AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 26
Friday, September 26, 2008
Closing it out in hurricane-scarred Houston
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Houston — Well, we just got a reminder that we’re in a city that is still recovering from a nasty hurricane: Power is out in my entire hotel.
With that in mind, and the indicator showing a laptop battery level that’s dropping steadily — someone should tell annoying dude in the Mac-PC commercials that Mac PowerBooks have weak batteries — let’s crank out a new blog.
(By the way, it’s getting warm quickly in my hotel room. By the time I add some lyrics to the end of this, I might be naked.)
First up, wanted to mention something I was going to write last week, about how I learned years ago from a manager (Jim Leyland) not to put too much stock in anything you see in September or spring training. That doesn’t mean to dismiss performance in those periods, but just don’t put too much emphasis on it.
I say that because so many see the first two starts by James Parr and assume he’ll win a spot in next year’s rotation. Then he gets knocked around a bit, as could have been predicted, and it’s obvious he’s far from a lock for anything next year at the major league level.
Or people see Josh Anderson have a three-hit, two-stolen base game (could have been a 4-for-4 game were it not for a horrible call by an ump) and assume he’s going to hit leadoff and inject the Braves with speed next season. Voila, new offense.
Not necessarily. He’ll probably get a crack at the CF job, might even be the frontrunner if Jordan Schafer isn’t ready and assuming the Braves don’t get another one-year Kotsay-type plug for center. But we should be sure not to overly emphasize what Anderson has done in September callups with the Astros and the Braves the past two years (and I think the more he plays this month, the more we’ve seen the weaknesses in his game).
Reason I bring this up now is because on Monday in Philly, before the series opener there, I asked Frank Wren if the performance of some younger players this month has been encouraging for the organization. And I also mentioned the axiom about not putting too much importance on September or spring training results.
“I think we are encouraged by some of the things we’ve seen,” he told me. “This September has been an opportunity for some young guys to get a lot of playing time, and even some of our other guys — we’re encouraged with some of our guys that have been around for a while, that have kind of come around in the month of September.
“You can’t overly evaluate what happens in September, just like you can’t in spring training. That’s an old cliche but there’s clearly some truth in it. Because we’re not playing for anything, per se. These guys are playing for jobs for ‘09, but we’re not in the pennant race, and when you’re not in the pennant race, some of the pressure’s off.”
(This, by the way, echoes what Chipper Jones told me a couple days later in Philly, when Chipper was praising the recent performance of Kelly Johnson but added the caveat about how easy it is to relax at the plate and perform when there’s really not much on the line, with a team long since out of playoff contention.)
“And so,” Wren continued, “we’re hoping to be in the pennant race again soon, we hope that [pennant-race] pressure’s on us full-bore. And we’ve just got to make sure that we re-fortifiy this club. Yes, we’re encouraged by some of the things we’ve seen, but it’s not the end-all.”
Then I asked if Jeff Francoeur and Johnson were two of those he was referring to who had “come alive” recently.
“They really have,” he said. “They’ve played very well. Jeff is more of late, but Kelly the last month has played extremely well — I think it’s shown up both offensively and defensively. He’s looked like the player that we’ve seen over the last few years and thought was coming down the pike.
“In Jeff’s case, I think Jeff’s made some adjustments that have been more productive for him probably in the last week or two. And I also think that — and Jeff’s said it very openly — that he’s at a better playing weight for his game. I think we’re seeing his speed. I think earlier in the season, the ball he hit on Sunday [a triple in the 7-6 win against the Mets at Atlanta] in the left-center field gap, there’s no way that’s a triple [for him earlier this season].
“But now he looks more like the Jeff of a couple of years ago, you know, running the bases and fielding. Those are encouraging things.”
I should add, folks, that it’s clear to me from conversations with Frank Wren and others, that Wren is very much a realist and not viewing Francoeur through any rose-colored glasses. My impression is that the erstwhile Golden Boy’s Atlanta ties and Parkview High legend won’t have anything to do with whether he has a long-term future with the Braves.
Francoeur’s a good guy, goes a lot of appearances for the team, still very popular with most Braves fans and all that, but assuming he’s back next season, he will have to perform much better than he did this year to stay a Brave.
(OK, I’m down to shorts and T-shirt now, having shed sweatpants and socks.)
Mets fans love Chipper: At least they did on Wednesday night. I got an e-mail from a Braves fan whose brother lives in New York and was at Shea Stadium on Wednesday. He said when they showed Chipper’s homer against the Phillies on the scoreboard at Shea, a lot of Mets fans started doing the tomahawk chop in salute to the guy who’s put the dagger in their own team quite a few times over the past decade.
After the game Wednesday, Chipper said he’d been approached by a couple of New York writers last week, after the Braves had won two series against the Mets sandwiched around a Phillies sweep of the Braves, and told him some New Yorkers believed if it was a conspiracy, that the Braves wanted the Phillies to win the division.
“This should put those questions to rest,” Hoss said with that familiar smirk after Wednesday’s 10-4 win at Philly.
Speaking of Josh Anderson… Kentucky’s White Lightning (dude can fly, and won a slam-dunk contest as a prepster) hit .358 in 21 September games for the Astros last season, and the Astros traded him to the Braves in November for the Vulture, Oscar Villarreal.
Now, Anderson returns for the first time to Minute Maid Park, where he has a .410 average (16-for-39) with three doubles and five RBI in 11 games.
“I like playing there,” Anderson said of the retractable-roof stadium in downtown Houston. “I like that ballpark, personally, because I don’t have to put sunblock on or deal with the sun.”
That’s not small consideration if you’re as fair-compexioned as Anderson. He lathers on the Bullfrog SPF 30 every day at most ballparks, but not at Houston. (I should’ve asked him if he’d played any games there with the roof open.)
By the way, Chipper Jones has been a monster at Minute Maid, batting .416 (42-for-101) with 16 doubles, seven homers, 27 RBI and a .483 OBP and .782 slugging percentage in 27 games (how’s a 1.265 OPS work for you?)
That’s his second-highest average and second-highest slugging at any of 38 stadiums/ballparks Jones has played in, and the highest marks in both categories at any venue where he’s played more than five games (he’s 11-for-17 with two doubles and a homer at the Metrodome, .647/.941 in five games).
But will we see him in anything more than a pinch-hitting role this weekend? I don’t know. Day-to-day question that won’t be answered until we get to the ballpark and probably not until he tests the shoulder again today with some throwing, after the Braves’ day off Thursday.
The only other active Brave with a homer at Minute Maid Park? That’d be Francoeur, who has been sort of all-or-nothing there, going 7-for-24 (.292) with a double, a triple, three homers and 11 strikeouts and one walk. That’s a .320 OBP and .792 slugging percentage, which is a rather unusual recipe for a 1.112 OPS.
OK, I’m down to shorts. Period.
Mad Dog’s future: A friend of mine, Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News, wrote a good story on Greg Maddux last week. Here’s the link
The batting title: Chipper’s pretty much got it wrapped up. Then again, Albert Pujols did go 3-for-3 Thursday (with a homer and four RBI).
If Pujols went, say, 10-for-12 this weekend and Chipper went, say, 0-for-3, Albert would finish a point with a .364 average. So I take that back. It’s not over. But it’s Chipper’s title to lose, obviously.
By the way, he regained his commanding lead in the race by hitting .424 (25-for-59) since Aug. 28, while Pujols hit .329 (28-for-85).
This despite Pujols being the far more productive hitter in that period, with 14 extra-base hits (seven homers) and 25 RBI in 24 games, compared to Chipper’s eight extra-base hits (three homers) and 11 RBI in 19 games.
Oh, one more thing: Chipper is 4-for-5 as a pinch-hitter this season, with a homer and four RBI. Before this season, he was 4-for-36 as a pinch-hitter, with one homer and six RBIs.
Etc. Braves need two wins in the three-game series to avoid their first 90-loss season since 1990, for those who care…. Will Ohman needs one appearance to tie and two appearances to break Chris Reitsma’s franchise record of 84 (again, for those who care). Ohman is also one behind Mets lefty Pedro Feliciano for the league lead in appearances. Oh, and Ohman was on my flight from Philly to Atlanta yesterday. He flew back to Atlanta on the off day and was headed to Peachtree City to pick up his dog at the kennel, then driving with said animal 700 miles to Houston, expecting to arrive in the wee hours today. Wife and children had packed up the rental house and flown back home to Phoenix.
OK, the power finally came back on. You don’t want to know what I was wearing as I typed that sentence. Seriously, you don’t.
Diversions: Very satisfied by the season premiere of The Office last night. Great stuff. Humbled Ryan’s return to Scranton. Dwight and Angela having regular sex in the storage room, while Andy plans his wedding with Angela. Show hasn’t missed a beat…. Got the new B.B. King album One Kind Favor last night and have to say, it’s the first really strong album he’s done in, well, I don’t remember the last one. This ain’t the typical schlock we’ve heard from so many aging legends who have a half-dozen friends mail in their parts on some duets that are entirely unnecessary and just done to line pockets. This is serious blues-guitar by the venerable B.B. and friends…. Also got the new Lindsey Buckingham CD Gift of Screws and I really liked it. Dude still rocks. OK, does reviewing B.B. and Buckingham make me old? Hey, the only reason I went to the place was to get Kings of Leon’s new CD and they were sold out. CD store clerks must love seeing me enter the room.
A tune from a Texan: Since we’re deep in the heart of the Long Star State.
”NOTHIN’” by Townes Van Zandt
Hey mama, when you leave
don’t leave a thing behind
I don’t want nothin’
I can’t use nothin’
Take care into the hall,
and if you see my friends
tell them I’m fine
not using nothin’
Almost burned out my eyes
threw my ears down to the floor
I didn’t see nothin’
I didn’t hear nothin’
I stood there like a block of stone
knowin’ all I had to know
and nothin’ more
man, that’s nothin’
As brothers our troubles
are locked in each others arms
and you better pray they never find you
Your back ain’t strong enough
for burdens doublefold
they’d crush you down,
down into nothin’
Being born is going blind
and buying down a thousand times
to echoes strung
on pure temptation
Sorrow and solitude
these are the precious things
and the only words
that are worth rememberin’
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