Braves lose finale, look to future

Houston — The Braves’ first 90-loss season since 1990 grinded to a conclusion Sunday at Minute Maid Park, where they failed to cap a modest late surge with a win against Houston, but seemed nonetheless encouraged about the future.

Or perhaps they were just happy to finally put an excruciating season out of its misery.

Either way, the Braves and manager Bobby Cox breathed a collective sign of relief after a 3-1 loss against the Astros that may, or may not, have been Mike Hampton’s last game for Atlanta.

Things worth mentioning from the season-ending game for the fourth-place Braves (72-90):

• Retiring Astros catcher Brad Ausmus hit a two-run homer off his friend Hampton (3-4) and got a curtain call.

• Kelly Johnson completed his blazing run to the finish line with two of only six Braves hits.

• Chipper Jones wrapped up the National League batting title with a .364 average, though that had been a foregone conclusion because of his lead before Sunday. He missed his eighth consecutive start with a sore shoulder and drew a pinch-hit walk in the ninth inning.

“One more notch into the Hall of Fame for him,” Cox said of Jones’ first batting title.

• Oh, and .083-hitting Corky Miller had the only Braves RBI of the afternoon.

Now, a few words about what promises to be an eventful offseason for the Braves, who have money to spend and several needs to fill if they are to avoid a fourth consecutive year without a postseason.

Hampton return is possible

The notion might have sounded absurd in early July, as the left-hander neared the three-year mark in his epic absence for two elbow surgeries and other setbacks.

But once he finally returned and shook off the rust, Hampton regained something resembling his old form. He went 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA in his last nine games, including eight starts of at least six innings with three earned runs or fewer.

“His stuff is good enough to win 15 games next season, hopefully for us,” said Cox on Sunday, the first time he stated publicly a desire to re-sign the 36-year-old pending free agent.

“He’s got a young arm; just keep the rest of him together,” Cox said.

Hampton seemed amenable to a return.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been through free agency in eight years,” said the pitcher, who landed a then-record eight-year, $121 million contract with Colorado the last time he was on the market, when he was one of the hottest commodities after helping the New York Mets reach the 2000 World Series.

“The circumstances were a lot different last time,” he said. “I know there’s interest on both sides [between him and the Braves]. But I know there’s going to be interest from other teams. I do feel I owe the Braves some loyalty, so we’ll see. I know a lot of guys on the team want me back, and Bobby wants me back.”

On Sunday, Hampton was charged with three runs and four hits with five strikeouts in six inning, including Ausmus’ third-inning homer on a fastball Hampton insisted was not grooved for his pal.

“Tried to throw a heater away,” he said, smiling, “and it wasn’t very heater-ish, and wasn’t away.”

Assessing what’s here

Cox said September as non-contenders gave the Braves a longer look at some players. “Some of them have really come on strong,” he said. “Some haven’t. … We’ve got a good handle on what we’ve got, and a good handle on what we need to go after.”

Their biggest need: “Improve our pitching,” Cox said.

The Braves will pursue two established starting pitchers, and free agent Derek Lowe has been mentioned frequently in the clubhouse.

The other priority will be the pursuit of a power-hitting left fielder. Braves outfielders hit a major league-low 27 homers, while 14 of 15 other NL teams had at least 48 homers from outfielders.

No Braves player, regardless of position, hit more than five home runs after the All-Star break. Rookie Josh Anderson, hardly a power hitter, tied for the team lead in September with three homers.