Hanson not buying into talk of decline, looks to win spot
Tommy Hanson will be activated and start Friday against the Dodgers. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
(Hi folks. I’m ready to live blog off tonight’s Braves game against San Diego. It’s Tim Hudson vs. Clayton Richard. Following is a column I’ve written on Tommy Hanson, who will come off the disabled list after a back injury to start Friday’s game against Los Angeles. Hanson is in the unexpected position of trying to win a spot in the Braves’ five-man rotation down the stretch. The team currently is going with six pitchers.)
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If there is one jolting reality about the blur surrounding the Braves’ pitching rotation these days, it’s this: Tommy Hanson is not a clear-cut No. 1. Or 2. Or 3.
This doesn’t mean Hanson is going to struggle over the next two weeks. It certainly doesn’t mean he’s not going to reaffirm his value to the Braves over time, nor that he isn’t destined to have a great career, presumably in Atlanta.
But there are doubts. There was the shoulder injury last year. The back pain this year. There’s the fastball of declining velocity. There’s the fact that he has gone 5 1/3, 4, 5 and 5 innings in his past four starts, and despite a 12-5 record, is carrying the highest ERA (4.29) and opponents’ batting average (.267) of his career.
It doesn’t take long for people to start wondering whether a guy will be, you know, what he is supposed to be. About as long as it takes to type a Tweet?
“I try not to worry about it,” Hanson said Tuesday, three days before he will be activated from the disabled list for Friday’s start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I just worry about myself, keep trying to get better, keep trying to keep my body healthy to perform. Anything after that, there’s no need for me to worry about it because people will say what they’re going to say, and they’re going to have doubts and think that there’s something wrong with me, and they don’t know.”
That said, if the Braves head into the home stretch of a division race without Hanson as a starter, it’s not a good sign for either the team or the player. Hanson is the Braves’ only perceived power pitcher (although not as much now). It wasn’t long ago he was considered the next great thing. Baseball America named him the organization’s No. 1 prospect and baseball’s fourth-best prospect in 2009.
Hanson was called up midway through that season. The Braves drop-kicked franchise legend Tom Glavine into retirement to make room for him on the roster. Talk about symbolism.
Hanson made 21 starts the reason of the season and went 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA. He struck out 116 in 127 2/3 innings. We bowed.
But the blast off has been limited. In 2010, Hanson pitched with a voodoo doll on his shoulder, going only 10-11, largely because of poor run support (at one point he allowed one or zero runs in five consecutive starts, going 0-2 with three decisions). Last season he was great before the All-Star break (10-4, 2.44), a train wreck after (1-3, 8.10). He eventually was shut down because of shoulder tendinitis.
He recovered before spring training. But his car went on the disabled listed when he crashed it on the way to Disney. Hanson suffered a minor concussion. The Infiniti suffered about $8,000 in damage. Then came the season, which started well but has since tailed off, primarily because of the lost velocity.
The Braves put Hanson on the disabled list, which he was OK with, and then sent him to Gwinnett, which he was not completely OK with. Manager Fredi Gonzalez joked that Hanson was “grumpy” when he delivered the news and the pitcher uttered an obscenity at him and pitching coach Roger McDowell.
Hanson confirmed as much Tuesday (while smiling).
“I wasn’t mad — I just wasn’t expecting that,” he said. “I was expecting to throw in the bullpen the next day. I guess I was more shocked than anything. I was laughing when I said it but I guess I used a curse word. I called him a curse word.”
Hanson said, in retrospect, the Gwinnett start the other night was a good thing. He needed the work before his first Braves start Friday night.
Catcher Brian McCann believes Hanson has been effective this season despite the lost speed, “Obviously he’s not throwing 95 any more. But right now he’s learned how to win with a fastball at 90, a backdoor cutter, a slider down and in.”
Is that enough?
When asked if he’s feeling more pressure to perform and become a member of the rotation, Hanson said, “I just feel like I need to do what I’ve always done and try to help my team win. What happens after that, you know, I’ll do my best and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll go from there.”
By Jeff Schultz
Some of my earlier typings (no charge)
– Countdown: Mizzou’s paranoia, Mora’s rant and Auburn problems
– Kris Medlen and the benefits of a six-man rotation (video and blog)
– Danny Ferry made a pitch for Dwight Howard but Magic said no
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140 comments Add your comment
dick whiskey
August 15th, 2012
12:31 pm
hanson reminds me of steve avery,first couple of years dominant looked like hall of famer,lost velocity started getting hammered was out of the league quick
What?
August 15th, 2012
12:32 pm
da[1 Did you forget Medlen and possibly Sheets?
Nick
August 15th, 2012
12:56 pm
I’m not sure why Hanson gets the bad wrap when Minor is clearly our worst starter. Minor’s stuff would be a much better fit in the bp than Hanson too. Much better. Can you imagine Hanson coming in to hold inherited runners on? Free stolen bases. Laughing out loud now.
SeaAtl
August 15th, 2012
12:59 pm
Hanson has been averaging 5 innings per start in the second half; and this isn’t new – he’s a softy, a California pretty boy with some talent, a weird delivery, and no guts. Medlen will take his spot in the rotation, and they’ll either send Tommy to AAA or find a reason – there are PLENTY to choose from – to stuff him back on the DL.
Ken Stallings
August 15th, 2012
1:10 pm
Jeff,
The DL is used much more now than in the past because teams have the large investments of guaranteed contracts. In the old days, the DL was not used as much because players (especially pitchers) played with injuries. With a few weeks on the DL, said player would recover and be good for a long time. But, without that large guaranteed contract, organizations thought of the players as replacable commodities.
In other words, a ton of players played a few years, “flammed out,” and were released. Some spent a few more years in the minors before being out of the game forever. You just don’t tend to hear about them.
Pitch count for starters and appearances for relief pitchers are the two most tightly predictive stats and warning signs for chronic or acute pitcher injuries. This is where the game has changed, but with the contracts, most GM’s and owners conclude that it is better to preserve your players long term than to eat contracts and dispose of injured players. Think of it this way, the Nationals’ GM just confirmed again he’s shutting down Stausburg after 166 innings and that’s going to happen first week of September.
In the old days, that would never happen. But, it’s going to happen this 2012 season — just one more sign post in the road to the future, how times change in baseball!
Ken Stallings
August 15th, 2012
1:15 pm
Nick,
If you truly think Mike Minor is our worst starter (worse than Hanson when he went on the DL) then you should read the two posts I made yesterday that detailed Minor’s results over his last six starts.
Reader’s Digest version of those two posts is that over those last six starts, Minor’s ERA is under 2.5, average innings pitched per start is a shade over six innings, average walks per game is just under 1, and average K’s per game is a bit over 7. The sole problem Minor has had is woefully inadequate run support. That’s why his record over those six starts is 2-4 with two no decisions.
Ken Stallings
August 15th, 2012
1:15 pm
Darn! Make that 1-3 with two no decisions!
Nick
August 15th, 2012
1:52 pm
Ken,
You don’t make serious decisions about removing Hanson from the rotation in favor of an unproven Minor based on 6 starts. If so Minor would have been out of baseball all together after his first 6 starts of the season.
devon shire
August 15th, 2012
1:53 pm
hanson a pretty boy? looks kinda ugly to me
Dirty Dawg
August 15th, 2012
1:58 pm
I’ve been a critic of Tommy’s delivery from the beginning and was encouraged when they, and he, said that they were overhauling it – the delivery – coming into this season. Well if they did there was little evidence of it from the beginning cause he reverted to form almost immediately. For a big guy he doesn’t use his legs and body much at all to provide the kind of leverage and momentum that would take a little of the stress off his arm and shoulder. Plus with the hesitation he has at the top of his delivery, he loses virtually all the forward thrust that his wind up should provide. Unless the Braves pitching staff, and Tommy himself, commit to making the changes – assuming he’s capable of making them at all, regardless of the level of commitment – then I’m afraid he’ll never get any better than he is now. That, plus the fact that he looks like he’s not in particularly good shape…gotten right fleshy if you know what i mean. I know Beachy hurt his arm already, despite his seeming effortless delivery, but my bet is that if Tommy would dedicate himself to working as hard as Beachy does at getting in shape and staying there, as well as trying to emulate his delivery, he’d become the pitcher he, and we, thought he was gonna be. If not then who knows?
Nick
August 15th, 2012
1:59 pm
SeaAtl,
I’d venture to guess that was the first time in Hanson’s life he’s been called a pretty boy.
Nick
August 15th, 2012
2:02 pm
Dirty Dawg,
Agreed.
Charles
August 15th, 2012
2:08 pm
I agree with the comments that Hanson is at a fish or cut bait point with the Braves — declining velocity, poor mechanics and bad attitude (he works on his mechanics at the Pink Pony more than in the bullpen). So if he’s not stellar in the coming starts, I would agree he is prime trade bait since we aren’t likely to keep him in a Boras bidding war.
PMC
August 15th, 2012
2:09 pm
Hey Red, you’re pretty good for about 3 months a season then you wear out.
Maybe make it through an entire season pitching well before you start popping off K?
SeaAtl
August 15th, 2012
2:13 pm
Haha…OK, maybe I was off-base by calling him a pretty boy. I’ve never been a very good judge of such things!
Bob Davis
August 15th, 2012
2:27 pm
Hanson’s lack of control and decreased velocity will eventually be his demise. No way do I see him included in the five-man rotation at the beginning of September. Additionally, his pathetic pitching mechanics (he looks like he’s attempting to throw his arm out the shoulder socket on every pitch) will land him back on the disabled list again soon, I’m sure.
Halbert
August 15th, 2012
2:47 pm
Aside from those 20 starts or so in his rookie season, I have never been impressed with Hanson and wouldn’t mind it if he were moved in the offseason. His lethargic attitude out on the mound doesn’t exactly fill anyone with confidence and his 100 pitches by the 5th inning tells me he’s not confident either. He is frustrating to watch and has yet to learn how to close out a hitter if he can’t strike him out.
nick manning
August 15th, 2012
3:24 pm
I’m not saying Hanson parties too much but–Hanson might be partying too much.
RunninWithTheDawgs
August 15th, 2012
4:09 pm
I’m happy to see Hanson coming back in the rotation. If he’s only good for 4 or 5 innings, so what, as long as he is GOOD for those innings I think our bull pen can handle it from there.
oldfart
August 15th, 2012
4:24 pm
Now we have it revealed today that the problem in 2010 with Melky wasn’t with the coaching from Bobby Cox. Bobby just neglected to tell him to take his juice.
Instant Dawgma
August 15th, 2012
4:33 pm
Hanson seems a little ticked….Maybe the pressure of competition for starting spot will make him better and more consistent.
He’s up and down like a yo-yo. Even when healthy.
Instant Dawgma
August 15th, 2012
4:37 pm
Jeff, keeping track of Washington updates?…..Enquiring, Braves fan, minds want to know. It would be nice if Sundays game was being played for first place.
Jay
August 15th, 2012
5:23 pm
Wait, wait…he’s lost FIVE mph on his fastball???? Ugh! He hasn’t been the same since the shoulder injury. Cut your losses Braves, or risk dealing with Jurjjens 2.0
Nite Owl
August 15th, 2012
6:21 pm
@SeaAtl:
If anyone’s a pretty boy, it’s that dude the Padres threw out there last night. That guy’s teeth were whiter than white.
Chris Murphy
August 16th, 2012
6:54 am
Hanson has a very unnatural motion, it is not smooth at all- I’m not surprised he has physical strains and injuries because of it. He’s a big guy, and should look at how Koufax- another big guy- teaches the mechanics of power pitching.
Joey
August 16th, 2012
8:32 am
Isn’t it strange that two of our best young pitchers, Hanson and Jurrjens, both lost velocity while still early in their careers?
It makes me wonder if the Braves off-season program is different now than a few years ago.
Just strange.
Tom Thurston
August 16th, 2012
9:29 am
When will some coach fix Hanson’s mechanics. He is going to be plagued with arm and shoulder problems until it is corrected. In short his delivery is not fluid. When throws a pitch he has a short hesitation that stops all the momentum. This virtually eliminates the lower half of his body. In order to regain the torque to throw a ball in upper 80’s and low 90’s he must compensate with added force on elbow or shoulder or both. He will not have a long career with this delivery.
alex
August 16th, 2012
10:02 am
yesterday attendance is 16,000, would be dawgs attendance in Athens (at least 1.5 h. drive or more) with any school including who triple sucks 99,000. please shut out all Atlanta pro sports. this place remind me far north Siberia with only passion for dogs race.
dick whiskey
August 16th, 2012
11:13 am
alex if you want to go spend big bucks of your hard earned money to watch a bunch of millionaire’s play a dumb ballgame,go ahead, but i’m not going to
Braves in last palce by Sept fist
August 16th, 2012
11:37 am
I tell U Hansens has a drinking and or drug problem. Remeber when he wreck his car B 4 sprig training? It was a mystery blown tire and everone just sweept it under the rug but now it is so oblivous that his real problemis drinking and or drugs.
alex
August 16th, 2012
12:21 pm
dick 100% correct capacity crowd in phill., chic., ny, sl, sf, etc. all morons spending hard earned money we in atlanta only wise one.
kc
August 16th, 2012
2:23 pm
The description “power pitcher” need to stop with Hanson. Just look at the radar gun. He is the Braves worst starter at this point. He can’t throw a fastball by anybody-they just sit back and wait on it. Only chance he has are the nights when he has the big sweeping curve ball working. I will take Medlin-let Hanson go to the pen-he had his chance.
Sam Doughty
August 16th, 2012
4:17 pm
Going to 6 starters will just know your #1 pitchers out of several starts. Just enough loses to not make the wildcard.
Sam Doughty
August 16th, 2012
4:17 pm
Going to 6 starters will just know your #1 pitchers out of several starts. Just enough loses to not make the wildcard.
Sam Doughty
August 16th, 2012
4:17 pm
Going to 6 starters will just know your #1 pitchers out of several starts. Just enough loses to not make the wildcard.
Sam Doughty
August 16th, 2012
4:17 pm
Going to 6 starters will just know your #1 pitchers out of several starts. Just enough loses to not make the wildcard.
Get rid of Jurrjens and Hanson in the off season
August 16th, 2012
4:44 pm
Both JJ and Hanson are WHINE’ers – DFA them or get rid of both of them in the off season!
Loosing Managar = Loosing Record
August 17th, 2012
8:13 pm
Hansen has a drinking problem he had 2 go 2 rehab after he crashed his car.
Mr. Hankey
August 18th, 2012
9:50 am
Jeffy: Never been a hanson fan. Don’t know why. Maybe that goofy hairdo he sported the first couple of years. Maybe I just inherently don’t like gingers (Except of course of Gilligan fame Ginger), but it’s probably the fact that he just “hunks” the ball from the elbow up. There’s no shoulder action, no body sway. That may be good for skipping rocks back in the Cali, bu I say deal him ASAP for something before he goes Jergens on us. He’s definitely on decline, the arm is slowing dieing a la Steve Avery except Steve Avery was cute and lovable (Nothing gay intended here) and Hanson just seems…well….snarky.
Mr. Hankey
August 18th, 2012
9:53 am
P.S. Did I mention I don’t like Jim Donan any longer? Not that I ever did. That’s for another day, but being the victim of several (literally) burglaries I rate a thief right down there somewhere between anybody in Guantanamo Bay and Sandusky.