Over time, the cubicle to the left by the door that leads to the showers in the Braves’ clubhouse has been occupied by Tom Glavine, Hall of Famer; John Smoltz, Hall of Famer-elect, and Chipper Jones, Hall of Famer-to-be. This year’s occupant is Jonny Gomes, who has been allowed to become a free agent five times in seven years. Think about that.
Think also about this. Of the 25 men on the 2015 roster, 14 — that’s 56 percent — weren’t in this organization at the close of last season. Only six were on the 2014 opening-day roster.
Not for nothing was Chris Johnson, who arrived in January 2013 and ranks fourth among these 25 (behind Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran and Andrelton Simmons) in unbroken service as a Brave, wore a T-shirt bearing the words, “Hi, my name is CJ,” in the clubhouse before Friday’s home opener. These aren’t just the new-look Braves; they’re so new that even the manager was struggling with the pronunciation of reliever’s Andrew McKirahan’s surname.
These are the guys left standing after the winter tear-down, and doggone if they didn’t arrive at Turner Field — itself soon to be abandoned if not torn down — for work Friday undefeated. They left that way, too.
Sometimes you win by overwhelming the opponent. Other times you win by getting out of the way while the opponent overwhelms itself. This was more the latter. The Mets yielded two unearned runs and saw their captain — third baseman David Wright — make a bizarre choice in the eighth inning, seeking to tag pinch-runner Jace Peterson rather than throw to first to retire Andrelton Simmons.
Phil Gosselin broke a 3-all tie with his first hit of the season — a two-out, full-count, bases-loaded single. The Braves’ bullpen was again great, working four innings while yielding only two baserunners, and thus is the the puny team projected as the second-worst in baseball a robust 4-0.
When you’re off to a flying start, you say things like: “I love the way we’re playing the game; we’re playing good fundamental baseball.”
That was manager Fredi Gonzalez, speaking before the game, speaking words he hasn’t always been able to speak. (At least not with a straight face.) Through three games, the new Braves were fourth in the majors in on-base percentage and had managed the fourth-fewest strikeouts.
More Gonzalez: “We’re versatile. Everyone’s going to be in games. We’ve got a nice lineup.”
This “nice lineup,” it must be noted, features outfielders Gomes, Eric Young Jr., Kelly Johnson and Cameron Maybin. The first three were signed as free agents for a total of $6.5 million, or roughly what Melvin (nee B.J.) Upton Jr. made in 2 1/2 months. Maybin was acquired Sunday in the trade with San Diego — the Braves’ second major deal involing the Padres and an Upton of the offseason — for Melvin/B.J.
Dollar-wise, the trade made sense. Promotion-wise, it came as a shock to one and all. The inside of the Braves’ media guide features Craig Kimbrel accepting the 2014 Trevor Hoffman Award as baseball’s finest reliever.
That’s the way these past six months have gone: The Braves fired Frank Wren in September, replaced him with the Johns Hart and Coppolella and have been buying and selling — mostly selling — since. It wasn’t an offseason to inspire confidence in the constituency, but 4-0 is 4-0.
Speaking of Gomes, imported more for intangibles (meaning leadership and gravitas and all that jazz) than real-time stats, Chris Johnson said: “He’s the kind of guy we needed. At first, we weren’t sure what to expect here, but he came in and said, ‘We’re going to win.’”
To date, the Braves had done nothing but, which isn’t to say there hasn’t been adjustment involved. “It’s hard when you’re used to playing with some guys who are good guys and great teammates,” Johnson said, “but our GMs have done a great job forming this team.”
Note the plural: “GMs.” Technically the club doesn’t have any, Hart being the president for baseball operations, Coppolella the assistant general manager. But such is the Braves’ new world — lots of motion, lots of new faces and, at least through four games, a dollop of hope.
