As constituted, these Braves aren’t going to win anything
Not to say this team has gone to the dogs, but ... you get the idea. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
It isn’t just that the Braves aren’t hitting. It’s that they don’t look as if they’re ever going to hit.
Troy Glaus isn’t what he was. Nate McLouth isn’t what he was. Melky Cabrera was never anything special. Yunel Escobar seems to have regressed. Chipper Jones is 38. You tell me: Is that batting order ever apt to strike fear into the hearts of enemy hurlers?
Shed a tear here for Frank Wren. Presumably on orders from above, he keeps trying to put a team together on the cheap. But there aren’t many GMs who can bring that off — remember, John Schuerholz’s run of excellence was forged when the Braves and Yankees were trying to outspend each other — and Wren has evinced no signs of being a Billy Beane-counter.
What Wren did this offseason hasn’t worked. (Other than bringing up Jason Heyward, which was a no-brainer.) Javier Vazquez hasn’t pitched well for the Yankees, but wouldn’t you rather see Vazquez in the Braves’ rotation, as opposed to Kenshin Kawakami? Cabrera isn’t a starting outfielder. Glaus isn’t a starting infielder. Billy Wagner has been pretty good, but what’s the point of having Billy Wagner if there’s never a case to close?
The Braves are last, by a considerable distance, in the National League in hitting. They’re 10th in pitching. The 1965 Dodgers could win games 1-0, but there’s no Koufax or Drysdale here — or a Glavine or a Maddux or a Smoltz — here. These Braves have to hit, if just a bit, to win. And they can’t.
It has, granted, been only 22 games, but they’ve been 22 sobering games. Ten days ago the Braves staged as outrageous a comeback as any team ever has — the three-homer astonishment against Philadelphia’s Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras — to tie for first place in the NL East. They haven’t won since. They’ve scored 17 runs in nine games.
They’re last in the NL East. (They’re three full games out of fourth place.) They’re tied with the Dodgers for last in the National League. In all of the majors, only Baltimore has been worse. Even with Heyward working his wonders, his team has collapsed around him.
This is baseball. A good team can overcome a bad start. The 2009 Colorado Rockies were 9-13 after 22 games (and 20-32 after 52) and made the playoffs. But they had to fire their manager to do it, and that’s not an option here. Besides, you could look at the Rox and say, “That team’s losing, but it still has some players.” You can’t say that about these Braves.
This, sad to say, isn’t a very good team. It has some pitchers but too few hitters. As constituted, these Braves aren’t going to win anything.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
461 comments Add your comment
richbrave
May 7th, 2010
11:37 pm
Oh they just need a little treaking. Let’s lose McLOUTH, CABRERA, and JONES. Move GLAUS to third. Plug in DAMON, FIELDER and HOLLIDAY then…………….oh, its too late for that? The free agent season is over? So why didn’t we do that? Weren’t they all unrestricted FA’s this year?
brad
May 8th, 2010
12:23 am
FIRE TERRY PENDELTON NOW!!!
MitchC
May 8th, 2010
11:17 am
Mark, after watching how the Braves have played lately, this is what I’ve concluded.
This team is trying to remain “Competetive” with guys who are older, and have huge salaries. They are using the pipe dream of chasing a wild card. (The Phillies are way too strong to even think we can catch them for the East, and now they are starting to play like themselves) Thus, most of our payroll is eaten up on guys who are old and unproductive.
Lowe: Makes 15 mil. Has a nearly 6 ERA. The only reason he has a winning record, is that until last night, the Braves scored ten runs a night for him.
Chipper: Old, unproductive.
Glaus and Hudson: Not “old” yet, but neither exactly young, and not what they used to be.
I was thinking of how we got good for fifteen years in the 1990s. In the mid 80s, we made a decision to stop trying to chase 500 with old, unproductive guys, and said “We’re going to take our lumps for four or five years, finish in last, and rebuilid through the draft” Such a philsophy got us Justice, Avery, Smoltz, Glavine. (Okay, we traded for, and signed, a few free agents that helped us win. The Madduxs, and Pendeltons, and Neagles)
I think this team might be at the same stage as we were in say, 1985. After we struck out with Sutter and that awful contract. (Which we are still paying) We decided to take our hits, and lose for five years, so we could be good for fifteen.
I know Lowe is likely untradeable with that contract, and Chipper isnt going anywhere but to retirement. I’m beginning to think: Maybe it would be best if we lost 100 games this year, instead of “recovering” to finish at 500. Such might get us the number one pick next year. The last time we had the number one pick, in 1990, a pretty good hitter named Mr Larry Wayne Jones came our way.
Turner Field might be empty for a few years, like the old park was from 1985 to 1990, but, if we tear down, to eventually build up, we might agan create a dynasty. like we had from1991 to 2006.
No fan wants to see his team be bad. It was painful to watch the Braves in the mid to late 80s, but this team is even more painful to watch. By 1989 and 1990., when Smoltz, Glavine, and Justice were on board, you just had a feeling “These guys are good, and they’re young. This might be something special”.
The current Braves should build around three guys. Hanson, Heyward, and Mccann., Those guys are good enough, and young enough, to be productive for a decade, like Glavine and Smoltz were.
My bet is that Liberty wont, or cant, do this, because they will want to get people to the ballpark now. Even if we start hitting, all this will get us, at best, is a team that is mediocre, with no high draft picks, and no real future.
Pete
May 8th, 2010
11:49 am
To even comment on the totally hapless, hitless, hopeless Braves is a FRUITLESS waste of time.
Nuf sed.
J. Marshall
May 8th, 2010
2:15 pm
Ernie Harwell was traded for a baseball player. Greg Olsen was aquired by the braves in the 90s for some baseball equipment. Does anyone think we could get anything for Frank Wren. His resume: signed Derek Lowe to a high priced multi year contract, traded his best pitcher from last year (Javier Vasquez) for Melky Crabrera. Failed to offer a contract to slick fielding, home run hitting, Adam Laroche. Did not offer a contract to Kelly Johnson (8 home runs .320ba for Arizona), he also could play left field. Traded Jeff Francouer for Ryan Church, where is he now. Maybe if we throw in Terry Pendelton some minor league team might give us some batting practice baseballs for them, but then we would be taking advantage of that team.
southerndawg
May 9th, 2010
4:18 pm
Bobby needs to revamp the lineup. Prado leading off,Escobar 2nd (when he returns from DL),Chipper 3rd, Mcann 4Th, and Heyward 5th, then fill in the rest of the lineup. Also release Glaus and call up Freeman for first base. What have we got to lose? We can’t fall out of last place.
Herschel
May 9th, 2010
5:17 pm
I’m not a doomsdayer, and rsrely comment, but here goes. The Braves paid $60M for a sinkerball pitcher. That is on Wrenn. This forced us to trade Vazquez for nothing.
Stop ragging on Glaus, he’s not the problem. Wrenn is the problem. Glaus has no pop, but he is the 2nd leading run producer. Our corner infielders and catcher have 6 HRs. Our CF is below the Mendoza line. They can’t possibly be this bad all season.
We will probably finish around .500.
Braves Fan Since '66
May 9th, 2010
7:05 pm
These guys are pitiful.
stoky
May 9th, 2010
9:15 pm
I say DO THE CHOP
Want a winning team!
May 10th, 2010
11:12 am
Days later…..Braves still are having big problems. Veterans can’t get it done anymore! Give them a Purple Heart, paint their names on the outfield walls, and thank than for some wonderful years….but sent them home! Why are they keeping real and new talent like Freddie Freeman away? He can’t be any worse than many players we now count on. Sure he needs some seasoning, but why not in the Majors? At least he hustles and gives it everything he has. Only a few on the team today can say that. They get paid too much money and think about golf too much. They should follow John Smoltz to a golf life as he is doing and let the baseball guys come to our team.
Want a winning team!
May 10th, 2010
11:17 am
Go Braves! And take the Hawks with you!