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Sunday, August 10, 2008
Where were these Braves all season?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Phoenix — Why the Braves weren’t a better team while they had Mark Teixeira is a mystery that might never be solved. Like Mariah Carey surpassing Elvis Presley to have the second-most No. 1 singles, behind the Beatles.
But we do know one thing: The Braves are far, far better when Chipper Jones is in their lineup than when he’s not. He returned from the DL on Friday, and the Braves scored 11 runs in the next two games, a pair of wins against Arizona.
They’re going for a four-game sweep of the D-backs today. Yes, going for a sweep.
For those keeping score at home, the Braves are 47-44 when he’s played this season, and 8-18 when he hasn’t.
Now, you might think they’d have a similar win-loss disparity when All-Star catcher Brian McCann plays and doesn’t play. You’d be wrong. They are 49-54 when McCann plays, and 6-8 when he doesn’t.
McCann has been their most productive hitter lately, no question about that. But the catcher himself said it’s a different lineup when Jones is in it, that Hoss is a serious difference-maker in many ways.
“It’s huge,” McCann said of getting Jones back in the lineup. “He gets on base at such a high rate that it seems like the [Nos.] 4, 5, and 6 guys are always going to come up with something going on.
“Esky [Yunel Escobar] is swinging the bat great, [Gregor] Blanco’s setting the tone … it’s what we need for the rest of the season to finish on a strong note.”
Jones, who appears to be on his way to his first batting title — he’s hitting .370, 20 points ahead of Albert Pujols entering today’s games — would be a lot happier if the Braves weren’t headed toward their third consecutive October of golf, hunting, and watching other teams play postseason baseball on TV.
But he and McCann and the rest all seem honestly determined to play this thing out as if they’re fighting for the division title, and they’ll tell you there’s still at least a glimmer of hope of getting back in the postseason picture (just telling you what some of they are saying; we know it’s extremely unlikely).
Anyway, a win today against Brandon Webb would give them an improbable four-game sweep of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, and perhaps drop the D-backs from first place. But what are the chances the Braves beat Webb twice in as many starts in a span of two months?
(Probably about the same as the likelihood of the Braves pasting season-high 10-hit totals on both Webb and Dan Haren, a feat they completed last night with six runs in 5-1/3 innings against Haren, who’d been 7-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his previous 12 starts.)
By the way, just got the lineup. Mac’s in, and so is Francoeur. It reads: 1. Blanco (LF), 2. Escobar (SS), 3. Hoss (3B), 4. McCann (C), 5. Kotchman (1B), 6. Infante (2B), 7. Kotsay (CF), 8. Francoeur (RF), 9. Hampton (LH).
Anyway, you’ve got to think that Jones, beneath his statements downplaying the significance of the batting title, is actually aching to win the thing after coming so close last year. His first batting title, at age 36? It’d be special.
These Braves winning at a far higher rate with Jones in the lineup isn’t anything new.
His recent stint for a pulled hamstring was his first time on the DL since June 2007, though he missed games here and there in the interim for various injuries (including a quad tear that, in retrospect, should’ve put him on the DL, since he struggled playing with it and it didn’t heal until he went on the DL for the pulled hammy in the other leg).
Since returning from that prior DL stint on June 13, 2007, Jones has hit a gaudy .362 (245-for-677) in 183 games with 44 doubles, four triples, 36 homers, 133 RBI, 137 runs, a .453 OBP and .598 slugging percentage (1.051 OPS).
The Braves are 95-88 in those games.
In games he’s missed since June 13, 2007, the Braves are 9-22.
OK, let’s wrap it up. It’s been a draining trip, folks. Only seven games, but it’s felt like a lot longer because of all that’s happened. Skip’s death was a blow to everyone. Every time I think about it, I get a little melancholy. But then I think about something Skip said, some razzing he did, some ball-busting, some politically incorrect, hilarious joke, and it makes me smile.
We’ll finally get to goodbye to him tomorrow afternoon at the memorial service. He’s probably up there saying, get it over with already, you idiots.
”I’M ON FIRE” by Bruce Springsteen
Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
I’m on fire
Tell me now baby is he good to you
Can he do to you the things that I do
I can take you higher
I’m on fire
Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby
edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley
through the middle of my soul
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
and a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire
I’m on fire
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