The first-place Braves have come to believe in Santa Glaus
Chipper Jones gives Troy Glaus some RBI-inspired love. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
From worst to first — in two weeks. Even the legendary worst-to-first Braves of 1991 didn’t manage that.
“That’s true,” Tom Glavine said, then the National League’s best pitcher, now an interested observer with two children in tow on Memorial Day. “We were slow and methodical.”
From worst to first in two weeks. From being the team that couldn’t manage an earned run against a Philadelphia starter during a three-game set here in April to the one that led 2-0 after three batters this star-spangled holiday. From being Frank Wren’s rent-a-wreck to wresting the division lead from the league’s flagship team.
The reversal has transpired, as reversals do, for many reasons, among them Jason Heyward and a lockdown bullpen and the continuing excellence of Martin Prado. But the biggest reason the Braves will greet June in first place is because of a general manager’s offseason reach.
Worst to first? Well, yeah. Troy Glaus was the worst player you’ve ever seen in April; he’ll surely be the National League’s player of the month for May.
Said Brian McCann: “He’s been unbelievable.”
Said Chipper Jones: “Twenty-eight RBIs in a month — I’ve never had a month like that.”
On May 1 Troy Glaus was hitting .194 with more strikeouts (21) than hits (14). On May 31 Glaus hit a three-run homer to clinch the game that lifted the Braves to the top of the NL East. The guy we couldn’t wait to bench — I described the Glaus of April as having undergone Greg Norton surgery — has become one of the two men (Heyward being the other) these Braves can’t do without.
Obvious question: What changed? Glaus’ answer: “It didn’t feel any different in April. It’s the results that are different.”
Glaus has been around. As an Angel, he was the MVP of the Rally Monkey World Series in 2002. Last December he became Wren’s greatest reach: A 33-year-old coming off shoulder surgery who was being asked to play first base, a position mostly foreign to him. So how did it feel, coming to a new city and playing on the other side of the diamond and hearing boos from the first week on?
“It wasn’t a whole lot of fun,” Glaus said. “I thought I was having good at-bats — obviously some bad ones, too — but this is a result-oriented business. At some point you’ve got to say, ‘I need to get a hit now.’ ”
In April he couldn’t buy a hit with American Express. In May he batted .330. And the reconfigured first baseman who’s making $1.175 million has driven in more runs in 2010 than the Phillies’ first baseman, and Ryan Howard just signed a contract extension for $125 million. Funny old world, huh?
“I’m not here for numbers,” Glaus said. “I’m here to help the team win. That’s been the goal from Day 1. For the first 3 1/2 or four weeks, it didn’t work out that way.”
But now it is. The Braves’ much-derided first baseman has become the run-producing engine on a first-place club. Said Jones: “That’s what happens when you get a hitter whose confidence is up and you get runners on base in front of him.”
The Braves were reborn when Prado became the leadoff hitter and Heyward moved into the No. 2 hole. Even though Jones and McCann haven’t had great hitting seasons, they’re still among the league’s top 10 in on-base percentage. And the guy who seemed to strike out in every key at-bat in April was recast as Old Reliable in May.
Glaus: “It’s about having opportunities. The guys at the top [of the order] have been on base a bunch.”
But the Glaus of April had RBI chances, too. He just didn’t avail himself of them. Now he is. And now his team is in first place. You wouldn’t have bet on either thing occurring, but here we are. A team has gone from worst to first. A player has gone from pitiful to potent. And the man who brought him here? He’s not doing so bad himself.
Said Chipper Jones: “Troy Glaus is making Frank Wren look pretty good right now.”
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211 comments Add your comment
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
May 31st, 2010
8:04 pm
i may have posted the same question twice bc/ it wasn’t posting…sorry
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
8:05 pm
Even when the Braves were hitting .230 as a team, Cornfuzed, their on-base percentage wasn’t terrible. And they weren’t striking out a lot. They kept putting the ball in play, but they didn’t hit for any effect. That’s why I’m surprised. I just thought this was a lineup without pop. (And I’m not talking about Willie Stargell.)
Gil in Mechanicsville
May 31st, 2010
8:13 pm
Except that darn “Kokomo.” How exactly did that become a hit?
The old fashion way… Payola…
Dubious
May 31st, 2010
8:15 pm
Mark—excellent post.
Question: In the history of baseball, has a team ever had a 9 game losing streak(as the Braves did) and still been in first place on June 1? I’ll bet not.
Gil in Mechanicsville
May 31st, 2010
8:20 pm
I’ve noticed that since the air has heated up, so has the Braves’ bats. Some of those long outs Troy was hitting in April now have some carry to them.
McLouth has contracted Andruwites. That is a condition by which you bat for low average because you are trying to pull every ball you swing at without regard to where it is pitched. If he would cut down on his swing and start hitting those outside pitches to the opposite field, he might actually become an asset to the team. Unfortunately, he sees himself as a homerun hitter, a condition caused by the short porch in right field at PNC Park.
IlliniBrave
May 31st, 2010
8:23 pm
Any logical reason for hating “Kokomo”? Kind of the same syrupy harmonies about idealistic love and surfing all day and all that Beach Boys crap. Can’t see the difference b/w that and any of their others.
Give me Led Zeppelin or AC/DC or Allman Bros any day!
Mark Bradley
May 31st, 2010
8:24 pm
That’s a great question, Dubious. It would seem pretty hard to do, wouldn’t it?
Maybe we need to ask the Elias folks about that one.
Michael
May 31st, 2010
8:25 pm
I would enjoy baseball if they didn’t always mention how many millions they make. Especially those 32 games per year pitchers.
In Attendance on April 8, 1974
May 31st, 2010
8:26 pm
I was at the game today and even though I grew up when the Beach Boys were putting out hits, I left as soon as the game was over. The Beach Boys were one of cheesiest wuss bands of all time. To compare “God Only Knows” b/w “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” with “Penny Lane” b/w “Strawberry Fields Forever” is ludicrous. And I say that admitting that the Beatles are not my top band of all band. 2nd behind Zeppelin.
nola braves fan
May 31st, 2010
8:29 pm
sorry I missed the live chat MB – enjoyed it yesterday. I think it might be time for a Bradley Buzz on what Phily (and maybe some nat’t guys too) must be saying about their slumping home town team… and if the 1st place Glausians are getting any nat’l love??
J-Man
May 31st, 2010
8:29 pm
I’m gonna start the Alex Rios Trade rumor, right here, right now! Alex Rios is hitting .312 11 HR 27 RBIs. He makes 10 mil this season and the White Sox aren’t out of it yet but their 6 games under .500 and if we swing a package where we give them McClouth, Julio Tehan, and Jordan Schafer maybe they might bite for that, maybe not.
IlliniBrave
May 31st, 2010
8:30 pm
Pretty much agree “In attendance” – except for one thing – I can’t stand the Beatles anymore! OMG – whenever one of their songs comes on the radio I have to switch the dial. I actually loved them bac in HS, but I must have O-D-ed on them in the 70s, because I seriously cannot listen to any of their songs now.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
May 31st, 2010
8:31 pm
Just need a centerfielder, and things are looking great….My vote is take this guy off the Pirate’s hands:
Avg .313 HR 6 RBI 14 Runs 29 SB 12 Andrew McCutchen #22 Center Field Pittsburgh Pirates
Wouldn’t mind adding this guy to the lineup….ideal leadoff hitter and great defense in centerfield.
Chris
May 31st, 2010
8:32 pm
Mark…I still have my doubts that the Braves can beat out the Phillies in the East but at least they are going to make baseball fun this summer. I may even have to buy tickets to a game or two this year which I didn’t do at all last year.
Question: Right now I think Prado, Heyward and Hudson should be on the All-Star team. After 28 RBI’s in May…Do you think Glaus deserves consideration??? We know Pujols will get the fan vote but there has to be a backup.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
May 31st, 2010
8:32 pm
Maybe we could give them McLouth back in a trade & $$ for McCutchen.
Chris from the Rock
May 31st, 2010
8:33 pm
Here’s a crazy trade proposal: Prince Fielder for Freddie Freeman, Randall Delgado and Kris Medlen.
Chris from the Rock
May 31st, 2010
8:33 pm
In the offseason, of course.
nola braves fan
May 31st, 2010
8:34 pm
Chris – barring a huge slump, Hayward makes it too
nola braves fan
May 31st, 2010
8:34 pm
Oops – saw where you had him on your list.. my bad
mitchgt
May 31st, 2010
8:35 pm
Patience Alabama et al: McLouth is the next Glaus. And McCuthchen would never agree to the hair cut.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
May 31st, 2010
8:36 pm
Don’t care about the hair!!
And McLouth cannot hit the ball the other way, and without that, pitchers are going to continue to dominate the little guy.
Also In Attendance on April 8, 1974
May 31st, 2010
8:36 pm
All hail the mighty Zep!
Poor Al Downing; he couldn’t have looked sadder on the mound if he had been forced to attend a Beach Boys concert.
GT
May 31st, 2010
8:37 pm
I liked Kokomo.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
May 31st, 2010
8:39 pm
Glaus can hit the ball to all fields. He has proven that going to right field for the round-tripper today, and the other day taking a single to right field to drive in 2 big runs. McLouth tries to pull every pitch. A major leaguer who cannot go with the pitch is going to hang around or below the Mendoza line forever.
Matt the Brave
May 31st, 2010
8:40 pm
MB, if Chipper retires, you think that Glaus would resign here and move back over to 3rd? Love to see what your take is on that.
GTSteve
May 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Alabama wreck…McCutchen us the reason that the Pirates parted with Mclouth…no take backs…I even posted about a month after that trade that it looked like the Braves got the wrong outfielder starting with Mc
AlabamaRamblinwreck
May 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
I agree, GTSteve, but the Pirates will be in the selloff mood soon, and we could try to get the right Mc this time!
BraveFalconHawk
May 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
I live waaay in Vancouver B.C. , But I’m from Georgia. I have to admit, in April I text my dad that Troy Glaus would be the “Death of the Braves”. The words taste very good when I spoke to dad today.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
May 31st, 2010
8:46 pm
If not McCutchen, then maybe another centerfielder from a team going nowhere.
Kenny J
May 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
I still really like Wren’s winter work. The pitching staff he put together is a good one top to bottom by MLB standards, the SS-2B combo should be exceptional (no way he’d expect Escobar to lose it), an all star catcher and center fielder (both of whom are early season mysteries but good GM pieces in the off-season), and a phenom worth betting on in right field. A left field platoon (Diaz and Cabrera) that would predictably produce .280, 18 and 85 numbers combined, and the best bullpen we’ve seen here in awhile. An excellent backup catcher in Ross and reserve infielder-outfielders in Infante and Hinske that can step in as major leaguers at 4 positions each. Missing: SB speed and a load of power, although with Jones, McCann, Glaus, McLouth and Hayward all capable of 25 plus HRs. All this without giving away any of the organization’s top minor league talent and picking up one of Baseball America’s top 50 prospects in the Vazquez trade. Lastly, the Glaus gamble at first. RH power hitter for the short term, waiting for Freddie. The 1B RH Power-Hitting market wasn’t exactly easy pickings, and Adam wanted 2-3 years, big money, and signing him would block Freeman’s arrival which makes no big-picture sense. The team was built to win 85-86 games as a default, and if truly performing, win 92-95. With those arms, a post-season challenger to the end if it gets there. And then there’s the little bit of remaining salary money he stashed for July 31. We’ll see what Frank has up his sleeve then. I thank Chipper for all he’s given us and wish him a great turnaround going forward, but it would have been nice if Wren were free publicity-wise to make a true baseball decision there like he did with Glavine and Smoltz. The team badly needs a #3 hitter who can take them to a higher level, especially for that kind of money. In the business of the game, he’s not paying off. But all in all, nice job putting this together, Frank. Even with the slumping bats fo Chipper, McCann, Escobar and Jones you’re in first place on Memorial Day. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
kreedham
May 31st, 2010
8:53 pm
More music trivia…the Cocktail soundtrack included a cover version of the Swinging Blue Jeans hit Hippy Hippy Shake. Done by our own Georgia Satellites. Hit the record books for shortest Top 40 hit at about a minute 37 seconds give or take!
Ralph
May 31st, 2010
8:54 pm
Mark I think Glaus is just trying to make you eat some words you wrote about him a couple weeks ago, don’t you think so.
cdog
May 31st, 2010
9:02 pm
there’s no rule anywhere that says the braves are suppose to lose to the phillies.the braves if they have any pride will bury the phillies now during this home stand and take command of the east.all of the routine fly balls shane victorino use to dive, flip and roll over on when they should have been routinely caught should end this series and season.the braves are the beast of the east and should remain that way for the rest of the season.
My apologies to Frank Wren from less than a month ago
May 31st, 2010
9:03 pm
MB
My apologies to Frank Wren from less than a month ago
May 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
I still think the Texiera and Francouer trades were bad ones though
GTSteve
May 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
I just hope the team plays to the potential like they are now, and the fans start attending again, I know we are already making plans for a couple of games in June….had plans cancelled in May because of a death in the family…..lets support this team and maybe ownership will respond with a big bat in July
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
May 31st, 2010
9:05 pm
I utterly loathe The Beachboys.
rbraves fan
May 31st, 2010
9:16 pm
Nate needs to take a lesson from the women college softball players. Chop the ball to the left side of the infield and run like hell. I swear, with his speed he’d raise his average by 100 points. Instead, he constantly pulls the ball to the right side of the infield for easy outs.
GTSteve
May 31st, 2010
9:22 pm
i agree cdog
john
May 31st, 2010
9:23 pm
McClouth needs to turn himself into a line-drive hitter and use his speed. For some reason he thinks of himself as a power hitter and it kills his average. His flyball swing and his love for high pitches do not mesh.
Kenny J
May 31st, 2010
9:31 pm
The costly Texiera trade was Scheurholz’s, giving Texas all those good prospects. Wren was stuck with a Boras client in the final year of his contract on July 31. Did all he could do there given the circumstances. Frenchy needed a new home, was not going to be tendered a contract here at the end of the season anywan, and is still no ball of fire (as much as we love the guy). His numbers are slightly better than Chipper’s: JF – .243, 5 HR, 27 RBI; CJ – .243, 2 HR, 19 RBI. Neither is going to help a team get to the World Series producing at those levels. Besides, moving Jeff opened up RF for Heyward. Seems good.
The Most Intresting Man In The World
May 31st, 2010
9:41 pm
I may not watch baseball, but when I do,”Its the Atlanta Braves”. Stay thirsty my friend
Herschel Talker
May 31st, 2010
9:43 pm
“I’ve heard it suggested, Herschel, that the Pirates believed McLouth was in decline and were therefore eager to move him.”
MB – this may indeed be true. But we’re not talking about a player being in decline. We’re talking about a player that has fallen off of a cliff. Look at his stats from his first 6 years. There is no way Pittsburgh foresaw this, unless they knew he was taking roids or the like, which I don’t believe was the case. So I’m not buying that answer. There’s something else going on here. McLouth is a complete, unadulterated train wreck.
bruce
May 31st, 2010
9:44 pm
Mark, Regarding ejections…
Have you done the analysis or seen someone else do the analysis on the top managers in ejections divided by some number of games managed say 162? It may make for some interesting questions and comparisons in this final season. My guess is that his “average” is not so high, and that it is his duration that makes his count a first place winner. Thanks, Bruce
Atlanta sportswriters are idiots
May 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
It shows that all you know it all sports writers don’t know sh*t. You all took shots at him and made fun of him. Meanwhile the people who actually know about baseball were telling you he would come out of it, he just needed a little time. If I were Troy I wouldn’t do an interview with any of you jacka$$es
NRBQ
May 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
It’s a real shame that Brian Wilson wasn’t a sophisticated songwriter like the Van Zandts.
Woo-oo that smell!
Bigstack19
May 31st, 2010
9:57 pm
June is a brutal month so hopefully the Braves keep it going. Since 2006 June is when the team goes in the tank and with teams like the Tigers, Twins, Dodgers, and Rays along with Philly it will be a tough month. By the way, if Glaus continues playing like this it will be hard to keep him off the All-Star team. That would be great with the game being played in Anaheim where Glaus won a World Series. Prado, Heyward, and Hudson should also be there. Maybe that will happen too.
sc ace
May 31st, 2010
10:01 pm
My first “concert” experience was going with my family to a braves game to see an oldie group in concert after the game. That was the beach boys. I could not have been more than ten or eleven. Now I’m 34. They must all be on Medicare by now…
Alaska Braves Fan
May 31st, 2010
10:09 pm
Someone may recall that during spring training the one Braves player about whom I was concerned was McClouth. He is a nice person, a good man, but he’s lost his ability to hit. I suspect it’s his eyes, but who knows for sure. He may come around yet, but I’m not optimistic. Fortunately, the Braves have some options. Cabrera is hitting better now and can play center at a good level. Hinske can handle left and then platoon with Diaz when he gets back. It won’t hurt a bit if Jurrgens comes back and is effective.
All in all, I like our chances to win the division. The Series is not out of the question! Still, we’ll have our ups and downs. The only stats that matter come at the end.
ABF
BobDawg
May 31st, 2010
10:09 pm
Chef Tim/ MB, You mentioned the Phils might have thrown at a Braves player after the “Santa Glaus” homer and hope it doesn’t happen of course… I remember years ago when Mike Schmidt of the Phils was on one of his famouse hot homer streaks when Kent Tekulve of the Pirates plunked him and Schmidt charged the mound and broke his “pinky” finger during the brawl….Was out for weeks and combo that with the Angels player that broke his leg and no more brawls or Home Plate shenanigans, Puleeze!