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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Escobar still learning to temper emotions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yunel Escobar is benched today, but apparently not for the reason some of us expected he might be.
The fiery shortstop hurt his left shoulder when he dove (or dived, if you prefer) back to first base on the double play that led to his ejection in the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s loss to the Brewers, after he argued with the umpire and threw his batting helmet in disgust.
Escobar took a few swings in batting practice this morning and said “No mas,” or something along those lines. The shoulder was too sore to swing, he said.
So he was scratched from the lineup and Ruben Gotay was inserted in the No. 2 spot. The top of the order not looking too formidable today, with .242-1-13 leadoff man Gregor Blanco and .226-1-4 utility man Gotay.
After that it’s 3. Kelly Johnson (in place of the hurtin’ Hoss; Chipper expected to DH in Toronto series that starts Friday), 4. Mark Teixeira (seeking to continue his day-game success), 5. Brian McCann, 6. Omar Infante, 7. Jeff Francoeur, 8. Brandon Jones, and 9. Jorge Campillo.
Infante is playing shortstop, Gotay’s at third.
Brewers have Jeff Suppan (4-5, 3.92) on the mound. The veteran right-hander is 3-5 with a 4.15 ERA in his past 10 starts, including 1-5 with a 5.96 ERA and .318 opponents’ average in five road starts in that period.
Before throwing eight scoreless innings to beat the Braves on May 28, Suppan had been 0-4 with a 7.78 ERA in four career starts against them.
Of course, most of those starts were against more formidable lineups than the one the Braves are running out there today. So we’ll see.
The Escobar thing: So what are the Braves going to do about Escobar’s temper, which has been on display more in recent weeks, perhaps because of the team’s struggles and/or his own recent difficulties driving in runs or hitting anything other than singles.
The short answer: Nothing. By that I mean, they’re not going to bench him or otherwise punish him. They all really like Escobar, but they’re re-emphasizing to him that he’s got to rein in the temper at least to a degree.
GM Frank Wren said it’s a fine line, that he’s always played with passion and that his fire and desire makes him an exciting player to watch and a sparkplug for the team.
Wren believes the Braves have the leadership — Cox, hitting coach Terry Pendleton, bench coach Chino Cadahia (a fellow Cuban), Eddie Perez, and older teammates — to make Escobar grasp the importance of playing with a little more control, not getting on the bad side of umpires, not getting tossed from games.
He’s gotten a lot better at it since his early minor league career, when some wondered if Escobar’s temper and attitude might hold him back. He’s made big strides, but in recent weeks there have been a few incidents where he’s reacted to close calls in a way you just can’t do.
They’re trying to get him to understand the subtle differences in how he reacts to calls and how certain other players might react, how they might bitch and complain loudly about the umpire, but do it while looking the other way.
Or how some of them might even toss a batting helmet and get away with it, because they do it in such a way that they’re not showing up the umpire to the degree that Escobar did last night, when he slammed his helmet while looking at, and shouting at, the first-base umpire.
Can’t do that. Umps remember that. He’s lost for the game, and in danger of getting the raw end of future close calls by some umps who’ll remember that. You don’t want to develop a reputation among the umping fraternity as a guy who shows them up. Especially if you’re a young, relatively unestablished player.
I talked to Eddie and he brought up a very interesting point that might help explain the difference in culture, in what Escobar came from in Cuba, where he learned to play the game while wearing the junior-national team uniform.
“My first two years here they sent me to extended spring [training] to learn to play the game the right way,” said Perez, who is Venezuelan. “I hated being sent there. But I’m glad they did it, because I learned how to play, so I didn’t look like him [Escobar].
“He’s a great kid. But in Cuba, they teach you how to hate the umpire, hate the other team, hate everybody on the field. When I was playing [in international tournaments] I’d see those guys in the hotel and they’d say, ‘Hey, we see you on TV, nice to meet you’ and all that. Then in the game you’d try to talk to them and the same guys would look at you like, ‘Get out of my face.’
“He’s a great kid. He’s learning and learning. Last night something happened, and he’s going to learn from that.”
Escobar said through a translator this morning: “I’m a very intense player. I’m not trying to be nasty to the umpires. Sometimes it works both ways, there have been encounters [recently between players and umpires]. But I’m not a hot-tempered person, just intense.”
He also said that from this point on, he’s not even going to look at umpires anymore.
We’ll see. That might be a good strategy for him, though.
By the way, Escobar has hit .279 (17-for-61) in his past 16 games, but has only four extra-base hits (all doubles) and as many errors (two) as RBI in that stretch.
Draft-pick signings: The Braves signed 18 of their 51 draft picks, including second-rounder Ezekiel Spruill, a right-handed pitcher from Kell High in Marietta and the team’s third selection.
The Braves haven’t signed top pick Brett DeVall, the 6-foot-4 lefty from Niceville (Fla.) High, but they still have nearly two months to get a deal done.
Blanco’s struggling: After hitting .298 with a .409 on-base percentage I his first 40 games, Blanco has hit just .178 (16-for-90) with a .275 OBP in his past 26 games before today.
He’s on a 2-for-23 skid with seven strikeouts in his past six games.
The Braves hope to have Mark Kotsay back from the DL next week, and it can’t come too soon. His return would presumably allow Blanco to move back into a platoon left-field role and/or backup at all outfield positions.
Kotsay went 0-for-4 in his first rehab game Tuesday at Double-A Mississippi, but had no pain and hit at least one ball hard, according to Wren. He DH’d last night and will probably play center field today, easing back into things.
Blanco has hit .268 with a .371 OBP vs. righties, but just .156 (7-for-45) with a .278 OBP and 18 strikeouts vs. lefties.
When leading off any inning, he’s hit .200 (11-for-55) with 10 strikeouts.
OK, a tune: Just seems appropriate.
”FIVE FEET HIGH AND RISING” by Johnny Cash
How high’s the water, mama?
Two feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, papa?
Two feet high and risin’
We can make it to the road in a homemade boat
That’s the only thing we got left that’ll float
It’s already over all the wheat and the oats,
Two feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, mama?
Three feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, papa?
Three feet high and risin’
Well, the hives are gone,
I’ve lost my bees
The chickens are sleepin’
In the willow trees
Cow’s in water up past her knees,
Three feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, mama?
Four feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, papa?
Four feet high and risin’
Hey, come look through the window pane,
The bus is comin’, gonna take us to the train
Looks like we’ll be blessed with a little more rain,
4 feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, mama?
Five feet high and risin’
How high’s the water, papa?
Five feet high and risin’
Well, the rails are washed out north of town
We gotta head for higher ground
We can’t come back till the water comes down,
Five feet high and risin’
Well, it’s five feet high and risin’
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Getting defensive early in the morning
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a false alarm, folks. I’m not really blogging. What you are reading is a figment of your imagination.
Actually, I am blogging. Only it’s going to probably magically disappear - poof! - once DOB gets to the ballpark this morning and makes his rounds and freshens up a blog with some news to post around midday as usual for a day game.
But since word is out that you fine denizens are insatiable, we are here to feed you breakfast today. And I invite you to jump on board until DOB takes the reins.
Only, it’s not actually morning and today is still yesterday. We are pulling some newspaper tricks on the digital side of things, and I’m writing this the night before. That way they can be assured I have it to them by early in the morning. (I’m a sportswriter. I don’t do mornings.)
All that is to say, it’s still very much Tuesday night and that means I still have shoddy defense very fresh in my mind.
Four errors to ruin Charlie Morton’s home debut? Two by Escobar. One by Frenchy. One by Infante. And we’re not even talking about the ball that Brandon Jones froze on and watched go over his head for a hit?
I don’t know about you, but watching one blunder after another got me wondering - who would I most like to see out there at each position for the Braves, game on the line, ball hit to him?
And I can only pick from those who have played for the Braves, guys I’ve seen with my own eyes. These are players I just have a feeling about in my gut - because isn’t that what defense is all about?
Not groundballs taken in infield practice or running in the outfield to a stopwatch. I’m talking soft hands, guts of steel and baseball instincts.
(You’re going to have to fill in where I leave off in the 80s, by the way. I was dealing in Duke basketball and pink lipstick that decade. The Braves didn’t really enter my consciousness outside of an occasional family trip to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium until Steve Avery was pitching against the Pirates.)
To me, defense can’t be measured in a stat - sorry Bill James and range factor and all that stuff. Maybe those guys can measure it in a stat, but as for me? I’m going on naked eye, the players I’ve seen and who I would want where.
You are going to differ with me, and I invite you to. But here’s what I’m thinking.
Greg Maddux at pitcher. Yes it matters. And yes that was the easiest one. Nobody gets as square as he does after he releases the ball and ready to make a play.
Catcher, not as easy. I’m going Eddie Perez, because Maddux trusted in him. And catching is more than just throwing to second. It’s calling a game and blocking pitches and putting up a nice, big target.
First base. Tex. Haven’t seen a first baseman for the Braves who plays first like a third baseman. It’s been wobbly there for years, hasn’t it? Well, I take that back. Andres Galarraga was catlike. But Tex is even better.
Second base. Can I go Glenn Hubbard, even though I didn’t see him much? If you can teach the position as well as he can, then geez, you probably played it nicely. I know Bobby loved Mark Lemke, for his grit and toughness on the double play. Nobody I’ve seen in the years since blows me away. You tell me.
Third base. I’d take Chipper and the way he played in the 1995 Division Series vs. the Rockies. Can’t do that? TP? Won three Gold Gloves. Or how about Ken Caminiti the years before he came to the Braves?
Shortstop. In a pinch, I might even go Rafael Belliard on you. So his range isn’t out of this world, but after last night, I just want somebody to catch the ball, OK?
Arm? Rafael Furcal. But total package? Honestly I’ve got to say Yunel Escobar has got the gifts. Better range than Edgar Renteria, and I loved Edgar’s steadiness. Arm almost as good as Furcal. Quickness and acrobatics and potential for the uncanny play - it’s all there. It just wasn’t for a few moments tonight (er, um, I mean last night.)
Left field: Ryan Klesko. Just kidding. I don’t know. Isn’t that where they just put the guy they don’t know what to do with, or the leftover right fielders? Reggie Sanders wasn’t bad, I don’t think. Deion Sanders and Ron Gant probably held their own. I can’t remember well enough. I gotta say maybe Ryan Langerhans could get the nod here. Talking purely defense.
Center field: Andruw Jones.
Right field: Brian Jordan. Not always graceful but tough as they come. Would do anything to make a play for you.
OK, that’s it. And by now, I have to figure I’ve worked some of you into a lather. Somebody is ready to start typing that I don’t know a damn thing about baseball. Fine. That’s what I’m here for, to get you good and riled up. Now fire away.
Let it out, good people. Tell me what you think.
To continue this conversation, click here and join David O’Brien’s blog from today’s game at Turner Field.
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