AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > June > 24
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Hawks set for choice mistake
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Twice a year, the sporting calendar brings out the fatalist in all Atlantans. October has become a civic ritual of hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing and what-have-you, but the Braves’ sudden spiral is making that month, at least for 2006, look angst-free.
But there’s still the end of June.
Draft time for your Atlanta Hawks.
Let the wailing begin.
The Hawks have gotten it wrong every which way. They’ve drafted guys who couldn’t play (Ed Gray, Adam Keefe, Keith Edmonson) and guys who didn’t play as well as they should have (DerMarr Johnson, Roshown McLeod, Rumeal Robinson). They’ve drafted the wrong guy (Marvin Williams instead of Chris Paul, Douglas Edwards instead of Sam Cassell, Jon Koncak instead of Karl Malone). Even when they’ve drafted the right guy (Boris Diaw), they didn’t know what to do with him.
The last All-Star the Hawks have drafted? Kevin Willis in 1984. Since then this team has had six different coaches and three different GMs, and nothing has changed. The draft arrives. The Hawks whiff. The fans howl.
And yes, contrary to popular belief, there are Hawks fans out there. TV ratings for the NBA playoffs continue to suggest that we Atlantans love watching pro basketball. We just don’t love watching the Hawks play it. Asked if this market is ready to support the local NBA franchise the way it did in the frenzied (and somewhat forgotten) ’80s, Dominique Wilkins said, “There’s no question about it.” But can the populace get behind an operation that keeps proving it can’t get out of its own way?
Hawks drafts are fascinating in that they invariably fall below even our lowest expectations, and Wednesday’s installment arrives at a particularly twisted moment. The franchise has no idea which of its many owners, if any, will be owning it a year from now. Already whispers from Boston have Steve Belkin, thought to be on his way out, readying a new management team for when he buys out the Gearon/Levenson group. Billy Knight, the blunt GM who’ll do the picking in this draft, could well be selecting a player for the benefit of the man whose hand he famously wouldn’t shake. How’s that for clarity?
“It’s too bad for our city and our fans that this has happened,” said Wilkins, who’s supposed to be part of the ownership team that may now be judicially compelled to cede ownership. Really, though, this city and these fans have come to expect no less — and absolutely no more — from the Hawks, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1999 and whose latter-day flailings have made the 50-win seasons achieved under poor Pete Babcock seem, by way of contrast, a glorious run.
Everything is in place for a dramatic upgrade — a nice new-ish arena, an NBA-ready audience, a city about to tune out on the Braves — except the franchise itself. Ownership must be clarified. A point guard must be found to pull all Knight’s beloved swingmen together. And who, it is believed, is the latest apple of Knight’s eye? Shelden Williams of Duke, who, on the plus side, isn’t a swingman but who, on the minus side, is sized like one.
“He’s a banger,” said Wilkins, speaking of Williams. But can a 6-foot-9 (give or take) post player flourish in a league that’s rather bigger and faster than the ACC? Can Williams make the face-the-basket transition that Elton Brand, a similarly sized Blue Devil, did? Or is Williams simply too slow and too stiff?
“We could use a point guard,” Wilkins said, telling no lies. “We’re a few pieces away. But if we bring in a banger and [another guy or two], we can be right where we want to be.”
Maybe they can. Maybe they will. But until proven otherwise, Hawks fans would be wise to approach this draft the same way they approach every draft. Lower those expectations. Then lower them some more. Don’t expect an uncut diamond. Expect Roy Marble.
Permalink | Comments (79) | Categories: Hawks / NBA, Mark Bradley
Turner Field’s a graveyard of ‘06 hopes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
In the throes of misery, there can sometimes be found a ray of hope. Not so in the case of the Braves of 2006.
Having said that, let me illuminate you as to just how bad things really are: They’re so bad even an outfielder (Kelly Johnson) had to have Tommy John surgery. They’re so bad that they’ve even raided the Australia National team in search of pitchers. They’re so bad that only Milwaukee has a worse ERA. They’re so bad that their pitching roster leads the league in asterisks (that indicates wounded or in surgery). They’re so bad that John Schuerholz might as well disconnect his line to Richmond and Pearl, Miss.
That’s just for openers. Friday night, playing Tampa Bay (in St. Petersburg?), John Smoltz throws something out of joint and leaves after two innings. Then one of the Australians, Phil Stockman, stubs his toe on the pitching rubber and pulls something. I’m sorry I don’t remember what, but there is one thing the Braves lead the league in: bruises, contusions, pulled groins, pulled hamstrings and assorted strains.
Aren’t these guys in shape, or are they just brittle? When a club starts sending its stars to the body shop for help, you know it’s trouble, and that starts with T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool, for all of you who missed “Music Man.”
The clubhouse is beginning to look like a bus station. A lot of strange (unfamiliar) names over the cubicles. Some guys just passing through. They recalled one player from Richmond and he was on his way back before he could unpack. The best pitching “find” they came up with this year has been in pro ball since 1993, had pitched for 13 different teams, had pitched 11 innings in the major leagues, is 31 years old. Heaven knows what they’d have done without Ken Ray. His ERA is the best on the staff and he hasn’t yet blown a save.
That’s just the minor stuff. Get this: Chipper Jones was hitting .270 last time I looked. Smoltz was 4-5 and couldn’t win because somebody out of the bullpen was blowing his leads. Tim Hudson hasn’t been living up to his wages, and I wouldn’t exactly call his season of ‘05 up to par. Winning 14 is fine, but he was paid a 20-win salary when the Braves traded for him. Chris Reitsma, closer by appointment, took the ball for weeks and got blasted before he finally admitted he wasn’t feeling good. In fact, not at all in part of his pitching hand.
You remember how it was last season. It’s getting to be a different story now. When trouble struck, all they had to do was called Richmond or Mississippi, and presto! They came up with a Kyle Davies or a Brian McCann, or a Jeff Francoeur, or a Blaine Boyer, or a Macay McBride. Each time a star was born. Everybody was ready last season. This year they’re dragging bottom.
“Nobody left down there,” Bobby Cox said.
It’s one of those in-between seasons. Nobody on the farm is hot, or ready. The best-looking hitting prospect in the spring was James Jurries, who can play first base or outfield. He was hitting over .400. Then he’s farmed out to Richmond and gets hurt. In his stead, Scott Thorman, another first baseman, is called up and everything he hits gets caught.
Something else bothers me. Two of the brightest prospects are sitting on the bench, or being platooned, Adam LaRoche and Ryan Langerhans. Somebody needs to build a fire under LaRoche, not just referring to that embarrassing play when Washington was in town. Casual is fine, but it seems he’s overdoing it. Langerhans? He has all the tools, great defense, strong arm, sharp baserunner. My idea: Put Andruw Jones, Francoeur and Langerhans in the outfield and leave them there, no matter, right-hander or left-hander pitching.
You never suspected that a Braves bullpen would take such a pratfall. Roger McDowell can do just so much. He is developing a streak of gray down the middle of his locks, and don’t bring up the name of Mazzone. Leo is having troubles of his own. The Orioles’ ERA is next to the worst in the American League.
I guess that’s about all I had on my mind. But who can complain? After 14 years of prosperity we’re due some hard times. On the other hand, here’s to Brian McCann, who has handled all these cranky pitchers, old or young, has swung a competent bat, and never faltered.
Permalink | Comments (21) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Furman Bisher
