Gonzalez: Braves not considering sending Uggla to minors
Dan Uggla managed to dodge this pitch in Houston but he needs several more to start hitting the bat. (AP photo)
Dan Uggla is less than three months into a five-years, $62 million contract — and he’s not going anywhere.
I normally wouldn’t be passing along something that should seem obvious. But with the backdrop of Uggla’s struggles, I’ve had so many readers ask me, “Why not just send him down to the minors?” So it seemed time to address it with someone on the Braves.
I posed this question to manager Fredi Gonzalez following Thursday’s win over the New York Mets: Is it too early to even consider something like sending him to Gwinnett?
“We haven’t reached that point,” he said. “We haven’t even had a conversation about that. This is the first time anybody’s even mentioned it.”
And then this: “We’re trying. He’s trying. He’s battling. The season’s not over with.”
For what it’s worth, even if the Braves believed that sending Uggla to Triple-A Gwinnett could help him get his confidence back, that’s a move the veteran second baseman would have to sign off on.
Here’s your ugly numbers blitz: Uggla went 0-for-5 Thursday night. He stranded five base runners. His season average is down to .174. In the last four weeks, he is hitting .139 (11-for-79). He is hitting .127 with runners in scoring position and .184 with runners on base.
Gonzalez has tried him in six different spots in the batting order (Nos. 2 through 7), as well as sat him out altogether.
Uggla’s nine homers and 19 RBIs in 70 games project to 21 homers and 44 RBIs over a full season. He averaged 31 homers, 93 RBIs and a .263 average in Florida.
But for now, he’s staying here. How long the Braves choose to stick this out depends in part on how well the team does and whether the situation ever becomes desperate (in their view). But they’re not there yet.
By Jeff Schultz
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184 comments Add your comment
alex
June 17th, 2011
10:56 pm
Sally, if you act quickly you can get in line with your “bruthus” (sp) and get out. Take some BBQ for jones(ain’t nothing like it nowhere)
Teg
June 17th, 2011
11:03 pm
Might as well bat him at #9 cause we have 2 pitchers batting each game. Carlos Zambrano is a better hitter than he is.
Angie O'Plasty
June 17th, 2011
11:11 pm
Uggla is a disaster for the Braves.
Chicken George
June 17th, 2011
11:35 pm
Explain to me again why we’re spending $60M for a guy who has never hit .300 in his life?? My sincere hope is that whoever pulled this off in the front office gets what’s coming to him…..
Regardless of whether Dan approved going down to the minors or not, its necessary – for both the team and Dan to have some separation about now.
Jeff Francoeur
June 18th, 2011
12:02 am
Hey Atlanta, the jokes on you! You guys booed me, a hometown boy out of Atlanta and even my worse times I was still batting no less than .240. Wouldn’t you guys like me now?
Dan Uggla
June 18th, 2011
12:20 am
I may be a terrible baseball player but you should see my bank account. Who cares if I’m going to set the record for lowest batting average for a starter in MLB History by years end, it doesn’t matter when you are as rich as me. Did I mention that I won’t be hitting above .150 by mid July. Man, I suck but I can make it rain, yo.
MitchC
June 18th, 2011
12:32 am
Jeff, modern day players who make 12 mil plus a year, cant just be optioned to the minors, the way they used to before baseball salaries went crazy. Had this been another era, say, 30 or 40 years ago, Uggla would have been in the minors already.
I’m not sure what to say about him, and whether he is having a bad year.. or is adjusting to a change in environment.
Were I the Braves: I would give him until the All Star Break to see if he gets hot. If this nightmare continues, maybe they should option him to the minors for a short time. See if he can feast on minor league pitching.. or perhaps if someone in another part of the orginization, can help him get it figured out.
reckingball
June 18th, 2011
1:24 am
go.
N1ghtfox
June 18th, 2011
2:09 am
90% of you moronic commenters are 140% retarded.
Not one of you has the chops to play, coach, manage or likely think about what it takes to be a MLB player. Yet night after night you all (the 90% of commenters who are 140% retarded) come post over and over like you all know everything, could fix everything, and could do everything better than every member of the Braves from the Manager down to the laundry guy.
Go shove a mitt in it. I’m so tired of the comments from the so-called “fans” of this team. There is a reason none of you are even qualified to hold Chipper or Uggla or McClouth or McCann’s jock straps, let alone give Fredi Gonzalez or Frank Wren advice on how to run this team.
If you don’t like the team, stop watching, stop giving a crap, and for god’s sake, stop commenting on articles about the team…
N1ghtfox
aREALbravesfan
June 18th, 2011
2:55 am
I understand Nightfox’s frustration — I too get tired of all of the negativity on here and other sites. While I don’t like it when the Braves don’t win, I realize they can’t win 162 games a year, and to have the 3rd best record in the NL (even after losing 3 of the last 4 games) means they are doing something right. Only Boston and the Yankees have a better record in the AL…
If you read the comments from the posters here, you’d think the Braves would be close to Houston’s 19 games under .500 instead of our present position.
JSS
June 18th, 2011
4:35 am
Sonny Clusters is like Steven Wright… You don’t want to laugh; but eventually you will…
Jeff Schultz… You and Mark Bradley need to compile a “Best of Clusters” for when you go on your numerous vacations… And then turn off the comments so Larry and Bobby Grinch can stew…
jimmya
June 18th, 2011
6:32 am
this team is like last years every other day someone gets hurt do the braves get any gym time to get in shape add to that no good players in minors to bring up that can hit
Bobby Cox
June 18th, 2011
6:44 am
If Florida can send Chris Coghlan to Triple-A New Orleans at .235 – Atlanta can send Ugglie down too and should. He’s over anxious at the plate and there’s no improvement in sight.
tim
June 18th, 2011
6:56 am
Freddi should be shown the door. Uggla is his boy and he is not willing to lift a finger. As much as I hate to say it the time has come for Braves ownership as sorry as they are but a house cleaning top to bottom is in order. Its broken time to fix it. Starting with Frank Wren quickly followed by Freddi very few players should be spared position players that should be made available, Uggla,Heyward,McClouth, easier to think who’s untouchable,McCann,Freeman,Prado, any pitcher not named Lowe or Hudson. Blow it up start over it would be less painful
N1ghtfox
June 18th, 2011
7:38 am
It’s not about whether or not the Braves WANT to send Uggla down, it’s a bargaining contract (union) issue. They CAN NOT send him down without his permission due to his contractual veteran status. It doesn’t matter if Fredi, Frank, Bobby Cox or Bud Selig himself wanted to send him to Gwinett, they can’t without his consent. Now I think it would be a good move on Dan’s part to accept/request a couple weeks down there, but who knows if that will happen.
N1ghtfox
June 18th, 2011
7:52 am
I would think Bobby Cox (see below) would know that…
Bobby Cox
June 18th, 2011
6:44 am
If Florida can send Chris Coghlan to Triple-A New Orleans at .235 – Atlanta can send Ugglie down too and should. He’s over anxious at the plate and there’s no improvement in sight.
bob horner
June 18th, 2011
8:01 am
You can take Uggley,and trade him back to the Marlins for their best bat-boy, or send him to double-A , and bring up the second baseman for the trible A club. What a joke this guy is. I guarantee you Conrad could do better than 172, and he can hit home runs every once in a while also.
N1ghtfox
June 18th, 2011
8:04 am
Bob… Read my post timed/dated June 18th, 2011, 2:09 am this applies to you…
Shock
June 18th, 2011
9:17 am
I have not given up on Uggla. But let’s face the music by doing the math.
He is hitting .172 right now, which is 45 hits in 71 games (262 ABs, leading to 3.69 ABs/game and .62 hits per game).
Now there are 91 games left. For Uggla to end up with a .235 BA for the year (on approx 600 ABs), he has to have 96 hits (336 ABs left), which would mean that he’s batting .286 from this point to the end of the season. That would bring him to .235 for the year. To be blunt, I believe that this is mathematically the best he can end the year with, nearly 30 points off his career average.
Please check my numbers but if the math is right, this will be a tough mountain to climb. Has he ever batted .286 in his career? Yes! In 2010 when he batted .287 for the year. So it’s not impossible (though with his current batting approach and technique, it appears improbable).
cdog
June 18th, 2011
9:22 am
they should send the whole gutlss team to the minors. they would still lose.they don’t care
Close Your Stance Uggla
June 18th, 2011
9:56 am
Close your stance…you’re pulling your head on every swing…opening your hips…you couldn’t hit a barn with a dart.
Don’t be afraid to listen and by all means RELAX. All that gyration crap with hands trying to look tough at the plate doesn’t work. I hope you weren’t won the millions of players using PED a few years back.
So, let the ball travel through the zone. Keep your hands inside the baseball and drive the ball you jackwagon.
mike
June 18th, 2011
10:00 am
Same ole sam ole. We continue to be weak on the corner infield. I consider Chipper weak just due to durablility. Freeman just ok. Outfiled where do you begin. Heyward may be just a flash in the pan. Pitchers adjust now he struggles and looks somewhat helpless and goes out with menstral cramps. Pitching staff solid but offensively not bult for any substantial playoff run. Falls on GM in my opinon.
rm
June 18th, 2011
10:04 am
0 for 4 again last night for Popeye and add Schafer’s 0-3, that is terrible for your top 2 spots. Time to move Popeye down to #8, maybe even #9. Most pitchers have a higher BA. Sad, very sad!
whocares
June 18th, 2011
10:05 am
Nobody is talking about the hitting coach because he’s white. This blog would be filled with hatred for TP if he was still the hitting coach. Fuc the braves and their pale fanbase.
rm
June 18th, 2011
10:11 am
It’s time to re-coin the phrase “Mendoza Line” to the “Uggla Line”. This is an insult to Mendoza…
rm
June 18th, 2011
10:16 am
The Mendoza Line takes its name from the shortstop Mario Mendoza’s lifetime batting average of .215. It is baseball slang for the threshold of incompetent hitting. Even though Mendoza’s career batting average over nine seasons was .215, some fans believe the cutoff point is .200, and, when a position player’s batting average falls below that level, the player is said to be below the Mendoza Line. But whether the original and long-recognized .215, or the popular loosely-applied figure of .200, it is often thought of as the offensive threshold below which a player’s presence in Major League Baseball cannot be justified, regardless of his defensive abilities.
adh
June 18th, 2011
10:38 am
Giving a 30+ 2nd baseman a 5 year contract is moronic. He’s a train wreck this year and a liability in the years to come.
Dan
June 18th, 2011
10:55 am
Close Your Stance: Thanks for all the real good advice, you dip****
Dan
June 18th, 2011
11:09 am
Uggla is useless! AAA ball would be too hard for him. AA or A ball would be more his speed!
DHD
June 18th, 2011
11:22 am
Here is what I don’t get about you “journalists.” You ask a manager a question. He says they have never discussed it. You make a headline about it. It reminds me of how the media treats candidates. They hound them with questions about issues and do a headline causing the reader to think the candidate is out there talking about the issue. But, you’re the AJC.
BobDawg
June 18th, 2011
1:49 pm
This was a slam dunk move for Wren.. I think Uggla has hit .400 or close to it at Turner Field when he was at the Marlins…
Cheif RunningWater
June 18th, 2011
2:56 pm
Complain all you want about the shape the Braves are in after last nights loss but I saw some really positive signs that suggest things are going to be improving here shortly as the rest of the guys return from injuries and we get our hitters back. The Braves were making pretty good contact with the ball, they were just incredibly unlucky with where the ball went..Heyward and Uggla hit some decent shots that just happened to get snagged up on some amazing plays by the Rangers. Schafer got a head-check after his 5 hit game, and chances are good he’ll be back on top of things tonight for another great performance. Jordan Schafer is the answer for the Braves @ center field. I currently live in Pittsburgh, unfortunately, and I can tell you McLouth isn’t anybody’s answer for anything he was a semi-bum with one “good year” under his belt and that year wasn’t exactly mind blowing he just got lucky alot.
pete
June 18th, 2011
4:58 pm
Chief, you need to stop discussing baseball. Braves are awful. Heyward will never every be a star. The Braves are losing today because they were not ready to play and are making mental mistake after mental mistake
ha ha
June 18th, 2011
7:47 pm
Mike J didn’t do so well on the reading comp part of his SAT I would guess