Braves crumbling at first sign of adversity, just like 2011
Frank Wren and Fredi Gonzalez may have problems beyond team injuries. (Jason Getz/AJC)
The Braves hope this is just about injuries. They hope it’s just about a ground ball freakishly caroming off Chipper Jones’ calf and the fact none of their starting pitchers suddenly can make it through three innings without getting hit on the head with a mallet.
But when a team seemingly crumbles whenever adversity hits, there’s something wrong.
The Braves have gone from the third-best record in baseball (26-16) to losing eight consecutive games, the past five by a combined score of 36-15. Stay calm, say the eternal optimists. It’s a mere hiccup. Maybe. But if this spiral is being magnified, it’s justified.
The slide comes with the backdrop of last season’s unraveling. General manager Frank Wren brought back the same team that went 10-20 in the final stretch in 2011 because he viewed the drain-circling as an aberration. But here we are again, watching players do dumb things in the field, throw two-strike grapefruits down the middle and grip bats like they’re dangling from a rope bridge over a rocky canyon.
Injuries, erratic pitching and a deteriorating defense are all significant issues. But what happened to remembering how to compete? What happened to intangibles such as chemistry and leadership? The Braves are at the point now where they have to prove those things exist in their clubhouse because there certainly has been no evidence of them.
They want to forget about last year. Sorry. Saying it’s behind them and playing like it’s behind them are two different things.
They had a certain chemistry two years ago when they reached the postseason in Bobby Cox’s final season. They survived losing starting pitchers. They survived injuries to Jones and Martin Prado and the great Troy Glaus Belly Flop of 2010. They found ways to win games. There were many nights they left you thinking, “How did they do that?”
Resilient teams don’t hit a bump and face-plant. They don’t get body-slammed in a four-game series at Cincinnati, then come home and get hammered again in a three-game series against Washington.
The Nationals were missing Mike Morse, Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos. Did they groan? Nope. They just won — 7-4, 8-4 and 7-2.
St. Louis came to town Monday and won 8-2. The Braves were outscored 30-12 in the first four games of this homestand.
So where’s the evidence that last year was an aberration?
Wren has done little. There were two minor moves Tuesday: reliever Kris Medlen was sent to Gwinnett to get in a couple of starts, with the intent of eventually adding him to the Braves’ rotation. Jose Constanza was called up to fill out a dented bench.
It was the equivalent of dusting the furniture when a ceiling caves in.
There have been no major trades, and Wren suggested he’s not close to that mindset. He said the uncertain status of so many players, as opposed to having guys on the disabled list, makes it difficult to get a read on the team.
“Freddie Freeman may suddenly wake up one day and be able to see,” Wren said.
He probably didn’t mean that to sound as funny as it did.
I understand Wren’s dilemma. But isn’t it fair to question to makeup of a team that pulls apart and not together?
“We haven’t seen any of that,” he said. “One thing you can be pretty sure of is this group is very close. They’re in each other’s corner. When you have four guys who are in or out of the lineup on any given night, it impacts what you can do in the lineup, it impacts how long you stay with a pitcher and when you hit for him. Believe me, these are things we talk about every day.”
Nor does Wren believe any of this should fall on his manager, Fredi Gonzalez.
“He didn’t blow sand in the eyes of Freddie Freeman,” Wren said. “He didn’t give a virus to Brian McCann. He didn’t hit a ball off Chipper’s ankle.”
True. But should a manager be doing more to help his team through a crisis?
Everything is on the table. Everything should be being questioned. Bad things happen to good teams every season. But good teams don’t get punch-drunk and keel over.
And this is starting to look a little too much like last September.
By Jeff Schultz
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234 comments Add your comment
DawgDad
May 29th, 2012
6:56 pm
“reliever Kris Medlen was sent to Gwinnett to get in a couple of starts, with the intent of eventually adding him to the Braves’ rotation”
And there you have it. An utterly wimpy move by a wimpy organization. You telling me Medlen can’t make a couple of 3+ inning appearances at the MAJOR LEAGUE level to “stretch it out”? Just cue him up on the days Mike Minor starts. Geez, back before I turned 40 spot starters got pulled straight out of the back of the bullpen with an expectation they’d go at least 5 innings.
Sure, Wren’s roster-building grades out an “incomplete”, but the Braves problems stem from the roughly $25 million invested in Jones and Lowe, forcing them to rely on a 40-year old and a catcher to anchor the middle of the order (making the offense far less consistent than it should be), a AAA shortstop, and a collection of starters either too young or too beat up to chew up innings.
CGD..
May 29th, 2012
7:13 pm
Yawn…Wake me in September…….
Go FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ted Striker
May 29th, 2012
7:19 pm
Page hit!
dawg4u
May 29th, 2012
7:25 pm
@2011champs – You said it all in that there is no leadership on this team from the dugout or from the players. McGriff and Justice were leaders and Chipper leads by example when he’s in the game which isn’t much these days. The Braves need a very competitive, edgy type of guy who hates to lose and lets everyone else know it. They may have a guy like that now but I’ve seen no evidence of it. FW says this latest slide should not be put on the manager. That sounds even funnier than the the line about Freeman waking up one morning and being able to see. We need a greater sense of urgency in getting things turned around. The manager should be motivating these guys to perform better and I would expect a quote along the lines of “We are really playing awful right now and I feel responsible being the manager because it’s my job to get these guys to do their jobs and perform.” I’ll admit that it’s still early but this team looks totally helpless right now in all phases. Chipper has become the genie in the bottle or the genie on the DL.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
This team is a disgrace. Trade in those Braves tickets for some quality Hawks seats, while there are still a few available.
Tim
May 29th, 2012
7:30 pm
Braves will start on a roll tonight and win 15 of the next 20. Write it down.
Necromancer
May 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
Mr. Blank,
You can make your move anytime now!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Greg
May 29th, 2012
7:33 pm
We’re a NL average team, at best. Average. Get used to it. It isn’t going to be fixed for a long time, if ever. Here’s an analogy: It’s just like the U.S. economy.
Pal Joey
May 29th, 2012
7:39 pm
My sentiments exactly. Jeff. This group looks like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Their miserable collapse at the end of 2011 seems to have carried over to this year. Without some pitching help from some seasoned pitchers and some timely hitting, the Braves could well end up at the bottom of the heap in the NL East. This division has some cracker jack pitchers, and it seems none of them are in a Braves uniform.
David G from Moultrie
May 29th, 2012
8:02 pm
The St. Louis Cardinals had two 8 game losing streaks and one 7 game losing streak the year they won the World Series in 2006. Just sayin’…
little girl blue
May 29th, 2012
8:10 pm
Well they better get over it because one thing you can count on all season long. Chipper Jones will be out more then hes in.
I took a look at the pitching and here is what I thought. We have two pitchers making over a million. One his Hudson, the other is in AAA and that’s JJ. Now we have three pitchers earning the minimum and that means no experience and a real starter in the pen who is itching to start, that being Medlen. Time to move some players and spend some money.
Nabob
May 29th, 2012
8:22 pm
The difference is that the St Louis Cardinals get to the playoffs and defy odds and win championships. The Braves last made noise in the playoffs 17 years ago. Not gonna change any time soon.
Par for Atlanta sports teams. When was the last time anyone thought an Atlanta team had a shot at winning it all? The Falcons 2 years ago? That played out like it always plays out.
dawg4u
May 29th, 2012
8:30 pm
As manager Casey Stengel once remarked about the first year NY Mets in 1962 – “Can’t anybody here play this game?”
10 Bears
May 29th, 2012
8:30 pm
The Braves starters have a Coors field ERA…just pathetic
The Braves have 27% of their payroll tied up on the mound in Cleveland and the DL. Without any money they have to go with youth and no depth. The young pitchers (except Kimbrell, Beachy and sometimes Venters) suck. Hanson? sucks, JJ? out of the majors, Minor? headcase with average stuff, Delgado? Grand Slam machine. Never seen a team down by 4 runs in the first inning or two as often as the Braves. The good news is that Hanson and JJ are Boras clients…bye bye
This is a bad mix with predictable results.
AJ
May 29th, 2012
8:33 pm
What is the caption for the photo above?
FSUBrave
May 29th, 2012
8:33 pm
wren is clueless..he’s never built a winner..He was run out of baltimore..I just hope someone up will man up and run him out of atlanta too..
Gman
May 29th, 2012
8:34 pm
Lollygaggers!
Braves, same story, different year
May 29th, 2012
8:51 pm
In the ’90’s when Turner owned the Braves, there was a “care” of greatness and a relentless passion for a championship. Ever since Turner sold the team, the Braves have been just a business. Make a team competitive enough to make money and to heck with everything else. Manager Gonzales does the best with the nothing that the executives have given to him to play. When Chipper and McCann sit, there is $25 million sitting. The young Braves will be here until it is time to pay and they will be gone. I love Chipper but when he doesn’t play, Prado needs to be at 3rd. Juan Francisco is a JOKE. Delgado has more excuses than the entire Bush family. Jack Wilson, need I say more? Jason Heyward is a bust, and we got rid of Francouer. At least Frenchy can play D. Bourn will be here until contract time, and he’s gone. A triple a SS is not the answer there either. The sad part is with McCann, Freeman, Ugla, Bourn, and Hudson is a great core to build around but a Colorado based owner could care less. The Braves have to be the world leader in sports saying “we are close to being great” as it can be said every year except for 1995. This is a terrible team that has fallen apart. Until someone who cares about Atlanta, the Braves, and the fans, the Braves will always be mediocre at best.
Braves, same story, different year
May 29th, 2012
9:02 pm
Sorry I forgot, did the Braves install a height rule this year? Must be a certain physical specimen? Constanza was a fireplug last year and now nothing. Constanza in left, Prado on 3rd is a LOT better than Prado in left and the joke Francisco at 3rd.
Look what toll all that pitching took on Venters especially, as well as Kimbrel and O’Flaherty. Venters was one of the best pitchers in baseball last year, but I haven’t seen the same guy out there this year. Major renovation is needed.
Fredi
May 29th, 2012
9:09 pm
Still waiting for a sensible answer.
phoenix
May 29th, 2012
9:09 pm
In addition to Werth, Ramos and Morse, the Nats are also missing their closer, Drew Storen. Not that the Nats NEED a closer when they play the Braves…
SOS Braves
May 29th, 2012
9:20 pm
Get Venter’s no pitching a** out of there.
SOS Braves
May 29th, 2012
9:20 pm
GD you Venters. You SUCK.
Skeezix
May 29th, 2012
9:46 pm
When will the nightmare be over? Are we going to see a turnaround or are we entering the Braves version of the Dark Ages?
Thanks You! Thank You!
May 29th, 2012
9:53 pm
Thanks Jeff for actually saying what people who aren’t either job scared media folks or pollyanna fans have known since last September. This is the same team that choked in September and they are again showing fundamental flaws in their competitive character. Wren’s empty words immediately after the fold of expecting accountability from the troops rang hollow then and his words today ring hollow as well.
Lip service from the company mouthpiece. Things ain’t gonna change.
Skeezix
May 29th, 2012
10:02 pm
I don’t get Medlen to Gwinnett; it smacks of indecision—go ahead and put him in the darn rotation and let him “stretch out” his arm for Atlanta. He can improve his stamina and work up to 7 innings over two or three starts for Atlanta as well as for Gwinnett. After all Atlanta has a bullpen too.
Jmh13
May 29th, 2012
10:26 pm
They will bounce back. Come on Jeff! The glass isn’t always half empty.
Joe
May 29th, 2012
10:26 pm
Freddie is dead……he got to go!!!
NorCal Brave
May 29th, 2012
10:31 pm
Only thing different about tonight’s offense is that Uggla hit a 3-run homer. Five total hits, 10 whiffs at the plate. Fortunately O’Flaherty and Kimbrel are still reliable out of the ‘pen.
VinceVanGo
May 29th, 2012
10:50 pm
I pose a question. Does Chipper still get to collect his “farewell goodies” from opposing teams while he is on the D.L.? It seems quite appropriate to do so after the last several years. Let’s see, that means that the Braves are paying him $14-15 million this year to wave goodbye and fill up his trophy room. Good deal for Chipper and great planning by Frank Wren. I agree with a previous blog a few days ago that suggest that there should be minimum performance clauses in ballplayers contracts or they start forfeiting some money. I don’t think that Scott Boras will go for it though!
Chris
May 29th, 2012
10:53 pm
What exactly do you expect when the team can’t spend any money? When Bobby Cox was winning all those years in the 90s the Braves had one of the top payrolls in baseball right there with the Yankees. Now the company that owns the team spends more money in a year for the salary of it’s CEO than it spends on the entire Braves payroll…but then says that can’t afford to spend more to make the Braves better…yep.
rufus
May 29th, 2012
11:08 pm
The truth, as always, doesn’t dwell on the margins. This team isn’t as bad as the current streak would indicate and its not as good as its record prior to this streak would lead you to believe. This is a .500 team, and will end the season where it currently resides- 3rd in a 5 team division. We shouldn’t expect anything more; we shouldn’t settle for anything less.
Keith
May 29th, 2012
11:22 pm
Jeff,
So I WAS a good luck charm. 2-0 at Turner Field when I’m in attendance. Think you can get me into every home game?
jlrbrave
May 29th, 2012
11:41 pm
Who really got the better of the deal?
The Marlins got the solid veteran leader Omar Infante – guy still produces for them and provides the leadership he gave us in 2010 (btw .319, 6 hrs, 20 rbi)
We got Uggla who either walks, strikes out, or swings for the fences and shows no leadership for the team (instead really needing it). His states .260, 7 hrs, 27 rbi – not including tonight.
braveslover
May 29th, 2012
11:49 pm
First: need to get solid up the middle (Simmons would solidify this). Walker will help with his bat if he needs it but remember he had beaten Pastorknuckle out of the job in the spring until he got hurt.
Second: Gotta drop McCann in the batting order. I like the guy but he just can’t make it as a fourth, fifth or sixth place batter.
Third: Heyward is working on his feet????
Fourth: Freddi man you’ve got to show some fire and get thrown out of a game. Cox would have done that after the fourth loss. Your laid back style may be good as a grandparent but these are supposed to be adult men playing a kid’s game. No excuse for them to loaf or play like little leaguers.
Fifth: Great points Mr. Schultz.
Bryan
May 29th, 2012
11:59 pm
Freddi just needs to go… It’s time for someone who isn’t a clone of Cox in the bad ways.
Boo Boo
May 30th, 2012
12:24 am
Maybe its me, but when a team’s shortstop cannot move ten feet to his left, field a hard hit ground ball in stride, and make a clean throw to first base, that team is in for a LONG season. There once was a time when Rafael Ramirez was a vast improvement at short for the Braves, even making 30 errors in a season. This “Put me out to” Pasture Nicky is a minor leaguer, at best. He makes Rafael Ramirez look like a gold glover. No hit, no field. What can he do? Play for $30k a year? Is this a cost saving plan? Defense up the middle – catcher, pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, center fielder – that wins games when you cannot hit. This team is liable to give up 5-6 runs a game, just because a professional shortstop saves 2 runs a game that a minor leaguer allows, simply because a pro makes plays and a minor leaguer does not – and I am only talking about the earned runs. Add in unearned runs and the Braves pitching does not stand a chance. Work hard in Atlanta’s heat and humidity and then watch a shortstop let ground ball after ground ball get called a hit, just because he could not move ten feet, and they start trying the outfielders by throwing up in the zone. Bam. 3-run home run, and game over.
Columbus
May 30th, 2012
12:55 am
First of all, look at the Phillies and how they are handling their adversity as a measuring stick.
Shultz, How old are you and how long have you been watching baseball? You are overreacting like an emotional woman. It is a LONG season and instead of being the voice of reason and wisdom, you use fear to blow something out of porportion and create STRESS instead of maturity. Do you think ANYONE in the Braves organization or roster has the perspective you have? How about you try to print your newspaper, get it out and delivered with inexperience and eqiptment that cant do the job while being in a contest against to see who does it best against competition that is running on all cylinders? You just hope to not get embarassed and compete and maybe somebody does exceptionally well and you might actually win a competition here and there. You cant have ALL these factors hit you at one time, facing good teams and great pitching and not having Freeman, McCann and Jones and rookie pitchers going through growing pains. You call that crumbling? Man, that is #1 not fair, #2 not accurate, 3# immature or #4 ignorant about the situation or the game.
There is ABSOLUTLEY NO CRUMBLING going on except at the AJC. The WILT at the first sign of trouble and go negative, start speaking fear into the masses and basically do not have a clue, 9 times out of 10. You make sure you pass that on to Bradley also. What a team you too Bozo’s make!
It is a long season. Do not let the ups and downs take you for a ride. It will. Especially the first month and a half. Especially with injuries and rookie pitchers and facing great teams. Dont act like an emotional girl. Grow up. Get some backbone. Be a voice of wisdom and reason instead of jumping to conclusions and freakin!
Think of it is as if you lost the middle of your lineup at AJC. How would you make it without Obrien, Towers and Ledbetter? With only you and Bradley, that ship is SUNK!
Secondly, look at what the Braves have had hit them and we are NOT talking about a LITTLE adversity but a MACK TRUCK.
Lose your 3 4 AND 5 HITTERS! What team can handle that kind of loss WHILE having young pithcers going through growing pains AND facing great pitching and very good teams?
The Braves are NOT crumbling but ARE dealign with adversity and keeping their heads up and their attitude and will come out on the other side of it a better team. Things have hit from about EVERY area. What do you expect facing excellent pitching without NO 3,4 or 5 hitters? Let the same teams face us in a month. You will see a MUCH different story. You should be ashamed for comparing this to last year. This is TOTALLY different even if it appears similar on the surface. Dig a little deeper and find out the truth. Things happen.
Ask the mighty Phillies. Did they crumble? No. They they have been undermanned. Last Septmeber the Braves crumbled and were also outmanned and IMO a significant managerial mistake was made by not playing Constanza the last month. He is a run scorer and that is what the game is all about and with so many braves slumping, runs were hard to come by and they certainly would have won a few more games with Constanza in the lineup even half the time.
Personally, I would have Constanza on the bench as a reserve instead of Diaz or Heinske even though he hits lefty. He can do so many things and when its all said and done, he would win more games during a season than both of them combined…..
Columbus
May 30th, 2012
1:11 am
BTW, getting Constanza in the lineup was NOT a minor move, it was the BEST move they could have made. Schultz, its 8 games. Dont be freakin and trying to make this into something its not. By the way, Werth sucks and Washinton gives us problems ANYWAY and they have not been hot with HALF the issues the Braves have ALL at ONE time. Sheesh. You are clueless when it comes to baseball….and football now that I think about it. Why dobt you leave this to O’Brien in the future?
The Braves have NOT pulled apart. Moronic. How are you so blind and ignorant? Just trying to get all the haters riled up? That is lazy journalism and not taking the higher ground. You say they are pulling apart? And you are the authority on this? I see NO concrete evidence of this, I see the opposite and I see the FACTS, THE WHOLE PICTURE….not a small snipit as you do. That is like taking 1 or 2 verses out of the Bible and starting a new denomination or saying that is how it is when 90% of the rest of the verses on the subject are in conflict with your view. The parts are never greater than the whole. The Bible must be a huge problem for you to grasp with thinking like you have in this column. There is a big picture, with many factors involved and just taking one area and putting a negative spin on it does not encompass the whole picture or its meaning correctly. Especially when your deductions and conclusions and inferences are wrong…you are good at being wrong 99% of the time. Unless you are taling about the Hawks. Leave the Braves, Falcons and UGA alone because you are not an authority. Bradley neither.
Plate Appearance
May 30th, 2012
1:37 am
WREN’S MEETING WITH FREDI
After hearing about Wren calling an “urgent” meeting with Fredi yesterday, I was hoping (against hope) that today’s news would be that Fredi had resigned (the more equitable way to fire someone).
It wasn’t to be. But that day will eventually come. It has to — based on lamentable Fredi’s track record with the Braves and his very limited skill set.
I have to believe that Wren sees the many liabilities in Fredi as well, but is “covering” his original decision to hire Fredi. Frank’s current backing of Fredi is at least in part about Wren saving face.
I’d love to see Ryne Sandberg, an up and coming manager who has had success on every level, replace Fredi.
Oh hasten the day!
Make the move Frank! We’ll applaud you for it!
drew
May 30th, 2012
6:25 am
Jeff = Chicken Little.
It’s too early to tell.
Reid in EAV
May 30th, 2012
6:25 am
A simple question: how do we know what the manager is doing? Fredi is a lot like Bobby, who got criticized in similar ways. He’s just not going to say anything publicly that is less than fully supportive of his players (with rare exceptions like Juan Francisco’s showboating in Cincy after his HR) or his team.
But we now know that Bobby was pretty tough with guys behind closed doors, and I have every reason to believe that Fredi operates the same way — just because he doesn’t jump up and down in interviews doesn’t mean he’s unaware and ineffective, and we’ve already seen players who aren’t producing get sat down or sent down — and I suspect a similar fate awaits Minor once Medlen gets stretched out.
The fact is that our pitchers are incredibly green (wouldn’t we all love another Huddy or two?) and our biggest bats have been out of commission — and we don’t have much depth beyond them. There’s not much that a manager can do about all that beyond what he’s already been doing.
I hate eight-game losing streaks as much as the next guy but I know that a 162-game season is full of a lot of ups and downs. You’re not as good as it seems when you’re reeling off wins, and you’re not as bad as it seems when you can’t buy a win. And as others have pointed out, that 2010 playoff team had a 9-game string of losses too.
Serena Williams lets big lead slip at French Open – Atlanta Journal Constitution | The Time of Press
May 30th, 2012
6:57 am
[...] Braves crumbling at first sign of adversity, just like 2011 [...]
BobDawg
May 30th, 2012
7:33 am
COLUMBUS, like your comments… Schutzie, I like your writing, usually and maybe the team will get POed about the article and start a winning streak. But this was written too soon AND several years ago they had a bad streak early (remember 11 or 12 in a row to start then season) and they bounced back fine… I’m just glad the bandwagon folks are gone and us old-timers can enjoy the rest of the season….
Joe Adcock
May 30th, 2012
7:45 am
If the photo accompanying this article is titled: “Brain trust of the Atlanta Braves.” we are in a world of hurt with some deep doo-doo seeping in.
Marty
May 30th, 2012
7:56 am
Alarmism at its finest. I know that’s what Jeff gets paid for, but the idiots making comments below have no excuse. Breathe deeply and remember it’s May and AFTER an 8-game slide, we are a grand total of 3 games out of first place and 1.5 away from the top wildcard spot. I’m as frustrated as anyone about how poorly the Braves have been playing, but this stuff happens. Those of you calling for Frank Wren’s job — you’re the same morons who complained about Schuerholrz all those years. Move along.
meh
May 30th, 2012
8:10 am
we got McCann back and hopefully those glasses they ordered for Freeman will help him see. having those two back will help a lot. I think between those guys boosting the offense and Medlin joining the rotation things will get turned around.
Interested observer
May 30th, 2012
8:21 am
You want whining? Read these comments. All the arm-chair athletes just KNOW things would be better if they were filling out the lineup card and managing the trades.
It’s just entertainment. If you don’t enjoy it, watch the 1994 Rose Bowl on ESPN Classics or turn to Swamp People. Sheesh!
Jax Falcon/Dog Fan
May 30th, 2012
8:22 am
One thing has been evident all season so far – center field has been the very least of all concerns. I don’t know enough about salary caps and such, but I do know that if I were looking to the future and something to build around, I’d be staying up nights trying to figure out a way to sign Michael Bourne to a long term deal. He is disruptive to the opposition on the base paths and isn’t bad defensively, either. He shows up, does his job to the best of his ability, and doesn’t take days off for a hang nail. We can’t make Chipper younger and he’ll be gone soon enough. Somebody has to step up to take a leadership role on the offensive side of the ball. I vote for Mr Bourne.
CRMAC300
May 30th, 2012
8:28 am
Can’t really blame the team for quitting on Fredi. He does nothing to inspire! Bobby Cox was on the dugout steps for every pitch, yelling encouragement. Fredi looks like he picking a restaurant for a late dinner. Bobby would defend his players, charging out of the dugout to make a point. I have yet to see any passion from Fredi. You think that doesn’t make an impression on the players? I remember Braves teams that would mob each other in the dugout when someone hit a big home run. Now it is just ho hum! I live in the Tampa Bay area. Guess I will watch our local team, with just as many injuries as the Braves, contend for first place in an equally difficult division with team spirit and a manager that won’t let them quit!