrote:
Atlanta manager Bobby Cox was tempted by an offer from to be on Clint Hurdle’s coaching staff for the All-Star Game, which will be the final played at Yankee Stadium. Cox played his two big-league seasons with the Yankees, managed in their minor league system and coached at the big-league level. Cox, however, declined, the invite. Cox, who turns 67 on May 21, has managed five NL All-Star teams, and the Braves conclude the pre-All-Star portion of the schedule with a West Coast trip, adding to travel demands in getting to New York
’’It was really intriguing because of Yankee Stadium and because of Clint, but I need the three days at home,’’ said Cox. ’’It’s a good time for a break.’’
And for those feeling a bit concerned about Mark Teixeira’s .167 batting average? Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe writes that David Ortiz is batting .083. Bingo!
Hey, at least Matt Holliday isn’t here for the weekend. He finished that three-game sweep of the Braves, by the way, by going 6-for-13 (.462) with three runs, six RBIs, a double, a triple and a game-winning home run.
Back on land now, by the way. Funny what can happen in the course of a blog….And FYI, guy on the plane turned out to be an Orioles fan, grumbling about them, even after I pointed out their 6-3 start. See, starts do not necessarily maketh a team. And yes, this guy was a true fan. He actually told me he was going to miss seeing games at RFK.
With that, time to go to Nationals Park.
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Snow is coming, two games to go (maybe)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Denver _ So we’re sitting here battening down the hatches and waiting for the snowstorm. Ahh, baseball fever in the mountains in April … Catch it!
But seriously, the person responsible for scheduling interdivision baseball games in cold-weather cities in April should be beaten about the head and shoulders with an icy pair of batting gloves. Or worse.
It’s about 50 degrees here now at 3:08 p.m. local time, but the snowstorm is moving across the mountains and headed straight for us. Game time is 6:30, and the ETA for the storm is about 7-7:30 p.m.
Unless we get in five innings before it arrives, the Braves are probably going to have a doubleheader to make up in Denver later this season on an off day in the schedule.
Yes, a doubleheader. Because the forecast for tomorrow is for temps in the 30s, snow and high winds. Let’s play two … uh, later this summer.
The only folks pleased by a snowout tomorrow might be the Rockies, who would avoid facing Tim Hudson, who appears to be in midseason form right out of the chute. Hudson has held hitters to a .188 average in two starts, including a league-best .050 (1-for-20) by right-handed hitters, with no walks.
Then again, he has a 13.00 ERA in two starts at Coors Field, so maybe they wouldn’t mind facing him.
Rarely do you see such a clean split as you see in Hudson’s stats against the Rockies home and away. He’s 0-2 with a 13.00 ERA in two starts against them at Coors Field, and a 3-0 record and 1.23 ERA in three at Atlanta.
Huddy’s also been sick all week, just like tonight’s starter, Chuck James.
Oh, yes, Chuck. He comes off the DL tonight to face the Rockies and briefly-a-Brave Mark Redman. For Chuck’s sake, let’s hope he gets to work a few or more innings before the storm blows in.
Pitching in freezing, wet weather might not be best for that shoulder, though it should be noted that he says it hasn’t caused a problem at all. Maybe he’s a fast healer and that partial rotator-cuff tear is no more.
About that 3-5 start…. How strange has this early season been? The Braves are 3-5 and still lead the Mets and are only a half-game behind the Phillies. Since no one seriously believes the Marlins will maintain their position atop the NL East standings for long, the Braves are basically getting a mulligan.
I really don’t think they’ll keep losing every one-run game, and I do think the lineup will snap out of its little funk in a hurry. The Braves hit .321 with 35 runs in a four-game stretch against the Pirates and Mets before hitting .187 with seven runs in this three-game skid against the Mets and Rockies.
To me, the only real concern in the early going is Rafael Soriano’s elbow. I’ve no doubt that guys who aren’t hitting yet, will. And that Manny Acosta and Peter Moylan will anchor a solid bullpen, with some of the younger guys just needing to get into a rhythm and get through this odd first couple of weeks.
But Soriano’s elbow … if it’s fine, the Braves should be. If it’s not, then sooner or later, that might be a problem they have to remedy.
Not saying there’s reason to believe it’s anything serious. But already he’s had soreness a couple of times since reporting to spring training. So we’ll see.
OK, gonna interrupt the writing of his blog to go down to the clubhouse and see what the move is, etc. They might not even make one until they actually activate Chuck before the game.
Because if there’s any danger of the game not being played, then they wouldn’t have to make a move tonight…
… OK, just got back from 90 minutes in the clubhouse. Still no move to create a spot for Chuck. They’re going to wait until gametime, probably, to make sure we’re even going to play.
Forecast now says the bad rain and snow might not be here until a little later than expected, so we might get at least five innings in (an official game). But tomorrow … brutal. Highly doubtful we’ll play, at least unless the forecast changes.
While in the clubhouse I watched Andruw strike out to end the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game, flailing in familiar fashion at the slider in the dirt.
He did get a pinch-hit infield single on a ball he smothered to the left side of the infield, just beat the one-hop throw.
Andruw wasn’t in the starting lineup after going 0-for-14 with seven strikeouts in his previous four games. He came in 3-for-29 (.103) including a majors-worst 1-for-22 (.045) against right-handers.
Gonzo making progress: It got overshadowed yesterday (OK, it fell through the cracks of my notebook), but the good news for the Braves was that Mike Gonzalez threw a 20-pitch simulated inning at extended spring training in Florida. Braves are still saying first week of June for activation from DL, but that could possibly change if he keeps making such good progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Speaking of stats: Mark Teixeira is 1-for-14 against lefties…. Matt Holliday has a .391 average with 16 extra-base hits (seven homers) and 22 RBI in his past 16 games against the Braves…. The Tigers scored 15 runs in seven games before today…. How many of you had the Orioles and Marlins as your East leaders going into April 9?…. The Rockies have scored 16 runs in eight games, and last night (4-3 win over the Bravos) was the first time they’ve scored more than three runs and only the second time they scored more than two.
Tip of the cap to Mr. Zimmerman: Also forgot to note the much-deserved special Pulitzer Prize awarded to the great Bob Dylan on Tuesday. For his profound contributions to music and culture. That’s great stuff.
So let’s blow it out with some extended lyrics from the bard of Minnesota.
”BROWNSVILLE GIRL” by Bob Dylan
Well, there was this movie I seen one time,
About a man riding ‘cross the desert and it starred Gregory Peck.
He was shot down by a hungry kid trying to make a name for himself.
The townspeople wanted to crush that kid down and string him up by the neck.
Well, the marshal, now he beat that kid to a bloody pulp
as the dying gunfighter lay in the sun and gasped for his last breath.
Turn him loose, let him go, let him say he outdrew me fair and square,
I want him to feel what it’s like to every moment face his death.
Well, I keep seeing this stuff and it just comes a-rolling in
And you know it blows right through me like a ball and chain.
You know I can’t believe we’ve lived so long and are still so far apart.
The memory of you keeps callin’ after me like a rollin’ train.
I can still see the day that you came to me on the painted desert
In your busted down Ford and your platform heels
I could never figure out why you chose that particular place to meet
Ah, but you were right. It was perfect as I got in behind the wheel.
Well, we drove that car all night into San Anton’
And we slept near the Alamo, your skin was so tender and soft.
Way down in Mexico you went out to find a doctor and you never came back.
I would have gone on after you but I didn’t feel like letting my head get blown off.
Well, we’re drivin’ this car and the sun is comin’ up over the Rockies,
Now I know she ain’t you but she’s here and she’s got that dark rhythm in her soul.
But I’m too over the edge and I ain’t in the mood anymore to remember the times when I was your only man
And she don’t want to remind me. She knows this car would go out of control.
Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you’re my honey love.
Well, we crossed the panhandle and then we headed towards Amarillo
We pulled up where Henry Porter used to live. He owned a wreckin’ lot outside of town about a mile.
Ruby was in the backyard hanging clothes, she had her red hair tied back. She saw us come rolling up in a trail of dust.
She said, “Henry ain’t here but you can come on in, he’ll be back in a little while.”
Then she told us how times were tough and about how she was thinkin’ of bummin’ a ride back to where she started.
But ya know, she changed the subject every time money came up.
She said, “Welcome to the land of the living dead.” You could tell she was so broken-hearted.
She said, “Even the swap meets around here are getting pretty corrupt.”
“How far are y’all going?” Ruby asked us with a sigh.
“We’re going all the way ‘til the wheels fall off and burn,
‘Til the sun peels the paint and the seat covers fade and the water moccasin dies.”
Ruby just smiled and said, “Ah, you know some babies never learn.”
Something about that movie though, well I just can’t get it out of my head
But I can’t remember why I was in it or what part I was supposed to play.
All I remember about it was Gregory Peck and the way people moved
And a lot of them seemed to be lookin’ my way.
Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you’re my honey love.
Well, they were looking for somebody with a pompadour.
I was crossin’ the street when shots rang out.
I didn’t know whether to duck or to run, so I ran.
“We got him cornered in the churchyard,” I heard somebody shout.
Well, you saw my picture in the Corpus Christi Tribune. Underneath it, it said, “A man with no alibi.”
You went out on a limb to testify for me, you said I was with you.
Then when I saw you break down in front of the judge and cry real tears,
It was the best acting I saw anybody do.
Now I’ve always been the kind of person that doesn’t like to trespass but sometimes you just find yourself over the line.
Oh if there’s an original thought out there, I could use it right now.
You know, I feel pretty good, but that ain’t sayin’ much. I could feel a whole lot better,
If you were just here by my side to show me how.
Well, I’m standin’ in line in the rain to see a movie starring Gregory Peck,
Yeah, but you know it’s not the one that I had in mind.
He’s got a new one out now, I don’t even know what it’s about
But I’ll see him in anything so I’ll stand in line.
Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you’re my honey love.
You know, it’s funny how things never turn out the way you had ‘em planned.
The only thing we knew for sure about Henry Porter is that his name wasn’t Henry Porter.
And you know there was somethin’ about you baby that I liked that was always too good for this world
Just like you always said there was something about me you liked that I left behind in the French Quarter.
Strange how people who suffer together have stronger connections than people who are most content.
I don’t have any regrets, they can talk about me plenty when I’m gone.
You always said people don’t do what they believe in, they just do what’s most convenient, then they repent.
And I always said, “Hang on to me, baby, and let’s hope that the roof stays on.”
There was a movie I seen one time, I think I sat through it twice.
I don’t remember who I was or where I was bound.
All I remember about it was it starred Gregory Peck, he wore a gun and he was shot in the back.
Seems like a long time ago, long before the stars were torn down.
Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you’re my honey love.
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0-4 in one-run games … look out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Denver — Before we look ahead, let’s take a look back, shall we?
To last season, July 28, a Saturday at Arizona, hot as Hades outside and hot under the collars in the Braves clubhouse after a 4-3, 10-inning loss against the Diamondbacks, and an 8-7, 11-inning loss to the same team the night before.
“We’re not winning the close games, not to overstate the obvious,” said John Smoltz, who had allowed three runs in seven innings. “When a team’s hot like Arizona, it seems like they win everything.”
Then he said of the next day’s series finale, with Tim Hudson on the mound: “We’ve got to win. We’ve got to find a way. We’ve got the right guy going.”
The Braves did find a way to win the next day, by scoring a ton of runs in support of a dominant Hudson in a 14-0 win.
But the damage had already been done. With that Saturday loss, the Braves had dropped nine of 13 games since a 7-1 surge, and fallen to 4-1/2 games behind the New York Mets and a half-game behind Philly.
They were 12-15 in one-run games and 3-6 in extra-inning games at the end of July, and it was wearing on everyone. The Braves wouldn’t get closer than 2-1/2 games to the NL East lead the rest of the season.
We bring this up because we’re not quite 1-1/2 weeks into the new season, and already it’s wearing on nerves. The close-game thing, we’re talking about. The Braves are 0-4 in one-run games after last night’s 2-1 defeat at Coors Field.
Glavine pitches 6-1/3 scoreless innings, Moylan works in and out of a jam, and Blaine Boyer gives up a two-run bomb to Matt Holliday in the eighth inning.
The offense did absolutely nothing after Chipper Jones’ first-inning RBI double against Aaron Cook. Just three hits total for a Braves team that had hit .331 in the past two seasons at Coors Field, better than any other visiting team.
And a Braves team that had hit .312 with seven homers and 38 runs in a five-game homestand with the Pirates and Mets before hitting the road.
Hey, Cook had a great night. He was dealin’. But three hits is horrendous, and the Braves were overly aggressive, especially as the night wore on.
They’ve hit .312 at home this season and .136 with only three runs scored in two road games.
Now, it’s far, far too early to start projecting stats and worrying about this trend or that. Too early to get overly concerned about a bullpen that’s 0-4 with a 5.33 ERA (compared to a rotation that’s 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA).
But one thing should be a red flag to the Braves: That 0-4 record in one-run games.
I’m not one that puts too much stock in most teams’ one-run records, because I do believe that, in most cases, records in one-run games are rather random and have plenty to do with luck, perhaps more than anything else.
In most cases.
But when a team is either extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad in one-run games to begin a season, or even for a significant period within the season, I definitely believe that can either boost or undermine the team’s overall confidence in those situations.
In other words, teams that start out by winning all or most of their one-run games, start to believe and feel more confident a relaxed in the late innings of close games. This is not revolutionary thinking. It’s just common sense. And it’s true, according to many players I’ve talked to about this subject.
Same goes for teams that start out losing all or most of those close games. And not just in baseball.
If it keeps happening, some players, especially younger players, start to wonder when something bad is going to happen in the late innings. They start to play not to lose, rather than play to win. Or they just tense up and put too much pressure on themselves to make something bit happen, to hit a homer or to make a perfect pitch, rather than relaxing, thinking and performing.
That’s a big problem, or at least it can be.
Someone on the blog here pointed out today or last night that the last two World Series championship teams had losing records in one-run games — St. Louis (22-27) in 2006 and Boston (22-28) in 2007.
Like I said, a team’s record in one-run games is random in most cases, has more to do with luck than skill or managerial expertise or whatever. But when it’s extreme, especially in the early season, well, it’s a problem. Or it can be.
The Braves had that dreadful road trip to San Francisco and Arizona last July, where they had four consecutive losses by scores of 2-1, 4-2, 8-7 in 11 innings, and 4-3 in 10 innings. That dropped them to 12-15 in one-run games, and the spiral continued to an 18-25 season record in one-run decisions.
That after they posted a 19-33 record in one-run games with a leaky bullpen in 2006.
This year’s bullpen has a lot of talent. Some of it is quite inexperienced.
Closer Rafael Soriano (he’s got plenty of experience, abeit in a setup role) pitched only a couple of weeks in spring training because of a sore elbow, and I said at the time that I didn’t think Bobby Cox would be able to use Soriano heavily in the first weeks of the season the way he had used him as a setup man a year ago.
Last night Soriano, after pitching Saturday in a blowout and Sunday in a save situation, was getting the night off. Manny Acosta (also relatively inexperienced) was going to close if it got to that. It didn’t get to that.
The Braves had better hope that they can rely on more than Peter Moylan and Will Ohman, who are the only National League relievers with more than five relief appearances already this season (they each have six).
The offense will have many more good nights than nights like last night. But the bullpen had best get straightened out, or else the Braves are in danger of developing that negative attitude that can infiltrate a team that begins to expect to lose close games.
You absolutely do not want that to happen in the early season, not for a team that undoubtedly has the starting rotation and the lineup to contend for the NL East title.
By the way, all joking about Mark Redman aside, I don’t know that most Braves are so eager to face him Wednesday, considering what he’s done against them in the past. Chipper Jones is 3-for-16 against the lefty thumber, and Mark Teixeira is 0-for-10 with four strikeouts.
Chuck James will be going for the Braves, and he’s given up a lot to a few Colorado hitters, including Ryan Spilborghs (3-for-5 with two homers) and Matt Holliday (4-for-8 with a homer).
But first, we’ve got an enticing matchup of youngsters tonight, the Braves’ Jair Jurrjens facing Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez, who has a 3.81 ERA in nine starts at Coors and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of those.
Oh, music note: I saw a great review of the new Was (Not Was) album, Boo!. Anyone hear it yet?
“ARE YOU READY FOR THE COUNTRY” by Neil Young
Slipping and sliding
and playing domino
Lefting and then Righting,
it’s not a crime you know.
You gotta tell your story boy,
before it’s time to go.
Are you ready for the country
because it’s time to go
Are you ready for the country
because it’s time to go
I was talkin’ to the preacher,
said God was on my side
Then I ran into the hangman,
he said it’s time to die
You gotta tell your story boy,
you know the reason why.
Are you ready for the country
because it’s time to go
Are you ready for the country
because it’s time to go
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It’s chilly here, as are the Rockies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Denver — The bad news is that it’s snowing outside my downtown Denver hotel as I type this, and the forecast for tonight’s Braves-Rockies series opener calls for temps in the 30s and showers, which could turn to more snow.
The good news for the Braves: Even if we have a rain- or snow-out, there’s still a very good chance they will face Mark Redman in this series.
Yes, that Mark Redman.
In case you missed it, the lefty who was released by the Braves (and by the Rangers, and the Blue Jays) last season ended up with the Rockies and actually won a couple of games for them during their amazing September playoff drive.
So they brought him back. And since the Braves face Colorado the second week of the season, it means they get to hit against Redman before he’s released by the Rockies (that wasn’t fair, I know).
He’s scheduled to face Chuck James Wednesday in the third game of the four-game series. Chuck will be making his first start coming off the DL, after pitching in one Grapefruit League games and a couple of sim games in spring training and six simulated innings last week at Class A Rome.
And making that first start at Coors, no less. Yikes.
Oh, well, Chuck probably couldn’t have handpicked a better opposing pitcher under the circumstances. Since July 30, 2006, Redman is 6-10 with a 7.07 ERA and .334 opponents’ average in 24 major league games (21 starts), with 159 hits, 45 walks and 62 strikeouts in 112 innings. He has four quality starts in that span.
Speaking of sure things…. If you were surprised John Smoltz was able to come off the DL and match Johan Santana pitch-for-pitch (for five innings) on Sunday, well, you probably shouldn’t have been.
For one thing, it was a big game, at least relatively speaking. Smoltz loves big games.
Secondly, it was Turner Field. Smoltz loves pitching there and thrives with the home crowd behind him.
Not that he’s a slouch on the road. Whatever the venue, Smoltz remains a legit No. 1-caliber starting pitcher, albeit one who’s going to go six or seven innings most nights instead of his previous eight or nine.
But at Turner Field? Chances are good you’re going to see a special performance from Smoltz any time he walks to the mound.
Consider that since he returned to the starting rotation in 2005, Smoltz is 27-13 with a 2.76 ERA in 52 starts at the home ‘yard, and the Braves are 36-16 in those games.
In his last 20 home starts, Smoltz is 12-5 with a stingy 2.00 ERA and .224 opponents’ average, with 129 strikeouts in 134-2/3 innings. In the five losses, the Braves scored no runs while he was in three games, and one run in two.
Before the knot in his shoulder led to his five-inning exit Sunday, Smoltz had 16 quality starts in his last 19 home games (a quality start is defined as six innings or more, with three earned runs or fewer).
Humidor Man gets ring: While the Rockies were being swept by the Diamondbacks during the weekend, they took time to unveil their NL championship pennant and distribute rings to Colorado players and other select team employees.
Among the others receiving rings (kind of like others receiving votes in a poll) was Tony Cowell, described in the Denver Post as “the pioneer of the Coors Field humidor.”
By the way, the D-backs outscored the Rockies 20-5 in the series. The Rockies are 1-5, and their .209 team batting average includes 5-for-50 with runners in scoring position. They’ve been outscored 40-10 for the season.
Something tells me that won’t last too long, though. This is a very good Colorado lineup.
Anyone still worried about Tex? Mark Teixeira had two homers and five RBI in his past four games, which gives him 19 homers and 61 RBI in 60 games for the Braves since he was traded to Atlanta on July 31.
Teixeira has a .303 average, .388 OBP and .598 slugging percentage in 234 at-bats for the Braves.
By the way, he’s hit .360 with three homers and six RBI in six games against the Rockies. His only visit to Coors Field was in June 2006 with the Rangers, when he homered in each of his first two games and finished the three-game series 6-for-13 with four extra-base hits and five RBI.
Quick hits: The surge goes unabated for Chipper Jones, who has hit .353 with 58 doubles, 6 triples, 49 homers, 159 RBI and a 1.084 OPS in 191 games since June 24, 2006. On the road in that period, he’s hit .368 with 64 extra-base hits in 93 games, with a .463 OBP and a .694 slugging percentage…. Peter Moylan and Will Ohman are tied for the NL lead with five relief appearances apiece before today… Rockies 1B Todd Helton has hit .351 with 17 doubles, 5 homers, 31 RBI and a .463 OBP in 50 games against the Braves this century. He hasn’t homered against them since hitting five during the 2000-01 seasons, but Helton has hit .371 with 11 doubles and an amazing .524 OBP (25 walks) in his last 22 games against the Braves.
”POCATELLO” by James McMurtry
Picked you up in Pocatello
In some truck stop parking lot
Out beside that burned up Volvo
With the smoking engine shot
And you just left that Volvo lying
You never gave it half a thought
Faithless, fine, and gone
You said you came from Randolph
Up across the Wasatch Range
You kept talking clear to Salt Lake
Liked to drove us all insane
But now I’m flying down
That four lane highway screaming out your name
Faithless, fine, and gone
Batten down the hatches I can hear my grandma say
Boy you like to play with matches
Gonna burn yourself someday
I’m gonna haul on back to Denver
Just as soon as I get through
And I’m burnt down to smoldering embers
But I guess I can make do
And now I hear some guy that used to
Manage some band I never heard of
Is trying to manage you
Faithless, fine, and gone
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Finally, Smoltz on the mound
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey, it’s dry at Turner Field today. (Not quite sunny yet, but that’s OK.) And I hear there’s a pretty decent match-up on the mound. John Smoltz makes his eagerly-awaited and one-day-sooner than expected start. Kinda.
Shoot, even those of us who saw Smoltz in spring training didn’t really see him. He made only one Grapefruit League start down there. I’m thinking Tiger Woods has a better idea of where Smoltz’s stuff is than we do. So I’m looking forward to it, as I’m sure all of you are. And we all owe a debt to Tom Glavine don’t we? For taking one for the team and pitching in Coors Field, so Smoltz can go against Johan Santana here today.
I knew Glavine was a good guy, but yeah…he did say this morning, he’d be expecting some kind of something in return from Smoltz. Perhaps a few strokes in a round of golf, or better yet maybe a plane ticket to somewhere warm would be fitting.
Bobby’s got the every day lineup in there today - too early in the season for the Sunday day game after a night game business - and it’s the Mets. And it’s Santana.
And that includes Kelly Johnson, he of the pinch hit grand slam Saturday afternoon. No way was he going to sit today. This will be his first start since the second game of the season. He’s had five days (including an off day and a rain-out) to give that right knee a rest since he made his last start during the home opener on Monday.
“It feels real good,” he said this morning. “Last two days went from jogging when I didn’t think I could run much more than that, to the next day being able to run. Simulate running the bases today. It’s getting close to normal.”
Johnson said he had an MRI on the off-day Tuesday and it came back negative, so surgery isn’t necessary. It’s just a treat-and-tough-it-out kinda thing.
Not sure how confident Bobby Cox is feeling about it, when I commented/asked about Kelly being ready to go today, he said: “See what happens. Find out.”
Jo-Jo Reyes was packing his bags for Richmond this morning. He was optioned back to make room for Smoltz on the roster - I’m assuming Smoltz. The Braves haven’t officially announced that one yet…but ok, let’s not even go there. Too much wacky stuff has happened here this week.
Anyway, speaking of Richmond? I just came from there, and I know I’m spoiled, but the Diamond does leave a bit to be desired. The clubhouse reminded me of the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field, only without the charm of the fact that it’s at Wrigley.
I offer a shout-out to Gil from Mechanicsville for his hospitality, intelligent input, and the pillow his wife gave me to sit on for a couple cold innings on the upper deck bleachers during the home opener on Thursday. Preesh….
The bigger roster decision will come Wednesday when Chuck James is activated to take Mike Hampton’s place in the rotation vs. the Rockies. Looks to me like Jeff Bennett is proving pretty useful around here for his long relief ability and the groundballs he can induce.
Maybe the choice then comes down to Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop and Royce Ring. Given the accolades I overheard Bobby giving a reporter today on the bench about Boyer, I’d guess it won’t be him. But then, Bennett is the only one of those four who has options left. The other three would have to clear waivers if the Braves are to put them in Richmond. Bennett is the easy answer. But the hard one too. Hunches anyone?
DOB is on his way to Colorado already to give you full coverage of the four-game series with the defending NL champs, and to freeze his rear off. But given the high he’s feeling with the Jayhawks, don’t think he’ll feel it too much. So I’ll be bringing it to you live today. Enjoy the matchup.
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Braves vs. Mets — rain, stay away
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well I reckon if we can’t be at the Robert Earl Keen show tonight at Variety Playhouse, or the 75th birthday tribute to Willie Nelson just around the corner at Star Bar, then the series opener between the Braves and Mets isn’t a bad option, either.
That’s provided we’re able to get this one in tonight at Turner Field, where the forecast doesn’t look very good. Anything but long rain delays, please.
The only thing the (1-3) Braves need almost as much as a win would be a quality start tonight from Tim Hudson, and another Saturday from Tom Glavine. Because that bullpen is already weary, folks.
It’s been almost 15 years since Bobby Cox used as many pitchers in one series as he did in that eventful three-gamer with the Pirates.
What to make of the Mike Hampton saga? Honestly, I don’t know what else there is to say. I mean, the only thing I would point out to all the understandably frustrated Braves fans out there is to keep in mind, the Braves added depth this winter in part because they knew they couldn’t count on Hampton.
This is not a huge loss, the way it was a year ago in spring training when the Braves made the mistake of counting on the often - no, make that always - injured Hampton to fill a spot in their rotation.
They had no depth, no backup plan then. They do now. Several. Chuck James will come from Richmond to take Hampton’s rotation spot for now, and we’ll just have to wait and see how soon Hampton will be back. Again, it’s not something you should count on, nor should the Braves (and I don’t think they are, regardless of what they might say publicly).
If Chuck’s shoulder isn’t ready, if he struggles, the Braves have Jeff Bennett or Buddy Carlyle available to start. Again, this is not a huge setback.
If the Braves lose John Smoltz, Tim Hudson or Tom Glavine — now that would be a significant setback. But losing a guy who hasn’t pitched for you in over 2-1/2 years, that’s not a major blow to your plans. If it is, you didn’t plan wisely.
Once more on Tex’s struggles: In case you missed it, Bravos cleanup man Mark Teixeira isn’t cleaning up much at the plate. He’s hitting .105 (2-for-19) with one homer and two RBI, leading some in Braves Nation (and on this blog) to fret and project a locusts-and-pestilence season for him and the Braves.
People, again we implore you, don’t worry about Teixiera. He will be fine. If you didn’t see the game last night, he scorched a couple of balls, including one would-be double that center fielder Nate McLouth robbed with a sensational catch.
But nevermind that he hit some balls hard. I’m telling you not to worry about Teixeira because this is not uncommon for him, to start out slow. In fact, given his track record, you’d probably have more to worry about if he was putting up big numbers in the first week.
Because he never has done that in five seasons (he hit for a higher average at the state of ’06, but without a homer), and in every one of those seasons Mark Teixeira has ended up with very impressive hitting totals across the board. One of the game’s best overall hitters in his five-year career.
Here’s how he’s started out in each of his five previous seasons:
2003: 0-for-15 in his first five games.
2004: 8-for-40 (.200) with two homers, 11 strikeouts in his first 11 games.
2005: 11-for-53 (.208) with two homers, six RBI in his first 13 games.
2006: 12-for-33 (.364) with no homers, three RBI in his first nine games.
2007: 16-for-75 (.213) with two doubles, no homers, three RBI in his first 21 games.
Etc. This is weird: The Braves had 2,016 at-bats against lefties last season, while no other NL team had more than 1,792. This season, the Braves already have 86 at-bats vs. lefties. No other NL team has more than 60…. The Braves have lost seven of their last nine games going back to the last week of the 2007 season…. Blog legend David Wright of the Mets has picked up where he left off last fall, going 6-for-13 with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs in the three-game series vs. Florida to start the season. He has a .388 average (76-for-196) with 19 doubles, 12 homers and 45 RBIs in 51 games since Aug. 9, with 34 walks and a .481 on-base percentage. Oh, and a Golden Glove (no comment).
“HONKY TONK HEROES” by Billy Joe Shaver
Low down leaving sun, I’ve done did everything that needs done
Woe is me, why can’t I see, I best be leaving well enough alone
Them neon light nights, couldn’t stay out of fights
They keep a hauntin’ me and memories
There is one in every crowd, for cryin’ out loud
Why was it always turnin’ out to be me.
Where does it go, the good Lord only knows
It seems like it was just the other day
I was down at Green Gables, hawkin’ them tables
And generally blowin’ all my hard earned pay.
Piano rolled blues, danced holes in my shoes
There weren’t another other way to be
For loveable losers, and no account boozers
And honky tonk heroes like me…
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Hampton ready; I’m banged up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s only appropriate that on the night of Mike Hampton’s first real-game appearance in more than 31 months, your Crusading Everyman will barely be able to get in and out of his car and up the steps through the security gate at Turner Field.
Yes, I’m having back spasms, the result of either my failure to stretch before working out at the gym two days ago, or overdoing said workout, or pulling my heavy computer bag out of the overhead compartment on the plane and my car trunk. Or, more likely, the result of all of the above.
Anyway, I’m miserable.
So let’s go watch Hampton pitch against the Pirates, his first start (or appearance of any kind) in a major league game (Grapefruit League games don’t count) since Aug. 19, 2005.
What’s the mood among the denizens? Trepidation? Anticipation? Excitement? Deep concern? Wholesale skepticism?
Anyway, it’s happening tonight. Only a rainout can stop it, and that’s not going to happen. It might drizzle, but that’s about it.
(Actually, more than a rainout could stop it. Don’t know why I said that, given Hampton’s injury history in recent years. Dude could step wrong going up the steps and show up at the ballpark feeling like me. Let me just say, I would not be able to make tonight’s start if I were the scheduled pitcher. But I’m gonna take a handful of Alleve and cover this thing, that’s for sure.)
(Oh, and some Sinutab for this nasty head cold or whatever I have. Yes, if you’re gonna have back spasms and your first cold in a couple of years, might as well have ‘em at the same time and feel completely, utterly awful, I always say.)
Hey, I wrote it today, but for those who missed it:
Hampton went 14-8 in 2003 and 13-9 in 2004. And he was 17-6 with a 2.99 ERA in 30 starts from May 18, 2004, when he threw a complete game but lost against Randy Johnson’s perfect game, until May 14, 2005, when he left a game at Los Angeles with a “strained left forearm.” (That was the beginning of the end.)
Can you guys believe that, how good he was over a one-year stretch from May to May? Does it seem like that was so long ago? I mean, that’s seriously good over that 30-game stretch.
If he’s anywhere near that, anywhere at all near that level, the Braves have a helluva rotation (provided John Smoltz stays healthy, of course).
Hampton tonight and then the Mets in town for the weekend. You excited? Sunday, Smoltz vs. Johan Santana … that’s good stuff.
Chipper keeps going…. He has six RBIs in three games, which means Chipper Jones is showing every sign of continuing a rather amazing run that began in late June 2006, a run interrupted only by a couple of nagging injuries.
Consider these numbers: Since June 26, 2006, Hoss has hit .350 (248-for-708) with 58 doubles, 6 triples, 49 homers, 159 RBI, 108 walks, 99 strikeouts, a .433 OBP and .657 slugging percentage. That’s a 1.090 OPS, folks.
And on the road in that stretch, he’s been almost ridiculous: .367 with 33 doubles, 5 triples, 26 homers, 78 RBIs in 91 games, with a .439 OBP and .699 slugging percentage (1.138 OPS).
Prado raising his game: Gotta admit, every time Terry Pendleton raved about Martin Prado in spring training, every time he told me that Prado has nothing more to prove in Triple-A and belongs nowhere but the majors, etc., in the back of my mind I said, “Wow, T.P. really likes this kid, because Prado’s not all that.”
I’m starting to realize that maybe I’ve been wrong about Prado. The kid is a player, at least good enough to be an important utility man on a championship-calber team, and good enough to start for a lot of teams.
He went 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and a walk last night filling in for leadoff man/2B Kelly Johnson. And in his past 20 games, since Aug. 11, Prado has hit .371 (13-for-35) with a couple of doubles, a triple, only three strikeouts and a .421 OBP.
That’s a real small sample of at-bats, but consider that it’s a lot tougher to put up good numbers getting only one start here and there and otherwise doing it with isolated at-bats in the late innings against tough, fresh relievers.
Jurrjens wows ‘em: Pirates hitters were very impressed with rookie Jair Jurrjens, particularly with his changeup, overall command and mound presence.
A Pittsburgh writer told me that a couple of players said that changeup looked exactly like his fastball coming out of Jurrjens’ hand, and that they had no idea how to hit it.
His line - 5-1/3 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 5 K’s - wasn’t nearly as impressive as Jurrjens was, as anyone who watched the game can attest.
By the way, Jurrjens made his major league debut Aug. 15 for Detroit, holding Cleveland to four runs in seven innings of a Tigers loss on the road.
Since then, he’s 5-0 in seven starts, and his teams have won all seven games.
OK, I gotta get to the ballpark. Running late. Or, rather, hobbling late.
“ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS” by Bob Dylan
On a night like this
So glad you came around,
Hold on to me so tight
And heat up some coffee grounds.
We got much to talk about
And much to reminisce,
It sure is right
On a night like this.
On a night like this
So glad you’ve come to stay
Hold on to me, pretty miss
Say you’ll never go away to stray.
Run your fingers down my spine
Bring me a touch of bliss
It sure feels right
On a night like this.
On a night like this
I can’t get any sleep,
The air is so cold outside
And the snow’s so deep.
Build a fire, throw on logs
And listen to it hiss
And let it burn, burn, burn, burn
On a night like this.
Put your body next to mine
And keep me company,
There is plenty a room for all,
So please don’t elbow me.
Let the four winds blow
Around this old cabin door,
If I’m not too far off I think we did this once before.
There’s more frost on the window glass
With each new tender kiss,
But it sure feels right
On a night like this.
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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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