Brave-O-Matic

2007 -- A New Season, A New 'Matic

2007-02-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

We've picked up stakes and moved our little circus over to WordPress.

We've got a couple of new contributors and a snazzy new page design. Y'all come on over and sit a spell, and we'll talk some Braves baseball. See you there!

Honoring the Ceasefire

2006-08-17T08:10:00.000-04:00

OK. I overstepped and posted after Sammy had announced a suspension to the Matic. I will not post anything new till I get the all-clear. Braves remain 6+ games out of the wild-card and trail most of the NL. I'll watch what I can and be prepared for perhaps a year-end wrap-up here on Brave-O-Matic.

I've accepted that we'll not see the post-season this year. But next year we'll be back.
-A Brett

It's a Home Win!

2006-08-13T22:40:00.000-04:00

Well, we've lowered the bar a bit this season. So this Sunday night we celebrate that oh-so-elusive creature- the home victory. Braves best the Brewers. So what's it matter you ask? Well, we trail 8 teams in the wild-card race. Tonight the 6 teams immediately ahead of the Braves all lost. So its a big win.

Hudson had another shakey outing, allowing way too many hits, but getting out of it without giving up too many runs. Another save from Wickman. Good to see we have some respectability in the end-game now. Anybody know who leads the Braves in saves this season? We've gone through quite a number of closers. Well?.........................................Yep. Chris Reitsma. Still #1 in the hearts of Braves fans everywhere, with 8 saves. 8. In August. What the hell happened?

Brave-O-Matic On Hiatus

2006-08-12T09:55:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't noticed, your occasional clicks on Brave-O-Matic have yielded precious little content of late. Some combination of poor play by our trusty charges, coupled with the ravages of the dog days of August among your faithful correspondents, has rendered us mute and fairly disinterested in learning to speak anew. So we're closing up shop for a while. It's been a blast seeing our nonsensical scribblings being read everywhere from Keokuk to Korea, and gratifying to get feedback from Braves fans from all corners of the globe. We might crank it up again one day, so keep us in mind. Thanks to everyone who read and wrote.

With deep regrets, we remain,

Brave-O-Matic

P.S. Go Braves!

Game Notes -- August 1

2006-08-01T21:11:00.000-04:00

Funny, I don't remember Turner South broadcasts having the kind of technical difficulties we witnessed tonight before Fox bought the network. This isn't the first time either -- why, it's enough for a person to think they're running this operation on the cheap. Just another example of profit over product?

FYI, Adam LaRoche is now 12th in the NL in slugging percentage. Anyone out there still want to trade him?

Brave-O-Matic is heading to the beach, so our sporadic posting schedule will be even more truncated than is usual. However, Brave-O-Matic Select subscribers are in luck! You'll be able to watch the debut of our webcam series "Brave-O-Matic Bocces..." First episode: Amelia Island!

From Buyers to Sellers

2006-07-31T08:47:00.000-04:00

Just like that, the Mets (featuring the Amazing Beltran) slammed the door shut on any meager playoff hopes we might have had, and exposed our greatest weakness for all to see. Our starting rotation is the worst in the league right now, just getting hammered day after day. No end in sight, no help on the way -- it's so bad that we might be looking at a new era of mediocrity. All the money we've sunk into Hampton and Hudson, Smoltz will be 40 next year, two rookies who we insist have promise but who haven't delievered (James, Davies). And Horacio, always Horacio.

JS has one more day to see what parts we can assemble for spring training 2007. In descending order of likelihood, here are some of the prime candidates to be traded:

1) Wickman -- Hey, you know how it is when it comes time to tighten the belts. Last to arrive, first to leave. Proven bullpen arms are always being shopped this time of year, so let's flip the Wick. Possible destinations: Boston, Anaheim.

2) Baez -- see above. Possible destinations: Anaheim, Arizona.

3) Renteria -- Having a great year, he's also a 30-year-old SS whose trade value will never be higher. Possible destinations: Colorado, Minnesota.

4) Hudson -- He's the kind of guy that tends to move this time of year, but he's been so horrible that it's hard to see who would want him. Still, considering his history of success, someone might take a flyer. Possible destinations: Texas, St. Louis.

5) Giles -- Betemit's departure means it's far less likely Giles will be moved before the offseason, so we'd need a functional 2B in return. Possible destination: Anaheim.

Its Better to Burn Out

2006-07-30T09:03:00.000-04:00

than fade away. And the Braves are going down in flames in a spectacularly unsatisfying fashion. As the Mets arrived in town, the Braves faced their moment of truth. They've failed utterly. Pitching has largely been the problem, allowing 6 first inning runs to the Mets in 2 games. Tim Hudson was smacked around again, surrendering 9 earned runs in less than 6 innings. But the hitting has been lackluster as well- Marcus Giles is the only Brave with more than one base hit in the series.

And now Chipper returns to the DL. And Betemit is gone to LA. Well, we have a fancy new set-up man, but I fear nothing will be in set-up condition. A week ago we were poinsed to march into the wild-card with our eyes firmly on the Mets. Now we watch as the Mets roll through Atlanta like Sherman. And we regress to trail 8 teams in the also-ran play-off race. Well, at least we should be able to grab some good seats at the Ted this August.

So how's your summer going?

Braves Win & Lose

2006-07-27T17:40:00.000-04:00

I just thought something should get posted, but I don't have any real interesting angle in mind to delve into. The Braves had a very good come-form-behind win Wednesday night, but followed it up with a lackluster afternoon on Thursday, falling 6-1. The loss hurts because the Mets are off, so it was a free chance to pick up a half game. And the Nats and Philly both won today.

Wicky notched another save Wednesday. Chipper's hit streak ended and Bobby got another ejection towards manager immortality. And today, Sosa hurt himself doing the one thing he should not attempt- pitching. Shiell wasn't bad, but he's not ready to be a prime-time starter yet. Soon maybe, but not yet. It was 92 degrees at the Ted today. Global warming makes me watch on TV. No trade news yet, though Schuerholtz says he is still talking to the Padres about Linebrink. But, given that Chipper couldn't play again today, expect that the deal will not go through.

Ahead- A weekend at home with the Mets. Big, bigger, biggest. If the Braves are serious about post-season play- this series is our Rubicon.

Trade Deadline Rumors Abound

2006-07-26T09:42:00.000-04:00

It's being said and sung on local sports talk radio that the Yankees are trying to pry Wilson Betemit ( Who some call- the best player in baseball without a starting job) from the Braves. The offer appears to have reliever Scott Proctor coming from the Big Apple to our bullpen.

I don't think we'll let Betemit go for anything less than a huge talent. But Death Ray's set-up effort has been less than spectacular of late. We'll see soon enough, as the trade deadline approaches quickly.

Dirty Sanchez (Marlins 2, Braves 1)

2006-07-25T23:41:00.000-04:00

Once again we fell victim to a rookie starter, as Anibal Sanchez baffled the batsmen for seven innings. Our only run came in the sixth when Giles singled in Langerhans, who had a heckuva game, getting two hits (his first since the All-Star break) and making two highlight reel catches -- he must have read my comment on yesterday's game. Cody Ross accounted for the Fish offense, hitting two solo HRs off Chuck James, who pitched very well otherwise.

So it's a bump in the road. We'll have to get a win tomorrow to give ourselves a chance at our seventh consecutive series victory. Smoltz vs. Josh Johnson -- if the bats tonight were any indication, it could be a quick game.

A Headline that

2006-07-25T21:18:00.000-04:00

you'll never forget- Check this out.

You got a better one?

At Home on the Road (Braves 10- Phils 8)

2006-07-25T08:01:00.000-04:00

The Braves win again. Doing it with the bats, on the road, against a division foe and without the Jones Boys again. A 7-2 roadtrip was unimaginable a month ago, when just winning a series seemed impossible. Now we've moved back into sole possession of second place, focused firmly on the pursuit of the Mets (11.5 games back) rather than the wildcard (4.5 gb), as Sam rightly recommended.

Cole Hamels was indeed 100 feet tall, though only 5 innings long, last night. A dozen k's in 24 batters faced. Timmy Hudson was mediocre yet again and owes the hitters some nice gifts for bringing him an undeserved W. Ken Ray and Tyler Yates reminded us why the Wickman acquisition is so important, surrendering 4 runs in 2 innings, just so as to provide Wicky with a save situation. And WICKY SAVES. Another 3-up, 3-down 9th.

4 more Braves homers. 2 from LaRoche. Adam looks solid at the plate- head steady, eyes fixed on the ball and a smooth, deceptively easy swing and follow through. Opposite this is Ryan Langerhans, who severely needs extended time in the batting cage. Ryan was 0-for-3 again and is now hitting a lowly.235. Ryan has not had A HIT since July 9th. His swing looks uncomfortable and awkward, like a right-handed batter trying to swing lefty for the first time. With Andruw returning tonight (I hope), Langerhans needs to be benched and spend the game working on the mechanics. Leave Thorman or Diaz in. Diaz is hitting at a .320 clip now and Thorman has only 2 fewer homers than Langerhans in 165 fewer at-bats.

The Wickman Era Begins (Braves 5-Phil 1)

2006-07-24T08:07:00.000-04:00

Prior to Bob Wickman's debut, the Braves led the NL in blown saves, with 20. Since the Wickman Era began- 0 blown saves.

The Braves sat on their hands all night and refused to score run more than one run until HoRam sat down. Finally, in the 9th, the Braves exploded for 4 runs and took away another big road win. HoRam was once again pitching from the stretch all night long, allowing at least one baserunner in every inning after the first. But time and again our Houdini of the diamond escaped virtually unscathed, allowing only one run- on a bases-loaded fielders choice. Wicky faced the minimum, striking out one and coaxing 2 harmless ground outs to close out the 9th.

This was a big win for the Braves, being on the road against a divisional foe and without the services of either Jones brother. Expect to see at least Andruw return tonight, as fallen-star Tim Hudson faces off against the 100-foot tall Cole Hamels. Prediction- Francoeur will either strike out or leave the yard in every at bat.

Bob Wickman

2006-07-22T12:43:00.001-04:00

We've waited for Scheurholz to make a move to shore up the bullpen, and considering what's available out there, this was about as good as he could do without giving up the store a la the Reds. Wickman has the Proven Closer label, but more importantly can draw on a simple history of success at the major league level that's completely absent from the remainder of the bullpen.

There are definite signs that he's not what he once was, though. Wickman's Baseball Reference page shows an aging pitcher who was league-average in 2003-4 before enjoying a renaissance last season. However, he's no longer the pitcher who would routinely strike out a man per inning, and he got a little lucky last year -- anyone who gives up 9 HR in 62 innings and Ks about 6 per 9 IP is fortunate to only give up 17 total runs.

So far this year he's kept the ball in the park, which he'll have to continue doing. I'd still like to see us import Linebrink or Williamson, but if we don't take a couple from the Phillies this weekend it may not matter much. The recent hot streak accentuated the hole that we've dug for ourselves -- we're still behind the same teams, and losing 4 of 5 will put us right back where we started.

Anyway, we welcome any contributions that Wickman can make. I have a suggestion for his entrance music -- what about "Fat Man" by Jethro Tull? Fear The Flute!

The Scoring Ends. But help is on the way..

2006-07-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

It finally happened. The Braves lost a game. And failed to score 45 runs in the game. Sad. A rough way for Shiell to make his Braves debut. Imagine starting during the biggest win streak of the season. Against Carpenter, the defending Cy Young winner. On the road. And you get a surprise 2-hour rain delay before taking the mound. Rough.

But still, Chipper's hit streak reaches 19 games. And McCann went deep yet again. So now it's on the Philly and let's win there. But the big news......

Braves acquire veteran closer- Bob Wickman- from Cleveland. How good is it? Hard to tell. Wickman's a veteran closer, so that's good. But this year his ERA is over 4, not good. For me, I'm excited about the move. I think its important to have a closer who's been there and done it before. And we'll recall that last season Wicky, as he'll come to be known, had 45 saves and a 2.47 ERA. Not a whole lot of k's for a closer, but solid location control.

I'll sit back and watch, and await the in-depth analysis of this new Brave's prior work from Sam or M. Norman. Probably Sam, since M. Norman is conspicuously absent of late.

No Superlatives Left Behind

2006-07-19T07:23:00.000-04:00

Holy Cow. Another incredible, dominating, stunning performance. A 20-hit, 15-run performance is followed by an 18-hit, 14-run performance. Andruw, 0-for-4 on Monday, is the Dominator of the Day with a 5-for-5, 2-HR, 6-rbi display. Just incredible.

Hudson gets a win despite surrendering 5 meaningless runs in under 6 innings. 5 runs? What the hell good is that nowadays? The Braves scored in all but 2 innings. I'm speechless. What a time for M. "Daddy" Norman to quit posting again.

Nothing left to say. Every starting position player except Francoeur had a multi-hit night. 4 of our first 5 in the batting order are hitting over .300. Only Andruw "lags". Scott Thorman is up to .273. Blah, blah, blah..... Beaneaters..... 1929 Yankees.....Paul Waner.... 4 games out of the wildcard. And tonight we offer up rookie Jason Shiell to see if pitching has ANY relevance.

Memo to Jeff Torborg...

2006-07-18T20:42:00.000-04:00

...who sounds surprised that 1) Marquis didn't cover third on a single to right, and 2) he made a stupid first pitch to Renteria, busting him up and in with the bases loaded: Jason Marquis is a hothead and a me-first player. Always has been, always will be. Now let the slaughter continue....

No Individual Record-Breaker...

2006-07-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

But one hell of a team performance, whipping a new division leader.

Chipper's streak ends with him still tied Paul Waner. But Chipper certainly did not have a down night, as he offered up 3 singles in the rout. The roster flooded the field with 20 base hits, this season's best thus far for the resurgent Braves. Sosa proved that he hits better than he pitches when he smacked his 3rd HR of the season, moving him into a tie with Brian Jordan. (And also Sean Casey) LaRoche was 4-for-4, Francoeur had 3 hits and Betemit added 4 to his totals. Among the starters, only Andruw and Thorman went hitless, and each of them left the game early, as a dozen position players were used by Cox.

Player of the Game has to be Brian McCann. His 3rd inning grand slam on the 9th pitch of an extraordinary at-bat was a thing of beauty. He just kept fouling off every pitch till he got one he wanted. And the "Wow!" At that point it was a scoreless game and Horacio was getting tired from the heat. After the slam, the wheels came off for the recently demoted Jeff Weaver.

The Whompin' Stick

2006-07-17T09:10:00.000-04:00

Another day, another double-digit offensive output. Nice of our boys to provide at least a glimmer of hope -- and it would have been even nicer had the Cubs been able to hold a 5-run lead vs. the Mets -- alas, their vaunted bullpen (virtually the only strong spot on the team) imploded Braves-style, so we remain 12 games in arrears.

But let's not dwell on that. Today we salute Chipper Jones, who tied Paul Waner's record of 14 straight games with an extra base hit. He goes for the record tonight against Jeff Weaver of the Cardinals. Not a bad straw to draw -- he'll get to bat lefthanded, his more powerful side, against a mediocre pitcher in a park that, while historically a home run graveyard, does yield a fair share of doubles. He's 5 for 15 against Weaver -- all singles.

A little later we'll meet the man with whom Chipper (for the time being) shares history.

Problem: How to Overcome 8 Teams

2006-07-16T09:26:00.000-04:00

and win the Selig Spot in the Post-Season.

Answer: Win more games than anyone else in the National League.

And thats just what the Braves are doing. 8 wins in the past 10 games. No other NL has done it. We've gained ground on EVERY SINGLE TEAM in the league. 8-3 for the month of July. No other NL can match it. Averaging 7 runs per game. Stunning. Hitsville. The Big Blue Machine.

Is it for real? Or just a false positive? We'll know very soon. After this series against the NL West leader, we move on to challenge the Central-leading Cardinals. If we can win that series too, then I'd say the rest of the league better wake up and pay attention. Am I nuts? Or do you think this is the Braves' big summer streak of dominating the game that we've come to expect?

Notes: How many saves were earned in the majors on Saturday?

Answer-Zero. The first time since September of 1978 that such a thing has occurred. All 30 teams were in action. Not a single save registered. Bizarre.

Chpper's extra-base hit steak ended. He now has merely a 15-game hit streak. Renteria and Francoeur's hit streaks ended. Giles didn't play, so his streak awaits his return.

**UPDATE** Chipper DID extend his EBH streak with a sixth inning double, so he's now just one away from Paul Waner's 79-year-old record. How cool is that?

All Aboarrrrrrrd!!!

2006-07-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

Climb on board the Second Half Train (or bandwagon) everybody. Its already rolling and somebody's gonna get crushed under the wheels. I'd say the whole 'Matic Nation agrees that the Braves 2nd half will be a new kind of excitement for real Braves fans. We've cut the wheat from the chaff- and the chaff is all those clowns from Lilburn and Griffin who were sporting Boston jerseys at the stadium a few weeks ago. Today those last-place Braves sit in 2nd place after beating a division leader on the road Beat them 3 or 4 times in one game it seemed. In your face Trevor Hoffman. Wooooo-wooooooooooo. Here we come.

Your conductor will be Mr. Chipper Jones. He went yard early and often yesterday, securing his 12th straight game with an extra-base hit. The ML record is 14. Rentaria's hit streak is 15 games. Giles- 13 straight. FRANCOEUR (seriously. no joke.) has a 10-game streak. Suddenly we're looking like The Big Blue Machine out there.

Smoltz takes the mound tonight to keep the train rolling. You recall that Maddux got to pick his catchers in days gone by. I wonder if Cox will allow Smoltz to choose his relievers from here on in. If not, I imagine that Smoltz will simply chain himself to the mound after the 7th inning and refuse to move till Villarreal is in street clothes.

The Compleat Midseason Grades

2006-07-15T08:53:00.000-04:00

First, thanks to everyone for their cards and letters concerning the Brave-O-Matic Midseason Grades. While a few were a tad churlish (bunch of slaves to the now, if you ask me), most confessed that the extended rollout of the MG served to heighten their anticipation, thus making the eventual payoff ever more sweet. This was our hope.

On to the bullpen -- and since there haven't been any consistently defined roles to create a pecking order, we'll go alphabetical:

Kevin Barry

This will double as an introduction. The newest member of the 'pen, and seems to have been slotted in Chuck James' April role -- multiple inning eater for an ineffective starter. His first three appearances were brilliant, last night not so much. He's not young (almost 28) -- after matriculating at Rider University (by the way, the Baseball Cube now has some college stats in addition to all minor league player stats -- it's really an invaluable tool), he's resolutely made his way up the ladder, usually as a setup guy/secondary closer, then converted to starter in 2005. Generally good ERA and K numbers, struggles with control at times.

Isn't that a strange career pattern? First, his slow ascent is more indicative of a high school pitcher than a college pitcher (I think). Second, there are probably 5 pitchers who begin as starters and then convert to relievers for every one that goes the other way, especially considering his success as a reliever. He's done well in both roles, and Piazza's HR last night may prove to be an aberration -- since 2000, Barry has given up a grand total of 19 HR in over 450 IP, which is fairly astounding. Sosa gave up 20 in the first half of this season, by way of comparison.

Grade: Inc.

Lance Cormier

Half of the Estrada Booty, he pitched well for a few weeks, then completely fell apart. He made a couple of emergency starts that resulted in emergency bullpen cattle calls, and sports a gaudy 13/25 K/BB ratio (yes, that's backwards). July 4 marked his Independence Day from the major league roster, as he was optioned to Richmond.

Grade: F

Macay McBride

Another guy whose K/BB is underwater (16/20), but he hasn't given up a gopher ball in 34 appearances. As the sole bullpen lefty, his job is secure, but he inspires neither confidence nor ire.

Grade: C-

Chad Paronto

I have an old friend who likes to tinker with cars, and one of his favorite pastimes is to go junking -- he'll find a salvage yard and poke around, looking for something he can use. Most everything there is garbage, but once in a while he'll come across a ditributor cap or headlight rim that happens to fit. In the salvage yard that is the Braves bullpen, Paronto is the headlight rim.

Grade: B

Ken Ray

Meet the distributor cap. We all know how slow Cox can be to adjust player roles, but maybe Sosa's blowing TWO leads last night will land Death Ray back into the closer role. Obviously, that's no guarantee of success, but I'm heartened by his recent return to dominance after a bit of a rough patch. His motion is fairly unstable -- he falls to the first base side of the mound, not unlike Reitsma, so McDowell should keep a close eye on his mechanics.

Grade: A

Chris Reitsma

Was reportedly hiding an injury -- though as A Brett reports, the nature of the injury and what to do about it isn't clear to anyone. He'll spend the remainder of the year scouring the New England Journal of Medicine for possible solutions. Maybe a copy of the DSM-IV would be helpful at getting his head straight while he's at it. Suggested off-season reading material for his agent: the Baseball GM phone book....

Grade: F

Oscar Villarreal

Still the staff leader in victories (by two, no less), the Vulture specializes in blowing leads for Smoltz, interspersed with occasional bouts of effectiveness. Oscar's season can be best described by examining the "hold" rule. From the MLB official site:

The hold is not an official statistic, but it was created as a way to credit middle relief pitchers for a job well done. Starting pitchers get wins, and closers -- the relief pitchers who come in at the end of the game -- get saves, but the guys who pitch in between the two rarely get either statistic. So what's the most important thing one of these middle relievers can do? "Hold" a lead. If a reliever comes into a game to protect a lead, gets at least one out and leaves without giving up that lead, he gets a hold.

Pretty basic, no? Not for the Vulture -- in 39 appearances thus far, he's managed to perform this minimal task exactly zero times.

Grade: D-

Tyler Yates

He's been okay, given his role. Since the Braves are 4-15 in games in which he appears, it's pretty clear what his role is.

Grade: C

The Detritus

You know the names, and you know what they've done. Stockman is the only guy who may reappear, and Devine appears to be trade bait.

Keeping Hope Alive

2006-07-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

I keep hoping that one day major league baseball will come to its senses. For the good of the game, Bud Selig will be removed in favor of an actual Commissioner of Baseball. The DH will be relegated to slow-pitch softball leagues, where it belongs. Inter-league play will give way to a balanced INTRA-league schedule. Just like when Teddy Ballgame played the game. Clemens will be told to "Retire or Play". Just pick one for crap sakes. And then shut the f--- up!

Will order be restored to the baseball universe? You say NO, but I see a sign of the inpending anti-apocalypse:

According to a report in the New York Daily News, several sources within Major League Baseball expect a San Francisco grand jury to indict Giants slugger Barry Bonds, possibly even as early as next week.

Sure it's a report on Fox about a report in the New York Daily News, but still...... Could happen.

The Continuing Saga of the Midseason Grades

2006-07-11T09:14:00.000-04:00

Starting pitchers:

John Smoltz

His NL rank in various stats:

IP - Sixth
Ks - Sixth
ERA - 12th
Wins - 25th

Is having as good a year as the highly publicized Glavine, and his K rate has actually increased over last year, despite going away from his splitter. He's a horse.

Grade: A-

Tim Hudson

He'll never be worth the contract he signed, and if he doesn't get more consistent the fans may begin blaming him for signing it. People are silly that way. It's strange, and frustrating, how Hudson seems to lose his command for weeks at a time, then puts it together and looks unbeatable. I give him about a 90% chance of pitching better in the second half, but for now...

Grade: C-

Horacio Ramirez

Has a worse ERA than Hudson (4.65 to 4.56), but there's no doubt that HoRam has been the better pitcher. The numbers are skewed by that ugly start against the Reds, but six of his nine starts have been stellar. Maybe he's doing it with mirrors, or maybe his discovery that the strike zone also has an INSIDE corner will make an enduring difference in his results. All I know is, he shut down the Yankees in New York, and looked like he knew he could do it.

Grade: B

John Thomson

Actually led the NL in ERA for a while, but only because he was blowing up after two-out errors. I've always felt he was underrated, and I still do -- only now, he's become an underrated reason that we suck. Rowland's Office rightly ridicules him for his penchant for goofy injuries. On the plus side, he sweats more than Mark Wohlers in the throes of performance anxiety.

Grade: D

Kyle Davies

Struggled badly in eight starts before going on the 60-day DL with a strained groin. Must be some strain. I'm hesitant to grade him too harshly -- he's still a baby, and I've got high hopes for him. But he was having a hell of a time getting out of just about any inning. But I'll give him a break (I'm sure he's relieved).

Grade: Inc.

Chuck James

So far, so good. He's going to give up his share of HRs, so he'll have to keep the walks to a minimum. Considering the relative merits of our outfield and infield defenses, inducing a large number of flyballs would seem a prudent strategy. He's fun to watch, and keeps things moving -- only Smoltz when he's on a roll pitches as quickly.

Grade: A

Jorge Sosa

All together now:

Grade: F

An Optimistic Mid-season Assessment

2006-07-10T08:21:00.000-04:00

This is from Baseball Prospectus, a trusted source of baseball analysis and forecasting for many years. Let's not lose too much faith, Braves' fans!

As most of the baseball world begins to accept the idea that 2006 does, in fact, mark the end of an era, you won’t find much doom and gloom in this space today. Most everyone knows the Braves spent time in the cellar; in fact, they began the month of June by losing 18 of 20, and fell as deep as 16 games beneath the mighty Mets on June 26. If you’re keeping tabs on the Playoffs Odds Report, you may have noticed their chance of playing in October dip below one percent on June 25. If you want to see a Braves fan really cranky, tell him or her that Bobby Cox’s chances of raising his 15th straight “NL East Champs” flag are 250 to 1 as of Wednesday.
But really, what separates the 2006 Braves from the 2005 club? Apart from the exodus of Rafael Furcal and the subsequent Andy Marte/Edgar Renteria trade, it was a pretty quiet winter in Turnertown.
The ulcers caused by the bullpen are nothing new. Last year’s squad ranked 12th in the National League in bullpen ERA at 4.74, and this year’s ranks 11th at 4.68. Relief help might be the team’s greatest need approaching the deadline, but it doesn’t help explain the chasm between 2005 and 2006.
And despite the major drop-offs of Jeff Francoeur, Andruw Jones, and Marcus Giles, the offense has shown great resilience. It’s scoring nearly five runs per game, better than it was in 2005, good for fifth in the NL through Wednesday. Renteria’s hitting around his 90th percentile PECOTA projection (a level from which he's likely to show some regression over the second half). On the flip side, PECOTA was optimistic about Francoeur and Giles, who are both playing close to their 10th percentile projections. Perennial Team Health Report red light Chipper Jones was holding up until this week, and while Will Carroll’s most recent report doesn’t sound too serious, how fortunate are the Braves to have Wilson Betemit? Since the start of 2005, Betemit’s hit .293/.350/.449 while playing third base, shortstop, and second. If the Braves weren’t so loaded at those positions, his numbers might look quite a bit more like Bill Hall’s in Milwaukee.
Adam LaRoche’s top three comparable players are Tino Martinez, Todd Helton, and Jason Giambi, but you wouldn’t know it from his performance. With LaRoche maintaining his severe platoon splits, perhaps the Braves are missing Julio Franco more than they thought they would. Brian Jordan, LaRoche’s nominal platoon partner who is currently on the disabled list, has a 564 OPS while playing first base this season, primarily against southpaws. Since Jordan bruised his clavicle, lefthanded hitter Scott Thorman has been filling in.
The rotation is where the disparity becomes clearer. No one is pitching outrageously badly, but almost every starter has slipped. John Smoltz’s peripherals are vintage John Smoltz, but a slightly elevated BABIP might help explain the ERA bump. Tim Hudson’s 4.57 ERA is easily the worst of his career, and more than a run higher than his career mark. John Thomson missed some time due to injury and is having his worst campaign since his days as a young Rockie in 1999. Jorge Sosa, he of the ridiculous 2.55 ERA last year, is back to normal and got moved to the bullpen, due in part to his poor showing in the rotation and in part to the demise of Chris Reitsma.
Chuck James, summoned from Richmond to replace Sosa, could make a notable difference. Pegged by PECOTA for a 4.42 ERA and nearly eight punchouts per inning. James won his first three starts, and is keeping up his extreme flyball tendencies, a hot button for James’ future that has caused plenty of internal debate among BP staff. Among pitchers who have tossed at least as many innings as James this year, James has the second-lowest groundball rate:

Pitcher IP GB% SO9
Keith Foulke 32.0 20.0 6.5
Chuck James 31.1 26.6 5.7
Jered Weaver 33.1 27.0 8.4
Rafael Soriano 43.2 27.0 9.9
Chris Young 103.2 30.4 8.3

With a pair of big wins over the Reds the last two nights, the Braves pulled within ten games of .500, but they’ve only been outscored by 12 runs on the season. Their odds for title number 15 are still quite long, but hey, the Mets just put Pedro Martinez on the disabled list. Between James, the potential for bounceback from the rest of the rotation, the upsides of Francoeur, Andruw Jones, and Giles, and the distinguished track record of trader John Schuerholz, don’t stick in a fork in the Braves just yet. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this team over their string of titles, we should know that a 13.5 game deficit shouldn’t faze them.
--Dave Haller

A Little Mo' Before the Break

2006-07-09T08:42:00.000-04:00

The Braves got back on their game Saturday after being pummeled on Friday. The 4-1 win made 6 in the last 9, leaving our Braves just 1 game out of 2nd place in the division. Chalk this one up to another superb effort from Smoltz, who reluctantly allowed a reliever to play after his 8 solid innings. Smoltzie notched 10 k's, allowed only one earned run and added two hits and a rbi.

The optimist wing of the Matic (ie-not M. Norman) is seeing alot to feel good about as the All-Star break draws nigh. (Didn't it intentionally coincide with July 4 previously?) Renteria extended his latest hit streak to 13 games. Marcus Giles somehow has an 11-game hit streak going. The semi-healthy Chipper Jones set a new Atlanta record with an extra base hit in his 10th straight game, part of his own 12-game hit streak. And Francoeur's 2-out, 2-run dinger in the 7th gave him the ML lead for 2-out rbi's, with 35. (Proof positive that if you swing the bat enough something will hit it from time to time.) Lastly, the Mets placed Pedro on the DL this week. Age may be a factor, as Pedro was injured "when he slipped in the bathroom and fell on his hip while changing his shirt". Not the most athletic way to reach the DL.
A Braves win, coupled with Philly and Florida losses today, would find us tied for second at the break. A remarkable place to be considering how low we swooned in June. We're gonna shock the world!

Midseason Grades (Part 3)

2006-07-08T12:57:00.000-04:00

Continuing the longest-running midseason report in history:

Wilson Betemit

Heir to Mark DeRosa as the guy who hits well enough to start, but can't crack the lineup. He may have a better case than DeRosa, but only because of the current state of the team. In the days of yore, having a young supersub IF was acceptable, even necessary. Because we were winning, there was no organizational pressure to see what DeRosa could do as a regular -- he was injury insurance. We have to look at Betemit differently, because we're looking to the future now. We must find out if he can handle a starting job, so we must find a place for him. He's done all he can do in his present role.

Truth be told, he and DeRosa are a lot alike -- they can both hit .280 with some walks and doubles power. Both sport iron gloves, from all available evidence. Here's hoping that Betemit does more with his shot, once he gets it, than DeRosa did.

Grade: B+

Todd Pratt

Before last season ended I went on record hoping the Braves would acquire Pratt for 2006. Estrada was on his way out the door, McCann showed himself ready for a starting role, and I opined that Pratt would be a useful one-year veteran bench presence. John Schuerholz, evidently an avid reader of Brave-O-Matic, agreed and promptly signed him.

For all I know, he may indeed provide a "useful bench presence", but his field presence thus far can best be described as "washed up", as evidenced by his .189 batting average and poor defense (highlighted by a passed ball and error on a SB attempt last night, both of which led to runs). Seems like a good enough guy, but I'd much rather see Brayan Pena at this point.

Grade: D- (I know, should be an F, but since he was my idea and all...)

Pete Orr

Although he and Pratt have basically the same batting line (Pratt: .189/.245/.274, Orr:.213/.234/.307), Orr has actually been a valuable pinch-hitter this season:

As PH: .323/.344/.484
As starter: .136/.156/.182

He's also given us a good glove at 2B -- no errors, good range factor. At least he's giving us something -- not much else to say.

Grade: C

Brian Jordan

One of the Aged Three (along with Pratt and Remlinger -- how's that working out?) -- Jordan hit well in April and had a couple of nice moments, but has been useless since. At least his injury is legit -- I don't think you can fake a broken clavicle, but maybe we can conjure up some rehab issues to keep him out until the inevitable late-September swan song.

Grade: F

Other position players:

Scott Thorman was brought up to replace Jordan -- so far I can't really tell the difference. Brayan Pena was light-years better than in 2005 during his brief callup, and may have a future after all. Tony Pena, Jr. showed up to collect his first ML hit and to (hopefully) remind his employers of Rafael Belliard. And future batting champion Martin Prado stopped by to say hello.

Braves Theatre Presents-

2006-07-06T20:17:00.000-04:00

Mr. Reitsma Goes Home. In one act.

Scene: John Schuerholtz's office. The GM is at his desk reading scouting reports. Chris Reitsma enters.

CR- You wanted to see me, Mr. Schuerholtz?
JS- (Doesn't look up) Yeah, yeah. Listen, it looks like you need surgery.
CR- Are you sure? The numbness in my hand kind of comes and goes lately.
JS. Oh yeah. (Looks at AJC. Big headlines about Chuck James and Ken Ray visible.) I'd say you need season-ending surgery.
CR- Well, I've had some tests and the doctors said they'll have the results by Saturday.
JS- (looks up) Uh, no son. You're having SEASON ENDING surgery. Right away.
CR- What needs to be done?
JS- Whatever. Have 'em open up your knee or put a metal piece in your wrist or reconstruct your left foot. Whatever. Who cares. You get to the doctor and I'll come up with something by then. See you in the spring. Here's a commemerative 1966 replica jersey with your name on it. Thanks for stopping by. Tell Mr. Jordan to come in on your way out.
THE END

Tonight's episode was inspired by this blurb in today's AJC:
Reliever Chris Reitsma will have surgery and miss the rest of the season.
Still undecided is which surgery and whether he'll miss part of next season, too.

A Game Worth Watching (finally)

2006-07-05T21:38:00.000-04:00

Didn't we used to do this every other week or so? It's 13-4 in the 6th right now, and we haven't scored this many runs since the first week of the season. Couple of notes:

-- By the end of the fourth inning, every Brave position player had at least one hit, one run, and one RBI. When was the last time that happened? Someone talk to Elias...

-- By far the best news in this game is the health and hitting of Chipper. Yeah, we've got Betemit if we need him, but we need C. Jones to play and play well.

-- Maybe I'm just in an expansive mood because of the score, but you can put me in the Jeff Torborg bandwagon. I'm still resentful about the absence of our beloved TBS crew, but I'll give credit where it's due -- Torborg is consistently insightful and pleasant to listen to. His prescient comments about James' pitching motion were some of the best analysis I've heard in a while.

Just Because Someone Pays You,

2006-07-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

it doesn't mean you're an expert. Case in point-Mike Fitzpatrick, an "AP Baseball Writer". Associated Press pays him to write about baseball, so he must know something. Right? Well here's an exerpt from his July 1st All-Star forecast for the NL:
Catcher -- Take your pick. They're all the same -- not all that good. Chicago's Michael Barrett gets the start, despite that 10-game suspension for punching A.J. Pierzynski. Atlanta's Brian McCann also makes it.

Uhhhhhhh.... What???? Well, I presume a baseball expert would look at the player stats when making such asinine statements. But did he? McCann is batting .357, 50 points higher than Barrett, and has allowed only 21 stolen bases (440 innings) to Barrett's 54 (481 innings). McCann- 22 years-old. Barrett- 29. Both the same? Think the Braves would trade McCann for Barrett straight up? Would the Cubs? So the answer is- Clearly they are NOT "all the same".

And not good? How many starting players are batting over .350? 2 in each league, including Ichiro and Nomar. And of the entire group, McCann is the youngest. Yeah, I'd say McCann is in fact all that good.

Paid writers who suck really get my goat. Mr. Fitzpatrick, consider yourself a goat-getter.

Monday's Rookie of the Day- Ken "Death" Ray. 1 inning, 2 k's, a whip of zero.

While You Were Away

2006-07-04T07:17:00.000-04:00

Good to see ya, Braves fans. How are things? Haven't seen you much lately. Did you notice what happened over the past few days? The Braves are no longer in last place. Sure we're just a half game ahead of the Nats, but it's a start. And we're no longer 15 games out. It's now 12.5, after we picked up 2 games on the Mets in the past 2 days and 3 games over the last 10. And we're only 2.5 behind second-place Philly, closing the gap there by 4 games in the past 10.

So call me crazy.... but maybe..... Perhaps its not too late. We're trimming some of the fat-ie Reitsma and Jordan- and bringing on the new crop of youngsters. Thorman has started slowly, but should come around. HoRam is winning games by sheer will. Chuck James has emerged as a powerhouse. So maybe if Hudson came back to form in the second half..... and Francoeur started making contact.....and our lead-off man got on base some..... then maybe????

Cuisine Theory- Universally Applicable?????

2006-07-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

Cuisine Theory soccer continues to impress. After baffling prognosticators with a .750 winning percentage in the Round of 16, the system matched that rate in the Round of 8, correctly predicting that favorites England and BRAZIL would both fall. The only error was Germany beating Argentina on penalty kicks. Either beer is in fact food, in which case I misread the system, or the system cannot account for overtime. ( The system's 2 other "errors" were the Swiss losing to Ukraine on penalty kicks and Mexico falling to Argentina in the extra period.)

Your Final Four picks are as follows- contact your bookie immediately:
Germany vs. Italy- Two former Axis powers meet up. Italy's food is not intimidated by playing on German soil and even the Beer is Food possibility is not enough to make up the difference. Italy wins.

France vs. Portugal- France is, as I've said before, reknown for its cuisine. So much so that they invented the word. And they beat Brazil. So it must be France to move on.

Finals- France vs. Italy- A foodie dream come true. All-world wines paired with stocks versus sauces, pastas versus breads, Proscuitto di Parma versus Bresse Chicken. In the end it'll be Italy that wins the cup.

Now back to Braves baseball. Who we got going to Pittsburgh for the All-Star fiasco? The roster will be announced tonight at 7pm. I haven't been so excited since ESPN-4 announced it would broadcast minor-league hockey preseason games next year!

Midseason Grades (Part 2)

2006-07-01T03:13:00.000-04:00

More position players (until I give out -- to be continued):

Brian McCann

What a sweet swing the kid has. It was evident immediately upon his arrival last year, and I expected him to outpace his roommate in their soph seasons, but .353? I don't know what's more surprising -- that he's done it to this point, or that it looks like he could keep on doing it. I wouldn't put anything past the kid -- I think he can hit .340 one year, then come back the next year and hit 30 homers if he decides to do that.

Here's a question to ponder -- what impact do you think the catcher has on the effectiveness of the pitching staff?

Grade: A+

Andruw Jones

Finally, at long last, most of the bickering about Andruw seems to have ceased, and he's allowed to be what he is -- that is to say, "not Willie Mays". Maybe it was the big 2005, or maybe he's putting together another typical Andruw season without the wild fluctuations in his performance, but he seems to have reached the point in his career where you just pencil him in, forget about him, then see how well he does in the MVP voting.

Grade: A-

Jeff Francoeur

Unfortunately, Cox has also taken the "pencil him in and forget about him" approach with young master Francoeur, with decidedly less felicitous results. Yes, he's on pace to hit 30 HR and drive in 110 -- to the superficial observer, this will seem like a fine year. Prepare to be met with some eye-rolling as you attempt to explain to said superficial observer that Frenchy's RBI stats are largely a function of following four high-OBP guys in the lineup, and that a more telling stat might be that he's very nearly on a pace to break the major league record for most outs made in a season. His assist numbers have also taken a hit, but that's a function of opportunity as well -- nobody's testing his arm anymore, which means he gets credit for fewer extra bases taken.

Obviously, he could use some more seasoning, but obviously he's not going to get it. Despite his struggles, he's our best option -- I'd just like to hope he has a higher ceiling than Dave Kingman.

Grade: C

Ryan Langerhans

Ryan looks like a ballplayer, but was overextended as a starting LF. He plays great defense, but at the least important defensive position. He's got a nice-looking swing, but uses the same one seemingly regardless of pitch location. He's big and fast, but doesn't hit home runs or steal bases. He'll take a walk, but doesn't get nearly enough hits. So now he's in his born role of 4th/5th outfielder, where he'll be for a number of teams for several years and make a nice living.

Grade: D+

Matt Diaz

Although he's an outfielder, Diaz was basically replacing Julio Franco on the roster as designated lefty-masher, and has not disappointed. The pleasant surprise has been his performance against RHP:

2003-2005 2006
vs. LHP .333/.388/.486 .333/.369/.517
vs. RHP .128/.180/.255 .344/.377/.453

He's earned the additional playing time, and may get even more if Thorman's struggles continue. Since most of his offensive value is tied up in his ability to hit singles, as he neither walks much nor has great power, he'll need to hit over .300 to be a truly valuable player, but so far so good.

Grade: A

Trivia Question

2006-06-30T00:08:00.000-04:00

By the end of the week, what pitcher will have passed Hoyt Wilhelm and Dennis Eckersley for third on the all-time list of games pitched? You'll never guess....

never...

nope, wrong again....

It's....Mike Stanton, who will soon pitch in his 1,072nd game to trail only Jesse Orosco (1252) and John Franco (1119). Ah, to be old and left-handed.

Midseason Grades (Part 1)

2006-06-29T22:09:00.000-04:00

With the day off today, it's time to begin taking stock of the Braves situation with the hoary old standby Midseason Grades column(s). It's not going to be pretty, but on with the show. Let's start with the infield:

Adam LaRoche

Roachy is into his third year as starting 1B/designated fan whipping boy, and he hasn't changed a bit. When the Braves were going well, they could carry a mediocre 1B -- now that they're struggling, LaRoche becomes more of a problem. He's at or near the bottom in most NL 1B stats, but nothing is more glaring than a .324 OBP in a league where almost half the starting 1Bs are getting on base at least 40 percent of the time. His lackadaisical style in the field doesn't bother me, but draws the focus of fans' ire even more than his unacceptable results wielding the bat. On a winning team, he could be granted a Gentleman's C, but on this team:

Grade: D

Marcus Giles

Thrust into the leadoff role with the departure of Furcal, Marcus began the year embracing the role -- he walked 11 times in the first seven games, and sported a gaudy .515 OBP. Never had my estimation of him as a ballplayer been higher -- he looked determined to make it work whether he liked it or not. Since then? A .301 OBP and declining power numbers have rendered this his worst full season yet. I expect a better second half, unless he's just going through the motions, which it appears at times. In that case, it's time for him to move on, and I'll remember 2003 fondly.

Grade: D

Edgar Renteria

Renteria arrived with the baggage of a poor year in Boston, where (it's said) he was too sensitive to criticism to thrive, what with the Red Sox famously surly fan base and bitchy sportswriters. If you buy that explanation, then Edgar's performance this year might not be a surprise. In any case, he's been our most consistent everyday performer, with a line of .300/.380/.439 that you'll take from your SS all day long. That's a better line than Furcal ever posted as a Brave, but when you factor in speed and defense it's still fairly clear that Furcal is the better player. Renteria's lack of range, combined with Chipper's perenially poor defense, has mitigated his offensive success somewhat. Still, where would we be without him?

Grade: B+

Chipper Jones

Chipper is having a flashback to 2004 -- moderately healthy, mediocre (for him) results. He's still getting on base, but isn't hitting the ball with much authority. His defense is the same as ever -- he has a strong, accurate arm, and comes in well on bunts, but has no lateral movement and an iron glove. You knew that already. The signing of Hampton and the positional logjam resulting from Chipper's incumbency are the two biggest events of the last few years that led us to this place. If it were Betemit putting up these numbers, admittedly we'd be happy. And we can't forget Chipper's willingness (twice) to restructure his contract for the good of the team. He's the best position player we've ever had and one hell of a teammate, which makes his decline more painful to watch.

Grade: C

World Cup-O-Matic

2006-06-29T21:51:00.000-04:00

Call it unkosher, but I'm posting my World Cup blog. Hell, the Braves are off tonight (and most of June) anyway.

A week ago I posted (elsewhere) my "Cuisine-theory" of soccer. Basically, I said that I could just as well pick World Cup winners based on who's cuisine I liked best. In the Round of 16, I picked 6 of 8 matches correctly. So now, for the Round of 8, here's my picks:

Argentina over Germany. Argentina does grilled meats like its nobody's business. And German food is really just too damn heavy.

Italy over Ukraine- Too easy. Italian food is fantastic. Pasta, gnocci, artichokes, olive oil, wine, pizza, salumi.... And Ukraine eats what? Boiled cabbage?

Portugal over England- English food is as bad as its reputation. Portugal has chorizo and great seafood stews. English food is so bad they had to conquer an empire just to find something decent to eat.

France over Brazil- It may be an upset on the field, but the very word "cuisine" is French. No way to vote against the folks who made snails taste good. And the wine? Ooooh la la.

The belly has spoken. (But if the argument is made that Beer is Food, then I'd take Germany to win.)

Rookie of the Game Award

2006-06-28T06:51:00.000-04:00

In what I imagine will be available on a daily basis, Tuesday's R.O.T.G. (not to be confused with R.O.U.S- Rodents of Unusual Size) was Scott Thorman. Batted twice, reached base twice. Raised his average to a Hampton-esque .120. Well, ya gotta start somewhere.

I'm leaving it to the other Matics to talk about another great outing from HoRa. We are now tied with the Nats and moving UP!

Rookie de Jour

2006-06-27T06:45:00.000-04:00

Monday's menu features Kevin Barry. A 27 year-old rookie, drafted by the Braves 5 years ago out of Rider College.

We've reached that nadir where we're bringing up large swaths of our minor-league system a week before the (faux) All-Star break. A preview of who we may see in seasons ahead. But Barry did a fine job. taking over from a perplexing Tim Hudson, who was about one batter away from being removed in the 2nd inning. At 6-7 with a 4.27 era, Hudson hardly looks to be an elite pitcher anymore. Barry should feel good about tossing 3 scoreless innings in making his ML debut as a visitor to Yankee Stadium.

Bobby Cox made another step towards his goal of the all time record for being tossed by the umps. And the whole roster flailed hopelessly at whatever 57 year-old Randy Johnson threw near the plate. Everybody who batted struck out at least once, and several took a second k. Shades of the 1980's. Who will be Tuesday's rookie? Could it be YOU??????

A Rare Dominant Performance

2006-06-26T09:23:00.000-04:00

After many weeks of watching our starting pitchers nibble (even Smoltz is a nibbler now) and flail, it was with great joy that we witnessed the rotation debut of Chuck James yesterday. Not only were the results grand (8 IP, 1 run, 3 hits, 8 Ks), but the style was refreshing. No hesitation, no signs of inner turmoil. Get the ball, throw the ball. The kid looks good, and with the travails of our rotation this year, he'll now be given every chance to succeed. He appears to be stubborn enough to make something of the opportunity.

Braves Win, Braves Win

2006-06-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since we've visited our old pal- The Win Column, but the Braves finally did it. Last night we ended the 10-game losing streak by holding on (barely) against that mighty Tampa Bay juggernaut. Now the next item is making up a 15 game deficit and passing everybody in the division.

But it was not all bright cheer last night. John Smoltz had to limp off the field in the 2nd. Only a day after talking about his willingness to be traded. G.M. Schuerholtz reportedly said, "John's not going anywhere. I'll guarantee it." Hmmmmm. Curious. And rookie reliever Phil Stockman lasted only one inning before limping into obscurity. Are the guys in Richmond really looking forward to the next round of call-ups? Or hoping to lie low for a while? Here's betting we see Mr. Startup very soon.

And, on a lighter note- Has anyone noticed that our hero, 74 year-old Julio Franco, has 3 stolen bases in the past 10 days? How many does our entire roster have in that time? That'd be 3.

Last Couple of Weeks In A Nutshell

2006-06-23T01:51:00.000-04:00

Posting here has been rather sporadic of late. Turns out there's a great big world out there beyond Braves-land, with some interesting people and pretty cool stuff. Who knew?

Anyway, please don't fret, dear reader -- Brave-O-Matic has not forsaken you. Here's what's up:

There remains some offensive talent on this team, but the whole is less than the sum of the parts. The guys who are supposed to get on base don't, and those who do get on base either can't run, can't field, or both. The home run hitters hit only home runs, and the second best hitter can't get into the lineup. The shortstop has trouble bending at the waist, and the third baseman's range is defined by how far he can fall to either side.

The rotation is brittle and has been populated by pitchers with no upside, and though they hang in there as often as not, they're forced to stay in the game too long because of the bullpen, which cannot hold a lead of any size.

It's fire sale time. Here's the list of players presently on the active ML roster who should not be either released or considered trade bait:

McCann
Francoeur
Andruw
Ray (only because he's cheap)
James

Honestly, that's it. That's the list.

Dispatch From San Fran

2006-06-21T04:47:00.000-04:00

Fully two thirds of the workforce here at Brave-O-Matic spent last week in San Francisco, attending a wedding, seeing the sights (not a bit of fog, by the way), and managed to get to a Giants game on Monday night, against the (presumably) hated Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Orange County) California. Our contingent sat in the center field bleachers, which is the only way to see a game, unless you have better seats. A few impressions on the AT&T Park experience:

The Ballpark

According to ballparks.com, AT&T Park is the first ballpark since Chavez Ravine in 1962 to have been built exclusively with private funds. Good for them -- I have no idea whether the team attempted to obtain public funds at some point in the process, but few things irk me more than corporate ownership leveraging civic pride and sports fandom to extort tax money to build a ballpark, which is then turned over to said owner.

(Speaking of corporate ownership, the Giants, ever the trend-setters, are the first team to realize the First Law of Corporate Nomenclature -- that being, one day all ballparks shall be known as AT&T Park, and any other name is merely a weigh station in pursuit of this goal)

Parking was a little rough, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't some bruised feelings along the way. On the Annoyance Scale of 1 to 10, I'll give it an 8 -- very little helpful signage, but the lot was fairly close to the stadium, although it cost an absurd $25. Turner Field is a 17, in case you were wondering. On the way out our designated driver, weaned on Southern college football parking lots, simply went around the politely assembled single-file line of cars to save us a good 10-15 minutes. Bravo, Betsy!

The Fans

Maybe it was the interleague opponent or the day of the week, but the fans seemed sedate even by our laid-back standards. Matt Cain came within four outs of a no-hitter, but it seemed most in the crowd didn't notice a thing until he broke out a hammer curveball to strike out one Kendry Morales in the seventh.

Not that I'm complaining -- I've grown too old and grouchy to endure a bunch of drunks, anyway. There was one entertaining, leather-lunged fellow who spent an entire half-inning shouting "What's wrong with Figgins?", as Chone Figgins was playing CF for the Angels. The correct answer, eventually picked up by our entire section after about 40 repetitions, was "He's a bum!" There were several "Beat LA" chants that had to be augmented with "Orange County sucks!" just for the sake of clarity. Good, clean fun at the old ballpark.

The Game

As mentioned, Cain was marvelous. It's probably a good thing he gave up a hit to Figgins in the eighth, because Felipe Alou probably would have let him throw 160 pitches otherwise. Figgins also walked twice, and scored in the first inning without benefit of a hit. He walked to open the game, then stole second. The catcher's throw hit him in the back and careened into left field, and it took Bonds so long to retrieve it that Figgins ended up coming all the way around to score.

Bonds got the run back in the bottom of the first with a cue-shot double down the left field line to score Winn. Steve Finley followed with an RBI groundout to make it 2-1, then 15 straight zeroes closed out the game in a tidy 2:16.

The fans still cheer Barry, but it sounds half-hearted. Being a Bonds fan has surely become a joyless pursuit -- the steroid stuff, his legendary surliness, and an endless string of talking heads excoriating him alone for doing something that probably 200+ other ballplayers are doing, too. I'm sure they're ready to clean house of all their desiccating veterans and move on (sounds familiar).

All in all, it was a fine time, and the garlic fries were, in the local parlance, FAB-U-LOOOUUUSSSS!

Too Sad to Post

2006-06-18T14:34:00.000-04:00

I'll be at the ballpark tonight as our fading Braves take on the Red Sox for an ESPN national audience. We're 13 games out and tied with the Marlins (who just swept us and will now sweep past us) for last. It's too dismal and painful to even blog about right now. Maybe in a few days.

Desperation, or Signs of Life?

2006-06-14T10:19:00.000-04:00

Two new items of note:

1) Reitsma still has not been released, but the Braves did the next best thing, putting him on the DL for "numbness" in his fingers and calling up Phil Stockman, who's been mowing down AAA batters with alacrity. His combined stats for Mississippi and Richmond read: 37 IP, 10(!) hits, 12 BB, 51 K(!!), 0.73 ERA. It's high time we did something about the pen, and I wouldn't be surprised if it soon looked something like this:

Ken Ray
Phil Stockman
Will Startup
Jorge Sosa (having been replaced in the rotation by Chuck James)
Oscar Vulturreal
Macay McBride

and....

Scot Shields

Shields' acquisition being a possible outcome of Item 2.

Brave-O-Matic hasn't addressed the possibility of trading Giles, and though I like him a lot despite his struggles, it makes sense. Betemit looks ready for a shot at a full-time job, and of the positions he can play, 2B seems the most likely to open up. The Angels have Adam Kennedy to play 2B, but maybe a three-way trade involving the Cardinals could open up.

Thoughts?

Off Day -- Reitsma Not Released

2006-06-13T07:21:00.000-04:00

That's the big news coming out of a travel day, the continued presence of Chris Reitsma on the roster. I'm not rooting against the guy -- he somehow doesn't come across as negatively as Kolb did last year -- but he's completely fallen apart now. His appearance in Houston on Sunday was one of those hopeless moments, the like of which we haven't seen since Wohlers went Steve Blass on us.

It was pathetic to see him looking into the dugout as he was getting hammered, looking like he was begging to be taken out. But the absolute low point of the Braves' season occurred after Mike Lamb singled (the seventh Astro to reach base in the inning). Standing at first base, he could clearly be seen saying "poor guy" in referring to the train wreck on the mound.

Of course, Cox and Schuerholz are nothing if not patient with veterans, so it's really not a surprise that Reitsma is still around. And he has exceeded Kolb in one respect -- after beginning 2005 as our closer, Kolb was relegated to mopup duty for the first time on June 8. Reitsma made it all the way to June 11.

In better news, the Georgia Bulldogs spotted their last two opponents (Florida State and South Carolina) a one-game lead before coming back to take the series and advance to the College World Series. Dawg-O-Matic, anyone?

HGH Woes

2006-06-08T22:51:00.000-04:00

Wow, you'd have to look around for a while to find a worse player to have cooperated with the feds, from baseball's perspective, than Jason Grimsley. Grimsley has pitched for seven different teams in a big league career that began in 1989, and spans what we usually consider to be the "steroid era".

A quick scan of his Baseball Reference page shows he's had probably 400+ big league teammates in his career. Additionally, he's pitched for 13 different minor league teams since 1985. All told, his total number of teammates is surely over a thousand. While a smoking gun implicating Bonds or Clemens or the like would garner more headlines, getting someone like Grimsley to name names could end up being far more damaging.

I'm halfway through Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, and there's a scary lesson therein with regards to Grimsley. Gladwell refers to Connectors, who are people who can exercise an outsized influence on their surroundings by virtue of having an especially large circle of acquaintences. As I understand it, epidemics are facilitated, in Gladwell's thesis, when a Connector shares information gathered by virtue of his extraordinary number of connections.

Jason Grimsley is a Connector. Searching for something good to say about the Braves, at least Grimsley never played for them, and no current Brave player has been a big league teammate of his (though Roger McDowell once was). But how many former Braves do you think have been a teammate of his? I'll give you a moment to think about it.

The answer is 35. Here is an exhaustive list of former Braves who have shared a locker room with the Grims Reaper:

Javy Lopez
BJ Surhoff
Eli Marrero
Bruce Chen
Tony Graffanino
Rudy Seanez
Michael Tucker
Albie Lopez
Paul Byrd
Darrell May
Roberto Hernandez
Jermaine Dye
Trenidad Hubbard
David Justice
Luis Polonia
Roberto Kelly
Mike Stanton
Denny Neagle
Kenny Lofton
Paul Assenmacher
Gregg Olson
Derek Lilliquist
Jeff Treadway
Mike Bielecki
Dale Murphy
Terry Mulholland
Joe Boever
Tommy Greene
Andy Ashby
Jim Vatcher
Jeff Parrett
Marvin Freeman
Randy O'Neal
Larry McWilliams
Steve Bedrosian

Murph, you're officially off the hook. Several of the others were no more than ships passing in the night. But if you don't think there are a few folks in the above list who are a little nervous today, you're kidding yourself.

Am I A Believer?

2006-06-06T22:53:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago Horacio Ramirez drew comparisons to Tom Glavine -- lefty, good-but-not-great stuff, needs to keep the ball down and control walks to be effective. And while there's certainly a chance his latest results are a fluke, he's starting to justify the comparison. None too soon, both for the Braves season and his career.

Just wondering -- McCann is beginning his rehab assignment, and should be back soon to reclaim his starting job. Meanwhile, Brayan Pena's performance has been head-and-shoulders above last year's. I mean, truly, he's been great -- he's got this cool low line drive swing that's built to hit for average, he plays hard and with enthusiasm, and he's fast. I thought Pratt was an ideal offseason pickup, but Pena is really starting to look right at home. So it's question time: What are the chances that Pena gets kept over Pratt? And would that be a good move?

This is Agonizing

2006-06-06T12:19:00.000-04:00

During the current momentum-halting, soul-crushing slump, we've come to grips to the fact that sometimes we simply can't hit with runners in scoring position. Hey, every team goes through snaps like that. And so what happened last night was just a continuation of the past eight games.

And we also realize that sometimes when we really need a big pitch to get out of a jam, it will not be forthcoming. So, again, the sixth inning of last night's game is just a continuation of a bad spell.

But, c'mon - two errors in that inning? Aren't we supposed to be the unflappable Braves? Aren't we supposed to be the ones pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps as a matter of rote? Or by right?

You'll just let me know when they right the ship, and I'll start watching again. It is agony right now.

All Right - Forget What I Said Earlier

2006-06-05T08:29:00.000-04:00

Approximately seven games ago, I was very excited at the prospect of a nice long homestand because, as reported here in an exclusive, up until that point we had played really good baseball at home. See that article here. Well, that story has completely changed.

The Braves have now lost six out the last seven games - all at home - including a four-game sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks. Here are some reactions from the third-place Braves:

"That's probably the worst series we've ever had here" - Bobby Cox

"It's embarrassing. We've all got to look in the mirror and figure out what we are trying to do here. Because what we're doing isn't winning" - Adam LaRoche

"This was bad. Both sides of the ball, we were awful. We just couldn't put anything together." - Marcus Giles

"I never thought we'd get swept by the Diamondbacks. They're a good team and so are the Dodgers. But I thought we'd come out and really get on a roll." - Jeff Francoeur

During this homestand, we have occasionally pitched well - see the games pitched by Ramirez and Smoltz in the first two games against Arizona. We also have hit pretty well - scoring nine runs twice, but we lost one of those games. The problem, of course, is that good pitching and good hitting haven't been seen in the same game for a while now.

This isn't the way the story is supposed to go. After a good May, we were supposed to kick into another gear and leave the Mets in our wake. All things were aligned for that to happen, as we finally got a long homestand after playing more road games than anybody in baseball. But the Big Bang has been a colossal thud, and pretty soon these players will have to realize that the NL East crown isn't a cosmic right - we must earn it.

Horacio's Wasted Effort - A Case of Cox Over-Managing?

2006-06-02T07:56:00.000-04:00

We knew coming into the season that, mostly, Smoltz and Hudson would be terrific, and, mostly, that has been the case. We also knew that every other start by one of our remaining starters would be fine as well. This too has proved to be true as Sosa, Thompson and Horacio, while inconsistent, have pitched great at times. So it's just a shame to see one of those starts wasted by the bullpen, as happened last night in a 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Yes, it all started with Horacio, who flipped the fielded bunt attempt over LaRoche's head to allow runners on second and third. But we were almost out of it when, after intentionally walking someone to load the bases, McBride blew away Chad Tracy and Paronto got Connor Jackson to pop up to the shortstop. Now there's two outs, bases loaded with a lefty coming up to bat. And Remlinger gets the call. Why?

Lefties are batting .324 against Remlinger, righties only .242. In Tuesday's game against the Dodgers, Remlinger was brought in with the bases loaded to face the lefty-hitting Andre Ethier with the game tied 3-3 and gave up a two-strike, two-out single. Last week, against Florida, Remlinger came in with the bases loaded to face the lefty-hitting Mike Jacobs, and gave up a two-run single. And, last night, Remlinger gets the call with two outs and the bases loaded to face the lefty-hitting Shawn Green and, well, you know what happened.

So, why bring in Remlinger to face a lefty? Why not leave in McBride, who looked unhittable? Or at least Paronto, who is a ground-ball pitcher? Hopefully, this will be the last straw for the lefty-pitcher vs. lefty-batter strategy that invovles Remlinger. I'm glad we have him - he is good - but not so much against lefties. Thus endeth my rant.

A True Story

2006-06-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

This Matic was at the Ted Tuesday night. The clown 3 rows back wouldn't shut up all night. This (I swear) is an exact quote (Kenny Lofton at bat) that shows the type of brilliance I was showered with all night long:
"Hey Lofton.... Why don't you LOFT one to right....uhhh....for a pop-up?"

Oh, yeah. 3 hours of that.

And Lofton pitched a whale of a game tonight. His second straight impressive offering. Would be a big boost to have another arm we can rely on. Andruw seems to be back on the power track. But now it looks like Francoeur's gone cold again. Not 1-for-30 cold, but he hasn't gone deep since mid-May and has not been getting hits when runners are on. When that changes, the Braves will go on another big run.

A Questionable Decision

2006-05-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

Bottom of the 6th. The Braves in the midst of a 2-out rally have just tied up the game at 3-3. The next batter, with a runner aboard, is Jorge Sosa. He's thrown 96 pitches and given up 6 hits over the past 4 innings. Pinch-hitter time, right? No. Bobby leave Sosa in. Out 3. Bad decision.

We did get to see proof tonight of why we prefer Andruw (Whose likeness adorned the statuette handed out tonight at the Ted. Even those over 12 years old.) in center over Kenny Lofton. First, Andruw is not a cancer in the clubhouse. Second, the Langerhans triple in the 6th. I bounced off the top of the wall, and flew back past a leaping-for-nothing-but-air Lofton. Had that ball been hit to Andruw's center field, it would have been out #3. Without him ever needing to leap at the ball.

And the paint can won the tool race. What crap. The paint roller is clearly the better athlete.

I didn't get to see Sunday's game...

2006-05-28T21:33:00.000-04:00

Did I miss anything?

Horacio The Magnificent

2006-05-28T08:10:00.000-04:00

That headline is right up there with "Cox Publicly Trashes Players" and "Francoeur Walks Twice" in terms of likelihood -- in other words, not bloody likely. But there you have it -- in his first start since a lengthy DL stint, Ramirez shut down the Cubs over seven innings, allowing a first-inning run on a sac fly and nothing thereafter.

The story, though, was the breadth of his performance. First, and most importantly, no walks. He also chipped in a single, scoring from first on a double by Giles, and threw in a perfect sac bunt for good measure. Horacio's highlight reel for this game, though, will feature a couple of spectacular defensive plays at the first base bag. His gimpy hamstring kept him from running full speed, so Jordan had to wait longer than usual to feed him the ball on a couple of grounders to first, then did him no favors with two erratic tosses. But Horacio made one barehand grab and then one twisting pirouette to keep the feeble Cubbies off the bases. I don't know how much we can expect to get from HoRam, but he deserves any and all kudos today.

Cox looks to be going with a situational closer approach for now, as Remlinger became the fourth Brave reliever to get a save this week (after McBride, Reitsma, and Ray). I think it's the right approach for now, but I do hope Schuerholz is casting about for more help.

Braves 6, Cubs 5- Notes On A Great Win

2006-05-27T09:34:00.000-04:00

The Braves played a great game, did some very fundamental things right and got a big boost from a Cubs team that worked hard to give this one away. This game is also huge because we move into sole possession of 2nd place, we move to just 3.5 back of the Mets and we move to 2 games over .500 for the first time all season.

-We took what they were giving. Francoeur took his 3rd walk of the season, on a 5-pitch at-bat in the first. It was huge because bases were loaded, and the Braves scored a runs without a hit in the inning. Giles, Andruw and LaRoche had walked ahead of him, but its his taking pitches that was great to see. We also recieved a gift hit from Jaque Jones, who lost a 2-out fly ball in the sun that banged off the wall for our first "hit" off Zambrano. If its caught, the innings over and we are still no-hit into the 8th. Instead, Giles follows the double with an rbi single and Zambrano's day is done. We use the extra out to score and to get into the flailing Cubbie bullpen.

-We win when we hustle. We will not soon forget LaRoche's lazy play that cost us a game. This game showed the flip-side. If Giles isn't going full-out on his tagup in the 9th, then he's stuck at 3rd and the game is tied. Seems like that sort of problem happened to us in a World Series game once long ago. If that had been Giles on 2nd then, we'd have had another ring.

And finally, a decent nickname on the team! Someone got to Kenny Ray before Cox could start calling him Rayeee or something. The AJC reports that he's called "Death Ray". Not too bad. I kind of like it. I wonder what Giles-ee and Jones-ee think of it.

Chip Carey Talks Gooder

2006-05-26T17:09:00.001-04:00

The game is still going, but I had to mention this beauty from Chip Carey. In reaction to the line-drive to short by Jordan in the 8th:
"You can't hit it any harder or more better."

Couldn't have said it more better myself.

Statistical Oddities

2006-05-26T09:08:00.000-04:00

Every now and then I will parse through hitting and pitching stats during intense periods of ennui. Given that today is the Friday before a holiday, I have ennui in spades. So I noticed something...

The Braves absolutely rock at home. While I didn't perform analysis on every team in the National League (I'm not THAT bored), it does seem that we, along with Houston and Milwaukee, enjoy the biggest home-field advantage in the league. Unfortunately, (or for those future-thinkers, fortunately) we have played the fewest home games of anybody so far. The numbers tell a story.

Hitting
Overall, the Braves are hitting .267 as a team, which is 5th-best in the NL. At home, we hit .291, good for 3rd (behind Arizona and LA), versus .253 on the road, which is 11th.

In terms of OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage), a very good indicator of overall offensive prowess, the Braves are 8th in the NL overall at .768, but are 3rd at home with an .821 OPS. On the road we rank 12th in OPS with .737.

So, one could then easily argue that Turner Field isn't anywhere near the pitchers park that most believe it to be. (In terms of long-term trends, the Ted is actually neutral-to-pitching friendly - certainly not a hitters haven) Before proclaiming anything of this nature, however, look at the pitching numbers.

Pitching
Overall, the Braves are 7th in the NL with a 4.32 ERA. At home we rank 2nd with a 3.47 ERA versus a road ERA of 4.88, which ranks 12th.

Overall, we allow 1.42 baserunners per inning (WHIP), good for 9th in the NL. At home, however, we rank 2nd with a 1.23 WHIP versus ranking 15th on the road with a 1.54 WHIP.

So while the hitting stats are a little better at home than away, the pitching stats improve DRAMATICALLY (see, I put that in ALL CAPS to emphasize how dramatic it is - clever, no?) at home versus the road. This defies logic - usually one or the other set of stats improve based on the overall nature of the park. As an example of this, think about Colorado's historical home/away splits. But the Braves both hit and pitch better at home.

So, even though we have the 9th best record in the NL, we have the 2nd best winning percentage at home, behind only St. Louis and tied with Houston and NY. On the road, however, we have the 2nd worst winning percentage (of teams that are above .500), ahead of only Houston and Milwaukee.

In years past, we have always been a pretty good home team, but usually absolutely rocked on the road. Clearly, this isn't the case thus far - we are taking care of business at home in a big way. But what is really weird is that we actually score more runs per game on the road (5.21) than at home (4.89), which, given the huge split disparities talked about above, just doesn't make any sense at all.

Thank you for allowing me to pass on my boredom to you. Good day.

Braves Can Hit. Once A Week.

2006-05-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

I can see that now. Anyway, the Braves' bats kicked some ass on Wednesday. Andruw broke out of his funk with 2 roundtrippers. Although, to be honest, I don't think the second one was going to make it out on its own. It took a little extra push off the glove of Mike Cameron to make it over the wall. Renteria went deep. Chipper stole 2 bases AND had 4 rbi. Pratt picked up a couple rbi's. And LaRoche got 3 also. Everybody hit everything. Except Mr. Francoeur, who somehow inexplicably managed the golden sombrero.

John Thomson got an undeserved 2nd win. Sosa loses after giving up 2 hits and no earned runs. Then one night later, Thomson allows 8 hits and 4 earned runs over 7 innings for a "win". Racism? Maybe. We'll discuss that later this season. But the Braves beat the Padres so bad last night that Bobby Cox gave them tonight off. Everybody. No game. See you on Friday.

Oh, and don't forget Rule #305:
If Cole Hamels doesn't feel like pitching on a Wednesday in New York City, he doesn't.

The Media is Finally On to Bonds & Steriods

2006-05-24T12:55:00.000-04:00

Shocker. It looks like someone in the media has been leaked info regarding Barry Bonds. It seems he may be "juicing" a bit. Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated has an article on-line that alludes to this possibility.

The piece begins with an obvious attempt to tug at my heartstrings: "There will come a day when Barry Bonds leaves baseball, and everything about the game will be the better for it.
In the meantime, the more the man reveals himself, the more we know him to be the absolute fraud for which his name has become synonymous." The artlce then goes on to point out the lying, hypocritical scumbag that is Barry "Juice" Bonds.

And the mark of a great writer is being able to finish with a bang. And he does:
It is yet another window into the shallow soul of Bonds that he thinks he could disrespect Ruth in front of the national media at a showcase baseball event, have it be widely and repeatedly reported, and then only three years later claim it was a "fabrication." Just like he never knew those were steroids he put into his body. He and his records are truly unbelievable.

Well, really the other stuff in the column isn't real important. Just so you know that all great writers think that Juicy Bonds is a lying, cheating whiner who should be run out of baseball with a loaded bat.

Bullpen Musings

2006-05-23T23:27:00.000-04:00

OK, so one game after Cox pulled Reitsma to give a save opportunity to McBride (and not exactly giving Reitsma a vote of confidence in the paper the next morning), Reitsma is given another chance and converts. It would seem high time to replace him, but the in-house options seem less than promising. So I believe that Reitsma is being kept in the role in preparation for a deal -- otherwise, McBride or Ray would have gotten the opportunity last night. But why install one of them if you have a plan to import a new closer soon?

So maybe it's time to scan some other rosters -- teams who are going nowhere, have needs, and possess a relatively inexpensive veteran reliever. There are only about eight such teams at the moment -- many other teams are at least superficially in contention. Here are some possible imports:

LaTroy Hawkins, Baltimore -- A live arm, and the O's aren't making postseason plans. But he's a tad pricey ($4.4 million), and has famously flamed out as a closer in the past. Not likely.

Scot Shields or Brendan Donnelly, LA Angels -- Each has logged several years of excellent service for the Angels. Shields ($2.1 million) is more expensive than Donnelly ($950K), and will be arbitration eligible after this season. Sooner or later the Angels will have to deal some bullpen arms to fill other gaps on their aging roster. Hmmm....

Joe Borowski, Florida -- Possesses the Experienced Closer label, and is a former Brave. Very affordable ($327K). These factors combine to imbue me with fear that this could actually happen. Yikes.

Roberto Hernandez, Pittsburgh -- He's really old. Let's not get him.

Scott Eyre, Bob Howry, or Scott Williamson, Cubs -- Ah, here we might have something. These are guys you bring in if you think you're in contention, and are eminently tradeable if (as is the case with the Cubbies) your season collapses. The Cubs have needs in the middle infield and outfield, and there's no sense whatsoever in hanging on to three guys making $2-$3 million each as setup/situational relievers. Howry and Williamson have each closed before, and all three are pitching well this year. Williamson is a particularly interesting stealth candidate -- he's fallen off the radar after two years of arm troubles, but seems healthy now and his K/9 ratio is about twice that of our present pen.

Here's my pecking order at the moment:

1. Williamson
2. Shields
3. Howry
4. Donnelly

Thoughts?

Reitsma-In or Our or What?

2006-05-23T09:27:00.000-04:00

For the past few days the conventional wisdom has been that Reitsma is out. He can't finish a game and his closer spot is lost. Today Mark Bradley's AJC column begins with: Chris Reitsma is a nice guy, but he’s not a closer. Not a closer. Oddly enough, last night Reitsma picked up his 8th save, dispensing of all 3 batters he faced in 12 pitches. Whoops. Maybe the editors should have held off on that column for a few more days. Or run it 2 days ago.

News flash: Reitsma has not lost his closer spot. No one else will be the closer, at least for a few more weeks, although I would expect McBride to get a few chances when there are 2 gone, a lefty at the plate and runners on base. But seriously, how often will that situation come up in a save situation? Reitsma's ours to deal with because Bobby Cox looooooves him. And we know how Bobby can't let go when he attaches his ego to a given player. Stats mean nothing anymore, so when you attempt to predict Reitsma's exit you can toss logic out the window. I think M. Norman's early prediction, that Reitsma will be briefly displaced, but never really lose his role, will prove accurate. For better or worse.

Worth noting: I read Bradley's column on-line and noticed this nugget in the comments section:

By Wilson Betemit
May 23, 2006 12:13 AM Link to this
Why am I not playing every day?

One The Old-Fashioned Way

2006-05-23T09:08:00.000-04:00

OK, this makes up for the debacle in Arizona on Friday. Ordinarily, we would have had no business winning this game, but for one swing by Langerhans and yet another crafty Smoltz performance. Even Reitsma redeemed his Friday performance (though overcoming the totality of his failures to this point would be a task fit for Sisyphus).

Since we notched the victory, we can approach with some contentment the historical significance of Jake Peavy's performance -- a new contender in the annals of dominant pitching performances against the Braves. Seven innings, 3 hits, 16Ks, one ball out of the infield (Langy's HR). How in the world he is 3-5 with a 3.64 ERA is completely beyond comprehension. Last night he looked like Greg Maddux with 10 extra MPH.

Off the top of my head, there are three other performances that compare:

1) Ramon Martinez (June 4, 1990) -- 3-hit shutout, 1BB, 18Ks. Aesthetically, Peavy's performance most resembled this one. Pedro's older brother also threw a darting 98 MPH fastball, and made us look foolish all night. Of course, our 1990 lineup featured the desiccated remains of Murph, and the less said about "Jim Presley, cleanup hitter", the better.

2) Ben Sheets (May 16, 2004) -- another 3-hit, 1BB, 18K domination, with his only mistake being a solo HR to Andruw. Sheets doesn't have quite the arsenal of Peavy in terms of nasty, late-moving pitches. This was more Ryan-esque -- here comes another fastball, and you won't be hitting it. Please have a seat.

3) Randy Johnson (May 18, 2004) -- right on the heels of the Sheets debacle came the Unit's 13K perfect game. The Braves didn't play the day before, so these were consecutive games. In truth, Sheets was more dominant, but you can't do much better than no baserunners allowed.

I'll rank them:

1) Johnson
2) Sheets
3) Peavy
4) Martinez

With our early struggles again this year, it's easy to forget the gloom that followed the Sheets and Johnson games. These were the standings the following morning:

Florida 21-17
Philadelphia 20-17
NY Mets 19-20
Atl 17-20
Mon 14-25

We didn't give up then, and we're certainly not giving up now.

So, OK... Reitsma Sucks. Now What?

2006-05-23T08:49:00.000-04:00

Grousing is at an all-time high about the Braves' closer situation. But while Kolb's demise was relatively quick, albeit immensely painful, the denouement of this latest tragic comedy will take a while to play out. We just don't have any other options.

I predicted that Villarreal would get the bulk of the opportunities by the All-Star break, but I also thought that Reitsma would have done better than he has done. He blows, as in saves, as in EVERY OTHER save. Blustering aside, who's the alternative?

First of all, elite closers are very, very rare. There are so few of them, they are almost a myth. Mariano Rivera? Yes, he is great, but even he has a blown save and an ERA above 3.00 this season. So, forget about elite closers. All we need is a good closer. But what constitutes a good closer?

1. Strikes people out
Even good closers will put people on base, but what makes them good is limiting the damage by getting a "free" out - i.e. striking someone out. Who do we have that qualifies? Well, the Braves staff as a whole strikes 6.3 batters out per nine innings, which isn't very good. But the only reliever with a fair amount of work thus far (so sorry Chad Paronto, you won't be closing for us - at least I hope not) is Mike Remlinger at 7.7 Ks per nine innings. The next closest? Oscar Villarreal with 5.7. But with his 13 Ks in 20.2 innings are 12 walks. Not exactly closer material.

2. Doesn't allow too many people on base
While good closers do allow baserunners, they don't allow too many baserunners. Over the course of an entire season, think maybe one baserunner per inning - that is very good, but not dominant. As a staff, the Braves allow about 1.4 baserunners per inning - not very good, but not terrible. As to our relievers, only Kenny Ray (1.19, which is good) and Mike Remlinger (1.36, which is not good) allow fewer baserunners than the team average. Again, no closer stuff found here.

So, OK. Reitsma doesn't strike anyone out - he has but 10 strikeouts in 19.2 innings (4.58 rate, and all of the saves leaders in the league average better than, or really close to, a 9.0 rate, or a strikeout per inning), and he allows 1.6 baserunners per inning, and judging by his 6.41 ERA, many of those baserunners score.

So Reitsma sucks, but our two best alternatives our Mike Remlinger and Ken Ray. Can anyone imagine going into the playoffs with Ken Ray as your closer?

A Cavernous, Haunting Place

2006-05-22T08:06:00.000-04:00

The Braves saved a little face yesterday by salvaging the final game at Arizona, winning 2-1 in a well-pitched battle and remaining 4 1/2 games back of the Mets and three back of the Phillies. Meanwhile, the Mets and Phillies will beat up on each other for three games beginning tomorrow, and we go the commodious, unfriendly confines of Petco Park.

It was about this time last year that things began to unravel for the Braves, with the aforementioned meltdown coming at this place. The day before, we had just won the rubber game of a three game series with the Dodgers, and had won for the 10th time in 14 games. We held a 2 1/2-game lead of the Marlins. Then Dan Kolb happened. Then San Diego swept us, beginning an unusual spiral downward for a team unaccustomed to down.

We lost three to San Diego, lost two of three to the Red Sox (Davies debut saved us), and somehow pulled ourselves together to sweep the Mets. Then we lost 11 out of our next 16, losing Chipper, Estrada and our closer, realizing at the same time that Raul Mondesi no longer belongs in a major league uniform, and Jordan no longer belongs in a starting lineup.

We also discovered Brian McCann, Jeff Francouer and Kelly Johnson and Ryan Langerhans, turning a rather gloomy outlook into a bright future. So, we have some ghosts to expel in this middle leg of yet another nine-game road trip. Tonight's game should be terrific - Smoltz vs. Peavy.

Balco Barry Ties the Babe? Yeah, so what?

2006-05-21T15:44:00.000-04:00

Well Barry "Juice" Bonds finally hit number 714. Woo-Hooooo! I imagine him rounding the bases, two fingers held aloft and shouting "I'm tied with number 2!" Very inspiring. Perhaps a Lifetime channel movie will help us all relive the moment again in a few years. But probably not, since Bonds' public support numbers seem absolutely Bushian of late.

The guy who caught the ball, 19 year-old Tyler Snyder, gets some props from me. First, he pointed out that he's an A's fan, not a Giants fan. Then the spit in the eye, when asked about his opinion on Balco Barry: "I hate that guy," Snyder told reporters before he was whisked away. "I don't really care for the guy." Go Tyler. You the man.

Also notably underwhelmed by this ESPN moment was our own Bobby Cox, wh0 never puts down a player that I can recall. "Our reaction in the clubhouse has always been that record's already been broken, Hank broke it. That's the big one. What's the big deal?"

No big deal Bobby. Just big hype. About a big, cheating phoney. Because ESPN has paid big stinking money for a big, stupid Barry reality show that nobody cares to watch. When Barry can hit home runs in an afternoon game in July, after drinking and playing cards all night on the train ride from New York to Detroit and eating hot dogs from the stadium vendors between innings, then I'll compare him to Ruth.

But not everyone is down on Barry. Billy Wagner shared this ringing endorsement:"I'm happy for him, they should celebrate in baseball. There's no guilty verdict yet." YET.

Another Blown Save, Another Rambling Post

2006-05-20T07:35:00.000-04:00

Reitsma blew another one. Long after I'd gone to sleep. Thomson had another game of pitching from the stretch most of the time, although he did have 2 innings facing the minimum. But 8 hits and 3 walks in less than 6 innings is not prime-time material. We should have scored more in that gift of an opener, as Andruw struck out with bases loaded, nobody out and Francoeur got K'd with one-out and bases full. But, in the end, it was Reitsma that once again punched us in the gut and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. A crushing result to wake up to after being spotted 5 runs in the top of the first inning.

GAME NOTES: Speaking of the minimum, Don Sutton made an odd remark in that remarkable first. Pitcher John Thomson got to hit with 2 out in the 1st. Don said that as a pitcher he loved it when he got to bat before he threw his first pitch, "because it means you have at least a 4 or 5 run lead." Shouldn't someone who pitched as long as Don, and who still follows the game regularly I believe, know that if the batter in the 9 slot hits in the 1st inning the minimum number of runs scored would be 3? Shouldn't he just know that?

TRIVIA TIME: With McCann atop the league in batting, its worth noting that only 2 catchers have ever won the batting title. Care to hazard a guess? Hint: The last one was a Braves catcher--------Answer below----------

-----The last catcher to win the title was Ernie Lombardi of the 1942 Boston Braves. He hit .330. He also won it with the Reds in 1938, hitting .342. (And he caught Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters that year.) The other catcher was the seductively-named Bubbles Hargrove, also from the Reds, in 1926. Why are there so few players named "Bubbles" nowadays.

We Might Be In Trouble

2006-05-19T10:48:00.000-04:00

Last week the Phillies, who have starting rotation issues right along with their division competitors, brought up super-prospect Cole Hamels from Scranton and installed him in the rotation. He was wild but effective in his first start against the Reds, and struggled yesterday against the Brewers.

A look at his minor league numbers and it's obvious he's something special. But, as with any burgeoning legend, it's the anecdotal evidence that really grabs you. And if this collection is any indication, it could be a long summer for all those not named Cole Hamels.

For instance, did you know:

"Cole Hamels once threw a curve ball so well that the batter's children struck out."

"When Delmon Young heard Cole was promoted to triple-A, he went and got himself suspended."

and...

"Cole Hamels' preferred catcher is Cole Hamels."

Something like that's gotta be true. I'm frightened.

Now We Are Rolling (er, even more so)

2006-05-18T16:37:00.000-04:00

It was exactly a week ago when I pondered our fate in the face of an eight game deficit. This exercise led to despair, though we here never, ever bury the Braves prematurely, especially in May. At the time, though, the Mets were playing their best ball of the season and we were playing close to our worst.

Now, just a week later, we are playing our best ball and the Mets are playing their worst, along with the Phillies, and now we sit just 3 1/2 games out of first. So, in just a week, we have made up 4 1/2 games. You know things are going well when Sosa dominates opposing hitters, like he did in today's contest. Sosa went 6.2 innings and allowed six hits, one run with no walks (!!!) and eight strikeouts.

All of a sudden, everyone is clicking. Let's look at some before-and-afters, shall we?

Jeff Francoeur
Eleven games ago the Braves were 12-18 and Francoeur was hitting .218 with 5 HRs and 15 RBIs, and there was even discussion of sending him to the minors.
Now, after today's two-HR, three-RBI performance, he is hitting .269 with 10 HRs and 36 RBIs. The latter is good for fourth overall in the NL, three behind Andruw Jones.

Marcus Giles
Eight games ago the Braves were 15-18 and Giles was hitting .205 with an on-base percentage of .306.
Now, after going 2-4 today, he is batting .242 with an on-base percentage in the neighborhood of .345.

Matt Diaz
Good lord, this man has just blown up! Ten games ago Diaz was hitting .243 with zero HRs and two RBIs.
Now, after going 2-4 today with another HR, he his hitting .386 with two HRs and 10 RBIs after collecting 13 hits in his last 20 at bats.

We are accustomed to making the Big Run, and we have won nine out of 11, but I am hesitant to call this our Big Run. This is the way we should play against the Marlins and Nationals. I'll be content to be back a couple of games until we really hit our stride.

Know Your Braves

2006-05-18T16:27:00.000-04:00

So you think you know the Braves pretty well. You know Chipper enjoys redneck girls wearing orange short-shorts. You knew that Julio Franco ate a dozen eggs or more every morning. You know that Giles loves to go huntin'. And so forth. But, since the departure of Tom Glavine, do you know what Brave player has stepped in to fill the void as biggest right-wing nut job? I was surprised to read this in today's AJC:

Until last week, the only appearance advertised on Ralph Reed's campaign Web site was a November 2005 fund-raiser featuring Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.

Congratulations John. Makin' the Matic proud.

Now We're Rolling

2006-05-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

A look at the final scores of the first three games of this series, and you might say, "OK fine. We're supposed to beat the Marlins at home." But the nature of the wins, capped by Chipper's 3-run walkoff HR tonight, could prove far more energizing. Three improbable comeback wins, and maybe this portends better things to come (provided Francoeur didn't just send Chipper to the DL by pounding on him at the plate -- Jeff, you gotta lighten up on the old man).

Hidden in the overall good performance by the offense is the fact that Chipper hasn't been much of a run-producer lately. He still gets on base with the best of them, but the power hasn't been in evidence. We can't expect 30 HR from him anymore, but if he can string some games like this together now and then (and can avoid getting hurt), our lineup truly rivals the Mets. Speaking of whom, their recent 9-game lead has been cut in half.

On the other hand, we've got Sosa going tomorrow. As Harry Caray would often say, "Let's get some runs!"

Braves 4, Marlins 3 (11 innings)

2006-05-17T08:29:00.000-04:00

Braves win! Braves win! Another thrilling victory. And a very, very long game. But here, for the sake of conversation, are two strategy decisions that I question.

Reitsma is brought in to pitch the 9th. He throws 14 pitches. The bottom of the 9th ends with the game tied and the pitcher's spot due to lead off the 10th. Why replace Reitsma with McBride in the top of the 10th? And McCann for Pratt too. Why not let Reitsma throw the 10th, then insert McCann as part of the double-switch in the bottom half? Save the rest of the bullpen, since there's no telling how long the game could go.

On the flip-side, I call out the Florida decision to intentionally walk LaRoche to face Diaz in the 11th. Diaz was 2-for-3, with a homer on the night. LaRoche is barely hitting over .200 and hadn't swung the bat all night. And, if you are going to walk one in order to set up the force play, why not walk Diaz too and force the Braves to use up a pinch-hitter in the pitcher's slot that follows Diaz?

Why Not? McCann MVP Watch (Part 1)

2006-05-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

Here's one ridiculously early NL MVP ballot:

1. Try to guess
2. Carlos Lee
3. Lance Berkman
4. Carlos Delgado
5. Miguel Cabrera
6. Brian McCann

Funny, Francoeur's sudden arrival last year was given much more media attention, but McCann's performance so far this year is even better. In Atlanta Braves history, who besides Chipper Jones, Dave Justice, and Bob Horner have ascended so quickly to middle-of-the-lineup stalwart status as McCann? Maybe Earl Williams. Anyway, it's a short list. McCann has it.

Kudos also to Andruw Jones, who cut down his swing and had four singles good for four RBI (not to mention an Andruw Special catch to end the eighth), and Chad Paronto, whose three standout innings of relief gave us a chance in a game that looked lost.

Yes, it was a Bad Call. But....

2006-05-14T16:35:00.000-04:00

Braves 1, Washington 8.

Thomson was hanging in there. Allowing baserunners, but not allowing them to become runs, except the solo shot by Soriano. The 5th inning was a done deal. 2 outs, one on, and LaRoche had out 3 in his glove..... Then he made the lazy play. He gave a major-league tema extra outs and a free baserunner. And the Braves got burned with 4 unearned runs.

So, sure. The call was wrong. But it should not have been close. If I were at the park today, I'd have booed Adam for the next 4 uninspired innings of play. Booed him like he was Tom Glavine explaining that the players were forced to go on strike because their families needed the money. Booed him like he was Barry Bonds proclaiming his innocence and crying that everyone was picking on him. I'd have booed like that.

Pitchers? Who Needs Pitchers?

2006-05-14T10:16:00.000-04:00

Wow. A finish to remember. Place a bookmark on your collective memories of the Braves come-from-behind assault on the Nats Saturday night. It was one to remember.

Sosa's mediocre pitching continues unabated. (Will Horacio's return see Sosa removed from the rotation finally?) 5 and 2/3 innings, with nary a 3-up,3-down inning to be found. Against Washington. But the bullpen held its own, surrendering nothing of consequence.

But it was the bats that made the night remarkable. When was the last time a team had homers from 2 different catchers? Pratt's dinger led off the 5th, then McCann blasted the first pitch of the 9th for his. Francoeur's walk-off grandslam was his first walk-off homer and his first grandslam ever. Nice for the dramatics, though a simple basehit would have been enough. Its the first W.O.G.S. for the Braves since Jordan did it in 2001. B.J. was hitless on this night.

So how to come back from 8 back? Try scoring 49 runs in the past week (with Monday off). An 8+ per game average will do alot to overcome mediocre pitching. Add to that a friendly stretch in the schedule. Our next ten, after era-leader Thomson goes today, are against Florida, Arizona and San Diego. The Mets have St' Louis, the Yankees and Philly. So now is the time to make up some games fast. This time, with our bats.

How To Come Back From 8?

2006-05-11T07:43:00.000-04:00

After losing to the Marlins 11-3 last night, which is the Marlins' first home win in more than a month, in which some guy named Joe Borchard had four RBIs and another guy named Dan Uggla had three hits, the Braves are now, once again, eight games back. And once again, Brave-O-Matic asks the question, how deep is too deep? (As in a hole signifying a deficit, not as in the joke of lore or other "deep" references, be they include Mark Felt, some sort of ravenous fish-monster or something the Supreme Courts deems as prurient. Let's keep our focus on baseball.)

The Mets own the best record in the National League right now, second best in all of baseball, and have trumpeted far and wide that this is THE YEAR. Whatever it takes. The Bad Zambrano goes down, perhaps Barry Zito will fill in nicely. Or maybe Dontrelle Willis. Both of the latter names have been swirling about in trade rumors involving the Mets. Who cares if the Mets have to part with super-stud prospect Lastings Milledge - this is THE YEAR.

After many years of blustering that this is THE YEAR the Braves don't win, most in the baseball punditry shied away from such haughty talk this year. After all, on paper the Braves have better starting pitching and all those rookies who were so sensational last year are back, along with Chipper, reigning HR and RBI champ Andruw, and current batting leader Edgar Renteria. Good times keep on rolling, right?

Well, as is our habit, the Braves have gotten off to the usual SLOW START, and the expectation is that soon all will be right in Mudville. The Braves will go on their usual BIG RUN and leave teams quivering in their wake. Tried and true story, comforting in it's predictability.

For the Mighty Mets to succumb to the trappings of 14 years of history, however, they have to start losing. Lost in all our BIG RUNS of the past have been the flinching and failings of those positioned in our crosshairs. In 33 games this year, the Mets longest losing streak is two, a circumstance occurring three times. Those impressed by those 14 years will shrug and say, "well, the Mets can't keep up this pace." Can't they?

They are winning two of every three games thus far. Projected forward, that is 108 wins, a total that, staying in the history-as-a-teacher vernacular, would be historic. But is it completely unreasonable for a team who has put a date on their destiny as THIS YEAR?

Perhaps it is unreasonable, and perhaps the Braves BIG RUN will impress even the fickle judgment of history, rendering everything right in the world again. Destiny pitted against tradition - who am I to judge?

Anatomy of a Hitting Streak

2006-05-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

We at Brave-O-Matic haven't made too big a deal of Edgar Renteria's hitting streak, which numbered 23 to start the season (24 including last year), and which ended today. Maybe we were waiting for him to get to Rowland Office or Rico Carty territory, I don't know, but the fact is it was a sneaky little streak.

First, he missed some games. Second, he wasn't ostentatious about it -- which is a nice way to say that it was about as unimposing a hitting streak as one could manage.

Now, I don't mean that to denigrate Edgar's accomplishment. Every day he'd played before tonight (which we won't discuss), he'd gotten at least one hit. And at the beginning of the day, his .354 BA led the National League. So far he's been everything we could have hoped.

But it was an odd streak -- typically, a player on a significant hitting streak bats around .400 in the process. DiMaggio batted around .430 during his 56-game streak. Quick check on Jimmy Rollins shows a .369 BA during his streak. My point is weakened, but I press ahead...

Take a look at Renteria's game log for 2006. In every game, he got exactly one or two hits. In no game did he get more than one extra-base hit (7 2Bs, 2 HRs). And not since April 14 has he scored and driven in a combined 3 runs in a single game. Basically, he's been contributing in some way to one scoring inning per game.

Which is fine, really -- I'm just saying that, hitting streak or not, we're going to need him to continue to do at least that -- just about everyone else in the order (besides McCann) is inconsistent or injury-prone. Edgar Renteria is the best candidate to perform at a consistent level throughout the season.

Breaking News!!

2006-05-09T22:10:00.000-04:00

No, not the first Atlanta appearance of Chad Paronto...

And no, not Edgar Renteria extending his hitting streak...

John Thomson regaining the NL ERA lead from Tom Glavine? Nope...

Francoeur walked! On four pitches! When we're hanging the banner for our 15th straight division championship, we may very well point to this plate appearance as the one that turned the season around.

OK, probably not. And leave it to Turner South to ruin the moment, by the way, by cutting to a shot of the mound just before Francoeur arrived at first base to be congratulated by Hubbard, and following that with a replay of ball four. Presumably they had a good laugh -- not that we would know.

The Next Carlton Fisk

2006-05-07T23:06:00.000-04:00

I'm told there's a publication out there somewhere that I.J. Rosenberg, former AJC Braves beat writer, is presently writing for. I haven't found it -- anyone out there who knows about it would be doing me a big favor by letting me know what it's called and where to find it.

The reason for my interest is that he evidently penned a column a couple of weeks ago about Brian McCann, in which McCann is compared favorably to Fisk. That's high praise, maybe too high, but there's no doubt that to watch McCann is too see the burgeoning of a special player. With apologies to Edgar Renteria and Andruw Jones, McCann, at age 22, has been the most impressive Brave so far this season.

The stats tell the story of what he's done to this point, but watching him hit reveals that his hot start is more than just that -- he just plain knows what he's doing. He hits line drives all over the park, and seems to do so every day. He knows when he can dump a ball into left field, and seems happy to do just that. He hits LHPs even better than RHPs, at least to this point. And he displays a patient approach -- he hasn't walked very much, but he's willing to wait for a pitch to drive, and he drives a whole lot of pitches.

His numbers last year compare favorably to the age-21 stats of a couple of catchers you might have heard of -- Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza. And while these names represent a pretty lofty ceiling, he hasn't done anything to show that he isn't capable of that kind of career. He's the best young player we've brought up since Andruw, and all this is a prelude to the suggestion that Jarrod Saltalamacchia might want to try on a first baseman's mitt, or else consider what other team he might end up playing for.

Phillies 6 Braves 3 and our Weekly Matchup with the Mets!

2006-05-05T08:52:00.000-04:00

It's not that I'm an unimaginative person; I am actually quite clever. It's just the the schedule makes it hard to come up with fresh, exciting stuff when we play the same team over and over again. And since this occurs so frequently, we are playing in essentially the same scenario as in the recent past. So, here we are again facing the mighty Mets, who are playing amazingly consistent, good baseball, and if we don't rise up to the occasion we will find ourselves in a deep, deep hole. So stop reading now if you have heard this before.

We are now seven games back of the Mets and are playing frustratingly inconsistent, sloppy baseball. We looked hopeful against the Rockies in seeping them, and all signs pointed to some sort of harmonic convergence between our pitching, which has been good for a while now, and our hitting, which has been bad for a while now. Instead, dissonance reigns. Our pitching takes a step back - mostly our bullpen - while our hitting remains weak, and we get swept by the Phillies, showing no flashes of being a good baseball team during the arduous process.

Fortunately, we aren't facing Pedro or Glavine. In fact, we get our whipping boy Steve Traschel tonight. Traschel, in 30 starts against the Braves (yes, 30 starts!), is 11-15 with a 4.88 ERA and allows 1.53 runners per inning. So we knock him around pretty good.

Then we get the bad Zambrano, who we also knock around pretty good (five starts with a 2-4 record, 5.01 ERA while allowing 1.67 runners per inning). The Mets then send out some guy named John Maine who has a career 6.61 ERA in 49 big league innings.

So, once again, the cosmic matter is aligning for us in a sort of baseball syzygy. It's still just May - read last week's post for more of that talk - but at some point we will have to take advantage of the cosmic conveniences before us instead of just hanging around until July. At this pace, there will be no more rope.

A Depressing Loss

2006-05-04T08:03:00.000-04:00

The Braves had me feeling good last night. We spotted the home team 3 early runs and then proceeded to chip, chip, chip away until we took the lead in the 8th. Then Smoltz sat down and Remlinger gave it all away. 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 1/3 of an inning. Relief? Hardly. More like whatever the opposite of relief might be.

Now the Braves drop into 3rd place (who knew 3rd place still existed?), 6 games behind the mighty Mets. Tonight is another big game. A win by the surprising John Thomson will lift us back into a 2nd place tie, just in time for YET ANOTHER weekend series against the Mets.

From the It-seemed-like-a-good-idea-while-I-was-stoned Department- The Braves promotion for Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14th reads as follows: "Bring Mom to the game. Mom and kids run the bases after the game." WHAT? I don't know about you, but my Mom would never find running the bases to be an appealing way to spend her Mother's Day. A more alluring proposal for most moms would be- Dad and the kids go to the game and Mom stays home.

Dammit! Phillies 5 Braves 4

2006-05-04T08:02:00.000-04:00

Just like a mother bragging about her derelict son's new-found ways - "ooh he got a B on his latest geography quiz..." - yesterday I boasted about how well our bullpen has done, only to see them (and by them I mean Mike Remlinger) blow it in the eighth on a two-run homer by Aaron Rowand.

Losing this games hurts. The offense was looking pretty much anemic all night, then a mighty blast from Andruw ties it up, a broken bat single by Francoeur puts us ahead in the top of the eighth, and then Remlinger blows it in the bottom of the inning. Poof.

Smoltz pitched okay, but afterward said that he felt as good as he has in a long time and that "something like a no-hitter is coming," or words to that effect. Jeez... a shutout will suffice!

Our best starter toes the rubber tonight in John Thomson. In four starts spanning 23.2 innings, Thomson has allowed but two runs, but has been pitching out of trouble a lot, giving up nine walks in his last two starts. He can't do that to this group of mashers in a park that mollycoddles mashers.

Thomson is opposed by Corey Lidle, who really isn't all that good, posting a lifetime ERA of 4.52, which is in line with this season's 4.40 ERA. Against us lifetime, however, Lidle is 5-1 in six starts, including a win earlier this season. What is really freakish about Lidle, though, is that in 30.2 innings this season, he has struck out 33 with only three walks. So we will get pitches to hit - let's see what we do with them.

Keep That Rawhide Rollin' - Braves 5 Rockies 4

2006-05-03T07:39:00.000-04:00

The Braves completed the mini-sweep by defeating the Rockies behind a four-hit performance from Marcus Giles, who doubled in the bottom of the eighth to plate the winning run. We have now won three in a row and are five games behind the Mighty Mets.

Jorge Sosa didn't suck once again, allowing four runs in six innings, but kudos goes to the bullpen once again - holding the well-hitting Rockies at four runs after Sosa's exit.

Everything appears to be on an upswing right now. Our pitching, both starting and relief, has been very good during the past nine games. We haven't allowed more than five runs in a game since April 21. The bullpen, in particular, has been pretty good. In the last 18 IP, the bullpen has an ERA of 2.50, allowing 20 hits and 10 walks (not that good), but striking out 14, which is pretty good considering we are usually in want of the big strikeout. But the key here is after the starters, we are for the most part holding offenses pat, giving our batters a chance to either extend the lead or come back.

Yesterday's 13-hit performance shows signs of life for our bed-ridden bats. Perhaps the key number is that we only struck out four times. In the past 10 games prior to last night, the Braves were striking out 7.4 times per game, which I believe is the highest rate in the NL. (Verifying that would take actual research - a notion that is laughable in its improbability of being done by me.)

We are now off to the hitting-cozy Citizen's Bank Park to face the oft pitching-challenged Phillies. With our solid pitching and our offense coming around, I would sure like to add a couple of games to our modest little winning streak.

Hudson Shines -- Braves 2 Rockies 0

2006-05-01T22:26:00.000-04:00

Tim Hudson has really turned it around. Tonight's game was his second complete game victory in his last 3 starts, and his second career one-hit shutout. That it came against the Rockies might have seemed a surprise, as they've been road warriors this season and have a pretty good stable of young hitters. What they may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew, is that the Braves always, always beat the Rockies. That's just the way it is. In fact, we'll win again tomorrow, Sosa notwithstanding. I'll even make him my Pick to Click.

Quick stat note: The Braves starters ERA is now 4.32, good for sixth in the NL with a bullet.

He's Alive!!! Alive!!! Braves 8 Mets 5

2006-05-01T08:50:00.000-04:00

The Braves salvaged the final game against the Mets on Sunday, winning 8-5 behind a beyond-the-grave performance from the declared dead Jeff Francoeur, who went 4-5 with five RBI. Being six games down is a lot better than being eight games back.

The Mets pitcher, Steve Traschel, was just awful, so don't declare the offensive slump dead just yet, not for the team or for Francoeur. For the most part, our pitcher, Kyle Davies, was not very good, but he did what he had to do to keep us ahead. The bullpen, too, pitched effectively, with particular kudos going to Reitsma, who came into a mess in the eighth and recorded the final out with the bases loaded, then pitched around a walk and a fluke hit in the ninth to get the save.

The next two days we get the Rockies here at Turner Field, then we go an eight-game road trip, which means that by May 12, we will have played 11 home games to 24 road games.

The Braves will pitch Tim Hudson tonight and Jorge So-S0 bad tomorrow against Jason Jennings and Aaron Cook, respectively. The Rockies are playing well, especially on the road, which is weird. They are an amazing 10-3 on the road; 5-7 at home. So, while typically we would welcome our personal whipping boys - the Rockies - this isn't the same hapless crew.

The End Of An Era (cont.)

2006-04-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not referring to anything resembling ceding the division crown to the Mets. The series at Shea began with a loss, too, and a couple of days later we were feeling pretty good. A fickle mistress is baseball fandom -- a powerful and uplifting presence when things are going well, but as brittle as parchment in the sun. Kinda like Cliff Floyd. So Brave-O-Matic cedes nothing (and besides, I didn't see the game).

Anyway, it's a lot easier to write about a topic that raises my ire than one that just depresses me, so let's return to the FOX decision to go with Bob "Yawn" Rathbun and Jeff Torpor on Turner South broadcasts beginning Monday.

The AJC has a longer article today about the decision. There are some important differences between this decision and the aforementioned TBS New-Coke-style "rebranding" a couple of years ago. Whereas TBS essentially fired Skip and Pete before public outcry brought them back, FOX is simply going with the announcers they already have under contract. According to the article, "(Retaining the TBS announcers)...would have required an additional financial arrangement between Fox and Turner, which pays the announcers."

OK, I understand that Joe Simpson's contract was probably not on the agenda during the purchase negotiations. What this means, though, is that a similar public protest of the decision is far less likely to have any impact -- FOX owns the house, and if they want to replace the rose bushes with monkey grass, that's their prerogative. Not to say that we shouldn't voice our displeasure, of course.

You can always depend on Skip Caray for a money quote:

It's disappointing, but our input wasn't requested or needed.

Skip may be a grouch (as anyone who has listened to his pregame call-in shows can attest), but he's also a classy guy:

It hurts me to say this from a personal viewpoint, but they're doing the right thing...they should be loyal to their people.

Then:

I worry more, frankly, for the people who are not as well paid as we are -- people who have done such a good job all these years.

One last quote before we violate fair use -- this from Jeff Genthner, VP and GM of FSN South:

There were many considerations -- the view of the fan was obviously a major consideration, but also the contractual relationships that various announcers have with various companies, the brand of Braves telecasts on TBS and the brand of Braves telecasts on Turner South and Fox...

Ah, branding. I used to work for a company that licensed images to ad agencies and marketing departments, and "branding" is right up there with "touchpoints" in the pantheon of BS marketing non-words that "mean" whatever you want them to "mean". But what the hell, everyone says "branding" now -- that particular linguistic battle is over.

But if you're going to use it, at least use it in a context that bolsters your point. Please allow me to illustrate, in the form of a trivia question:

How long has Bob Rathbun been calling Braves games for FSN South?

a) Two years
b) Three years
c) Five years
d) Seven years

And the answer is....

e) Ten years!!

Did you know that? Did anyone out there have any idea that Bob Rathbun has been a Braves announcer for a decade?? I have nothing against the guy, but any assertion that he represents the face of FSN South is a serious misapprehension on two levels: one, his approach is too bland and "professional" for the viewer to develop an attachment to him; and two, FSN South is, purposely, faceless. As for Torborg (who is okay, and a vast improvement over Paciorek), he's been here all of a month. His "brand" is "itinerant one-year hire between his managing gigs".

Here's a sampling of reactions from around the blogosphere (AKA the prestigious Brave-O-Matic link list):

From the consistently great Rowland's Office:

From a business standpoint, it makes sense (haven’t we heard that already this week?); from a lifelong fan’s standpoint, it’s a gut-punch...At a minimum, attendance should increase because watching the game on television will be too painful.

A call to action in the comments at Braves Journal from "Patrick":

I'm sure everyone has heard about the horrible move that Fox has made taking Skip, Pete and the rest of the team off of their broadcasts. If anyone else is as pissed as I am about this and want to get them back, e-mail the president of Fox South and speak your mind. Here's his e-mail:
jgenthner@foxsports.net

And lastly, over at Tomahawk, a brilliantly concise summary that, had I emulated it, I would have already gotten my backyard mowed today:

Awful.

FOX Sends Skip and Pete Packing

2006-04-28T15:08:00.000-04:00

That's right, Braves fans. The faceless overlords of conglomerate media have pissed on you once again:

From AJC:

Fox Cable Networks announced it will replace the familiar Turner South broadcast team of Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson and Chip Caray. Beginning next week, the Braves games on Turner South will be called by FSN South’s broadcast team of Bob Rathbun and Jeff Torborg.

We figured this would happen next year, but if there's one lesson we should have learned by now in this age of consolidation, it's that it's never too soon for the bean counters, wherever they are, to trample local tradition. Our voices of summer -- Skip, Pete, Don, and Joe (okay, Chip too) -- are now relegated to the 70 games TBS is airing, a number that will drop to 45 next year.

This isn't the first time that Skip and Pete have had their schedules curtailed against their will -- remember Time Warner's absurd attempt to "nationalize" their MLB coverage on TBS a couple of years ago? We made our voices heard then, and forced TW to listen to its market instead of its marketers. Keep an eye on this space for a renewed call to action, and you can start by sending your opinion to FOX here.

Is Being 8 Games Back on May 1 a Big Deal?

2006-04-28T07:59:00.000-04:00

I am the pessimist here at Brave-O-Matic (and the wordy one). Those who read this blog have surely deduced that by now. So, it is with this overbearing pessimism that I ask the question - if we are swept by the Mighty Mets this weekend and fall eight games behind, is that a big deal?

The most we have been behind on May 1 since 2002 was 4 1/2 games in that same year. But we went 18-10 during May and were up by 1 1/2 games on June 1st. Then we really hit our stride, going 21-5 in June to take a commanding 9 1/2 game lead on July 1st. From there, the Braves just kept pouring it on, going 18-8 in July (take note of this month - there is a theme!) and ended up winning by 19 games. So, in May of 2002, we made up six games - going from 4 1/2 back to 1 1/2 games up. The following month, we accrued eight games.

In 2003, we were in first place on May first and never relinquished the lead, but never really sprinted away until July, when we went 21-7 to increase the July 1 lead of 4 1/2 games to 10 1/2 games by August 1. We ended up winning the NL East by 10 games this year.

In 2004, we were 2 1/2 games back on May 1, 3 1/2 games back on June 1 and, again, 3 1/2 games back on July 1. But after a 20-6 July we were in first place by 5 1/2 games on August 1. We ended up winning the NL East by 10 games this year.

Finally, last year, we were actually a 1/2 game up on May 1, but then, as you remember, things went awry - Kolb happened, Chipper got hurt, Hudson got hurt, Thomson got hurt, Hampton got hurt, the Jordesi experiment imploded - and by July 1st we were down 4 1/2 games. Stop me if you have heard this before, but after a 19-10 July and some serious weak-kneed play by our division rivals, the Braves were up 4 1/2 games by August 1. We never ran away with the division last year, but were comfortable enough during the last two weeks that the two-game final margin never gave us pause.

So, after all this, we still don't have an answer because we have never fallen behind by eight games. But what is clear is that July is the month of the Braves, so what we do in April and May seldom matter. The big question is whether the Mets or the Phillies will be able to withstand the inevitable Big Run the Braves will put together. No team has yet.

We face the exact three pitchers we faced last week against the Mets, which unfortunately includes Pedro, but we will have all our big guns in the lineup this time. Will we make the statement now, or will we put it off until July? Regardless, it's coming.

Swept by the Brewers - MIL 5 ATL 4

2006-04-26T16:15:00.000-04:00

We all know that our offense is Casey-esque in its futility of late, but today's woes are the defense's doing. And a sweep is the result.

We actually had two important things go our way today - Sheets didn't absolutely dominate us, and Sosa didn't absolutely suck. In fact, Sosa pitched pretty well, but some shoddy defense in the third - with the Braves up 1-0 - allowed three unearned runs to score. Another unearned run crossed in the sixth to make the score 4-2, thanks to another error by future first-baseman Chipper Jones.

After Cormier walked the bases loaded, Fielder Jr. hit an RBI single in the eighth to make it 5-2. The Braves got some good licks on Turnbow in the ninth, but came up short after rallying for two runs on a Jeff Francoeur RBI triple followed by a sacrifice fly by Brian McCann. That left the bases empty with two out and one run down, and Betemit struck out for the final out.

Sosa's final line is not bad at all - 5.1 IP, 4 Runs (0 ER), 5 hits, 1 BB, 4 K. He did allow another home run to Corey Koskie for the love of god, so any proclamations of relative success must be tempered by that fact.

Sheets pitched well again, but not with his usual double-digit strikeout totals and aura of utter hopelessness. He did strike out nine, but he allowed two runs and seven baserunners in six innings, which can be considered a bad outing against us.

Let's just put this in the "we-didn't-know-what-hit-us" category, get the hell out of there, and beat up on the Mets again, this time at home.

No "O" -- Brewers 4 Braves 2

2006-04-25T22:55:00.000-04:00

Recent trends continue -- good starting pitching, no offense. Chipper hit a 2-run HR in his return from the DL (bye, Prado -- we'll see you again), but the Braves got no other offense, as Tomo Ohka scattered 7 hits, followed by scoreless innings by Capellan and Turnbow.

Francoeur got a cheap hit, but he's lost again. Cox might try batting him eighth -- he might see a few fat pitches if he's batting in front of the pitcher. It was an exercise in hopelessness seeing LaRoche and Frenchy coming up w/ two outs in the ninth vs. Turnbow. What are the chances they'd start a two-out rally? I'm thinking 2%.

Game 3 tomorrow at 1:05. Sheets vs. Sosa, and if that ain't bad news, I don't know what is.

The Other Race

2006-04-25T15:46:00.000-04:00

The Braves-Brewers series is important for the Braves. With another weekend against the Mets looming, it would be a huge help for us to get a game (or 2) closer in the standings before Friday. Then the series winner would be division leader. But don't forget about the other big race to keep your eye on tonight and Wednesday- The Sausage Race!

Coming into last night's game, the Bratwurst is leading with 5 victories in the young season, followed by the Italian Sausage with 2 wins. The Polish Sausage and the Hot Dog are off to a disappointing start with only one win apiece.

I'm putting big money on the Hot Dog to turn his season around tonight. But regardless of who wins, everyone who races is a wiener.

UPDATE: The Italian Sausage passed the field in the home stretch en route to his 3rd victory Tuesday night.

Pesky Ole Brewers - Milwaukee 3 Braves 2

2006-04-25T09:12:00.000-04:00

Tough game last night. The Braves rarely muster much offense off the Brewers, especially with the weak-hitting lineup we employed last night. Davies pitched well except for one bad pitch to Corey Koskie. When you consider that it was Koskie's first HR and first two RBI in 51 ABs this season, you then can see what a bad pitch it must have been.

The problem was that Capuano pitched better. We scratched out only three hits against the guy, with the fourth coming hit coming off Matt Wise in an eighth inning where the Brewers really wanted us to win, Matt Diaz hit into a double play with the bases loaded and one out, scoring one run but wasting a golden opportunity with Andruw on deck.

The Brewers have been a somewhat pesky bunch for us. We split six games with them last year, and whenever we face Ben Sheets, we just wilt like little girls. And we will be facing Ben Sheets tomorrow. Last year, Sheets went 2-0 in two starts, striking out 12 in 14.2 innings, allowing only three earned runs. In 2004, Sheets went 1-1 in two starts, allowing five earned runs but striking out 31 in 17 innings. (One of those games was when he pitched a complete game while striking out 18. The next day, or very soon afterwards, Randy Johnson pitched a perfect game with 13 strikeouts. This was one of the few lowlights of that season, playoffs notwithstanding).

The good news is that we have all our guys back now, assuming Renteria plays tonight, and our starting pitching has been wonderful. We need to win tonight because tomorrow's matchup- Sheets vs. Sosa - is less than inspiring.

Things Are Finally Looking Up

2006-04-24T09:01:00.001-04:00

What a change a few days can make in the long, long trek through a major-league season. Last week things looked bleak for the Braves. We had a decimated infield, our starters looked like a junior varsity squad and we were facing a Mets team that couldn't be beat. But today, all that seems long ago. We took 2 of 3 to deflate the fearsome Metropolitans. Our bullpen has received a much-needed rest, thanks to complete games from Smoltz and Hudson. And our other starters suddenly turned out Mazzone-approved performances.

Last night, our Plug-And-Play roster came through for yet another big win. John Thomson, the replacement for Horacio, gave up one run over 6 innings. Yet as we entered the 8th, he faced the possibility of an undeserved loss. Prado, in his major-league debut, plugged into Giles' spot, led off with the toughest hit in baseball. A triple. Pete Orr, playing in Chipper's spot got a one-out walk. Then Betemit, replacing Renteria, went deep to straight away center for the 3-1 lead. Reitsma was so well-rested that Cox decided to let him pitch both the 8th and 9th. But Reitsma, so used to a one-inning routine, ran out of gas in the 9th and Mike Remlinger had to seal the deal.

So we enter this week with a well rested bullpen, starters who are on top of their game, young hitters who are getting clutch hits, facing three games with the Brewers. The week will finish out, following an off-day Thursday, with a weekend series against the Mets at the Ted. This time, it appears that the Mets will see Chipper, Renteria and Giles in our line-up. What a difference a week makes.

The Future Is Now

2006-04-21T07:38:00.000-04:00

OK, this is actually bad news. But, here at Brave-O-Matic, we can't help but beam with pride that our official mascot has been brought up to sub for Marcus Giles, who is out with a ligament tear in his finger. Or rather, in the modern parlance, he's "out with a finger".

In the meantime, we've got Pena-to-Prado, a true DP combination!

We are Still the Braves - Braves 2 Mets 1

2006-04-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

That's more like it. Braves win a wonderfully pitched game 2-1 behind Andruw Jones, who has once again put the team on his back, and a flinching of the Mets. Let's get to work on re-writing all those New York tabloid headlines that greatly exaggerated the death of our Braves.

Hudson did indeed pitch like the guy we traded for, taking a one-hitter into the ninth, but then allowing two hits and a run in the final frame to make it interesting. Tommy G. also pitched masterfully, throwing one bad pitch to a guy who feasts on bad pitches right now. And when it came down to it, it was the Braves who played like champs, while the Mets played like chumps, allowing an unearned run in the eighth thanks to two throwing errors by wonderboy David Wright. As it turns out, the Braves need that run - it was more than enough.

And, once again, my lea leaf-reading prowess proves to be severely lacking, as I predicted the Braves would feel "the pain." In fact, it was we who brought the pain, and there's plenty more where that came from, namely 146 games worth of pain. Only the good kind of pain, not the 1980s-kind of pain.

Announcers Talk Good

2006-04-19T14:28:00.000-04:00

The 'Matic has always taken great joy in pointing out that the vast majority of sports broadcasters do not understand the differnce between the literary concepts of coincidence and irony. In that spirit, I offer this gem from Chip Caray this afternoon. This came in the 7th inning while it was still a 0-0 tie. (Just before Andruw went yard.)

The way these guys are pitching, one run is going to be tough to come by. And it looks like one run will be more than enough.

More than enough? Really? So someone can win with less than a run? I think one run might be enough, but it could never be more than enough to win.

One For The Good Guys, 7-1

2006-04-18T21:50:00.000-04:00

With Kyle Davies' struggles late last season and early this season, and the uncertainty regarding the Braves' rotation as a whole, it's been easy to forget that Davies is one of the better pitching prospects in the game. He reminded us tonight, pitching his first career CG and 3-hitting the Mets at Shea Stadium. Even though they were missing Beltran and Floyd, the Mets' lineup still included tablesetters Reyes and LoDuca, and mashers Delgado and Wright. Those four combined to go 1-14, and Delgado struck out thrice.

Davies had masterful control of his fastball and curve, and continued a recent resurgence among the rotation. Even including Sosa's last start (which, in the faint praise department, was also his best), the last four starters have combined for a 1.61 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in 28 innings, with a 17/4 K/BB ratio. The starters combined ERA, a catastrophic 7.99 just four days ago, is now a not-quite-historic 5.83. Good times, good times.

Color Andruw and LaRoche unimpressed with the Mets moundsmen today. With apologies to Craig Kilborn, Andruw was twice amused by the simplicity of this game, and LaRoche chimed in with a call for the finest meats and cheeses. The regrettable Victor Zambrano forlornly obliged, before exiting to murderous catcalls.

Hudson vs. Glavine tomorrow at 1:10. Everyone's going to be there. You should come, too.

Round 1: Mets 4 Braves 3

2006-04-18T08:11:00.000-04:00

Round 1 of a 19-round marathon bout goes to the Mets, who beat the Braves 4-3 last night behind Xavier Nady and Carlos Delgado home runs off the ineffective Sosa. The good news for Sosa is that he actually lowered his ERA to 10.45, allowing only four runs in four innings of work. Let's face it - that is good for him.

Pedro pitched a good game, but with any starting pitching at all, the Braves would have won this game. The top of our order, which I maligned just yesterday, had five hits and caused Pedro grief much of the night. Andruw hit a massive homer in the sixth, then missed another one by a foot in the eighth.

One bright spot was our bullpen. Chuck James and Lance Cormier (where did he come from?) pitched four shutout innings, allowing only two baserunners.

Tonight we will send out Kyle Davies to face Victor Zambrano. Zambrano is one of those million-dollar-arm-five-cent-head types. He has nasty stuff, but rarely throws it where it needs to go. Our hitters will need to be patient tonight as Victor will put us on base.

As for Davies, well, he just needs not to suck, which will be a novelty for Braves pitchers not named Smoltz.

Here Comes The Pain

2006-04-17T09:58:00.000-04:00

While the collective we at Brave-O-Matic always remain positive regarding the Braves' chances - especially since we haven't done anything but win for the past 14 seasons - occasionally the tea leaves portend bad tidings, at least in the short-run. For example, take our upcoming three-game series with the Mets. Bad, bad stuff.

At 9-2, the Mets have the best record in baseball, and through the first 11 games (yes, there are still 151 games yet to be played), are clearly baseball's best team. They are second in the NL in team batting average (.298), behind the ridiculous Rockies. (The Braves are 5th with a .277 average). These aren't just singles they are hitting either. They rank third in slugging percentage (.503), right ahead of the Braves (.491). Their first four hitters (Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Delgado) are hitting .341 with a .635 slugging percentage and are on-base ALL the time - only Reyes has an on-base percentage lower than .400.

In contrast, now that the Braves are down both Renteria and Chipper, our first four hitters (Giles, Orr, Langerhans and Andruw) are a collective .268 with a decent .509 slugging, but only Langerhans is on-base more than 40 percent of the time. But it's not the hitting matchups that should bring pause, except the absence of Renteria, who was absolutely raking before going down.

The Mets rank first in team ERA (3.24); Atlanta ranks next to last (5.72). The Mets' starters are even better, ranking first with a 2.91 ERA. Atlanta's starters are even worse, ranking next-to-last with a 6.30 ERA. NL hitters are batting only .229 off of Mets' pitchers, but .283 off of Braves' pitchers. Also, the Mets' pitchers don't allow opponents too many chances to score, as they allow only 1.26 batters per inning to reach base, good for second in the NL. Atlanta allows 1.53 batters per inning to reach base, good for 13th in the league. Finally, when the Mets' pitchers need that big strikeout, they are very good at getting it - they rank third in the NL with 7.74 strikeouts per game; Atlanta ranks next-to-last with 5.48 strikeouts per game.

Oh, and while they are trotting out Pedro (2-0, 3.46 ERA), the bad Zambrano, Victor, and a rejuvenated Glavine (2-0, 1.5 ERA and 21 Ks in 18 IP!), we bring out Sosa (11.37 ERA while allowing 2.7 batters per inning to reach base!), Davies (8.38 ERA while allowing 1.7 batters to reach base each inning) and Hudson (9.20 ERA while allowing 2.1 batters to reach base each inning).

Nine out of our next 21 games will be played against the Mets, and they are the best team in baseball right now, while the Braves are struggling with pitching and are missing two key members of the offense - Chipper and Renteria. The tea leaves are in a bad, bad mood, but they are quick to remind us that the season is long, and we are the Braves.

Pitchers at the Bat

2006-04-17T08:11:00.000-04:00

Throughout the Braves long run of championships there has been an ongoing semi-public competition among the starting pitchers for slugging supremacy. With the hyper-competitive Maddox gone, and the valid home-run threat of Mike Hampton sitting at home, who is this year's Hitter among the non-hitters?

It's quickly becoming apparent that John Thomson is the man to beat this year. The 32 year-old Thomson is batting a hefty .500 in 6 at bats, including 2 doubles. In fact, he has an rbi to show for every one of his 3 hits thus far, giving him more rbi's than earned runs allowed. He's slugging at a Ruthian .833 pace.

Jorge Sosa gets some early notice too. He's also batting .500, though with only 2 ab's. Yet his one hit was a solo HR, giving him a team-high 2.000 slugging percentage and the only pitcher with a dinger. Horacio Ramirez, who's injury ushered in Thomson, sits with a 1.000 batting average, having 2 singles in 2 ab's.

Slow-starting starters include Hudson (1 for 6, 1 run scored, no extra base hits), John Smoltz (.000 average with 1 walk and 5 k's) and Kyle Davies (.000 average, 2 k's. Has not reached 1st)

The New Smoltz

2006-04-16T09:07:00.000-04:00

John Smoltz seems like the kind of person who bores easily. He's always been a tinkerer -- he experiments with different arm angles within a single at bat, and seems to come up with a new pet pitch every spring (remember the knuckler several years ago?). He's still experimenting, but now it's a concession to age rather than boredom relief.

He's ditched the splitter that, once he gained control of it ten years ago, elevated him from a fireballer to an elite pitcher. He knows the strain it puts on his arm, and that his next major injury is likely to spell the end of his career. So now his repertoire consists of fastball-slider-changeup, with the occasional curve mixed in. This means the days of 13-K games are likely gone for good, and we will surely miss them, as there's nobody else on the staff capable of blowing away hitters the way Peavy did to Langerhans last night.

But the good part is we may be able to keep Smoltzie around longer, and if the defense backs him up the way they did last night (last night being an Andruw Special), we'll get used to the New Smoltz.