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Thursday, May 3, 2007
Braves get the start they needed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
There were years when it didn’t matter how the Braves began. Because they were the Braves, they knew where they’d end up. They were 12-14 in April 2001 and 12-15 in April 2002, and the great run of division titles continued apace. That, however, was then.
The start mattered very much this time. The Braves needed to remind the rest of baseball and even themselves that these are still the Braves.
“From a team-identity standpoint, it’s huge,” Chipper Jones said. “Nobody was picking us to win, and that assessment made a lot of people in here mad.”
It was hard to know what to make of the Braves 41/2 weeks ago. They’d buttressed their bullpen over the winter but rendered the right side of their infield devoid of seasoning. Their rotation seemed to hinge on the health of Mike Hampton, never a safe bet. And there was the bigger picture: After the run of 14 first-place finishes, the 2006 Braves finished third. The onset of mediocrity or an overdue blip?
“I didn’t think [the era of excellence] was over,” Jones said. “We have one of the most creative general managers when it comes to maneuvering people and payroll. And we knew what our weaknesses were. We won 79 games and we blew 29 saves. We might have won close to 100 games. We’d be up 6-1 or 6-2, and every time it seemed like we lost the game. We spent a lot of time sitting in here thinking, ‘What just happened?’ We hadn’t done that a lot over the last 14 years.”
Beyond the bullpen, most of the pressing questions have produced positive responses. Kelly Johnson has filled two holes — second base and leadoff. Scott Thorman is hitting .281. After two indifferent-by-his-standards seasons, Tim Hudson is second in the majors in ERA. “He’s the biggest story on our ballclub,” said Jones, being slightly modest.
The biggest story on the 2007 Braves is Chipper Jones. After two seasons in which he played no more than 110 games, he has started all 27. He leads the league with 10 homers. Scheduled to take Wednesday night off due to a tender quadriceps, he played because Brian McCann was hurting worse and, on cue, hit a two-run double.
“We’ve got a good thing going,” he said. “I needed to play … The last two years have been tremendously frustrating. I was tired of having my wife roll me out of bed … I’m fully capable of having a career year at 35. I can still hit as many home runs and drive in as many runs, and I can still play third base.”
The test, for Jones and the Braves and every team in the majors, will come with the fullness of time. Only one-sixth of the season has passed. Jones believes his team, with “a tweak here, a tweak there,” is capable of playing beyond September. Where should the tweaking come?
“The only thing you could possibly point to is the end of the rotation. I still have confidence Kyle [Davies] can throw well, and I’ve hit against Mark Redman and I know how well he can throw. But they’re going to have to do something different than they’ve done.”
What these Braves have done is position themselves nicely. “With so many intradivision games in April, we couldn’t afford [a bad start],” Jones said, “especially against a team like New York, which you know is going to be at or near the top … We’re the reason the Mets aren’t [running away].”
The Braves have taken four of six from the Mets, five of six from the forlorn Phillies. The Braves have all but killed off one rival - Philadelphia will fire Charlie Manuel soon - and kept the Mets from stealing another march. With five months to go, this team is where it needed to be.
“As a player, all you can ask is, ‘Give me a chance,’” Jones said. “Twenty-five out of 25 guys in here will tell you we’ve got an opportunity now. We’re going to try like heck to make something of it.”
Permalink | Comments (26) | Categories: Mark Bradley
I think it’s time to address some issues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
I think we can all agree that it’s time again for one of those “I think” things.
I think the weakest defense in any argument is the one Michael Gearon Jr. made in support of Billy Knight, which essentially went, “Everybody else messes up, too.” That’s not a real defense. It’s a feeble attempt at deflection.
I think Gearon and the Hawks would have been better served had he said something along these lines: “We wish this process would go faster, and maybe we’ve missed a chance or two to speed things along, but we hope you folks will hang in there with us until we get it right.”
I think if the ping-pong balls finally bounce their way, the Hawks could get it right overnight. (Then again, Knight could decide to take Brandan Wright with the No. 1 pick, as opposed to Greg Oden. Wright, see, is listed at 6-foot-9.)
I think that’s enough about the Hawks. Too much, probably.
I think the Falcons will win at least nine games next season and finish no worse than second in their division. I was thinking they’d win 10 until they lost two defensive starters in one rather uncanny offseason week. I think their offense will be so good as to make all the critics of the West Coast offense scream, “See? Told you!”
I think the Braves are already looking for a starting pitcher. I also think it’s a dry market. If it weren’t, wouldn’t the Yankees have bought two or three by now?
I’d always thought that Thaddeus Young was apt to leave Georgia Tech a year ahead of Javaris Crittenton. I think now it could be the other way around.
I think the Thrashers needed to win their first-round series to get the whole of Atlanta (as opposed to the smallish hockey-loving core) interested. Instead they couldn’t even win a game. I think I’d call that a missed opportunity.
I think we’ll debate forever the merits of the Heatley-for-Hossa trade, and I think we can all agree Dany Heatley needed a change of scenery. But Heatley has scored five playoff goals for Ottawa, and Marian Hossa scored none for the Thrashers. I think that tells a little something, doesn’t it?
I think Michael Vick needs to take his career by the scruff of the neck, and from all reports he’s doing that. Now I think he needs to take his personal life by the scruff of the neck.
I think I hear a motion to adjourn. I second the motion.
Permalink | Comments (103) | Categories: Mark Bradley, Quick Hit
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