AJC > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April
April 2008
Bullpen misuse means time for Cox to go
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s time for Bobby Cox to take the walk upstairs to the cushy front- office job that’s waiting for him.
He’s had a Hall of Fame career as a manager, and he’s earned the respect of players and coaches throughout the league, but it’s time for him to turn this Braves team over to someone else.
I’ve questioned his use of the bullpen for years — since he brought Mark Wohlers in too early in Game 4 of the ‘96 World Series, to be exact — but the last straw came when he sent Manny Acosta out there for a third inning in Wednesday’s loss to the Nats.
The Braves got a tremendous effort from Jair Jurrjens, their most consistent starter thus far this year, and they finally pushed another run across to take a 2-1 lead in the 12th. Then Bobby blew the game by trying to squeeze one too many innings out of his young closer-in-the-making. Acosta threw 48 pitches in two-plus innings, which is how you lose games — and how you destroy a reliever’s elbow.
They’re 0-9 in one-run losses now, giving a whole new meaning to the word “frustrating,” and while the lack of clutch hitting certainly hasn’t helped, a big part of the blame lies squarely with Bobby Cox and the way he handles his pitchers.
So that’s it. I respect Bobby Cox and appreciate everything he’s done, but he needs to realize that it’s time to hang ‘em up.
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Still more pitching pontification
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“I’m wondering if I’m ever going to win a game,” Tom Glavine (0-1, 2.60 ERA) told Dave O’Brien last night after yet another no-decision in which he gave up six hits and two runs in six innings in the Braves’ 6-2 loss to Washington.
Obviously, we’re not alone in being confused and frustrated by this season. Even John Smoltz, who went on the DL with that sore shoulder, is calling for desperate measures. “Right now I’m sitting at ground zero, taking it day by day, looking at every option to help this team get to the playoffs and end my career the way I’d like to end it.”
Apparently, that might mean heading back to the bullpen and taking on the closer role again. Things must be bad: I never thought I’d hear him volunteer for that. But I’m definitely not going to try to stop him.
Looking further down the road — since some of you have been talking about prospects, because the present hasn’t looked particularly bright lately — here’s some info about two good ones from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman:
“… when Thomas Hanson finally allowed his first run of the season on Thursday, [Bobby] Cox took notice. The veteran skipper was well aware of what the 21-year-old right-hander has been doing with Class A Myrtle Beach. While allowing just one run through his first 29 innings, he has certainly legitimized himself as a top prospect.
“[Cole] Rohrbough has had some elbow discomfort, and he hasn’t started pitching yet this season. The Braves are certainly high on the 21-year-old left-hander, who had 96 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings last year, and they don’t want to rush him into anything.”
So what do you think of Smoltz going back to the ‘pen, and who would you put in the rotation in his place? Has Jeff Bennett earned a permanent spot? Is Jo-Jo Reyes, who’s starting Saturday, ready for another chance? Is there someone else you’d plug in there?
Upcoming TV Schedule
Wednesday: at Nats, 4:35, SportSouth
Thursday: off-day
Friday: vs. Reds, 7:30, Peachtree TV
Saturday: vs. Reds, 7:00, Peachtree TV
Sunday: vs. Reds, 1:30, SportSouth
Monday: off-day
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Braves should consider six-man rotation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I really didn’t want to be able to say “told you so” about this one, but it looks like I may have been right about sitting John Smoltz and Tom Glavine for a while.
After I posted a blog with that idea on April 14, the 42-year-old Glavine went on the DL for the first time in his career, and now the 41-year-old Smoltz may be following him.
In Sunday’s loss to the Mets, Smoltz’s fastball barely hit 90 mph and his slider didn’t have any snap to it. “I just never got comfortable,” he told Dave O’Brien. “I couldn’t command any one pitch that I wanted to, and had to throw a lot of off-speed pitches because my fastball wasn’t anywhere near where I needed it to be.”
He’ll have his sore shoulder checked out this week.
So let’s see where we stand: A shaky Tim Hudson went only three innings in Saturday’s loss, and Smoltz gutted out four on Sunday, meaning an already-overworked bullpen had to carry 11 innings over the past two games. Now Glavine is scheduled to start his first game off the DL tomorrow, and who knows how much the ‘pen might be needed in that one? Thank goodness today’s an off-day!
The bullpen has thrown almost 80 innings in 25 games because the starters have gone seven innings or more only five times, and rookie Jair Jurrjens is the only starter who’s pitched at least five innings in every start.
One radical idea is to follow the suggestion someone posted on here a while ago and switch to a six-man rotation (sorry I don’t remember who said that; please post and let me know). Adding Jeff Bennett or Jo-Jo Reyes — who’s looking good, according to RichBrave — would give the aging/ailing starters some extra rest between starts on a regular basis, and that certainly couldn’t hurt anything.
We know Bobby Cox would never consider it, but what do you think?
Upcoming TV Schedule
Tuesday: at Nats, 7:10, SportSouth
Wednesday: at Nats, 4:35, SportSouth
Thursday: off
Friday: vs. Reds, 7:30, Peachtree TV
Saturday: vs. Reds, 7:00, Peachtree TV
Sunday: vs. Reds, 1:30, SportSouth
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Braves’ bats have to carry this team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last night’s 7-4 win over the Marlins is proof that when the Braves’ lineup hits as it’s supposed to, it can make up for some shaky pitching. And with as many injuries as this team has suffered — and the number of older arms on the staff — the offense needs to continue to step up and carry the weight of the team.
Instead of stranding 13 runners, as they did in Wednesday night’s ugly loss, the guys came up with some clutch hits and produced enough to overcome a four-run, five-walk performance from Chuck James, who seemed to lose the strike zone after he was handed a big lead.
Jeff Francoeur drove in three runs with some timely hitting, Matt Diaz came through with a two-run single, Mark Teixeira notched another RBI, boosting his average to .244, and Chipper celebrated his 36th birthday by going 3-for-3 with a homer and two runs scored. That makes him .500 (18-for-36) with four homers and eight RBIs during his career on April 24. And now he gets to go to his favorite stadium in the league — Shea.
Speaking of which, Bobby Cox used Manny Acosta for two innings, which means he shouldn’t be available for tonight’s game. Not sure I like how that might play out. Here’s hoping Jair Jurrjens and the bats won’t make his absence a problem.
So do you agree that it’s on this lineup to carry the pitching, or do you think the spot-starters and the bullpen should be on the hook for holding up their end?
By the way, check out this Sports Illustrated article on Yunel Escobar and Brayan Pena. It’s a great read.
Upcoming TV schedule:
Tonight: at Mets, 7:10, Peachtree TV
Saturday: at Mets, 1:10, SportSouth
Sunday: at Mets, 1:10, SportSouth
Monday: off
Tuesday: at Nats, 7:10, SportSouth
Wednesday: at Nats, 4:35, SportSouth
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What will Smoltz’s legacy be?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Smoltz’s 3,000th strikeout, which he notched in the third inning Tuesday after getting Felipe Lopez to swing at a 3-2 slider in the dirt, should seal the deal on his Cooperstown bust.
You can’t compare him to anyone else who’s played the game, because after starting for 12 years, he spent 3-1/2 seasons as one of the game’s most dominant closers then made a seamless transition back to starting, but that’s part of what makes him so special. (The closest comparison would be Dennis Eckersley, but Eck never returned from the ‘pen.) Any way you slice them, though, the numbers are certainly there.
Among the more impressive ones:
• Only Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling reached the 3,000 milestone in fewer innings than Smoltz.
• He holds Braves records for most wins (24) and most saves (55) in a season and franchise career records in saves (154) and strikeouts.
• He has 15 postseason wins.
All 15 of the non-active members of the 3,000-K club are in the Hall of Fame except Bert Blyleven, and the five who are still on the mound read like an induction program of the future: Johnson, Schilling, Martinez, Clemens and Smoltz’s old golfing buddy Greg Maddux. So my money’s definitely on Smoltz joining them.
Making all those accomplishments even more impressive is that he achieved them wearing one uniform, creating great memories for all of us along the way. My favorite has to be the image of him catching a leaping Greg Olsen after the final out of the ‘91 regular-season game that clinched the worst-to-first season, but I’m sure there are many, many more out there. What’s your favorite Smoltz moment? What will stand out for you at the end of his career?
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Left-field platoon looks like a good idea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Five in a row and they’re over .500 … we knew this could happen if the bats came around and the pitching settled down.
The question is, did Matt Diaz lose his starting job in left field in the process?
Entering play Monday, Diaz was hitting .258 with one homer and 17 strikeouts in 62 at-bats, including 6-for-35 (.171) against righties. Meanwhile, Gregor Blanco, who started three consecutive games against the Dodgers, was 6-for-15 (.400) overall and 5-for-13 (.384) against righties.
On Sunday, Bobby acknowledged the possibility of platooning the left-handed hitting Blanco and the right-handed Diaz.
“I just want to get him in there,” Bobby said. “Diaz was struggling a bit. [Blanco] deserves a crack.”
Last night, Diaz returned to the lineup and went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, not to mention some great baserunning to score on Tim Hudson’s bunt.
I had hoped Diaz would get a little longer to prove he could be the everyday left fielder, but maybe he does better in a platoon situation. And it’s never a good idea to keep a guy as hot as Blanco on the bench, so it looks like this platoon deserves a shot. After all, Diaz doesn’t seem to mind the idea.
He told Mark Bowman of MLB.com, “[Blanco’s] phenomenal. He’s been hot, and I can completely understand having him in there. That’s how I got my playing time two years ago. I got hot.”
So what do you think? Do you like the idea of a platoon or should the Braves find a left fielder and stick with him?
As for John Smoltz going for strikeout No. 3,000 tonight, assuming he gets the four he needs, we’ll be all over that tomorrow. In the meantime, check out what Bruce Benedict had to say about catching Smoltzie’s first strikeout.
Here’s the TV schedule for the week:
Tuesday: vs. Nationals, 7:00, SportSouth
Wednesday: vs. Marlins, 7:00, FSN South
Thursday, vs. Marlins, 7:00, SportsSouth
Friday: at Mets, 7:10, Peachtree TV
Saturday: at Mets, 1:10, SportSouth
Sunday: at Mets, 1:10, SportSouth
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Braves get big boost from bullpen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t look now, but the Braves are in the middle of a four-game winning streak and have climbed back to .500 (9-9).
Chipper Jones and the rest of the offense has been on a tear (they’ve averaged six runs a game during the four-game win streak), but the bigger surprise has been the way the pitching has really stepped it up.
The staff has taken a few more big hits lately — Tom Glavine going on the DL for the first time in his career and Peter Moylan wondering if he’ll need season-ending surgery — that could have been demoralizing, but the guys have really picked up their teammates:
• Thursday: John Smoltz threw a gutsy five innings in a 4-1 win in Florida in which Braves pitching struck out a total of 16 Marlins, and Will Ohman, Chris Resop, Manny Acosta and Buddy Carlyle backed him up with four shutout innings.
• Friday: Pitching for the fourth time in six days, Jeff Bennett went a season-high 4 2/3 innings, allowing only two hits, and Ohman, Carlyle, Blaine Boyer and Acosta did the rest.
• Saturday: Chuck James filled in for Glavine with a one-run five-inning performance that he and the team sorely needed, and once again, the bullpen (Jorge Campillo, Blaine Boyer and Acosta) had his back with four shutout innings.
• Sunday: Jair Jurrjens continued the string of great starts and gave the ‘pen some much-needed rest with his seven innings of one-run ball, and Boyer and Ohman shut the Dodgers down the rest of the way.
That means the bullpen has given up one single, solitary run in 14-plus innings of work over the past four days.
You can’t work a ‘pen that much and expect that dominance to continue, so here’s hoping Tim Hudson has recovered from the flu and is ready to go tonight against Washington.
And while we’re hoping, let’s send get-well wishes to Chipper’s quad, Glavine’s hamstring, Mike Hampton’s pectoral muscle, Moylan’s elbow, Smoltz’s shoulder and Rafael Soriano’s elbow.
So whose performance surprises you the most? Do you think they can continue to hold down the fort until the big arms are back?
Note: The Braves love the weekend. In Friday-Sunday games, they’re 7-2; Monday-Thursday, they’re 2-7.
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Special moments ahead for special Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m sure I speak for Braves fans everywhere — and probably the Braves themselves — when I say that it was really nice to be able to sit back and enjoy a game for a change.
Bobby Cox called a very rare team meeting before the game, which is about as close as he comes to taking desperate measures, and whatever he said must have worked.
Highlighted by John Smoltz’s five scoreless innings and back-to-back-to-back jacks from Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann in the fifth inning, it looked like the Bravos realized they hadn’t used up all the runs allotted them on this road trip as they crushed the Marlins, 8-0, to end this long, tough journey on a positive note.
And while there were many heroes in this one, the heroics of Smoltz and Chipper stood out.
Despite an obvious sore shoulder (he even altered his delivery to compensate, which is never a good sign), the veteran struck out the side in the first inning to set the tone on a night when Braves pitchers would strike out 16 Marlins. Smoltz got 10 of those K’s to put him within four of 3,000 for his career.
And while Chipper came thisclose to a batting title last season, he seems even more determined to win it this year, going 4-for-4 last night to send his season average soaring to a league-leading .443. And he’s within reach of a historic career milestone as well: His two homers last night put him only 10 away from 400.
The next few weeks should hold some amazing moments for those two Braves lifers who have gone above and beyond — Smoltz taking a hit in career wins to go to the bullpen and Chipper gamely attempting to move to left field, not to mention restructuring his contract to allow the team some financial flexibility.
There may not have been a whole lot for Braves fans to get excited about yet this season, but those two milestones are about to change that.
So which are you more excited to see: Smoltz’s 3,000th K or Chipper’s 400th homer? And speaking of excited to see, what will your reaction be to seeing Andruw Jones in a Dodger uniform?
TV schedule for the homestand:
Friday: vs. Dodgers, 7:30, Peachtree TV
Saturday: vs. Dodgers, 3:55, FOX
Sunday: vs. Dodgers, 1:30, SportSouth and TBS
Monday: vs. Nationals, 7:00, SportSouth
Tuesday: vs. Nationals, 7:00, SportSouth
Wednesday: vs. Marlins, 7:00, FSN South
Thursday: vs. Marlins, 7:00, SportSouth
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Baseball gods have it in for Braves so far
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the breaks really do even out in baseball, the Braves are due for one heck of a torrid streak. Last night, they hit into three inning-ending double plays en route to their seventh one-run loss in the 15 games they’ve played so far.
To say things aren’t going their way on this current road trip would be putting it mildly. In fact, Dave O’Brien quoted Matt Diaz as saying, “I don’t know how bad hell is, but I’d call it the trip from hell so far.”
Case in point: Tuesday night, Chipper Jones blooped two singles on the right-field foul line and then later with two on, he hit his hardest ball of the game — a broken-bat liner right at left fielder Josh Willingham. Or last night, when Mark Kotsay fired a rocket that should have been over the head of the shortstop into left — except that the Marlins shortstop is 6-foot-3.
The number of at-‘em balls these guys are firing off is unbelievable … the baseball gods have certainly had it in for them so far. So what do you do?
In yesterday’s Chop Chick blog, Bill in VA posted: “I’ve played a lot of low level baseball & coached a lot of it too. Baseball is baseball and when there’s no hitting there are techniques I like to see used to shake the game up a little, like drop down a bunt or 2 straight bunts, to get the pitcher moving around and out of his groove. I wonder why I don’t see more of this in mlb. There’s other stuff too; Bobby knows!”
I agree that there are definitely things Bobby could do. Heck, I wouldn’t mind seeing him draw the lineup out of hat just to shake things up and keep the players loose. That’s been done before, and how cool would it be to see John Smoltz hit leadoff tonight? If he got on and helped manufactured a run, no one near the Braves clubhouse would ever hear the end of it.
OK, I”m not entirely serious about pulling the lineup out of a hat, but I do think Bobby plays things too by the book and tends to stay the course way too long, which is partly where the Braves got their “buttoned-down, businesslike” reputation. What are your ideas to help guys get out of the rut they seem to be in?
Side note: I’m trying really hard not to worry about Tim Hudson’s “dead” arm, as Bobby called it.
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Braves’ bats taking a while to heat up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Everyone has been up in arms (pun intended) about the Braves’ pitching woes, and for good reason. It’s never a good thing to have so many aches and pains all at once, not to mention this early in the season.
But an argument can be made that pitching wouldn’t be the issue it is if the bats weren’t as cold as they’ve been. The Braves have outscored opponents 37-10 in their five wins (averaging 7.4 runs a game), but a whopping six of their eight losses have been by a single run. And all of them except the 12-11 loss to the Pirates in the second game of the season and the 5-4 loss to the Nats on Sunday could be characterized as pitchers’ duels, with the Braves averaging 2.25 runs in those games.
I don’t want to get too statistical — you can make numbers say almost anything you want — but there is something there. And that something is that it seems to be feast or famine so far this year.
While it’s possible that the guys have just run into some outstanding pitching, that’s not the most likely conclusion since those one-run losses came against the Pirates, Nats and Rockies. What’s more likely is that outside of Chipper Jones (who’s leading the league with a .415 average), they haven’t gotten into a groove yet for some reason — maybe weather or travel conditions? They’re hitting .312 as a team at home and only .232 away, with 37 RBIs in five home games vs. 27 in eight road games. Whatever the reason, they’re not consistently getting on base early in innings or coming through with clutch hits.
Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine and Jair Jurrjens have all had quality starts wasted (including Jurrjens’ effort against the Marlins in last night’s 4-0 loss) because the offense couldn’t get anything going, and a few of the bullpen’s missteps wouldn’t have been nearly as costly if a few more runs had been pushed across.
My theory is that they’ll be fine once the bats get started — Mark Teixeira isn’t going to hit .196 all year, Brian McCann will get his share of clutch hits, and Jeff Francoeur is not a .264 hitter (and here’s hoping Matt Diaz cuts down on those uncharacteristic strikeouts). That’ll give the pitching staff a little more breathing room, and it’s not like anyone’s running away with the NL East.
What do you think? Should Bobby Cox make any lineup changes to shake things up or should he stay the course?
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Braves should err on the side of caution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In light of the Braves’ current pitching situation, here’s an idea: Shut down 42-year-old Tom Glavine (with a tight hamstring) and 41-year-old John Smoltz (with a sore shoulder) for two weeks and don’t even think about sending the star-crossed Mike Hampton out to the mound until May.
That won’t happen — mostly because Glavine and Smoltz wouldn’t know what to do with two weeks off in April — but maybe it should. The baseball season is a long, arduous road, and I’d rather go without those guys for a while in April than have them dealing with lingering, nagging injuries all year. It also seems like a better option than trying to trade for an upgrade from what could be perceived as a desperate position.
Granted, those could well be a rough two weeks, with some likely combination of Jorge Campillo, Jeff Bennett, Buddy Carlyle, Jo-Jo Reyes and Chuck James filling in between Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens. But wouldn’t that be easier to take now than in September? And with their rotation healthy, the Braves could dig themselves out of an early hole easier than they could stay in the hunt later with no arms.
What do you think? Am I crazy to subject us to a temporary rotation that features three huge question marks, or does it make some sense to you?
Completely unrelated note: If you’re going to make Bennett the long reliever, don’t bring him in for 2/3 of an inning in a 10-2 game, like Bobby Cox did on Saturday, because you might just need him to go three or four the next day, like Bobby did on Sunday.
And after Bennett gave up three runs in four innings on Sunday, Bobby said, “He got wild, I don’t know why. He just got really wild.”
And here’s the TV schedule for the next two series (let me know if this is helpful and I’ll put it at the end of each blog):
Tuesday: at Marlins, 7:10, SportSouth
Wednesday: at Marlins, 7:10, FSN South
Thursday: at Marlins, 7:10 SportSouth
Friday: vs. Dodgers, 7:30, Peachtree TV
Saturday: vs. Dodgers, 3:55, FOX
Sunday: vs. Dodgers, 1:30, SportSouth and TBS
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How would you turn the Braves around?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanks to the snow in Denver, the Braves got the day off yesterday, which presents the chance to regroup and try to figure out how to turn things around before the weekend series in Washington, D.C.
If you had a magic wand that would make one change to this team, what would you choose? Maybe make a trade or bring someone up from the minors and send someone else down? Replace someone on the coaching staff or even improve one player’s performance (within reason)?
I narrowed it down to a few options and then decided that my one change would be to have Mark Teixiera put up the kind numbers he did after the trade last year. In this year’s five one-run losses, it would have made a huge difference if Tex had been hitting at a .314 clip and bringing in an average of one run a game. Instead, he’s hitting .167 and has five hits and five RBIs in nine games.
In contrast, Chipper Jones is hitting .385 with 15 hits and nine RBIs, meaning he’s been on base and given Tex plenty of chances to drive in a few more runs, which might well mean a few more wins and a little more breathing room for the pitching staff.
So what’s your one move?
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Braves have a new and different problem
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chuck James certainly didn’t have the outing he’d hoped for (six earned runs in three innings), but it’s not entirely fair to judge him on a night when he wasn’t feeling well, the wind chill was 36 and it was raining. Those aren’t ideal conditions by any stretch of the imagination, but it must be noted that he continued his history of struggling the second time through the order, which indicates he’s not making adjustments.
In the end, despite Brian McCann’s big night at the plate (3-for-4 with three RBIs), the bats couldn’t bail Chuck of the early hole.
The bigger issue out of last night’s game, though, involves the guy who went on the DL in the move that made room for James on the roster: Rafael Soriano. The Braves’ closer is out for at least 15 days with tendonitis in his right elbow. The good news is, that might explain why he’s looked a bit shaky lately; the bad news is, there’s no obvious replacement.
With the Braves losing 9-5 (and later 12-5) in the eighth, Bobby Cox didn’t have to make an immediate decision, but assuming this team will have a slim ninth-inning lead at some point in the next two weeks, he’ll have to eventually. Three relievers other than Soriano have had save opportunities, but none of them have saves. Peter Moylan, Will Ohman and Blaine Boyer are a combined 0-for-3 in save ops. While that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, there are some extenuating circumstances.
Ohman’s blown save came in the seventh inning of the last game of the Pirates series, when Martin Prado’s error and a passed ball contributed, so the run was unearned. And Moylan’s could have been prevented with a better throw by Yunel Escobar in the seventh inning of the home opener against Pittsburgh, so that run was unearned as well.
Ohman has a 0.00 ERA, and Moylan’s ERA is only 1.93, but the sole run he’s given up in his six appearances was a costly one — Ryan Zimmerman’s game-winning shot in the ninth on Opening Night in Washington, D.C.
Bobby didn’t give a definitive answer in the postgame interview, but I’m guessing they’ll go by committee with Moylan being the first choice. What do you think Bobby and Roger McDowell will do?
As bad as things may seem for the Braves, though, they’re worse for Andruw Jones. Joe Torre obviously isn’t the patient man that Bobby is, because only nine games into the season, Andruw was benched by the Dodgers.
He’s hitting a miniscule .103 and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Tuesday night’s game. “He just looks now like he’s overanxious, that’s the simplest explanation,” Torre told MLB.com. “It looks like he’s doing more guessing than anticipating. We know it’s not physical. He seems to be getting in his own way.”
The Braves’ former center fielder signed a two-year, $36.2 million deal with L.A., and Torre said he might be pressing to justify that money. Another theory is that he’s picking up where he left off last year, when he ended the season with a .222 average and 138 strikeouts.
I’m not trying to bash Andruw — he’s probably the best defensive center fielder of his generation and was a great presence in the clubhouse — but you’ve got to wonder when, or if, he’s going to snap out of this extremely prolonged slump.
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Putting a positive spin on one-run losses
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bobby Cox is such a glass-half-full kind of guy that he can even put a positive spin on five one-run losses. After the Braves fell to the Rockies, 4-3, last night, Cox said it was “a sign of a good team,” because they’re in every game.
They are indeed competitive, thanks mostly to solid starting pitching — last night by Jair Jurrjens, who did the bullpen a favor by going seven and keeping the game close. But the Braves weren’t able to get the leadoff guy on very often, and when the table was set, the hitting didn’t come through.
As Bobby said, the breaks haven’t gone their way, and that will probably even out eventually. But I found one stat that’s a bit unnerving: While the regulars are hitting about .280 as a team, in ESPN.com’s “close and late” category, those same guys are 11-for-70 (.157), and no regular is hitting over .300 except — get this — Teixeira (3-for-7, .429).
It does seem as though their ability to push runs across does falter as the game goes on. In fact, two of the great rallies they produced were aided by errors — namely the passed ball in Washington and the dropped routine fly ball by the Pirates.
But that’s something that will come around, right? They can’t be shut down by other teams’ bullpens forever, can they? And if the starting pitching, solid bullpen work and defense continue to hold up, they’ll be OK.
So is Bobby right? Is this the sign of a good team merely getting a few bad breaks or is it something more problematic?
Speaking of problematic, what about the center fielder of the future getting caught using HGH? The Braves organization puts a big emphasis on character, and the team as a whole was immensely proud of the fact that no current Braves were mentioned in the Mitchell Report.
So it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if Jordan Schafer is dealt in the next two years. Do you think Mark Kotsay should get settled in while the Braves start looking further down the line, or will this blow over and everything be forgiven and forgotten?
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Braves putting us through the wringer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I never should have turned back to the Braves game last night.
I saw them jump out to that 1-0 lead, then went away for a bit to watch the NCAA title game between Kansas and Memphis. At halftime, I came back just in time to see Blaine Boyer blow the save in the eighth.
Tom Glavine and the Braves were doing just fine without me, cruising along in a fast-paced pitchers’ duel in frosty cold Coors Field — it turns out to be the shortest game in Coors Field history! — and I had to go and ruin Glavine’s gem by checking back in on them.
They’ve now lost four games by a total of four runs, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. Obviously, they’ve been in every game, and you’d think that losing by a single run would be better than getting blown out, but these have been some tough losses. Doesn’t it seem like this season has been going on much longer than a week, thanks to the emotional wringer this team has put us through?
So did you watch Bravos-Rox or Jayhawks-Tigers or both? What do you think of all these one-run losses? Will they come back to haunt the Braves or make them stronger in the end?
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Weekend series sweeps Braves into first
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After all the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth, our Bravos are sitting pretty atop the NL East, tied with the Marlins (of all teams) with a 3-3 record. (The Mets and Phillies, by the way, are 2-3 and 2-4, respectively.) Whaddaya know? Despite the ugly start, the Braves aren’t out of it after all.
There were a number of impressive performances during the weekend’s two-game sweep of the Mets — I have to say that again: SWEEP OF THE METS — most important among them, John Smoltz’s five-inning season debut. Some replays showed he was favoring the shoulder a bit, which isn’t exactly what you want to see, but he’s got five days to work that out.
In addition to Smoltzie’s inspiring outing Sunday, the bullpen was spectacular, having been given a night off on Friday, and Mark Teixeira came through with a huge two-run homer that turned out to be the difference in the game. Tex also made a pair of stellar defensive plays: a nice backhand grab of a Mark Kotsay throw to complete an 8-3 double play to end the fourth and a diving stop that led to an assist on a 3-1 putout to end the game.
As the Braves head out on their longest road trip of the year (10 games in 11 days), here are a few more positives they can take with them:
• Kelly Johnson returned to action with a pinch-hit grand slam on Saturday and a 1-for-4 error-free day on Sunday.
• Tim Hudson’s second start of the year was as solid as his first — and this time he got a W for the effort.
• Matt Diaz, who started the year 1-for-9, has quietly gone 7-for-16 in his past four games and is sitting at .320.
• In Sunday’s lineup, there wasn’t a position player hitting below .290 except Teixeira, who looks to be coming around. Those bats should be able to do some damage in that thin Colorado air in the next series.
• Even with Sunday’s 0-fer, Chipper Jones is hitting .500 in April (8-for-16).
So what was your favorite part of this weekend’s sweep? What’s your take on the current NL East standings? How do you think the pitching will fare in the Rocky Mountain cold?
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Braves’ clever strategy fails to pay off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What the …? If you turned the game off after nine innings last night, you missed one of the greatest things about baseball: You don’t ever know what you’re going to see.
In the top of the 10th, Chris Resop walked Nyjer Morgan, who was then sacrificed to second. Jason Bay walked, and Morgan went to third on a passed ball. Enter Bobby Cox.
Bobby brought in Royce Ring AND SENT RESOP TO LEFT FIELD TO REPLACE MATT DIAZ.
Bobby had vowed to give Peter Moylan the night off, and if he was going to keep that promise, Ring was the last pitcher available. To avoid burning the lefty Ring and having to bring in the righty Moylan, he stowed Resop in left, used Ring to strike out the left-hander Adam LaRoche, then sent Gregor Blanco into left and brought Resop back in to pitch to right-hander Xavier Nady.
As clever as that strategy was, it didn’t work. Nady singled in the winning run, his seventh RBI of this series. But you’ve got to hand it to Bobby for trying.
Actually, you may have to hand it to Roger McDowell. In 1986, Mets manager Davey Johnson alternated the right-handed McDowell with the left-handed Jesse Orosco, sending one to left or right field and bringing the other in to pitch, depending on the hitter. Guess Bobby listens to his pitching coach after all!
This move was a mild distraction from the huge disappointment of Mike Hampton’s scratched start, and came at the end of a valiant effort by an exhausted bullpen (particularly by Jeff Bennett).
What did you think of the strategy? There’s talk of Chuck James and Jo-Jo Reyes, but what do you think the Braves should do now that Hampton’s going on the DL and they’ll need another starter? What should they do about opening a roster spot for John Smoltz? Can the bullpen handle much more over the next few days? What about the fact that the Braves head into this weekend’s series against the Mets having lost three tough one-run games, two of them in extras?
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Braves’ big win is more like it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I think we can all agree: That was how we drew it up.
Jair Jurrjens went a solid five-plus innings in his Braves debut, the offense busted out, the defense was flawless, and the bullpen did exactly what it was supposed to do (with the bonus that Manny Acosta threw a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh).
We were also reminded of something very important. If you get on in front of Chipper Jones, more often than not, he’ll drive you in. Good thing Martin Prado hadn’t forgotten that — he played the role of table-setter perfectly, finding ways to get on base. If Mark Texiera had had anything going early, last night’s game would have been blown open much sooner.
The scary thing is that Tex may have gotten it going with that blast in the eighth, which means there could be plenty of games that aren’t close.
The only minor blemish on last night’s game for me — and I do mean minor — is that there was yet another three-pitcher inning in the eighth. It’s like Bobby Cox isn’t satisfied until someone blows it; he’ll just keep going through guys until he finds the one who doesn’t have it. When is Mike Gonzalez due back again to solve the set-up situation and save some of these arms for September? (Rhetorical question: I know it’s not until June.) You can’t use six relievers every night and not wear them out.
I understand Bobby’s playing the percentages, but if you look at Peter Moylan’s and Royce Ring’s career numbers, you’ll see they’re equally effective against righties and lefties.
Bobby is going to into the Hall of Fame and I most certainly am not, so I’ll stop second-guessing him and just enjoy the win. (I can’t promise not to revisit this topic, though.)
So does this big victory put things in perspective for you? Will Kelly Johnson’s knee injury give Martin Prado the opportunity to win the starting job? How would you rate Jurrjens’ debut?
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Are these Braves destined to be a hard-luck team?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Show of hands: Who stayed up to watch until the bitter end? I have to admit that I couldn’t. I have to be at work at 7 a.m., and I nodded off after that three-run homer in the 12th. The bedroom TV was still on, though, and I woke just enough to hear the final of 12-11 — wow.
I would love for the Braves to be 2-0, and against the Nats and Pirates, they had a great shot at it. They’re not. But they’re not as bad as their 0-2 record might imply, either.
The bullpen suddenly looks like a concern and the defense has been shaky, but I love the fact that there’s absolutely no quit in this team. In the big picture, though, the most important moment of this year’s home opener occurred before the first pitch was thrown, when Tom Glavine walked to the mound in an Atlanta Braves uniform.
I know there are some fans who won’t ever get past the fact that he left for the Mets, and I understand that. I was devastated and tried my best to pretend he didn’t exist for five years.
But the guy was my favorite player for much longer than he was gone, and I’m more than willing to let bygones be bygones and am thrilled that he’s back where he belongs. Judging by the reaction of the crowd during the player introductions, the majority of Braves fans feel the same way.
Now I guess we have to talk a bit about the game, ugly as it was. On the bright side, the Braves again showed serious heart in battling back, Glavine gave up only one earned run in five innings while scattering seven hits, Yunel Escobar went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and Mark Kotsay went 2-for-4 and gunned down Jack Wilson at the plate.
For those who see the glasses as half empty, there are the aforementioned issues surrounding the bullpen and defense, along with Mark Texiera’s .100 average (although, you don’t really think he’ll stay there, do you?) and the fact that Kelly Johnson was lifted for Martin Prado in the top of the fourth, because of a strained knee — maybe that explains some of the sloppy defense?
With Opening Night and the home opener now under our belts, what do you think? Is it time to push the panic button about the ‘pen and the hard luck that seems to have surrounded the team, which is already 0-2 in one-run games, or is it too early — and too cold — to draw any real conclusions? Can we push the reset button during the off-day and start over on Wednesday?
Brian McCann, for one, thinks the Braves will have to if they’re going to get anywhere near the postseason: “One-run games, that’s how you get to the postseason,” McCann said. “You’ve got to win them. Hopefully, we can get on the right track.”
By the way, did you notice Chipper’s hustle on that game-tying play in the ninth? Now that’s great baserunning. It looked like a routine final out, but he never gave up on it and was running hard the whole way.
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