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Friday, August 8, 2008
“The Cobra” fits as Braves closer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Phoenix — Sitting here on the balcony of my Scottsdale hotel, smoking an Arturo Fuente stogie and looking within some numbers of this Braves season.
But first, let’s discuss “The Cobra.”
Yes, I really like that nickname for Mike Gonzalez. Unless Gonzalez says he hates it when I ask him about it, we’ll use it as long as he continues doing that trippy, rocking, swaying, tension-building, batter-mesmerizing, back-and-forth motion on the rubber before his delivery, which most of you surely would agree with me is absolutely cool and essential that he continue.
Cobra or Gonzo, both solid nicknames, but Cobra is more original, and fitting. Dave Parker, another former Pirate, was the original Cobra (hey, I didn’t say it was totally original) and he was The Man, one of my favorites back in the day.
Anyway, Gonzalez. The dude is impressing me, he really is. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, or, I should say, I didn’t know quite what to expect this season after he returned from his 12-month Tommy John-surgery rehab.
He’s quickly returned to dominant form. Maybe not quite as consistently overpowering as he was in his 24-for-24 saves season with Pittsburgh in 2005, but pretty close, and seemingly getting closer by the day.
He’s converted all five save opportunities this season and has a 2.45 ERA and .203 opponents average in 18 appearances, but those numbers don’t do justice to his recent performance.
Gonzalez gave up three hits and two runs in his second appearance back from the DL on June 22. Since then, he’s posted a 1.65 ERA and .186 opponents’ average in 16 games, allowing 11 hits, three earned runs and just three walks with 19 strikeouts in 16 innings.
At the very least, if he stays healthy he gives the Braves a solid backup closer for 2009. But the way the Soriano thing has gone, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Cobra is penciled in for the full-time role.
Do people realize it’s been more than four years since Gonzalez blew a save? That was in his rookie year, on June 25, 2004, at Cincinnati.
In 174 appearances since then, he’s put up these splendid numbers: 2.15 ERA, .210 opponents’ average, 35-of-35 saves converted, 171-1/3 innings, 131 hits (six homers), 75 walks, 200 strikeouts.
That’s dominance. Rock on, Cobra.
The 2-hole’s been a hole: Here’s one that I came across. Wondering just how much the Braves have missed Edgar Renteria’s work in the 2-hole, I went to see how the Braves have done from that spot this year compared to last.
Wow, what a stunning difference.
In 2008, the Braves led the National League with a .329 average and .393 OBP from 2-hole hitters, a full 20 points higher than the next-best batting average or OBP at the position (Cardinals, .309 and .372). The Braves’ .477 slugging percentage trailed only the Cardinals (.498).
And this season? The Braves are dead last in the NL with a .247 average from the 2-hole position. Yes, they went first-to-worst, at least so far, with an 82-point drop. Their slugging percentage has suffered a huge 139-point drop to .338, a full 25 points lower than the next-lowest in the NL.
And their .317 OBP is 75 points lower and ranks 11th in the league this season.
Like I said, wow. Yikes. That’s a huge dropoff in every way. The Braves had 66 extra-base hits including 16 homers last season from 2-hole hitters, including six homers from Renteria and — this will surprise you — six homers from Matt Diaz, who hit .381 (24-for-63) with a robust .746 slugging percentage in 63 at-bats in the 2-hole last season.
Edgar hit .341 with a .403 OBP in 370 at-bats in the position, and Willie Harris hit .378 with 11 extra-base hits and a .420 OBP in 82 at-bats in the 2-hole. The Braves had five players with more than 60 at-bats in that position last season, the other two being Yunel Escobar (.279 in 68 at-bats) and Kelly Johnson (.244 in 86 at-bats).
If you’re following, you know what I’m getting to: The only two players who didn’t thrive in significant at-bats in the 2-hole last season - Escobar and Johnson - are the two who’ve gotten the bulk of the at-bats in the position this season.
Escobar has done fine in the 2-hole this season, batting .286 with 13 doubles, a triple, three homers and 30 RBI in 238 at-bats, with a .351 OBP and .387 slugging percentage. Not as good as three others did last season in 60 or more at-bats, but at least OK.
Johnson has been, well, fairly brutal when batting second this season: He’s hit .217 (25-for-115) with eight doubles, two homers, eight RBI, a .297 OBP and .339 slugging percentage.
Mark Kotsay has hit .259 with just one extra-base hit in 54 at-bats in the 2-hole, and four other Braves have 25 or fewer at-bats in the role.
OK, power’s down to 44 percent on my laptop battery, and the temperature is climbing out here, so let’s move along quickly. By the way, haven’t heard anything yet on either the Rafael Soriano MRI or Tim Hudson’s surgery today, both of which took place (or in Hudson’s case, may still be taking place) at Dr. James Andrews’ Braves annex in Pensacola, Fla. (actually not a Braves annex, just seems that way these days).
If we don’t get any word before then, we’ll at least know after the clubhouse opens around 3:10 p.m. (6:10 Eastern) or so, though I won’t be able to get back upstairs immediately to write anything, so hopefully the PR man with the Braves will tell us something before we head downstairs from pressbox around 3 p.m. BDT (Broiling Desert Time).
The home-road thing: We knew it would eventually start to even out, and it has. Or has anyone not noticed that the Braves are actually a better road team than a home team lately?
They are 13-13 with a 3.70 ERA in their past 26 road games, and 8-17 with a 5.15 ERA in their past 25 home games. The Braves have averaged just over five runs per game on the road in that stretch, and just 3.6 runs per game during that sad stretch of home games.
OK, a tune. Let’s go out with the Man in Black.
“I STILL MISS SOMEONE” by Johnny Cash
At my door the leaves are falling
A cold wild wind will come
Sweethearts walk by together
And I still miss someone
I go out on a party
And look for a little fun
But I find a darkened corner
‘Cause I still miss someone
Oh, no I never got over those blues eyes
I see them everywhere
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there
I wonder if she’s sorry
For leavin’ what we’d begun
There’s someone for me somewhere
And I still miss someone
Oh, no I never got over those blues eyes
I see them every where
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there
I wonder if she’s sorry
For leavin’ what we’d begun
There’s someone for me somewhere
And I still miss someone
And I still miss someone….
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