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DEL.ICIO.USThe joys of spring training
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
This was spring training, home delivered. Braves and Dodgers being televised, even before the first charley horse. Joe Torre in a Dodger uniform. (Had he taken the wrong plane? Was he dressed for a costume party?) Bobby Cox hadn’t been kicked out of a game yet, but why waste it on spring training. Besides, he hadn’t been feeling well lately. Larry Bowa in the Dodgers’ coaching box, giving you a live version of a “grizzled veteran.”
Thirty days from now, this would all be lost in the fog of time. Take no plunge in stock on what you see these spring days. It’s just the beauty of it all, families rolling in the grass on the bank above the outfield, mom, pop and their toddlers. Only when Chipper Jones or one of their other old favorites came to bat or make a play do they take notice of the game. A rookie strokes a line drive or makes a circus catch, they wonder who he is. By April he’d be down in Richmond or down in Mississippi. (Or a year from now, out in Gwinnett.)
Spring is a big faker. It teases the rookie with just enough of a taste of glory to give him false hope. Two years ago the bright hope of spring was … have you forgotten? Of course. It was James Jurries, a first baseman from Tulane. Jurries hit .413 and led the Braves driving in runs. You can’t find his name in the book now. Where have have you gone, James Jurries?
The infield is under remodeling. First base has been stabilized. Last spring there was only hope there, that Scott Thorman was ready. He wasn’t. Mark Teixiera is now open for business. Edgar Renteria is gone, and the Braves speak bravely of their future at shortstop, in the person of Yunel Escobar. Renteria was a tough one to give up, but baseball people have a way of logicalizing, and in this case they’ll cite numbers.
There was none better on the play up the middle than Renteria. On the other hand, he was next to the worst on plays to his right, going in “the hole.” Yes, he hit home runs and had a .332 average, tied for third best in the league. But Escobar is more athletic, has speed, steals bases, covers ground and can make that play in “the hole.” Managers always speak brightly of burgeoning youth, and Cox is no exception.
“We’ll miss Renteria,” he’ll say, and he means it, but he speaks of Escobar as a coming star, and the front office likes the bump it gets in salary save. Plus, it also likes the lively arm and strikeout pitcher it got in return, Jair Jurrjens, a Curacoan who is ready if he can be squeezed into the rotation. There, you see, is always the possibility that Mike Hampton’s arm will never be the same again. Hold your breath.
With Brian McCann, who needs another catcher? The restoration of Javier Lopez is in the works. (He’s one of two Javier Lopezes in the majors. The other is a Red Sox pitcher.) Once a player who had it all, Lopez disappeared into the wasteland at Baltimore. The fat contract the Orioles gave him developed into a bulging body. He lost it. He never had a bat in the major leagues last season, and coming home to the Braves like the prodigal son in the Bible, he got a new chance, worked his body into prime condition, and the new-old Javier has re-emerged. Stand by for the next act, of Javier Lopez as a backup catcher.
Well, it has been fun down there. I know by the radio, where Jones and Francouer and Glavine has been spilling out the secrets of their lives in (wow!) revealing interviews. My day will come in a couple of weeks, by which time the glow will have dimmed on some of the early bloomers, and there will be a more recognizable shape to the roster of twenty-five. For the time, there is pleasure in taking it in from afar.
And, by the way, does it look to you as if Francoeur has grown four inches and bulked up like Grecian god? Oh, no, no, none of that, just the admirable development of a growing boy with a great future out there. He plays Tiger Woods at his game; why doesn’t he bring Tiger to the ball park and give him a taste of his game?
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By Fred Garvin, Bettendorf MP
March 1, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this
Great article FB! I’m looking to another season of missing the Playoffs where the Braves will finish 2nd or 3rd in the Divison.
Ahhh the joys of Summer in Atlanta!
By Gene
March 1, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this
The Braves were ready to play yesterday. Lopez looked like he hadn’t lost a step—muy macho! I am thinking at least division championship. If that doesn’t happen, it will still be an interesting season with Glavin and, I hope, Lopez. The Braves lost something since the early ‘90’s when Avery, Sanders, and Blauser were acting crazy and having a great time at it. Maybe that magic will be back this year.
By Greg
March 1, 2008 8:17 PM | Link to this
If the starting rotation of geriatrics holds up, we’re in GREAT shape! (Big “if” though.)
By KennySC
March 1, 2008 10:36 PM | Link to this
If the Braves aren’t leading the division come mid-July… *TRADE - Mark Teixiera * We won’t be able to resign him so we need to get what we can. Watching him in a Braves uniform after Sept 1 won’t be worth what we can get in return…