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.
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461 comments Add your comment
Told you so
April 30th, 2010
11:23 am
Billy Wagner
April 30th, 2010
11:14 am
Hopefully we can unload some of the old-timers (like me) at the trade deadline for some prospects to replace the ones we gave away for Mark Texeira (sic?). Let’s face it, it’s time to rebuild.
HERE HERE. IF WE ARE GONNA SUCK LETS DO IT WITH A BUNCH OF PROSPECTS THAT WILL PAY DIVIDENDS DOWN THE ROAD. WE ARE NOT, AND I REPEAT NOT JUST 1-2 PLAYERS AWAY FROM BEING GOOD. BUT PLEASE LETS SHOW RESPECT FOR CHIPPER JONES, BOBBY COX AND TERRY PENDLETON! THEY WERE BIG TIME CONTRIBUTORS TO THE GREAT TEAMS WE HAD IN ATLANTA. WITHOUT THEM, WE NEVER WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A TASTE OF WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE GREAT.
dozer
April 30th, 2010
11:24 am
The emperor has no clothes – why can’t it just be said; the problem here is organizational. from ownership on down, this is NOT a franchise that is committed to winning championships. From a money standpoint, they are not prepared to commit what it takes to get good players and keep them (unless you’re a broken-down legacy from the past). From a mindset standpoint, there is no air of accountability permeated down to the field. All through the organization (enabled by their excuse-making homers on TV & the radio), anyone who brngs up legitimate concerns is labeled as an ignorant panic-stricken hater who just needs some patience until things return to normal. I might be missing things, but normal for this bunch is just getting by anymore being just good enough to maintain the mediocre status quo. Mediocre defines the Braves standard now, and Liberty, McGurk, Schurholz, Wren, Bobby & the players are all accountable in this mess.
chin music
April 30th, 2010
11:24 am
i’m a little surprised, mb, that you have acceded to the doomsayers before april’s even over. the rockies of two years ago had a better lineup, no doubt, but their starting pitching wasn’t as good as the braves’ staff. glaus definitely seems to have lost some bat speed, but i cannot imagine mclouth, cabrera, diaz, and escobar will continue to underperform their career averages. even mccann, the most reliable hitter in the lineup the past few seasons, has been asleep for most of the year. this team has a nice run in them, and given that all the teams ahead of the braves have serious weaknesses, it’s ludicrous to write them off on april 30th.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:26 am
Mark, what do you think about coaching changes. Is Bobby as loyal to them as he is to his players?
We Suck
April 30th, 2010
11:27 am
and could possibly be mathmatically eliminated by the all star break
BravesFan in Dawg Country
April 30th, 2010
11:27 am
Funny, coming out of spring training, this wasn’t anyone’s opinion. Everyone was saying how good this team could be… the only ifs were if Chipper and Glaus could stay healthy. Even up to be beginning of this roadtrip when we moved into first place. All the talk was how we were overtaking the Philllies. Yes, this has been hard to watch, but it isn’t time to give up yet. It is still April.
1eyedJack
April 30th, 2010
11:27 am
Last night while the re-run played I watched the History Channel.
Driver 8
April 30th, 2010
11:28 am
Did you see where Kelly Johnson has hit 9 homers and has 18 RBI for the Dbacks??
Also playing for the Dbacks, Adam LaRoche hitting .300 with 4 homers and 17 RBI.
siskel_god
April 30th, 2010
11:28 am
I have never been on the fire TP bandwagon, but Kelly Johnson is leading the NL in homers……Kelly Johnson! He was as bad as could be here now he looks like Chase Freakin Utley in Arizona. Is it TP? Maybe it is the BC, I don’t know. I hope the next manager is not one that is so easy on his guys that they take advantage of him. Do you think CJ would have not been called out a long time ago if Ozzie Guillen were managing the Braves? I just want somebody besides Prado to show a sign of life and some emotion. Nobody seems to care right now that they are playing so horrible.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:29 am
It may be just April, but do you see anything that might right the ship. I am afraid I don’t.
Nick
April 30th, 2010
11:29 am
Mark,
Didn’t you just post a column that said this team was something special? I guess the “specialness” of this team has worn off in 10 days. Eat crow much?
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:30 am
Driver 8, those guys are not playing and hitting for TP. Once a player gets away from him..they seem to thrive.
john
April 30th, 2010
11:32 am
the main reason the braves cant win is that all their hitters play for other teams now. if you want to leave the braves have a good year and try to get the money you deserve. The braves can surely find a washed up player to play for less. Looks like cox with the help of the front office will finish his managerial career as he started . The worst team in baseball
Bobby Coccyx
April 30th, 2010
11:32 am
They’re good kids though…
Herschel Talker
April 30th, 2010
11:33 am
As your first paragraph says, there are far too many holes on this team. They’d have to trade for 4 or 5 guys. Not going to happen.
MB – we’ve been saying this for years. Cox finally is reaping what he has sown. As is Wren. It’s fitting that Bobby will bookend his career with last place finishes.
j
April 30th, 2010
11:33 am
We can trade Glaus for A Gon straight up! Oh wait…Other teams gm’s dont trade their best player for nothing? Oh well!
TommyP
April 30th, 2010
11:33 am
What did you write after that 2-0 lead in the ‘96 Series?
What did you write after that 9th inning comeback this year?
C’mon, Mark.
And if approximately $95 million isn’t enough to build a contending team in MLB, you need a new GM.
Herschel Talker
April 30th, 2010
11:35 am
MB:
Cox says the team “has been playing well.” Why don’t you ask him with what part of your column he disagrees? At that point, maybe you’ll finally come to the conclusion that many of us have had for years, that he’s delusional and a fool.
HT
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:35 am
TommyP, $95M may be enough to build a team but you can’t pay players such as Lowe, Kwami, and CJones the kind of money they get and not get anything in return.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:37 am
Choice:
Glaus – 1 year
LaRouch – 1year
Wren – idiot..chose Glaus
Joe Fan
April 30th, 2010
11:38 am
Why can’t the Braves ask / request that Cox move upstairs and begin helping Wren and JS evauate players. No disgrace in that. Then hire a new manager and seriously begin the rebuilding proces.
DP
April 30th, 2010
11:38 am
I seem to recall that near the end of spring training Chipper was talking about how there were no “automatic outs” in the lineup this year (unlike last year with Francouer, Kotchman, Schafer and K. Johnson for the first couple of months), how this lineup could turn over in a hurry. As Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend!” It is not surprising to me that Glaus, Cabrera and McLouth stink or that Chipper can’t stay healthy, but I expected a lot better from Escobar and Diaz.
Nick
April 30th, 2010
11:38 am
Hey MR…your an idiot. LaRoache wasn’t taking a 1 year deal…
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:39 am
Adam is hitting .300 for the Dbacks…and he is a slow starter…the have gone full circle…what did we get for Wainwright and where are they now….???????
TommyP
April 30th, 2010
11:39 am
MR: Might point exactly. $95 million is enough to field a contender.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:40 am
Hey Nick, LaRoache took a one year deal with the Dbacks….you are the idiot.
Angus
April 30th, 2010
11:40 am
Everywhere I look I see different #’s on the Braves salaries, but per ESPN’s Braves clubhouse page:
$84.4 mil (16th in MLB)
15 to D Lowe, 14 to Chipper, 7.33 to KK.
Quick math says 43% of the budget goes to those 3 alone.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:40 am
As did Kelly Johnson
Paddy O
April 30th, 2010
11:41 am
Please, don’t forget – Shurholtz traded Wainwright for JD Drew & Eli Marrero- that deal brought years of good results.
Ted M
April 30th, 2010
11:41 am
Good article Mark – Even if you just stated the obvious. How could this not be obvious to the Braves?
Don’t sell the farm for Adrian Gonzalez it won’t make a difference. Isn’t that what the Padres would want prospects rather then someone on our roster.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:41 am
And tell me Angus, how is the 43% of the payroll performing?
Angus
April 30th, 2010
11:42 am
I’m just here to present the facts.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:42 am
Paddy O, I don’t remember those guys bringing that good of results to the Braves….
Lowcountry Bulldawg
April 30th, 2010
11:44 am
Well the Howard contract effectively killed the Braves from moving prospects for Gonzalez. Cannot imagine them now moving prospects for a guy who we know can confirm will seek a 5 year 100 million contract (or more). So what moves can be made to improve the team? None! The teams has to many issues at to many positions to make it into a possible playoff contender.
I wonder this, if the the Braves would have ate a large portion of Lowes remaining contract (4yr 45mil), say 20 million, could they have moved him? 6.25 million over 4 years for Lowe? Was that moveable? It doesnt address the offense, but it would have kept an above average NL pitcher in the rotation and would have freed the Franchise of 25 million dollars to go and make some other moves.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:44 am
By the way Nick…if Adam keeps performing the way he is now..the Dbacks will extend his contract….he is a true play and firstbase man.
Smack
April 30th, 2010
11:44 am
Your dumb Mark and have no idea how to run a team. Stop writing this junk just to get people’s tail feathers all ruffled up.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Trade Jason….only because he may become the greatest hitter in the game…do not let him stay under the influence of TP…god that man will ruin him for sure.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:48 am
Hey Smack, kiss my a$$. I have seen nothing from you that shows you are that smart.
sadbravesfan
April 30th, 2010
11:48 am
Minus a miracle the season is over. This team’s performance has been shameful, bordering on the criminal. Frank Wren isn’t a very good GM to start with, throw in owners who don’t care and he is even worse. That leads to what the real problem is. The problem really isn’t the team itself. Its the ownership. Liberty media is Time Warner lite, they care very little about putting a good product on the field. They sign players way past their prime and expect them to produce or maybe they don’t expect that at all. WE NEED NEW OWNERS.
ijudgenot
April 30th, 2010
11:48 am
Wren is now in a tough spot. It was apparent from last season that Wren wanting Cox to retire and go off into the sunset, but old Cox outmanuevered him with the President and forced another year for he and his coaches. It was also apparent from the Vasquez trade for the two prospects (Melky thrown in to make it look palatable) that Wren was looking to the future and not this year as for as chanpionship teams go. He put together on the cheap a team that he hoped Cox could coach to maybe a wild card, early ellimination team so that “legend Coach” could go out at least making playoffs one last time. It did not work out, the guys that he brought in are not hitting and Cox is not innovative enough to salvage a decent team from this bunch. Now the pressure will mount for him to make a quick fix in the “Legend Coach’s” last season. He can’t, there aren’t enough prospects to trade to fill all the holes in this lineup. so there will be increasing calls for his job, which will lead to the firing of TP and someone like Don Baylor, Chris Chambliss, Dale Murphy etc., will be brought in to give the illusion that this season can be salvaged, but it won’t. Ticket sales will go up for a short time as fans flock to see new hitting coach work magic. Wren will hope that the illusion can last until September when he announces who the new manager will be, then we all can start dreaming of how good it will be next year, meanwhile ticket sales hopefully did not drop too dramatically. Tough scenerio, lets see if he can pull it off.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:49 am
Only stating fact…players that the Braves cast out are playing better and smarter for other teams…
Base
April 30th, 2010
11:49 am
The Braves are bad,time for a change!
chin music
April 30th, 2010
11:49 am
braves sweep the astros, then go 5-4 on the remainder of the road slog to get right back in it. starts with tommy hanson on the mound tonight.
DawgDad
April 30th, 2010
11:50 am
Now, Mark, you’re coming around. Finally someone in the media acknowledges what’s obvious to everyone outside of Atlanta: Many of these moves just don’t make sense. Melky Cabrera, based on past history, was NOT going to perform up to the standard exepectation for a starting left fielder, McLouth is NOT a leadoff hitter, Jones and McCann are NOT reliable foundation pieces for an offense (McCann solely because he’s a catcher), Glaus vs. LaRoche was just plain cheap and stupid, Vazquez was an asset worth more than just a salary dump, and this offense has no catalyst or identity.
Some things are bound to change: Escobar will hit, McCann will hit, McLouth is likely to contribute SOMETHING eventually, and Chipper is likely to land on the DL. That’s not enough to turn this team into a serious contender.
They are not out of the race, but the moves over the winter were “throw in the towel” moves, not “make a serious run this year” moves.
Realistically, this roster either plays their way back into the race during the month of May or the valuable veterans need to be converted into promising prospects for a future built around Heyward and Hansen. Some of the veterans probably can’t be dumped without the team eating their salaries, but maybe they could return a prospect; i.e., Jones, Kawakami, Lowe. Hudson, Wagner, Saito, Moylan, O’Flaherty, McLouth, Cabrera, Glaus, Infante, Hinske, and Ross are not likely to be around when the good times roll; they should go for the best available prospects in return. I wouldn’t take Escobar, Prado, Jurrgens, and McCann off the block, either, but I’d make sure I got plenty of future value in return if I traded any of them.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:51 am
Hey sadbravesfan, you are almost correct. You just did not go far enough…we need to clean house from ownership down to hitting instructor.
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:53 am
Well said ‘ijudgenot’, but Wren has to go also.
Waleska Dawg
April 30th, 2010
11:53 am
Your March 30, 2010 blog entry contained the following passage:
“Me, I’m still skeptical. I eagerly await the coming of Jason Heyward, but I also wonder if the age on this team — and there’s a ton of it — will show over 162 games. I wonder about the offense. I wonder about the defense. I wonder about the zen of Wren. I’d be more than happy to be proved wrong in my doubting….”
Kudos on getting this one right.
Mark Bradley
April 30th, 2010
11:53 am
The season’s not over. Not even close to over. But I just don’t see a high ceiling, to borrow from Coach Hewitt, with these Braves.
Jimbo
April 30th, 2010
11:54 am
4 of the 6 Division leaders have payrolls far less than the Braves. I guess the Yankees should bench or trade Teixeira. The bum is batting .139. They should give up on him like most of you fair weather fans want to give up on most of the lineup.
Smack
April 30th, 2010
11:55 am
Hey MR I was talking to the Mark that wrote the article not you so calm down.