Andrelton Simmons might still fly under the radar for the casual fan, but hardcore seamheads and industry insiders all know about the Braves splendid shortstop, and most are in agreement he’s the best at a position that suddenly has a fairly deep field of young and exciting talent. If he doesn’t win a Gold Glove, they should just stop awarding the things.

  He's already set a new record for Defensive Runs Saved with 41 this season, six ahead of the majors’ next-highest at any position (Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra each are +33), according to Fielding Bible. The stat came into use in 2003, and no one has ever had a DRS within five of Simmons' current total – and keep in mind, this is his first full season in the majors.

  Most of you have watched him make spectacular plays since he arrived early in the 2012 season, seen his great range, hand-eye coordination and splendid footwork. But what’s the one thing that stands out most, the common threat in so many plays on his lengthy highlight reel? It’s that cannon of an arm that the former junior-college pitcher fires whenever necessary.

  I’ve done some interviews in recent weeks, asking folks about Simmons and what separates him from others they’ve seen or played with or against. The thing that comes up most frequently is the arm, so I thought I’d just run some of the comments about his arm here, in unedited form, since I won’t have room in the story for most of this stuff, and I think you’ll agree it’s interesting to hear other past and present players discuss his ungodly arm strength.

 Terry Pendleton: "I tell people, if Ozzie Smith had his arm, oh my God. Ozzie Smith played years with a torn rotator cuff. He never had that type of arm on him. He never had that. It makes a difference. That just shows you the kind of range and speed and quickness Ozzie had out there, to make the game slow down for him the way he did….

  “Oh, everybody waits for him to (make a relay throw). Furcal, all the guys that I knew that had (great) arms, they lived for that. They couldn’t wait to show that arm off, man. And (Simmons) is the same way. He doesn’t mind showing it off. If he gets the opportunity to get somebody, he’ll go after it.”

  Kris Medlen, a former junior college shortstop, said he has no doubt whatsoever that reports of Simmons being clocked at 98 mph as a juco pitcher are legitimate.

  “I mean, I gauge it against myself. I throw 89-90 and I was doing long-toss one time. He stands out in center field sometimes and I was doing long-toss and letting it eat (throwing all-out). I can get it on a line pretty good (low arcing throws), I think I can compete with outfielders’ arms; I think all pitchers can. I mean, we have good arms, you know? But I was like, here, I’m going to see if I can compete (with Simmons) and he was behind me and I just tossed him a ball and he was flat-footed and just threw it and did exactly what I did, like, whhhft. And I was crow-hopping all I could (before the throw, to get more on it). I just tossed  him the ball and he just flat-footed (straight line).

  “He gets such good backspin on his throws. He’s got a pretty unorthodox throwing motion, for a shortstop. It’s kind of straight over the top. It almost looks like he’s going to throw the ball away on some of the routine ones where he can take his time and lob it in there. Because he’s on top of everything, and he’s got such backspin, so I think it looks funky sometimes, like he’s going to throw it away, when he gets to take his time. But when he has to hurry – I hope I give up ground balls where he goes back to field them in the hole. Like, my dream as a shortstop was making those plays, just letting it eat (throwing all-out to first). I live vacriously through him now. I just hope this guy rolls over (ground ball) so I can see Simmons make a play in the hole.

  “It’s my favorite thing. You can hear it (whistling) going across the diamond. it’s so cool."

  Dan Uggla: “Unbelievably impressive. There’s not too many guys that come around that have an arm like that. There’s great shortstops that come around, but he’s a great shortstop and he’s got an absolute cannon. That’s  why he makes throws from deep in the six-hole in the grass, because he knows he has a chance to get them. That’s pretty cool, man. I like to see him let loose, it’s just kind of – lot of props for Freddie, too, because a lot of those balls that he throws, when they start down, you think they’re going to bounce, but they just keep going (in the air), they never bounce. It’s pretty amazing.”

   “Some of the plays he’s done, there’s probably only a few people in the world that could do them. If that. The one play (against Washington) where the infield was in and he was running straight toward right field and somehow stepped on the bag and threw it to Freddie, and dodged (Roger) Bernadina, I think, in the middle of all that and got the double play. I don’t know if anybody else in the world can make that play.

  Gerald Laird: “You look at relays, balls in the hole. You think, oh my God, he has a chance. And suddenly he lets the ball go and beats the runner by two or three steps. Sometimes he doesn’t show (his arm strength), but when he needs to show it it’s unbelievable.”

  Scott Fletcher, Braves assistant hitting coach and 15-year former major league infielder: “You don’t really see him rear back all the time and use (his full arm strength). I mean, he can finish plays by picking and throwing. He’s got good hands, good feet. He’s got great tools.”

 “He’ll go into the outfield and still have a chance to set and throw. And I mean, to see that ball go all the way across the field on a line like that – it’s pretty, man.”

  Joe Simpson, Braves broadcaster and former major leaguer: “Double-play balls that most people would just catch and hold onto, he still makes. And he’s got such a loose arm, and accurate, to be able to throw from any position, that he reminds me of Mario Mendoza. Mario Mendoza, for all of his thing about hitting and the Mendoza Line, was an outstanding shortstop who had a tremendous arm, and it was real loose and rubbery and he could throw from any angle. He’s like Mario that way.

  “For me, Rafael Furcal was the best shortstop the Braves have had in this era since the ‘90s. But this guy is right there with Raffy. (Simmons) is a little better defensively. But for all the guys I saw, played against or with, he most reminds me defensively of Mario Mendoza.”

  Comparing Simmons’ arm to Shawon Dunston’s renowned hose, Simpson said, “The difference to me is that every time Dunston got the ball in his hand, he threw it as hard as he possibly could. Every time. Routine, it didn’t matter. Andrelton wants to just make sure he gets the out, he does what he has to do. It’s not a non-chalant thing; it’s a control thing. It’s a weapon to be able to do that (preserve arm, throw only with wrist).

  Chris Johnson: “You can hear (the ball) when he releases it. It’s kind of got that (makes a pfft sound) and you can hear it when he releases it. It just, like, flicks out of his hand. It’s pretty cool because usually when people hit a ball in that hole they’re, like, ‘I’m going to beat this one out.’ We know you’re not. You may think you are, but we know you’re not.

   More on the sound of his throw: “It’s just different. He throws that ball where it looks like it’s going to be low or skip, and it doesn’t. So you’ve got to give Freddie (Freeman) some credit too, because his throws look like, when they start at your shin, that it’s going to be a pick in the dirt, and it’s not. It’s going to hit you in the shin, so you better be ready. His ball does not go down. It just keeps going (at same level).

 “And the coolest thing is that he uses his arm when he needs to. If he doesn’t need it, he throws a strike, gets the guy out. When he needs to use his arm, he fires a seed. He’s got it figured out.”

  Look for that Simmons story later this month, just before the postseason.

BRAVES Saturday lineup

1.  EJohnson 2b
2. JUpton rf
3. Freeman 1b
4. Gattis lf
5. McCann c
6. CJohnson 3b
7. Simmons ss
8. BUpton cf
9. Medlen rh

  • Kimbrel’s mind-numbing run: Craig Kimbrel has allowed just one run and 22 hits in 46-1/3 innings over his past 46 appearances while converting a franchise-record 36 consecutive saves. He has a .139 opponents’ average with 66 strikeouts and 14 walks in that span.

  But this is hardly anything new for the Braves closer, who has been historically dominant over the past two seasons, including striking out half of the batters he faced in 2012, the first time that’s happened in a full season.

  You want some jaw-dropping stats? Consider Kimbrel’s numbers in his past 112 appearances (since May 8, 2012): He’s pitched 111-1/3 innings in that span and allowed 51 hits, nine runs, six homers and 23 walks with 184 strikeouts. He has .134 opponents’ average in that span, 79 saves in 84 opportunities, and 14.87 strikeouts per nine innings.

  In order to score against him during that period, opponents have almost had to hit a home run.

 • Offense still not clicking: They’ve had a few big innings recently, but the Braves still have hit just .200 while going 4-5 in their past nine games, and Thursday’s 6-1 win at Miami was the first time they scored more than five runs in that stretch and the eighth time in nine games that they had fewer than 10 hits.

  Braves pitchers have a 3.14 ERA over those nine games, and a a 2.75 ERA during a 31-13 span that began July 26 with the start of the team’s 14-game winning streak.

  The Braves are 17-13 with a 3.07 ERA in 30 games since the streak ended, with the continued strong pitching compensating for a lackluster offensive stretch in which they’ve hit .232 and scored 106 runs (3.5 per game).

  • Steady Freddie: While other Braves hitters have gone through plenty of peaks and valleys, Freddie Freeman has generally been the exception. He’s 14-for-41 (.341) with three homers and 10 RBIs in his past 10 games entering the weekend series with the Padres, continuing a steady and sometimes-spectacular season that will likely land him among the top 10 – and perhaps top five – in the NL MVP balloting.

  It will also soon make him the Braves’ first 100-RBI man in the past six seasons, since Chipper (102) and Jeff Francoeur (105) both did it in 2007. Freeman is hitting .309 with a .384 OBP, .870 OPS and 98 RBIs, third-most in the league behind Paul Goldschmidt (109) and Brandon Phillips (101).

   Since June 25, Freeman has hit .314 with 26 extra-base hits (13 home runs), 50 RBIs, a .395 OBP and .522 slugging percentage in 68 games. In 34 home games  during that same period, he’s hit same .314 with nine homers, 34 RBIs, a .395 OBP and whopping .606 slugging percentage.

  Oh, and don’t tell Freeman that Turner Field is supposed to be a pitcher’s park: He’s hit .323/.399/.574 in 67 home games, compared to .295/.369/.398 in 65 road games. That’s right, he’s slugging 176 points higher at home.

   Here’s what we mean by steady: Freeman has hit above .300 every month except June (.291), and had three months with averages of .319, .316 and .315. After collecting just one homer and 12 RBIs in 13 games in his his injury-shortened April (DL stint for oblique strain), he hit exactly four homers in each of the next four months while totaling 17-22 RBIs.

  He’s currently hitting .326 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 11 September games.

  And he continutes to ramp it up in important situations: He’s hitting .365/.441/.575 with 12 homers in 233 at-bats with runners on base, compared to .260/.332/.409 with eight homers in 269 at-bats with bases empty.

   With runners in scoring position, Freeman has hit .437/.533/.655 with 15 extra-base hits (five homers) in 119 at-bats, and with bases loaded he’s 7-for-10 with three doubles and 17 RBIs.

  • Still struggle for Uggla: It’s hard to believe, but Dan Uggla hasn’t had an extra-base hit since July 30.

   Uggla is 9-for-95 (.095) in past 32 games with no homers, four RBIs, 19 walks and 35 strikeouts, and he hasn’t had an extra-base hits in 27 games since July 30, going 6-for-76 (.079) with an .079 slugging percentage in that stretch.

    In 15 games since returning from a DL stint for LASIK eye surgery, the veteran second baseman is 4-for-35 (.114) with no extra-base hits, no RBIs, nine walks and 12 strikeouts.

   His majors-worst .180 average includes a majors-worst .160 average Turner FIeld, where Uggla is 33-for-206 with eight homers and just 18 RBIs in 61 home games, with 33 walks, 72 strikeouts and a .287 OBP and .316 slugging percentage.

   He’s hit .198 with 13 homers and 35 RBis in 66 road games, with a .328 OBP and .415 slugging percentage in 217 at-bats.

  Uggla has hit above .195 in only one month all season (.250 in June) and had a season-worst .083 average (4-for-48) in his DL-shortened August with no extra-base hits and two RBIs.

  He’s 2-for-24 in September with five walks and eight strikeouts, and hasn’t had an extra-base hit since doubling in consecutive games July 29-30 against Colorado.

  • El Oso en fuego: Evan Gattis is 11-for-35 (.314) with four doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs and a .711 slugging percentage in 10 games since returning from a brief Triple-A stint. This after he went 11-for-65 (.169) with two doubles, no homers, eight RBIs and a .200 slugging percentage in his last 20 games before being sent down.

  • Braves vs. Padres: Entering Friday's series opener, the Bravos had lost their last four in a row against the Padres, including a three-game sweep at San Diego June 10-12 in their only series this season.

   The Braves were 12-13 with a .235 batting average and 3.45 ERA against the Padres since the beginning of the 2010 season, including 6-10 with a .234 BA and 3.39 ERA in the past 16 games. The Braves are 2-5 in games decided by one or two runs during that latter stretch, and 10 of their 57 runs in that period came in a 10-1 win. Meaning, they scored 47 runs in the other 15 of their past 16 games vs. San Diego, including two runs or fewer in eight.

  • Etc.   Justin Upton had a .326 average and 17 homers in 83 career games (310 at-bats) against the Padres before Friday, with a .385 OBP and .568 slugging percentage.

 • Let's close with a great song off John Hiatt's masterpiece Bring the Family album. Listen to it here.

“MEMPHIS IN THE MEANTIME” by John Hiatt

I got something to say little girl
You might not like my style
But we've been hanging around this town
Just a little too long a while
You say you're gonna get your act together
Gonna take it out on the road
But if I dont get outta here pretty soon
My head's going to explode

Sure I like country music
I like mandolins
But right now I need a telecaster
Through a vibro-lux turned up to ten

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

I need a little shot of that rhythm baby
Mixed up with these country blues
I wanna trade in these ol country boots
For some fine italian shoes

Forget the mousse and the hairspray sugar
We dont need none of that
Just a little dab'll do ya girl
Underneath a pork pie hat

Until hell freezes over
Maybe you can wait that long
But I dont think Ronnie Milsap's gonna ever
Record this song

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

Maybe there's nothin' happenin' there
Maybe there's somethin' in the air
Before our upper lips get stiff
Maybe we need us a big ol whiff

If we could just get off-a that beat little girl
Maybe we could find the groove
At least we can get a decent meal
Down at the Rendez-vous

'Cause one more heartfelt steel guitar chord
Girl, it's gonna do me in
I need to hear some trumpet and saxophone
You know sound as sweet as sin

And after we get good and greasy
Baby we can come back home
Put the cowhorns back on the cadillac
And change the message on the cord-a-phone

But...

Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl