The view from Philly: First-place Braves are nothing special
The "easy out" celebrates a home run -- against Philadelphia. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer still believes the road to the World Series runs through Philadelphia, and maybe it does. A check of the NL East standings, however, reveals that the regal Phillies are six games behind a team that Mr. Ford doesn’t regard as anything special.
Writes Ford:
The Braves are a nice team, really nice in some ways, but the notion that leapfrogging the Braves would require super-human effort is ridiculous. The Phillies, if they play as they can, have nothing to worry about, either from Atlanta or from their alleged co-rivals, the Mets.
Me, I’m a worrier by nature. Were I six games behind the Bad News Bears with 70 games remaining, I’d be getting antsy. More Ford:
The Braves are nothing like the team that so recently dominated the division. Those Atlanta teams were built on great starting staffs, just enough offense and some decent power production in the launching pads of Fulton County Stadium and Turner Field.
What do the Braves have now? Well, they have a [six]-game lead over the Phillies and they have a great player in second baseman Martin Prado and an ace starter in Tim Hudson. Beyond that, they have as many peaks and valleys as any other team …
Beyond Hudson, Atlanta’s staff includes talented young Jair Jurrjens who is just back from the disabled list and carrying around a 4.75 ERA. Kris Medlen had a good first half of the season, but he has just 15 career starts and how he will hold up is unknown. There is Derek Lowe, who won Sunday to go 10-8, but with another ERA over four runs per game. There is Tommy Hanson , also just above .500 and another ERA over four runs. Perhaps on a given day, with one given game to win, Tim Hudson would be a problem, but there isn’t much separating the starting staff from that of the Phillies.
To be fair, Mr. Ford does credit the Braves as having the better bullpen, though he wonders if, “with one game to save, you’d feel any more comfortable with [Billy] Wagner than with Brad Lidge. By the end of the season, the difference could be minuscule.” (Well, I suppose it could.)
And the Braves’ offense, which has outhit Philly’s .261 to .255 and ranks first in the National League in on-base percentage — the Phillies are 12th — is likewise seen as inconsequential. Writes Mr. Ford:
On offense, the Braves are 12th in the National League in slugging percentage. Among their players with enough at-bats to be eligible for league leadership, only Prado is hitting better than .270. Troy Glaus and Brian McCann, the all-star MVP, have decent power numbers, but they are also easy outs. Chipper Jones, the holdover from the previous era, is battling a hamstring injury and has been inconsistent at the plate.
I am now going to cite a first baseman’s on-base percentage. It is .366. I am now going to cite another first baseman’s on-base percentage. It is .357. The first first baseman is Glaus. The second is Ryan Howard. Easy out, eh?
I could do this back-and-forth all day, but I’ll leave that to you. (Why should I have all the fun?) I will close with Mr. Ford’s closing argument, such as it is:
If the Phils don’t go for it this year, hopefully it won’t be because they think Braves are a magical, uncatchable team. The Braves are fine, but they aren’t as good as the real Phillies, should the real Phillies choose to show themselves this season.
The only NL East team truly capable of keeping the Phils out of the postseason isn’t found in an opposing dugout but in the mirrors of their own clubhouse.
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360 comments Add your comment
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
1:36 pm
I grew up in Atlanta and Live in Philly….Ford is an absolute idiot. All of his pieces for the Inquirer are indicative of a writer who drinks the Kool Aid when it comes to the local teams. I listen to the sports talk radio stations here and the fans are beyond frustrated with an underperforming team…an IDIOT GM who traded away the possibilty of having Halladay & Lee go 1-2 ina rotation and these fair-weather fans already hate Ibanez and want Jason Werth-Less to be traded
30-24 Dawgs - We Run This State!
July 20th, 2010
1:37 pm
Too bad we don’t get to witness the Phillies losing in prime-time for the third night in a row tonight!
Herschel Talker
July 20th, 2010
1:38 pm
Bob Ford is a hack. He is in denial.
P Rose
July 20th, 2010
1:38 pm
Easy outs? The “real” Phillies? Turner Field – a launching pad? This guy is clueless!
NCBravesFan
July 20th, 2010
1:42 pm
Just a guess, but Mr. Ford may want to add a little fiber to his diet, and objective to his analysis …
P Rose
July 20th, 2010
1:42 pm
Joe Morgan once said, “The Braves weren’t any good until they got Fred McGriff. Sure, they went to the World Series in 91 and 92, but only because the rest of the National League wasn’t any good.”
Mark's for the Braves
July 20th, 2010
1:45 pm
We’ll see about all that. The Mets flame is flickering and the Phillies got their rear ends kicked by the Cubs in the first series after the break. At least we split with the Brewers.
If you ask me, it’s the Phillies who are beginning to look like a really beatable team. We’ll see…
DELAWARES ONLY BRAVES FAN
July 20th, 2010
1:45 pm
As a guy that lives just 30 miles south of the filthadelphia area.I had to live with thier mouths flapping for two years.As i write this the radio is full of cry babies.The talk now is to dump WORTH on anybody that will give them some pitching.But it is great listening to them cry.Buy sept. they can keep warm burning all of their world series tickets that they printed when they got HOLIDAY.
P Rose
July 20th, 2010
1:45 pm
…meanwhile, this just in: the Braves just picked up yet another half-game ahead of the Phillies.
Chase and Shane, sitting in a tree . . .
July 20th, 2010
1:46 pm
Jamie Moyer, enough said.
mikeymike
July 20th, 2010
1:47 pm
jeez…such denial. in any case, as i said to so many philly fans and supporters (with so much class) before the season, let us see in october.
$100 million dollar first baseman, really, is just outperforming Glaus(season-wise) by a couple HR’s and a handful of RBI’s. to add to that, Glaus’ power numbers have pretty much stayed put since that leg injury. Their all-star second baseman may be better in terms of career, but he sure isn’t this year. I’ll take Martin Prado and his league leading hitting any day of the week. As for our pitching, come on. Roy Halladay and who else? Blanton?
Like I said…such denial. But I guess it hurts with so much money invested to be in 3rd entering the third week of July.
JTH
July 20th, 2010
1:48 pm
Dear Mr. Bob Ford,
Denial is not a river in Egypt. The Fillies had a good run, now it’s over.
Moonlight Mile
July 20th, 2010
1:53 pm
Don’t totally disagree with the Philly writer on some of his points. Where I believe he is off is he assumes the Phillies have another gear and the Braves don’t. I absolutely believe the Braves haven’t yet played their best ball of the season.
Ramblin Wrecker
July 20th, 2010
1:53 pm
I myself am not looking at the standings and thinking we can coast…because I know the Phillies have firepower on offense. But one of those main pieces won’t be back until September…Chase Utley. And at this pace the Phillies will be 10 games out by then.
And a baseball fan worth his weight can look at the two pitching staffs and see who is better. If the Phillies pitching staff pitched to its highest level it would not match the best of the Braves. Comparing Lidge to Wagner is like insane. Wagner has never in his career crapped the bed like Lidge has.
Pedal to the floor boys!!!!
Philly columnist: Braves nothing to worry about « Rowland's Office
July 20th, 2010
1:56 pm
[...] Jul Uh, six-game lead? The Braves are a nice team, really nice in some ways, but the notion that leapfrogging the Braves would require super-human [...]
Sutton's Fro
July 20th, 2010
1:57 pm
I think Bob Ford should take a look at what Frank Wren is doing before dismissing the Braves. Wren had obviously looked around the NL over the first half, and decided that the Braves have a great shot at the pennant.
The Phillies, Mets, Dodgers, and Cardinals are all below the bar they’ve set for themselves in recent years. The Reds and Padres (like the Braves) are having resurgent seasons, but neither seems dominant. Add the fact that the NL has home-field advantage in the WS (thanks to B-Mac!), the Braves have a legitimate shot to get Bobby and Chipper a ring in their final seasons.
If I were a Phillie fan (terrifying thought), I would be worried the Braves are still looking to improve the team. They’re not dumping salary, or calling up young players to get experience. This team isn’t going to beaten simply because the Phillies return to form.
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
1:59 pm
Another big difference in Philly & Atlanta…..Philly players have now, on two occasions called out their fans for being “front-runners” JRoll did it last year and Victorino implied it in an interview last week….
My View
July 20th, 2010
1:59 pm
Wow. Maybe that guy should give the Dawgs a pregame speech in Jax.
j
July 20th, 2010
2:00 pm
Bob Ford: Please remove head from butt.
Mitchell
July 20th, 2010
2:02 pm
Philadelphia’s answer to Mark Bradley.
All I can say is, try telling that to the Phillies themselves. I think it would be a pretty difficult task to convince the players in that clubhouse that they have the slightest chance.
I mean, they may but I don’t get the feeling they really believe it. Not they way they looked after we kicked their @$$es the last time.
Shane Victorino standing with his head down at the wall as Matty’s homerun sailed over the fence in center field pretty much said it all.
Shane Victorino, a Braves killer no less! Hanging his head in defeat for what seemed like five minutes. Watch the highlight. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
G Morris
July 20th, 2010
2:04 pm
Braves will win the NLE by default (bc Mets & Phils are self-destructing). That’s basically all the article says.
Braves problem in the playoffs will be having Wagner trying to close games. Check his career post season ERA at 10+. Phils shipped in out after blowing several games at the end of 2005/6 keeping them out of the playoffs.
whensidslid92
July 20th, 2010
2:06 pm
“Jair Jurrjens who is just back from the disabled list and carrying around a 4.75 ERA…”
This guy obviously didn’t do his homework. Hasn’t he recognized the dominance of Jurrjens post DL stint? I mean he should have had a first row view when Jurrjens 1 hit the Phils for 6 innings a couple weeks ago.
Who is this guy?
G Morris
July 20th, 2010
2:06 pm
Hey Philly Braves Fan … Braves fans aren’t front-runners…which is obvious by the fact that the teams in 1st and the fans still don’t show up.
Paddy
July 20th, 2010
2:06 pm
I trust the sports writers with the AJC will not write a similar piece about any of the teams in our division.
the buck stops somewhere
July 20th, 2010
2:08 pm
Bobby Cox …grumpy?
whensidslid92
July 20th, 2010
2:09 pm
“The Braves are nothing like the team that so recently dominated the division. Those Atlanta teams were built on great starting staffs, just enough offense and some decent power production in the launching pads of Fulton County Stadium and Turner Field.”
Um…I think he just described our current team…aside from the fact who calls Turner Field “a launching pad”. I guess Citizen’s Bank is a T-Ball field compared to our “launching pad” site.
What a joke.
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
2:09 pm
G Morris,
As I tell the idiots in Philly all the time….Georgia is about Nascar and College football. Although I am bigger fans of the Braves & Falcons, they just dont show up for the games….where as in Philly fans appear regardless of the sport, as long as they are winning…as evidenced by the crowds of Philly’s pro soccer team
jbird
July 20th, 2010
2:11 pm
I just sent BOB an email calling him out…I will let you know if I get an email back.
Time will tell
July 20th, 2010
2:12 pm
Mr. Ford may be right. Then again, over the course of a 162-game schedule, you are going to be exactly what you are. That is the beauty of baseball, even in the wild-card era. Time will tell.
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
2:12 pm
Jbird, so did I….he is not known for having the balls to admit when he has made a mistake….doubt you will hear back
jbird
July 20th, 2010
2:13 pm
whensidslid92
July 20th, 2010
2:09 pm
He was not referring to Turner Field as the Launching Pad…..that was the nickname of Fulton County Stadium.
Pat Geno
July 20th, 2010
2:14 pm
That boy is on cheesesteak overload. He sounds just like one of those buttsniffers from Athens, GA.
Hankie Aron
July 20th, 2010
2:15 pm
Mark,
I think maybe Ford has got the same arrogant feelings about the Phillies a lot of our fair weather fans in Atlanta did during our 14 year run. Spoiled fans that thought the National League East was a given every year as long as we showed up because of our consistency. There is a chance the Phil get hot and play like they have the last 3 years but me thinks times and teams change and their run at least this year is OVER.
whensidslid92
July 20th, 2010
2:16 pm
jbird–
“launching padS of Fulton County Stadium AND Turner Field.”
English 101: The “s” makes “launching pad” plural. The “and” also gives the sentence plurality.
Anything poor journalism or ignorance. I don’t care either way. Joke.
JDHGT
July 20th, 2010
2:17 pm
I’m tired of people calling out the Braves for attendance..We actually don’t do that badly (especially when you consider how much bigger our stadium is than almost every other team). See the numbers here: http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
Sometimes it looks worse than it is…due to the large stadium. In fact, our numbers are usually very close to what the Mets draw.
As far as the Phillies not being front runners, go back and check those attendance numbers from 2002 and 2003..back when the Phillies were drawing around 20,000 per game… Pathetic…
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
2:17 pm
“some decent power production in the launching pads of Fulton County Stadium and Turner Field”
Pads is Plural…so the reference is for Fulton County & Turner
jbird
July 20th, 2010
2:19 pm
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
2:12 pm
I was just reading some of the comments on the Philly page and it looks like they don’t agree with him either, lol.
I told him it’s clear that he is more of a fan then a writer but that it was OK because I am too. GO BRAVES!
SportsFan
July 20th, 2010
2:20 pm
OK…OK…part 2:
Who are the “real Phillies”? Could it be the team Mr. Ford WISHES were the “Phillies”…in that case, his team is in his IMIGINATION…the truth is the “real whichever team” is what it is. Seems to me I hear a “death rattle” in the throat of Mr. Ford…in addition to the proverbial, “whislting thru the graveyard” behavior. (Wasn’t it always fun as a kid to say, “I’m not scared”, when truth was, you were about to “pee” yourself and YOU KNEW IT!!!…that’s what this is so obviously a person seeking to feel better about his team. How would you feel as you know you spent the last two seasons in the World Seeries and this year you may not even be the “Wildcard’ team…
Truth is…when a fan’s team is not performing, the fans tend to look for excuses (ie the injuries, etc.) or devaluate the competition (they’re just “lucky” or they’re really not very good or talented, they’re just all playing over their heads or having “break-out” years)…tell me this doesn’t sound like the last time you got “waxed” in your golf foursome and you didn’t employ some of Mr. Ford’s same logic. For God’s sake, It can’t be about THEIR failure to produce…and has anyone stopped to think how maybe the “stars aligned” a bit for the Phillies over the last couple of years anyway…maybe, just maybe, they weren’t so much the “team for the ages” after all…seems to me it didn’t take too much personnel change or too many injuries to bring them “back to earth” (get Roy Halladay and “the rest of the ‘east’ will throw in the towel”…b/t/w, same goes for the Mets…Johan Santana and “big boppers” were going to “single-handedly” bring them a world championship)…sorry but we need not get ahead of ourselves, all the games still have to be played…and along that note:
Every team has injuries and DL “issues”…(the Braves have had their share too this year and the last two also) we have about 32 games left w/i our division and looking at the cumulative records, each team has about a 500 record…so the way I figure it, nobody’s gonna “lay down” for the other and the last couple of years when the Braves have had to play “spolier” it was FUN to whack on the “Muts” in ‘08 and “Phils” even at the end of the season and I suspect that will be happening right up to the end…oh…I almost forgot, do we think Mr. Strasburg (of the DC variety) is gonna “shake in his boots” to face the “Mightly Phils” (or any other east team for that matter) or will he relish the idea of the challenge and want to do his best every time out…’nough said…now let’s plays the games and see how it all turns out…I suspect that if the Braves can play at about a .540 clip the rest of the way…the division is theirs…now that means the Phils better “crank it up” several notches…let’s say, maybe playing at a .630 clip from here on out and given their current .522…I’m just not sure that will be so easy…and quite frankly, I think Mr. Ford is just mentally and emotionally preparing himself for the uncomfortable reality of “it ain’t gonna happen for us this year” and this is just a way to make it easier to “swallow”.
GStateBen
July 20th, 2010
2:20 pm
So, both teams have 70 games to play. The Braves have a 6 game lead and the Phillies only have 6 more games head-to-head. That means if the Braves went .500 (35-35) the rest of the way, the Phillies would have to win 42 games (at a ridiculous .600 winning %) in that same span.
Not going to happen. Wave good bye Phillies fans!
The Braves will win this division by double digits.
jbird
July 20th, 2010
2:21 pm
whensidslid92
July 20th, 2010
2:16 pm
who pissed on your breakfast this morning???
Philly Braves Fan
July 20th, 2010
2:22 pm
Good for you jbird…..the fans hear are unbelievable brutal….In Lidge’s first year here….they LOVED him….his is now booed on a regular basis….they also hated McNabb….and he is the one the brought the Iggles (as they say here) a consistent winner
RomeDawg
July 20th, 2010
2:26 pm
Potential has NEVER won a division. Production will EVERY time. On paper we are not great, but these Braves ARE damn good.
JDHGT
July 20th, 2010
2:27 pm
By the way…I hope some of the players read this piece..
Athens Mike
July 20th, 2010
2:27 pm
We may not have a slugger like Ryan Howard, but like you show Mark, Glaus’ OBP is higher. Runs in the post steroid era do not come from home runs. Small ball rules the day and the Braves to it well. Also, ERAs are fun to talk about, but the Braves keep winning games. That is the only stat that matters.
whensidslid92
July 20th, 2010
2:30 pm
jbird-
you want to hold hands and sing kumbayah?
First of all, this writer shows no knowledge of the situation whatsoever which makes it laughable to me that he would even try to write this.
Secondly, you tried to call me out about my braves fan-dom…big mistake dawg.
Somebody didn’t piss on my breakfast…they dumped.
K.Street
July 20th, 2010
2:30 pm
Ford says that they need to start hitting like the “true” Phillies, that team was lost when everyone in America saw them cheating from the dugout by stealing signs. Any major league hitter should be able to hit well if they know what pitch is coming!
Milt Famey
July 20th, 2010
2:30 pm
I guess Bob Ford has never pitched in the majors against the likes of B McCann so I would not give much credibility to his statement about B-Mac being an easy out. My guess is that the closest thing he has to being a major leaguer is his last name. Ah, Whitey Ford, now there was a fine left hander.
Bryan G.
July 20th, 2010
2:31 pm
Mark – while the writer may have a point, the win numbers aren’t in Philly’s favor.
If the Braves just go .500 the rest of the year, they win 89 games. For the Phillies to win 90 games, they have to go 42-28 – .600 baseball. That’s a pretty big swing with 70 games to go.
I’m not saying it isn’t doable, but you’d have to assume the Braves will win 92-95 games (they are on pace to win 95).
If the Braves win 95 games, Philly has to go 46-24 to beat the Braves…that’s almost .667 ball.
Huh?
July 20th, 2010
2:32 pm
I’d say after a 90 game sample size, the real Phillies have shown themselves.
And I don’t want to hear about injuries from them either. Everyone has them and everyone deals with them. Build a better farm system if you are that worried about injuries.
chem
July 20th, 2010
2:33 pm
If Jurrjens and Hanson pitch to their career averages for the rest of the season, the braves win >60% of their remaining games leaving the Phillies in the dust. This team has as much — if not more — pitching than the Braves teams that dominated the Phillies in the 90’s. Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens are all potential Cy Young winners over the next few years. Medlen will be joining the ranks of those three soon, and Lowe is a solid, very well-paid 5th starter.