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
Runnin with the Dawgs
May 30th, 2012
5:47 pm
I don’t get it. We don’t even have a winning record on our own home field.
Jo
May 30th, 2012
5:54 pm
Heart & Soul of the team is Chipper. Without him they look lost. 2013 will be terrible
Bueno
May 30th, 2012
5:58 pm
Braves should have thrown the 4M at Oswalt that Texas did. Would have been worth it
SawThat1nce
May 30th, 2012
6:11 pm
TomB………Go ahead and throw in the towel.
You are probably one of the defeatist, that threw in the towel during spring training.
Of course, they have a chance to get into the playoffs.
THE SEASON IS NOT OVER YET.
GO BRAVES!
Roja
May 30th, 2012
6:16 pm
Once an idiot, always an idiot… Why the AJC keeps you on payroll is beyond my comprehension.
D-Man
May 30th, 2012
6:17 pm
We are THREE games out of first place….yaaawwwwwnnn. Nothing to panic about yet, chill out the sky is not falling.
Tampa Fan
May 30th, 2012
7:31 pm
Wren’s constant excuse making is getting tiresome.
Ronald Millsaps
May 30th, 2012
7:37 pm
“donte”— If you’re moving in the wrong direction, you need to change course immediately. You sound like the kind of parent who says about his brat kid, “Oh, he’s just a kid; he’ll learn.” If you’re driving from Atlanta to Stone Mountain and realize you’re heading toward Knoxville, do you make the u-turn immediately or wait until you cross the Tennessee border?
Injuries have been a factor, indeed. The losing streak hasn’t been the main concern on my mind but instead the lack of starting pitching. At least the bullpen has gotten some rest, as evidenced by the strong outing last night. Jair is down. Beachy and Hanson aren’t doing that well. Lowe should still be here. Hudson is probably pitching with soreness. Delgado is improving a little. Overall, the rotation, which is stout on paper, has been skinny on the mound. Glad to see Medlen in transition back to the rotation, and now I’d like to see Teheran back up. Not calling Teheran up within 48 hours would baffle me greatly. The incumbents need a fresh face of health and support.
Roy Oswalt would’ve been nice, but the apathetic and incompetent staff otherwise known as the Braves’ ownership never would’ve offered him a free ticket to a home game, let alone millions, just like they’re unlikely to offer Josh Hamilton a dime this offseason.
Glad to see Dan Uggla show signs of getting his power back. He was sitting on six homers through seven weeks, which is a bit low for him. Heyward needs to step it up also. I still don’t know that he has an identity as a hitter, and he needs to discover what his calling at the plate is. I think he needs to focus more on power and less on average. I think also he needs to find a way to relax and not listen too much to everyone coordinating his stance, swing, etc..
Last night’s win was fairly huge, actually, as it at least stopped the bleeding and stemmed the tide. I’m fascinated in how Hudson delivers tonight. A win gives Atlanta five out of six wins against St. Louis after losing five out of six against them last year.
Don’t rush Freeman back to the lineup, and again, don’t be quick, organization, to say someone’s okay. Get your facts together. Perhaps play Prado at first, Francisco at third, and Constanza in left. Perhaps give Heyward a day off or two and utilize Prado and Constanza as corner outfielders, Francisco at third, and Ross at first.
Francisco was quite a find. Five homers in limited playing time combined with timely hitting is very impressive.
“JT”—Consistency is a “mental state”? You have to work for it; you have to decide to make the right sacrifices repeatedly. You don’t just “…think; therefore, I am” it.
Michael Jordan opted not to sign Patrick Ewing as coach, showing in the process perhaps some kind of irrational revenge factor. Ewing’s career cannot be deemed “unsuccessful” because he and the Knicks didn’t beat Jordan and Chicago, as success isn’t measured that way, contrary to what the masses say. He’s definitely one of the best big men ever. I respectfully differ with Mark Bradley’s assessment that not being the best in your position for at least a year makes you overrated. Olajuwon was just better. Later, Robinson passed him for a time, and later Shaquille did. The Hawks, who truly lack a post game, would do well to sign Ewing to work with an Al Horford/future big man. They would do well to have Dominique work with the team’s scorers. Tracy McGrady is one of the purest scorers in the sport’s history, and he’s the best go-to guy the team has.
Glad to see the Falcons with Asante Samuel on the team. They should’ve made a move for him when he was last available, didn’t, and saw the Eagles beat them again by pursuing and signing the man before lunch, but at least we have him now. Hard to believe the AJC misspelled his last name in their e-mail headline about him this morning.
If I’m Boston, I’m going with an extremely-rare gameplan, which would be to have Rajon Rondo shoot first and pass later. I would want him attacking the rim and looking for his shot, setting up his teammates by his willingness to score, not by distributing the ball in a half-court attack and feeding off his teammates. He’s the one young guy their main attack has, and he can bring speed, quickness, agility, and endurance that the main three lack. He also can draw fouls and loosen up the pressure from his teammates’ shoulders. Defensively, I’d really get after anyone with the basketball and reduce their line of sight passing-wise because Miami throws a lot of oops. I’d also cut off the middle as much as possible and challenge the big two to make their cuts via the baseline. Playing zone might not be bad, either. I’d also put my main defender on Wade, not James, because Wade’s a purer scorer. I’d rather James have the onus of scoring 40 because he to this day doesn’t have the identity that a true scorer needs and finds himself oftentimes highly indecisive as to whether to pass or shoot. He’s also not as good at the free-throw line.
For fascinating information, I strongly recommend searching and watching on youtube “Ventura conspiracy theory full episode banned”. You might be rather shocked.
MrDan
May 30th, 2012
7:50 pm
Armchair managers. Worthless peckerwoods.
D-Man
May 30th, 2012
7:58 pm
5-0….see the sky isn’t falling, Braves not faltering. Calm down people.
JAFO
May 30th, 2012
8:42 pm
Now THIS is a blog. Nice piece JS. Great job killing off the apolomists. Make that 5-4 dman.
Ronald Millsaps
May 30th, 2012
8:49 pm
“dan”–watch the language and ignorance.
Ronald Millsaps
May 30th, 2012
8:52 pm
Constanza advanced on the wild pitch but not sure why he wasn’t sent already, anyway.
I seriously, seriously recommend watching the video I referenced.
TomB
May 30th, 2012
9:24 pm
Oh, all you rah rah go braves we’re only three games out first fans just don’t get it….we aint winning anything with this pitching staff. Even tonight’s game is an ominus sign of things to come.It doesn’t matter if we win this game or not because if the braves keep pitching this way they will end up in last place. Hudson’s ERA just jumped again and our starting pitching is as bad as I can remember a Braves team having in years.
Jacob Thompson
May 31st, 2012
1:22 am
Jeff – what you fail to mention in referencing 2010 is that team lost 9 in a row early in the year. Yes that team showed a lot of heart and resiliency. Maybe we will look back and determine this years team doesn’t have that but maybe we will look back and say similar thing. We just don’t know yet. Fact is we are 2 back in a competitive division. At least reference the bad with the good if you are going to compare the two years.
Not so fast Freddie
May 31st, 2012
8:12 am
Sign David Wright with the Lowe/Chipper money next year & resign Bourn, leave Prado in left, wait & see what Heyward does this year, may have to give his job to Jose!!!
Braves Fan
May 31st, 2012
8:30 am
Yeah boy – they sure crumbled the last two games with the Cardinals! I think you’re projecting – it’s your writing that has crumbled, not the Braves : – )
Lobosolo
May 31st, 2012
8:35 am
No, Jeff, it’s you that (as usual) crumbles at the first sign of adversity… you seem to have no more grasp of the game than the armchairs that you draw as an audience… stick to something you understand (NBA, maybe?)…
Larry30
May 31st, 2012
8:41 am
Hey Schultz. About that Glaus “belly flop”………the truth is without Glaus in 2010 the braves still wouldn’t have a playoff appearance since 2005.
BravesFan
May 31st, 2012
9:13 am
Jeff you are an idiot. You have been talking this September collapse stuff since spring training. Talk about the real issues or shut-up. Remember when Terrance Moore could not think of anything to write about so he dreamed up the stupid story about no blacks in baseball, you are headed in the same direction.
Corleone
May 31st, 2012
10:33 am
“I don’t want anything to happen to Fredo while my mother’s still alive”. Pitching will ultimately doom this team. Unbelievable how you had a superstar-to-be (slam dunk) in Teheran, who everyone projected would be helping this team by this point and has shown nothing at the big league level. Jason Heyward, the 2nd coming of Darryl Strawberry, who has shown us that he is at best a .240-.250 hitter,, Tommy Hanson, who looks to be a #3 or 4 ,, but easily looked like a #1. I still say Hanson injured his shoulder when he broke the Braves strike out record against the Astros last year. Huddy is just old, Medlen will be a gamble, Hanson will struggle, Delgado could get better with more innnings, Beachy will be fine, Minor to the minors, and JJ is done.
When teams hit tough stretches, you then see what their leadership is all about ,, and Fredo is no leader and is incompetant to boot. He needs to go.
Ozzie
May 31st, 2012
11:54 am
Fair article but then of course as soon as you write it they win two in a row. Granted win one was on the back of 3 run homer by Uggla and yesterday was a back n forth scrap where the pitchers all stunk it up after the in the later innings. In both cases you still notch a W.
The concern remains that no Braves pitcher can go out there for more than a one game (in a row LOL) an pitch 7+ solid innings, heck even 5.
With a weaker pen IMHO things could get ugly bu July. Games that seem in the bag will be given away in the 7, 8 or 9th innings.
Bottom line Wren needs what he needed the past three years. A true fire ball Ace pitcher (who can toss 200+ innings & 3-4 CGs) and a power hitting LF (110+ RBI guy).
Until he gets those two things the team will be bi polar as usual. Being up n down is a symptom of a unfinished roster versus crappy managing or one player getting a hurt.
FG has no seat waiting for him at the baseball equiv of Mensa however the bipolar nature of this team is all on Wren & Liberty’s salary cap.
splendid splinter
May 31st, 2012
2:54 pm
OK Jeff, you did it! You wanted to get everyone stirred up and get the ole blog rolling hot and heavy. You did it!
Fact is – Columbus got it right. It’s still early.
For all the talk about the mighty Cardinals, the Bravos have taken 5 of 6 from them. They can still win it all, and they can still stink it up. There could be a rash of injuries which could cause them to finish 30 games out. Let’s see what August 1 brings before we fire FW, FG, RM, the entire pitching staff, and all of the starting eight.
And in case anyone has looked, there are 18 other teams in the majors who would like to be as good as the Braves. Would you rather trade for them? Hey – they could be the Cubs.
realfan
May 31st, 2012
8:56 pm
look at ur comments when the braves are in 1st again. ur a bunch of idiots that fall off the bandwagon when we have a bad week in a 162 game season. get a f’kn clue about baseball
Ronald Millsaps
May 31st, 2012
9:50 pm
“lobo”– You can speak for yourself in terms of those on the blog not knowing the game.
JohnnyOnTheSpotWalker
May 31st, 2012
9:53 pm
Trade Brian Mccant. We won’t be able to afford him once his contract is up. We could get an awesome pitcher in a trade involving him.
2 GOOD DOGS
May 31st, 2012
11:14 pm
WREN’S A FREAKING IDIOT.
Jborodawg
June 1st, 2012
8:41 am
@splendid splinter, and a few others are right on. To say the Braves are “crumbling” is near ludicrous. Yes, 2-8 over the last ten; but that’s not necessarily “crumbling”. Why not say, “Bourn crumbling…” or “Freeman crumbling…”? Whoda thunk Jurgens wouldn’t be in the lineup? Whoda thunk Hanson and Huddy would struggle? How bout Venters and Oflaherty? Heck, even Kimbrel has had a bad couple outings.
I don’t think any of that is Fredi’s fault; nor Wren’s. A team with a winning record is not “crumbling”. All the pundits said the Cards were “crumbling” last year. For the millionth time: It’s a long season.
Taxi Smith
June 1st, 2012
11:45 am
Do you still believe your headline (June 1)?
BravesFanForever
June 1st, 2012
12:33 pm
Bobby Cox… Just by his aura inspired teams to do better. Fredi Gonzalez doesn’t have that luxury. He has yet to prove himself to his own team let alone the fans. I completely agree with Jeff on this one. Fredi has got to pull this team together. Okay, they are supposedly “close”, well, then let’s get some INSPIRED TEAM PLAY ON THE FIELD!!
Come on: Seriously… Should this team take that much of a nosedive just because we lose a couple of players?
Brian McCann –> David Ross
Chipper Jones –> Juan Francisco
Freddie Freeman –> Eric Hinske
Normally there wouldn’t be a HUGE drop off in offense but why in the world the three replacements have fallen off the map is the big question.
GTL
June 1st, 2012
5:47 pm
Ronald Millsaps: Does anyone really read your “windy” comments? Who do you think you are a “blog” writer or sumpin???
Quit Trying to Make Excuses for JJ
June 1st, 2012
9:04 pm
Don’t give a ding dong dang if JJ is throwing up out on the mound…..HE SUCKS….Braves need to trade him for a bag of balls…….don’t want to hear FG’s crap about he was throwing good….his velocity is up…..HE SUCKS PLAIN AND SIMPLE – Get rid of the Kawasucki Clone.
7
June 1st, 2012
11:42 pm
Idiots of the weak…’real and braves fan’… you 2 couldnt find your ass with a funnel. Take fg’s mommy lobotomy with you. The tolerance for medicority is unceasing.
donte080
June 9th, 2012
12:48 am
millsaps,
You sound like the kind of parent who beats his kids with a baseball bat first time he makes a mistake…check out how braves have done since this dumbdown article was posted, and you posted your ignorant post….Bravos go on a win streak, and will be in 1st place before you know it. So much for my team ‘crumbling at first sign of adversity’
Dumb post, man, really dumb.