A strange homestand yields a cold truth: More hitting needed
Roy Halladay at work Wednesday. Note goose eggs. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Strange homestand. The Braves were shut out twice and no-hit once and beaten by a guy who has never won the Cy Young Award but who roomed with Cy Young. And yet they won three of six against two playoff-caliber opponents.
At the same time, the Braves conjured up two walk-off wins, one among the more improbable in team annals — Troy Glaus? Nate McLouth? Seriously? — and still managed to look feeble for long stretches. Strange, strange homestand.
But it’s the kind we’re apt to see often, at least until Glaus and McLouth and Melky Cabrera start to hit. (Or, more probably, until Frank Wren gets around to making another round of deals.) The Braves are good at pitching but not very good at hitting. They can keep most games close enough to have a chance at the end. But Jason Heyward can’t work a wonder every night.
Stat of the series just completed: The Braves didn’t score an earned run against a Philadelphia starting pitcher. Not against Kyle Kendrick, who entered Tuesday’s game with an ERA of 17.47 but who worked eight scorless innings; not against Roy Halladay, who’s great, and not against Jamie Moyer, who took his first big-league bow three years before the aforementioned Heyward made his debut on Earth.
The only runs the Braves mustered in six innings against Moyer on Thursday came courtesy of double plays flubbed by Chase Utley. They’re not the first team to lose to a guy who’d lose playing burnout with your Aunt Minnie, but it’s never an endorsement of a team’s offense when it gets hog-tied by a 47-year-old and his 82-mph fastball.
And that, sad to say, is the lesson of this homestand: There’s no endorsing this offense. The Braves scored 20 runs in six games, but nine of those came against Colorado last Friday, and seven of the nine were in one inning. They were shut out twice and nearly a third time, which takes us back to Tuesday’s epic rally.
At that moment McLouth’s home run landed in the right-field seats, you’d have figured the winning team would have been so emboldened it wouldn’t have lost for the next week if not the next calendar year. Instead the Braves mustered three runs (one earned) over the next 18 innings. This, see, is baseball, the sport in which momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitcher.
You can’t hit if the other pitcher won’t allow it. This concept worked against the Braves the past two nights, but there’s a bright side here. They can pitch, too. They’ll hold up their end more often than not. Tim Hudson threw a nice game Wednesday but lost to the best in the business. Derek Lowe wasn’t effective Thursday, but he’s an adequate No. 4 starter.
Pitching will keep the Braves afloat, but the holes in this batting order could sink the vessel. Counting Lowe, the Braves started five men Thursday hitting .200 or less. They entered the game batting .227 as a team, second-worst in the National League.
The patches affixed by Wren over the winter haven’t held. Except for one big swing with two out in the ninth Tuesday, the Glaus Experiment has been a fizzle. (He struck out three times Thursday.) Cabrera has been worse. (Francisco Cabrera had as many RBIs in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS as Melky Cabrera in his first 2 1/2 weeks as a Brave.) Indeed, the Braves’ back line of defense appears to consist of Heyward and three fourth outfielders.
Yes, it has been only 2 1/2 weeks, but you wonder how much longer this can go. We were here a year ago, and Wren did quick work — importing McLouth and Adam LaRoche, exporting Jordan Schafer, Jeff Francoeur and Casey Kotchman — to make the Braves competitive over the second half. The bad news: Such a flurry of dealing might again be required.
The good news: It’s easier to find hitting than pitching. The cold truth: More hitting is needed, and soon. The team the Braves just saw, the team the Braves hope to overhaul, is good at both.
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220 comments Add your comment
Phil
April 23rd, 2010
8:38 am
Ted M,
Good point. What other team would allowed Norton to stick around all year? He wouldn’t have lasted a week with the Phillies or Yankees. With the moves they made during the off season, is there really any hope they can make any mid-season moves to help? Those two buffoons aren’t capable.
And let me state the facts again about the payroll for all you that claim it’s the owners fault. We have the 11th highest payroll in baseball, 11th out of 30. That’s not too shabby. We just have 2 buffoons that don’t know how to spend it.
Ted M
April 23rd, 2010
8:39 am
I could NOT believe Heyward was moved back to the 7 spot last night!
braveshoo
April 23rd, 2010
8:39 am
Glaus should sit. Start Prado at 1b against LHs and Hinske against RHs. Infante should start everyday and lead off. Put Diaz down in the order and he will hit. Bunch your best hitters together so you can sustain some rallies; ie. Prado,Escobar, Chipper, McCann,Heyward, Hinske,Diaz,McClouth or Infante,Prado,Chipper, McCann,Heyward, Hinske,Escobar, Diaz. Melky and Glaus sit.
TiftonJacket
April 23rd, 2010
8:40 am
Mark
Either you or Schultz posted on Thurs a article with a completey different tone that this one. Since Day 1, this team and in particular Glaus and Escobar have been horrible at situational hitting. Case and point Wed night against Holladay who was excellent. Bases loaded 1 out and Glaus hits into an inning ending DP. Escobar the same thing the night before. Yes Heyward has bailed this team out on several occassions but the inability to do the fundamental things will kill you over the course of a season. To me, they are getting enough hits each game but just not executing and getting the Sac Fly or ground ball to the right side to move runners along or get runs without the long ball. Plus as you said, everybody but Heyward in the OF is hitting above .200 and Escobar is just over .200. Pitching has been good to better than expected but the hitting and especially situational hitting has been a train wreck. If they don’t fix this soon, Bobby will be playing out the string come July/August.
Ted M
April 23rd, 2010
8:41 am
I agree it not our payroll and whats up w/heyward being moved back the 7 spot in the lineup.
Brian from SC
April 23rd, 2010
8:43 am
You’re hilarious, Bradley. Yesterday and the day before you was so enamored with the team, saying they had that special “something” and they would not be going away. After one game, now the Braves need a flurry of changes like last year to be competitive.
TheAntiMe
April 23rd, 2010
8:43 am
McLouth seems to be coming around at the plate the past few games but Melky is horrible and Diaz has never been anything more than a platoon player in his entire career. Glaus may still come around but until he does should probably be dropped to 7th in the line-up
Unless Melky finds his stroke, it is unreasonable to expect the Braves to be able to be more than a .500 team with Cabrera and Diaz as regulars in the OF.
Barring a trade, I can only hope that Jordan Schafer and someone else down at Gwinnett can get it going well enough to come up to the bigs and make the lameness that is now two-thirds of the Braves outfield go away.
Ted M
April 23rd, 2010
8:44 am
braveshoo – there are kinds of thing the Braves could do but they don’t do anything until its already to late.
Brian from SC
April 23rd, 2010
8:44 am
Should say “you were so enamored”. I changed the “he” to “you” and forgot to fix my subject-verb agreement.
papadawg
April 23rd, 2010
8:46 am
I think the Padres have a big hitter they would part with. GO GET HIM
Brian from SC
April 23rd, 2010
8:47 am
papadawg…the Padres are in first place. Why would they get rid of their best player?
Ted M
April 23rd, 2010
8:49 am
I have high hopes for Jordan Schafer. He was hurt pretty bad last year which was likely the whole cause of his crappy year. However I’m starting to wonder if there is something wrong with his recovery. He’s not even at triple A yet. he didn’t get an AB spring. Seems like he should have been better a long time ago.
papadawg
April 23rd, 2010
8:49 am
Brian, they won’t stay in 1st and they need more than him
Alphare
April 23rd, 2010
9:02 am
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Braves hitting are no good any longer. You used to have a Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Mad Dog(Galaraga). All 3 of them are gone and replaced with patch workers.
What Braves need is find another Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Mad Dog.
Phil
April 23rd, 2010
9:02 am
McClouth: .147 BA
Glaus: .184 BA
Melky: .133 BA
This speaks volumes for Cox and Wren. Those are Greg Norton numbers!
ugaaccountant
April 23rd, 2010
9:04 am
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Wait, what’s that we have a winning record and just went .500 against 2 playoff teams? It’s even in the article 2 of our 3 losses were due to masterful pitching by 2 of the best pitchers around right now.
ugaaccountant
April 23rd, 2010
9:06 am
“papadawg…the Padres are in first place. Why would they get rid of their best player?”
1st, and you know this, the Padres won’t be in 1st place very long
2nd, and you probably know this, they are an extremely cheap team and have already been considering moving him to save money.
3rd – A trade like this better not happen, because the Braves won’t sign the guy long term and would just be wasting prospects again.
Alphare
April 23rd, 2010
9:10 am
ugaaccountant,
it’s not the sky is falling, looking at the lineup, do you really believe Braves can compete with the Philly? I am not sure about you, I did not even give them a chance before the season started.
RM
April 23rd, 2010
9:12 am
Why not give Hinske more playing time at first? Glaus has already struck out about 100 times and most of the time it’s with runners on base! I agree with an earlier comment that they are a very boring team and have been for the past 4-5 years. J-Hey is the only thing exciting and he’s 20 years old.
Phil
April 23rd, 2010
9:16 am
RM,
When you have an 80 year old senile manager, they are going to be boring. “Wait till next year” finally means something if you’re a Braves fan.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:17 am
Glaus doesn’t strike out all the time with runners on base. Sometimes he hits into a double play. So there.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:20 am
Bobby’s not senile! He’s forgotten more than he ever knew! ……………Wait, that didn’t come out right.
hawesg
April 23rd, 2010
9:21 am
It’s a sad, sad day when I agree with Mark Bradley on baseball….
Ted M
April 23rd, 2010
9:23 am
RM – Why not give Hinske – See if you can talk Cox into that one.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:24 am
Our murderer’s row will be rattlin’ the fences in no time. You just wait and see.
hawesg
April 23rd, 2010
9:24 am
There are some interesting possibilities out there. The White Sox might be persuaded to move Paul Konerko, who could replace Troy Gl-outs. Ironically, they would replace him with Tyler Flowers.
But Konerko could do what Gl-outs was supposed to: provide a RH power bat between McCann and Heyward.
Atticus
April 23rd, 2010
9:25 am
It’s two freaking weeks!! I agree it looks a little thin right now but Yunel and Escobar aren’t going to bat .200. Glaus is hitting the ball hard but it’s not falling in. Everyone’s averages are low with the exception of Prado. Give it a few more weeks. The bullpen looks good and starting pitching solid as well although Lowe still isn’t cutting it. We may need something before it’s over but you have to be patient. We are 8-7.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:29 am
Atticus is right! C’mon, let’s have a cheer! 2,4,6,8,………………………..(crickets chirping)
RetiredSoldier
April 23rd, 2010
9:31 am
We need changes and we need them faster than Bobby usually does them. Infante id the LF and bats lead off. Platton Melky & Nate in center till one claims the position and platoon Glaus and Hinske until one of them claim it. Unless we have more offense, we are in trouble.
Phil
April 23rd, 2010
9:35 am
RetiredSoldier,
Bobby makes changes???
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:36 am
He changes his depends about five times a day.
ugaaccountant
April 23rd, 2010
9:38 am
“Alphare
it’s not the sky is falling, looking at the lineup, do you really believe Braves can compete with the Philly? I am not sure about you, I did not even give them a chance before the season started.”
All preseason I kept saying the Phillies were a 100 win team. I don’t see them as our competition, they just are better. I know we don’t have a chance to be the best everyday with this payroll, I just want to get to the playoffs and see what happens.
mdk222
April 23rd, 2010
9:39 am
Frank Wren is terrible. He won’t fix any of our offensive issues since he’s only made our team worse since he took over. One of the worst in the league. And the usual bargain effort is not going to help anything either. Get Wren out of Atlanta.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:40 am
Playoffs? PLAYOFFS!?
bignel
April 23rd, 2010
9:43 am
Different personnel, same results. Still love the braves. Mr. Cox is a players manager, maybe it is time to get a manager that is a manager. Pitching is still good, management continues to go out and get players and the hitting is still the same old hitting that the braves had with 3 cy young and hall of fame pitchers and still couldnt win the world series. what is the common thread that binds it all together? Mr. Cox and TP. Can’t wait till next year unless they announce TP as the manager. Please give us a fresh start and can them all.
bignel
April 23rd, 2010
9:45 am
You cant blame Frank Wren. Have you noticed that the line up is totally different than the past and the results are the same. you could get Albert Poulus, Ryan Howard, A-rod and TP and Mr. Cox would mess them up and the Braves would still be at 500.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:46 am
We have to keep TP as manager. He is the only one who can keep the magic going.
bignel
April 23rd, 2010
9:47 am
Give me a break. Troy Louse is hitting the ball hard. How many strike outs does he have and how bad does he look doing it?
bignel
April 23rd, 2010
9:48 am
Good point Donny. Watching the Braves is cheaper than going to the circus.
Donny Corleone
April 23rd, 2010
9:49 am
Well, we’ve got the clowns.
Phil
April 23rd, 2010
9:52 am
Best line all day Donny.
TommyJack
April 23rd, 2010
10:20 am
Ah, for some Adam LaRosch
RazorbackBrave80
April 23rd, 2010
10:21 am
Sad, sad, just sad. I never cared for Melky and felt we got hosed cause we did not get Swisher when the deal went down. Mistakes were made out of spring training and yet even I tried to stay positive. I hoped Troy could hit and outside of two homers when we needed them he can’t do anything but look like a mad caveman. I had no faith in Nate even though he is walking more and looking at more pitches he much like Troy is lost at the plate. Don’t want Dye or even Sheff trips down memory lane won’t help. Wren needs to pick up the phone and see whats out there. Platoon Troy and Hinske leave Matt in left and let him lead off and keep Nate in center cause defensively he hustles every play his way. Melky off the bench till we see if the cubs or someone like the Padres or A’s want him. Also call up Thurston and though I hate to say it send Conrad down. How he beat Thurston who dogged him all spring I do not know.
Fed Up With Wren (Again)
April 23rd, 2010
10:37 am
Where is the 100 RBI guy that Frank Wren promised we were getting? I think I might have mentioned I didn’t like the offseason moves a time or two in the preseason blogs. As many people have mentioned, two weeks does not a season make. However, this team can’t score. Prado is batting .400 with only three RBIs because no one can get on from the leadoff spot. Cabrera stinks, there is no other way to put it. I think it is doubtful that Glaus comes around, it’s clear he can’t deliver in pressure situations. I say put in Hinske and go get a real left fielder.
LizellaDawg
April 23rd, 2010
10:41 am
Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante
Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante SHOULD HIT LEADOFF!!!!!!!!!!!
come on
April 23rd, 2010
10:48 am
fire bobby cox now don’t let him play nice with the players the rest of the year. he sticks with players so he can be liked by the players. He gives them no drive, and maybe iff he kicked some players butts every now and then they would play with drive and not just stealing money. should have canned his azz 5 years ago. he is a joke.
RazorbackBrave80
April 23rd, 2010
10:53 am
Yes, two weeks does not a season make but piss poor hitting all year makes for a fourth place finish cause even the Nats can score runs at a premium. Hey Frank spend the extra money find a way to clone Heyward or something. We cannot keep pace and you gotta see that.
Brian
April 23rd, 2010
10:53 am
If only we had someone like Javy Vazquez. That’d give us a surplus of starting pitching and we could trade him for a big bat! Oh, wait a minute…
LizellaDawg
April 23rd, 2010
11:00 am
Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante
Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante Infante SHOULD PLAY LF AND HIT LEADOFF!!!!!!!!!!!
time for a change
April 23rd, 2010
11:09 am
also Bobby Cox needs to go, I know everyone is holding out for a retirement party but Cox needs to be fired and it is what it is. What is there to honor? It was time for a manager change sometime ago. Good God wake up people. (reminds me of Hewitt at GT, the powers that be have drank the coolaid on both of these coaches/managers)