AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 14
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Just don’t leave Mama’s at Shea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flushing, N.Y. — The sun’s breaking through the clouds, jets are roaring in and out of LaGuardia, and I’m in the pressbox, digging into a turkey hoagie with a big slab of fresh mozzarella, gravy and mushrooms, from the field-level Mama’s of Corona at Shea Stadium.
I sure hope Mama’s is moving with the Mets to the new Citi Field, because it is, without question, as good or better than any food you can get in a major league ballpark.
OK, so let me wipe the gravy off my fingers and try to type between bites of this big ol’ sandwich, as we settle in for the last game the Braves will ever play at Shea Stadium, barring some unforeseen development that would prevent the completion of the new corporate-bank ballpark that’s risen from the parking lot beyond left field, between the current stadium and dozens of automobile chop-shops … er, repair shops.
(I’m told the Sopranos … I mean, the proprietors of those shops, have a deadline sometime late in 2009 to be out of there so the city or whoever can raze all of those low-slung, dilapidated buildings in preparation for some sort of trendy shops-and-restaurant development. But they’re fighting their eviction in the courts. Regardless, at least next season those shops will still be there. To give you some idea how close they are to the gleaming new stadium, you could probably hit them throwing from right field … with Juan Pierre’s arm.)
But the new stadium look mighty fine, I must say. Not as beautiful and stately as new Yankee Stadium, but much nicer (at least from outside) than, say, the D.C. ballpark. And if they have Mama’s there, well, I’m sold.
Anyway, Chipper’s playing today, but Yunel Escobar is not. Forgot to mention that higher, and we’re getting too close to game time to edit. Escobar strained his right hammy scoring from second in eighth inning of doubleheader opener Saturday. He’s day-to-day. Hurts losing his bat, because he’s been at his best in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Chipper told me this morning the back feels better after a couple of days of rest and stretching and muscle relaxers, etc.
He hasn’t seemed nearly as excited this year about the possibility of winning a batting title as he did a year ago at this time. I asked him about that this morning, and he said it was because the Braves fell out of contention so early, whereas last year they still had some playoff hopes until the last week or so of the season.
He’s got a three-point lead on Albert Pujols in the batting race — NL and majors — entering today’s games, .362-.359. Chipper is 11-for-26 (.423) in seven games since Sept. 2, while Pujols is 11-for-37 (.297) in nine games during that same period, albeit with four doubles, three homers and 10 RBI.
It’s a huge drop from Pujols to No. 3 Matt Holliday (.329) in what has been a two-man batting-title race for quite some time now.
Some people in e-mails to me, or here on the blog, have complained about Chipper winning the title while not playing. Well, folks, long as he gets 502 plate appearances, which he already has (he’s got 506).
By the way, Chipper’s still hitting .405 at home, 40 points ahead of No. 2 Pujols’ .365 average.
Now if he can add some pop …. Granted, he’s hitting mostly singles. But Casey Kotchman is getting a lot of hits lately, and the Braves are obviously pleased to see him start to produce before the season ends.
The first baseman went 5-for-7 in Saturday’s doubleheader and has a .423 average (11-for-26) in his past eight games with five RBI, six walks, only one strikeout and a .545 on-base percentage.
Ten of those 11 hits were singles, and the Braves hope Kotchman will start hitting more line drives and getting more lift on balls, as he did during some long stretches with the Angels.
The feeling is that he has the natural power to be a 20-25 homer guy without sacrificing average. One thing he doesn’t do is strike out much. Dude has just 35 strikeouts in 473 at-bats this season, and his ratio was the best in the American League before the July 29 trade that brought him east.
Before this recent surge, Kotchman hit just .149 (11-for-74) with five RBI in his first 22 games for the Braves. He still hasn’t homered in 100 at-bats for Atlanta, after hitting 12 homers in 100 games (373 at-bats) before the trade.
K.J. late push: After hitting .264 with 39 RBI, a .752 OPS and 10 errors in his first 90 games, Kelly Johnson has hit .318 with 23 RBI, an .879 OPS and one error in his past 47 games.
The 2B enters today with a 12-game hitting streak, but he’s not in the lineup against Mets lefty Oliver Perez. Martin Prado is getting a start at second base in place of Johnson, who’s 0-for-7 with six strikeouts against Perez.
Johnson has been the Braves’ hottest hitter since late August, batting .392 with a 1.027 OPS in his past 18 games, including a .478 average (22-for-46) with 12 extra-base hits, an .891 slugging percentage and 12 RBI in his past 11 games. He’s only struck out four times in that torrid 11-game period.
How can this be? Would you believe me if I told you the Braves have the highest on-base percentage, second-highest batting average and third-most runs in the NL since the All-Star break? I wouldn’t blame you if you said no.
But they do. They’ve hit .278 (second to Cardinals’ .286) with a league-best .356 OBP since the break, and their 267 runs trail only the Cubs (272) and Mets (271). But as we know, the Braves’ problem is they score so many of their runs in bunches, winning quite a few blowouts and losing a slew of one-run games.
And while they’ve scored the third-most runs since the break, their godawful 5.90 ERA is .81 higher than the next-worst in the NL, the Pirates (5.09).
In September, the Braves have hit a whopping .307 with a .380 OBP entering today, which would easily be their best month of the season if they can maintain it. Their best months in those categories so far were April, when they hit .282, and May, when they hit .280 with a .362 OBP.
They hit .263 or lower with on-base percentages of .343 or lower in every other month.
Oh, and the Braves’ 10 stolen bases in September already matched their previous single-month high for the season, which is hard to believe (well, unless you’ve watched them. The Bravos sure don’t run much, do they?)
OK, game’s starting. We need a tune to serve as punctuation for this thing. We ain’t messing around today. Heavy artillery.
”ROLAND THE HEADLESS THOMPSON GUNNER” by Warren Zevon & David Lindell
Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun
With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done
The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day
So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray
Through ’66 and 7 they fought the Congo war
With their fingers on their triggers, knee-deep in gore
For days and nights they battled the Bantu to their knees
They killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese
Roland the Thompson gunner…
His comrades fought beside him — Van Owen and the rest
But of all the Thompson gunners, Roland was the best
So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead
That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland’s head
Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Norway’s bravest son
Time, time, time
For another peaceful war
But time stands still for Roland
‘Til he evens up the score
They can still see his headless body stalking through the night
In the muzzle flash of Roland’s Thompson gun
In the muzzle flash of Roland’s Thompson gun
Roland searched the continent for the man who’d done him in
He found him in Mombassa in a barroom drinking gin
Roland aimed his Thompson gun — he didn’t say a word
But he blew Van Owen’s body from there to Johannesburg
Roland the headless Thompson gunner…
The eternal Thompson gunner
still wandering through the night
Now it’s ten years later but he still keeps up the fight
In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley
Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland’s Thompson gun and bought it
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