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
MR
April 30th, 2010
11:55 am
Right on…Mark…it is so frustrating…I would settle for middle of the road right now. But alas I am afraid that this team is going to be a cellar dwellar.
bvillebaron
April 30th, 2010
11:55 am
Bradley:
Well you have managed to surpass you own enviable standards for negativity and jumping to conclusions with this piece. Do you understand that the team has play a WHOPPING 22 games and, despite a 9 game losing streak, is only 5 GAMES out of first place with only a measly 140 to play? Obviously you and so many others have forgotten that the season ends at the end of September, not the end of April.
No one ever accused this team of having an offense that even closely approximated the Phillies, but veteran players with a proven track record don’t hit 75 to 100 points below their norms for an entire season. You also assume, erroneously, that if those who are slumping are still doing so after 40 or so games have been played, that changes won’t be made. However, if they are, I hope Wren doesn’t revisit the same lunacy that Schureholz engaged in with Texeria by trading several high end prospects for someone like Gonzalez who will be gone as soon as he is eligible to be a free agent in a year and a half (I think).
Your comment about the Braves being 10th in pitching is further evidence of your negativity. Aside from the fact that there are still 140 games to play, that ranking is clearly skewed by the one game where they gave up 17 earned runs. I am not suggesting that they didn’t give up those runs or that they don’t count statistically. However, that one game is not representative of the quality of this staff or how it has pitched in most of the other games.
TheAntiMe
April 30th, 2010
11:56 am
I agree with others that Terry Pendleton may not be all that hot of a hitting coach, but it’s a joke if some of these folks believe that just by firing TP that all of the Braves are going to start hitting over .300. No hitting coach ever in the history has had that much of an effect on a MLB team.
There are no magic hitting coaches or managers that can take a line-up that is so lacking in offense and magically make them a championship caliber team. it just does’t work that way.
The Real UT
April 30th, 2010
11:56 am
Is there rally any point in trading for A-Gon? We traded for Tex b/c it was supposed to get us to the series. I don’t think A-Gon could carry this team to a series. We would probably have to trade Escobar, Freeman, and Vizcaino (or another young stud arm), which would be a dumb move. The Red Sox haven’t made that move yet because they Padres were asking for 4 top tier prospects. That would be a move that would kill this organization when A-Gon signs somewhere else in 2 years. Why do people always want to trade Escobar? The guys having a bad month, like everyone else, on an awful team. He’s been a really good contributor since he put on the uniform, which has become a rarity for a Brave.
Mark Bradley
April 30th, 2010
11:57 am
Wow. Thanks for citing precedent, Waleska Dawg.
Mark Bradley
April 30th, 2010
11:59 am
About Adrian Gonzalez: He can become a free agent after the 2011 season. Even if the Braves trade for him, what chance would they have at keeping him?
The Real UT
April 30th, 2010
11:59 am
bvillebrave, Chipper’s hit well below his norm twice before. Many think he is a HOFer, so I would say even proven veterans are capable of really forgettable years.
Alphare
April 30th, 2010
12:00 pm
Mark, the braves hired a bunch of consultants, but they didn’t hire me.
If they did, braves won’t be in the situation they are now. I woulda told Frank whatever he did won’t win anything. I woulda told him that before the season started.
Herschel Talker
April 30th, 2010
12:01 pm
Mark Bradley at 11:53:
“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.”
Let Herschel Talker rephrase what Mark Bradley is really saying:
“The season’s not over. Not even close to over. But for these Braves, as currently constituted, it’s over.”
Alphare
April 30th, 2010
12:05 pm
OK, your starting pitchers are not as good as they used to be. And your starting lineup are not as good as the Expo.
So what do you expect to win? Last place?
Brian from SC
April 30th, 2010
12:05 pm
I’m bookmarking the article now, Mr. Bradley. We’ll revisit in a little bit.
Neal
April 30th, 2010
12:07 pm
What the Heck! Fren Wrenk should be in starting line up;it would save some money. It wouldn’t make a bit differnce; just plug him in lead off spot.
P Rose
April 30th, 2010
12:08 pm
I can’t get no satisfaction
Well I’m driving in my car
Jim Powell comes on the radio
Tellin’ me more and more
About some useless information
I’m tryin’ to hide my humiliation
I can’t get no, no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
When I watch Peachtree TV
And John Smoltz comes on to tell me
How good this team could be
Well he can’t be for real, guess he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarettes as me
I can’t get no, no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
Well I’m ridin’ round the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m tryin’ that
And I’m tryin’ to make some girl
I say baby wanna go see the Braves next week?
She says no, they’re on a losing streak
I can’t get no, no no no
Mark Bradley
April 30th, 2010
12:09 pm
P Rose. The Bard of Bardstown.
(Bardstown, Ky., is the home town of Jeff Van Note, you should know.)
DoninGa
April 30th, 2010
12:09 pm
Relax Archie, relax! Lot’s of games to go and I just pulled the hex off the Braves.
Frank Wren's Proctologist
April 30th, 2010
12:12 pm
Mark, could you do a reprint of the article you wrote at the end of the season in 1990? It’s the one where you stated that “when you get hit in the face with a board 97 times, doesn’t it feel good when it finally stops?”. One of my all time favorite articles, and I think that it describes this year’s team well. A shame for Bobby to have to manage this bunch of bums for his final season. Also, I agree that Terry Pendleton is almost as good a hitting coach as Willie Martinez was a defensive coordinator.
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 30th, 2010
12:13 pm
Where is Sonny Clusters? Is he in a slump, too?
neil marlowe
April 30th, 2010
12:13 pm
who in hell came up with the phrase “spot on”? Its almost as meaningless as
“it is what it is”. I feel sorry for the english language.
Mark Bradley
April 30th, 2010
12:13 pm
Really? I wrote that? That sounds like somebody else, FW’s P. I’m not that clever.
The Real UT
April 30th, 2010
12:13 pm
P Rose, I was having kind of a down morning, and then I read your post. Thank you, sir. You can really only laugh when you watch the Braves now. Its the best way to swallow embarrassment. This the worst Braves baseball I have ever seen. I hope it gets better soon, but optimism is wearing thin.
Mark Bradley
April 30th, 2010
12:14 pm
“Spot on” is a British-ism, I do believe.
Frank Wren's Proctologist
April 30th, 2010
12:16 pm
I am pretty sure it was you, but it could have been Steve Hummer. It was a very funny article,and at the end there was a line about “threatening us with another season” Funny that the next season was 1991, the most magical summer of baseball I have ever witnessed.
Recovery Imminent
April 30th, 2010
12:18 pm
Why is everyone so hard on Melky and Glaus for our struggles? the reason this team is losing is because Chipper and McCann are not performing. Those guys make this offense work. Glaus isn’t clutch, and Melky isn’t spectacular, but they aren’t this team’s juggular either. And by the way, look at their numbers since on the 0-7 road trip:
Melky: 8-26 (.307), 1 2b, 1 rbi
Glaus: 5-17 (.294), 1 2b, 1 rbi
Chipper and Mac can save this team.
F-105 Thunderchief
April 30th, 2010
12:18 pm
Spot on is British, and since they intended the language, I don’t have room to complain. Although, the point about “it is what it is,” is spot on.
F-105 Thunderchief
April 30th, 2010
12:18 pm
INVENTED the language. Geez.
matt
April 30th, 2010
12:18 pm
The most amazing part is that some peolpe (wren included) felt good about this team. We addressed NONE of the offensive needs from last year. We can get rid of Smoltz and Glavine to save money and go younger but we can’t do the same with Chipper????? Hell, 2/3 of the payroll is tied up in him and Lowe, CAN ANYONE SAY “BAD BUSINESS MOVE”?!?!?!
Sons of Rick Matula
April 30th, 2010
12:19 pm
What a calendar year it’s been for Atlanta’s pro sports fans. The Falcons hopes go down with Ryan’s turf toe; the Thrashers dump their best player and still seek their first ever playoff W; the Hawks are on the verge of a cataclysmic fail, and the Braves have taken a pratfall and – apparently – can’t or won’t pay to get up.
The only good news – Waddell got elbowed out. Wren will be next.
meh
April 30th, 2010
12:19 pm
I say we go ahead and cut Glaus and bring Freeman up. go ahead and pick up Jermaine Dye and see what happens.
Ludowici
April 30th, 2010
12:20 pm
Chipper should have retired. He’s lost the ability stay healthy and it’s sapped his production.
It's time
April 30th, 2010
12:21 pm
Somebody needs to be fired. Period. You can’t fire the players so get rid of the coaches. This team is in a tremendous rut. They need to shake things up and get somebody motivated to do something. Whether by fear or excitement or whatever it takes. They need a change. Where else in professional sports would it be tolerated for a team with these players, a team who has spent a decent amount of money, to be playing like this? The coaches would be gone if for no other reason than to send a message.
Sons of Rick Matula
April 30th, 2010
12:21 pm
Mark … you are spot on. Another good English phrase is “a dog’s breakfast.” As in, “this Braves season is starting to look like a dog’s breakfast.” Check it out.
tom
April 30th, 2010
12:21 pm
Can we establish a MRS. MENDOZA LINE so our line-up can be properly graded??
just a thought
April 30th, 2010
12:22 pm
lets bat the pitcher 8th. works pretty well for St. Louis.
Larry
April 30th, 2010
12:23 pm
Simply amazing the double digit IQ’s that follow baseball. More than amazing, actually.
The primary culprit to this garbage of a baseball team has for years been the guy getting fatter, mining his nose, and barking out stupid, corny nick names to poorly educated and cognitively deficient men who just happen to get paid millions because they are better than most at hitting a round ball with a round piece of wood. Look at Bobby’s waistline! Look at Pendleton’s waistline, look at nearly all of the coaches waistline!
Now, have any of you goobers even noticed the bulging waistline of Chipper Jones and the chubby Brian McCann?
The point is years ago Chipper stopped caring about anything but siphoning out every possible dollar he can get while he gets fatter and stays hurt all of the time! The standards of apathy, obesity, laziness, apathy, lethargy and (fill in the blank) is and has been set by an obese manager now playing out the string.
This, you Bobby loving goobers is precisely why after 20 seasons I finally gave up and didn’t renew my season tickets. I’ll be damn if I’m going to fork out nearly $11,000 for two “Hank Aaron” section seats just to watch Bobby and Chipper play out the string!
Now a comedy moment. Just last week I received an email from the Braves pointing out how exciting the 2010 edition is and would I consider again renewing for the 2010 season?
How should I reply?
mATT
April 30th, 2010
12:24 pm
You can’t tie up that much money on two WAY over the hill players (Lowe and Chipper) and then complain that you don’t have enough money to do anything with!!!!!! This team is not built to win, not even close. Chipper couldn’t be further from a 3 hitter.
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Techgeek
April 30th, 2010
12:25 pm
But Wren’s not worried. He can’t see what’s in front of him.
Techgeek
April 30th, 2010
12:28 pm
TheAntiMe, you are correct. He shouldn’t still be here to have to fire. Not real sure why he still has a job.
yep
April 30th, 2010
12:30 pm
they need to sign Dye to play LF. and see if they trade McLouth to the Nats for Nyjer Morgan. I think an outfield of Dye, Morgan, and Heyward would be a big improvement. Then you’d have Diaz and Melky coming off the bench. I think they’re better suited for part time playing any how.
soxman
April 30th, 2010
12:31 pm
a fitting end to Cox’s tenure- over 100 losses this season. strange, he was SO brilliant when we had Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine!
NC Braves Fan
April 30th, 2010
12:31 pm
Wren can be forgiven for the Chipper extension. He was coming off that monster campaign in 2008 and got off to a good start in 2009. And then, he suddenly stopped hitting last summer.
The offense and defense is not very good, because we’ve gone stopgap on some position players. It’s not that we can’t afford better players … it’s that Wren overpaid for DLowe and Kawakami. Those two players alone (currently slotted as our 4th & 5th starters) eat up more than a quarter of the payroll.
Those are the two “hands” that have ended up costing us this year.
Greg
April 30th, 2010
12:33 pm
So the Braves wouldn’t fire Bobby Cox even if they lose 15-20 games in a row? Why not? It shouldn’t matter that it’s his last year when he and his staff are failing miserably. For all of the Braves weaknesses, they shouldn’t be this bad and someone needs to be held accountable for it.
It's time
April 30th, 2010
12:34 pm
NC Braves fan, I also think they gave Chipper that contract as a knee-jerk reaction to all the negativity surrounding the way the Smoltz situation was handled.
Michael
April 30th, 2010
12:35 pm
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/04/20/glaus-heyward-mclouth-folks-this-is-really-getting-good/
Dude…you wrote this article 10 days ago…let’s all chill a little bit.
tim scott
April 30th, 2010
12:36 pm
it will do no good to boycott games or call for Wren’s dismissal the simple fact Liberty does not care. Has anyone heard them say a word since they bought the team? While TP and the rest of the staff’s (except Hubbie) dismisal would certainly be a step in the right direction, the bottom line is if ownership does not give a damn the team will only continue to sink. I thought we hit bottom during the 70’s and early 80’s this is going to be worse much worse. Liberty has clearly shown the worse the team does record wise and at the gate the better for them its called tax write off that is all the Braves are. Finally we can beg for a new owner but one cannot buy what is not for sale.
soxman
April 30th, 2010
12:36 pm
c’mon guys- Cox couldn’t win BEFORE Maddog, Glavine and Smoltz and obviously can’t win without ‘em. Even WITH the best threesome in baseball history, he only managed ONE WS- and that was against Cleveland so it hardly counts! Atlanta has always been a bunch of Bobby Cox suckers.
mudcat
April 30th, 2010
12:36 pm
This is the result of the Braves drafting philosophy of making young high school pitchers their priority. The farm system has a dearth of solid hitting hitting prospects and it’s been going on for years. They’re always exceptions of course(Heyward, McCann, etc.), but by not aggressively seeking offensive players we’re paying a heavy price now.
Armchair Genius GM
April 30th, 2010
12:38 pm
Why Mark … the Padres would jump at the chance to send us Gonzalez for JoJo Reyes, Troy Glaus, Derek Lowe, a bag of balls and some Chipper Jones autographed bats.
We could then send Brett Cleven, JC Boscan, Nate McClouth, and a hat or two for Grady Sizemore.
Frank Wren is clearly a moron.
Ron Roberts
April 30th, 2010
12:39 pm
I have to ask, Mark…
…what was your preseason prognostication about this team? Wasn’t it rosy?
Just giving you a hard time; I enjoy your writing.
This team failed in the offseason when they mis-read and mis-played the Adam LaRoche situation and failed to make ANY kind of move to rid the rotation of Derek Lowe. Even still, you have to wonder if there absolutely ZERO interest in re-signing Kelly Johnson to a 1-year deal ( I mean, isn’t that basically what he did with Arizona?) to allow him to re-assert himself. he DID play LF once upon a time, and we DID have a hole to fill out there (neverMIND how nice it would be to have Prado play 3B on Chipper’s DL stints.
Re-signing LaRoche, KJ and hell, even paying MOST of Lowe’s 2010 salary to be elsewhere would’ve made this team immensely better than currently constituted; but then, hindsight’s 20/20. I just remember how VIVIDLY Cox and the team’s braintrust went on and on and on about Johnson’s terrific swing and hitting ability; you’d have thought if ANY organization in baseball thought he had anything left in the tank, it’d have been the Braves, especially for the money he wound up getting.
Armchair Genius GM
April 30th, 2010
12:40 pm
Obviously Kelly Johnson would have hit 8 homeruns if we would have kept him … idiot Wren