Wren’s problem: He hasn’t earned benefit of doubt
Here's Troy Glaus looking at a called third strike Wednesday night. He's hitting .203. So much for that experiment.
Frank Wren spent Wednesday at a high school game, coughing from pollen that triggers his allergies. That night, the Braves lost their eighth straight game in St. Louis, coughing from their apparent allergy — the other team.
They can’t hit long. They can’t hit short. Some nights they can’t field. Some nights they forget to tag up. Usually, they can pitch pretty well, although St. Louis hung 10 on them Thursday and there are some nights when Derek Lowe looks like he’s allergic to mounds.
When the Braves broke spring training, they looked like a possible playoff team. Now they have the second-worst record in baseball.
What is Wren doing about it? Nothing. Not trading. Not panicking. Not even twitching. Just waiting for the rain to wash away the pollen.
He will tell you the Braves have the advantage of time. But don’t even baseball time frames get shortened when a team has its longest losing steak since 2006 (the same year this non-playoff string began)?
“You can go from last place to first place pretty quickly this time of year,” he said. “I know everybody is jumping off the ship now. But this is like if the Falcons had played two games. We’ve only played one-eighth of the season.”
The math is accurate. But in the NFL, nobody asks, “When is the last time we lost two in a row?” When losing streaks are being researched, there’s a problem.
The Braves lost Thursday, 10-4. That makes nine straight. One more and marketing is going to have to start including lobster with the all-you-can-eat seats.
Their record is 8-14. They’ve been outscored 16-4 in the last two days. Total offense in the nine losses: 17 runs (including three shutouts).
Wren is preaching patience. If he is having a hard time finding support, it’s because that philosophy carries more weight when the preacher has a resume. The Braves have missed the playoffs four straight seasons. Wren is 0 for 3 since taking over. When the team hit a bump during John Schuerholz’ regime, it was easy to remain calm. Wren hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.
The leadoff spot figured to be a problem. It is. Chipper Jones’ health and production figured to be questions. They are. Troy Glaus figured to be a risk. Confirmation received. Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera – it doesn’t end.
It was easy during the 10-game losing streak in 2006. You could look into the bullpen and say, “Their fault.”
Most of Bobby Cox's problems haven't been on the mound (Derek Lowe notwithstanding).
Now, the problems are everywhere. Every day is a new Bobby Cox lineup. Wednesday included six starters hitting .203 or less. Thursday’s lineup opened with Cabrera and Yunel Escobar, both hitting .197. (The blip is Martin Prado. He has no allergies.)
Wren said he is free to make a trade. He said, “We have some flexibility in our payroll,” though he didn’t quantify that.
“The other factor [in a trade] is how it affects us talent-wise. We have a farm system that we’re carefully stocking. We don’t want to do something that will lessen our ability to compete long term.”
It’s at this point that I mention the name: Mark Teixeira. In 2007, the Braves dealt a boatload of prospects to Texas for Teixeira. They hoped he would turn them into a World Series team. He didn’t. The thought occurs that memories of that deal would dissuade the Braves from making a significant prospects-for-All-Star trade again. (San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez comes to mind.) But Wren said no.
“The Teixeira trade hasn’t impacted us at all,” he said. “If you look at the players we gave up, I’m not sure it’s had any effect on the major league club. We had Escobar ahead of [Elvis] Andrus at shortstop, we had [Brian] McCann ahead of [Jarrod] Saltalamacchia at catcher, the other guys wouldn’t have made our club. Neftali Feliz would be in our bullpen.”
So you wouldn’t be gun shy?
“No, not at all. We’ll make a trade if we feel it helps us.” But he added he won’t deal a prospect whom he feels can be part of the Braves’ future. That list presumably begins with Freddie Freeman.
It’s the end of April. General managers “tend to look at the quarter-poll,” Wren said. “Mid-May is when you start to get a sense where your club is. Really, June 1 is when you start making decisions.”
The math could work out. But if 8-14 turns into 16-28, just remember how early the cough started.
♦
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548 comments Add your comment
wren
April 29th, 2010
10:48 am
I CAN TRADE LIKE WREN…HE PUTS NOT EFFORT IN GETTING NOTHING IN RETURN, IF WE WANTED A PITCHER LIKE VAZQUES 3 YEARS AGO…MAN WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE TRADE FRANCOUR AND KELLY JOHNSON FOR HIM, NOW WE GET MELKY??
SORIANO, HE IS REALLY GOOD WHEN HEALTHY AND HAPPY -WINNIG GAMES-, IF ANY ONE CALLS THE RAYS FOR A TRADE, THEY WOULD CLEAN YOUR HOUSE, AND WHAT DID WE GET??
EVERYHTING IS SALARY DUMP…
Sweet Home Alabama
April 29th, 2010
10:50 am
I predicted five games under 500 at the first of this month.I would like to adjust that to 15 under 500,hopefully last adjustment.
This team has more problems than the Mutts do in football.
Poorbrave
April 29th, 2010
10:50 am
Great pitching don’t do any good if you can’t score?
wren
April 29th, 2010
10:50 am
GLAUS MAKING 1.25 OR 1.5
chanceit
April 29th, 2010
10:51 am
Is Jermaine Dye still twidling his thumbs and waiting to hit homeruns for somebody?
Frank Wren
April 29th, 2010
10:51 am
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
I like dem french fried potaters…..
meh
April 29th, 2010
10:52 am
Paddy O- I think Glaus is only getting 1.75 million
wren
April 29th, 2010
10:55 am
TO MUCH PRESSURE IN OUR PITCHING STAFF, THEY DON’T ENJOY PITCHING, THEY KNOW IF THEY GET A COUPLES RUNS SUPPORT IN THE FIRST 3 INNIGS, OFFENSE IS DONE FOR THE REST OF THE GAME.
BY THE WAY…I AM SURE EVERYONE IS READY, UNDERSTANDS OR KNOW THAT WAINWRIGHT IS GOING TO PITCH:
8 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 95 pitches and score will be 4-0
meh
April 29th, 2010
10:55 am
everyone keeps talking about Dye but hell, I’d settle for Elijah Dukes. something. anything.
meh
April 29th, 2010
10:56 am
or even Carlos Delgado
BuckheadBrave
April 29th, 2010
10:59 am
Frank has money to spend, so do I. I’ll spend mine when he spends his.
BuckheadBrave
April 29th, 2010
11:01 am
Jeff,
what do you think the odds would be he would sign someone in may like Jermaine Dye or Carlos Delgado? If they sign for less than Glaus what is the risk? Surely they can hit .201 as well. Wasn’t there talks of making dye a first baseman anyway? Look at what Sheffield did in NY last year Dye or delgado are capable of that and sitting there just waiting for a call. What was the reasoning that Glaus would be better than Delgado?
usnavyvolfaninva
April 29th, 2010
11:02 am
@Joshhhh….huh?
hobnail boot
April 29th, 2010
11:03 am
Why is it that players leave this team and go on to hit better on other teams? Why is it that perenially good hitters come to this team and can barely make contact? Answer: Terry Pendleton. J. Heyward is facing the same problem Shafer had starting out last year. Great start, then ML pitchers find thier weakness and exploit it. The Braves have rushed both these kids. AAA baseball has value in the learning curve to becoming a ML player. Lots of pitchers with ML experience at the AAA level. Both kids basically skipped AAA. I think that we should focus on 1st base and left field in the trade market over the next 2 months. Escobar and Mclouth will hopefully come around. Put Kawakami in the pen and bring Medlin to the rotation. He reminds me of a young Maddog.
East Cobb's #1 Prospect
April 29th, 2010
11:03 am
Let Arthur Blank run this team
Bobby Cox
April 29th, 2010
11:07 am
Come on Jason, stop taking so many pitches ! Swing at the first pitch !Hasn’t Terry taught you anything ? DUH
jasont13
April 29th, 2010
11:07 am
Wren is a moron. Elvis Andrus would’ve moved ahead of Yunel which would have changed positions. Salty would’ve more than likely moved to first, Neftali Perez is the read deal and so is Matt Harrison. So to really think it hasn’t effected the Braves is wrong! Wren good way to spin it to show that it’s not your fault.
Mr. French Tickler
April 29th, 2010
11:08 am
“stocking the farm system”??? seriously?
Certainly you aren’t referring to the can’t hit Gwinnett Braves?
They have one guy hitting above .300
Everyone else is in the mid to low .200’s
Heyward is up.
Jury is still out on Freddie Freeman.
Who else ya got?
Where are the young arms?
KnockAHoma
April 29th, 2010
11:09 am
Wren’s problem – and the Braves – is that Pendleton is still employed. Why do we hang on to this albatross of a hitting coach?. He’s horrible. A good man, but a horrible hitting coach. Just look at the stats, they don’t lie.
jerry
April 29th, 2010
11:10 am
Everyone on this blog wanted to get rid of Kelly Johnson, didn’t you?
Tmac
April 29th, 2010
11:10 am
This is exactly the (attitude) reason the Braves have missed the playoffs for the last 4 straight years!
Patient’s is great when you are performing at a different level than normal. Unfortunately, what the Braves are displaying is exactly the “norm” for the last 4+ years. So displaying patient’s will do nothing but decrease the time the team has to turn it around and make a run towards the playoffs, which will come up short.
How bout trying something different and creating an environment where players perform or consequences will be had? We just might have more than 1 championship if this was the philosophy in the front office. It’s called ACCOUNTABILITY!
Real UT
April 29th, 2010
11:12 am
I live in Tampa and have started watching the Rays lately because the Braves aren’t on down here. They play really hard, and they look like the real deal. When the Braves come on down here on ESPN it is embarrassing. The Braves don’t play nearly as hard, and they look awful fielding, running, and hitting. Maybe that’s why we are 8-13 and the Rays are in 1st in the toughest division in baseball.
jerry
April 29th, 2010
11:12 am
Everyone seems to think the Braves should play like the Yankees. Never have, never will.
helmet head
April 29th, 2010
11:14 am
So the AAA team was no-hit yesterday. That farm system is really being stockpiled. Let’s see if all levels of the Braves organization can be no-hit this year.
DogTheMan
April 29th, 2010
11:14 am
Wren is fooling himself. If this was the Yankees heads would be rolling and adjustments would be made. We put to much stock in players that are trying to rebound.. Every year its the same thing. If So and So comes back to form, If this guy can recapture what he lost. Its the same thing every year. The he will make a trade that sends Heyward for a non hitting 2d baseman. I AM A FAN.. PLEASE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO WATCH AND CHEER FOR!!!!
carlchamblee
April 29th, 2010
11:14 am
Real UT – I see the same thing when I watch my fave AL team the Twins. And not just this year but going back a ways. This team needs a serious housecleaning/heart transplant. Ain’t gonna happen this year for obvious reasons.
Delbert D.
April 29th, 2010
11:14 am
Get a new GM. Trade Chipper Jones to the AL and go ahead and pay part of his salary. See if a move back to 3rd can save Troy Glaus. Dump Melky. Dump TP. This spreading infection has to be stopped. If not, 15,000 attendance will be a good day for a weekend game.
Mr. French Tickler
April 29th, 2010
11:14 am
Chief Knock-A-Homa….do you think Pendleton not talking to the young hitters about making adjustments as opposing pitchers see more at-bats and learn how pitch to them?
Or do you think young hitters don’t understand just how nasty big league stuff is, and don’t feel the need to adjust right away.
Jeff Francoeur seemed to not buy into just how nasty big league stuff was and it appeared he felt he could get by on his ability and not adjusting his game.
Maybe that’s why McCann (a guy who is baseball smart and makes adjustments) is a 3-time all-star and French goes to the mid-summer classic as his guest.
Braves Fan 51
April 29th, 2010
11:15 am
The New York Yankees spend money and keep the best players, when they wanted to dump Melky Cabrera and Erick Hinske for Javier Vazquez a 4th or 5th starter for them, they were telling us the value of those two bats in that trade. Brett Gardner would be starting over Cabrera if he was in New York..Yikes
Chipper Jones to me looks so disinterested during games its awful…Some competition or change would do him good
Nate McLouth…I guess he is not seeing the same pitches he was getting on 60 win ballclubs in Pittsburgh or when they were down multiple runs late in games
We are getting the Derek Lowe we paid for…check the stats
I will give passes to Escobar, Prado and Heyward…Young guys finding their way…Escobar is pressing a bit..he is a cocky young guy going thru tough times..he is simply pressing
Troy Glaus is washed up, I hate it but 10 years ago for the Angels I would have died for him. When good teams such as the Cardinals and Yankees give up or trade you players you know they are out of their prime…because if they were still able to produce they would be there.
I hope they prove me wrong
Jeff Schultz
April 29th, 2010
11:16 am
T — You’ve had two comments taken down. You’re bucking for a banning.
Jesse Stone
April 29th, 2010
11:16 am
Salty was demoted to AAA by the Rangers. He ain’t that good, folks.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 29th, 2010
11:20 am
The Tex deal belongs to JS. Without K.C. to pillage the “Homeboy upstairs” was .505 AT BEST in trades. He was good in free agency with Ted’s scratch. Wren doesn’t have JS tact or Ted’s wallet.
Fastball1320
April 29th, 2010
11:21 am
I don’t comment very often although I read the blog everyday. A Brave fan since 1955 Milwaukee it’s hard to watch sometimes. The late 70’s,etc.
Three years ago when Wren was named GM I blogged then that he ruined the Baltimore ball club. He is doing the same thing here. I’m too old and the Braves have been to big a part of my life to long to stop following them day-to-day. I miss TBS but have DirecTV MLB Extra Innings so I suffer along with you and the the players…and Chip and Joe make it interesting to watch. Thank You.
Ted M
April 29th, 2010
11:22 am
Gary Sheffield and Jermaine Dye both likely would need 6 weeks to get ready to play.
Don’t sell the farm because 1 good player will just make us suck a little less.
Our only hope, however small, at this point is if all the players turn their season around in big way.
Real UT
April 29th, 2010
11:22 am
I think if we were the Yankees Cox would of been gone long ago due to his poor playoff performance. I mean if they didn’t resign Torre, then surely they would of fired Cox after the third WS failure.
Hot Phone Sex Princess
April 29th, 2010
11:24 am
Bob Wickman. I miss him.
bravesnut
April 29th, 2010
11:24 am
FIRE TP!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW !!!! YA HEAR ME WREN ?? I KNOW U READ THESE COMMENTS !!!
Jesse Stone
April 29th, 2010
11:24 am
What about the McGriff trade? Vince Moore, Donnie Elliot, and Mel Nieves? To say that JS only got the better end of 50% of his moves is wrong.
BuckheadBrave
April 29th, 2010
11:25 am
im always at the games and get annoyed with the people there in neutral attire, essentially at a bar with a baseball game being played in the background. I will still be at the games, but now i’ll be joining those people instead of watching whatever they want to call whats going on on the field.
Jeff Schultz
April 29th, 2010
11:25 am
Skeezix — I think JS likes retirement.
Ted M
April 29th, 2010
11:26 am
Maybe if the fans boo just before the lineup is announced that can be construed as booing Wren.
Jeff I’ll let you with your massive following and inside connections get that started.
Jesse Stone
April 29th, 2010
11:26 am
Real UT- Big difference in talent between Torre’s WS losers and Bobby’s. Torre also had the greatest closer ever during his run.
GTFan
April 29th, 2010
11:26 am
Braves suck, and are such a joke to watch!
dzjenn
April 29th, 2010
11:27 am
I think we have a leadership vaccuum within the team. Chipper’s is the veteran we all know, but he’s in his sunset years; Heyward can probably be a leader, but he’s just a rookie getting hazed right now; there’s no leadership in the middle. McCann and Prado need to step it up and start leading!!!
Jeff Schultz
April 29th, 2010
11:27 am
Thanks Roto Rooter.
NEW CARS
April 29th, 2010
11:27 am
Has anyone here ever seen Bob Wickman and Dan Kolb at the same time….And did Melky and Glaus get their joint venture workout video last offseason.
Angus
April 29th, 2010
11:28 am
That’s the conundrum of baseball Jerry.
The Braves were sucking wind early last year with Kelly, Francouer, Schafer, and Kotchman. Wren, to his credit, made some moves, the Braves came alive and damn-near won the wildcard.
Both KJ and JF were given ample time to perform and they didn’t. I wholeheartedly buy into the change-of-scenery theory for both of them.
BuckheadBrave
April 29th, 2010
11:29 am
can some one please answer what they have to lose in signing Dye, Sheffield, or Delgado to a minimal contract? or does it really defy logic as much as i think it does that they havent yet. Also by what measuring stick was Glaus less of a risk than Delgado to begin with. He missed similar time as Glaus last year, Troy is 33 and Carlos is 37 but Chipper is 38, so that shouldnt have scared them off. Also Carlos didn’t show nearly the statistical nose dive Glaus did after steroids testing. Carlos hit 38 HR in 2008.
Jeff Schultz
April 29th, 2010
11:30 am
Supes: Who was worse — Wickman vs. Kolb? Now there’s a poll.
varoadrunner
April 29th, 2010
11:30 am
We’ve sold ANOTHER “Bill of Goods” that has completely FAILED at living up to the expectations set by the Braves.
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!!!!
Let’s all SUE for False Advertising.