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
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2010
4:13 pm
Let me take up for Mr. Ford, Justin. He’s correct in saying the Braves were six games behind the Phillies and that they went from last place to first on two weeks. But the date of the largest deficit wasn’t the date of the start of the two-week surge.
Tyler NJ Brave
July 20th, 2010
4:17 pm
One more thing…if McLouth doesn’t perform let’s go after DeJesus! Rutgers product and has a nice OBP. Stick him in the two hole and put Heyward in more of an RBI role.
1. Prado
2. DeJesus
3. Jones
4. McCann
5. Glaus
6. Heyward
7. Gonzalez
8. Hinske/ Diaz/ Infante
9. Pitcher
Pretty potent line-up
sticksandstones
July 20th, 2010
4:22 pm
Mark…out of 2 pages this is all you comment on?
I say we start a fight with Mr. Ford…j/k
dcp
July 20th, 2010
4:25 pm
This is a non event – no Phillies players came out and commented – story appears to be much like Mr. Bradley’s columns – designed to elicit venom from the blogs. Manuel has come out and said the Braves are for real and the players know the Braves are a solid team.
DawgDad
July 20th, 2010
4:31 pm
Yeah, those excerpts were hillarious. Brian McCann an easy out? Brian McCann is a Hall-of-Famer in the making. Ask the AL All-Stars if he’s an easy out. The Braves have as much pitching depth behind their top starters in Gwinnett as the Phillies do in – Philadelphia.
The point is well-taken though. The Phillies could well get healthy and go on a run. Being six up in mid-July is a lot different than being six up on Sep 1. The Braves do still have issues with inconsistent hitting.
Of course, Troy Glaus is just as likely to go on another tear. Jason Heyward is likely to rebound production-wise. The points the writer tried to make on the Braves pitching staff just don’t carry much weight; no way the Braves trade starting pitching staffs even-up with the Phils. No way.
I disagree on the Braves ability to run away and hide. This is a team that COULD win 100+ games. Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
ga gator
July 20th, 2010
4:35 pm
This writer is like every other a-hole from Philly including John Kincaid. I don’t know how Buck stands working with the jerk.
papadawg
July 20th, 2010
4:38 pm
We should be concerned about the Braves. They just lost two AT HOME against the Brewers
Craig
July 20th, 2010
4:39 pm
All I can say is DAMN YANKEE! Hey, I lived up in the northeast and this is the way they are. And if we win the division don’t expect credit. It will be excuses why the Phillies did not finish ahead of the lowly Braves. Don’t miss that crap up there.
Steve in Northern VA
July 20th, 2010
4:44 pm
Somebody staple this to the bulletin board in the clubhouse. Further proof that outside of Atlanta, no believes this team is “for real.” Everywhere else you look, from ESPN to the New York papers to Philly, there seems to be a belief that:
- Chipper is broken
- The Bullpen will burn out
- Medlen is a fluke and will get tired
- Glaus is also broken
- McCann can’t see
- Heyward is also broken and is a rookie, and thus can’t be counted on to perform in September
- Prado’s first half is also a fluke, though his numbers over his last 162 games suggest otherwise
- Infante should’t have been an All-Star
It goes on an on…and it won’t relent until the magic number goes to zero.
BraveFalconHawk
July 20th, 2010
4:47 pm
I wonder what he’ll be saying NEXT WEEK? When the Phillies are 10 games back lol
bfred
July 20th, 2010
4:48 pm
Wait, Charlie Manuel manages the Phils and COX is grump? He gets run by a lot of umps but clearly loves the game. I sure don’t hear anyone gushing about his relationship with ol Chuck.
Ford is setting the Phils up for some major bashing come season-end. Self-hatred instead of admitting they are getting beaten by a superior team.
Long way of saying: SCOREBOARD!!!!!!
Go Falcons
July 20th, 2010
4:49 pm
Typical Yankee
Jo-Bu
July 20th, 2010
4:49 pm
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 …
This Ford guy is a fool. The only valley the Braves have had this entire season has been the 9-game loosing streak. The Braves ARE NOT a streaking team this season. They’ve been been on more winning streaks this season than loosing streaks and I believe (check Elias Sports B.) the Braves haven’t lost three games in a row in a few months.
CDUB
July 20th, 2010
4:50 pm
View from around the world continued:
-Steve is broken
-Virginia isn’t a baseball state
-The Jackets will sweep Virginia Tech and Virginia again
papadawg
July 20th, 2010
4:51 pm
Forget this jerk from Philly, they all hate the world up there. We need to FOCAS on the Padres
DawgDad
July 20th, 2010
4:51 pm
Thing about the Braves bullpen is there is depth there, too. Two or three relievers in the minors that could/should be in MLB. It would have to be a wholesale collapse to sink the pen.
Concerns right now continue to be center field and third base. Glaus would be a concern if he doesn’t pick up the pace again; same with Heyward, but those guys are likely to get hot again.
Agree, Tyler, on DeJesus. I liked what I saw of him. Have to think he’s on the table if Wren wants to pull the trigger. But I think Wren wants to look at McLouth again; might come back strong like Diaz has done.
A lot can happen in the heat of summer. I’m looking forward to it.
Time
July 20th, 2010
4:52 pm
I play in a fantasy league with a rabid Phillies homer, who up until today, sounded alot like this Ford guy. Arrogantly disregarding anything that said the Phillies were in decline and refusing to admit the Braves were even a threat. Much less the class of the division, if not league, that they are.
Funnily enough, on the league message board today, a mea culpa came where that Phillies homer has seen the light of what I’ve been telling him all season long. The Phillies are just plain not as good as they have been in previous years. Injuries are no excuse, as the Braves have certainly had their share as well. Bottom end of the order is nowhere near what it has been. Werth is too streaky, Ibanez was a roids guy. The rotation, outside of Roy Halladay, is nothing all that special, especially at the back end. And the bullpen, well, let’s just say that when you’re counting on the likes of Contreras, Baez and Lidge to finish your games off it’s not inspiring much confidence.
JeanE
July 20th, 2010
4:53 pm
I might vomit. And I grew up outside of Philly in K of P. Typical Philly obtuse arrogance! I love it, let them be delusional all the way ’til we win the division and see them in our rearview mirror! And He– yes, I’d take Billy Wags over Brad Lidge in a one game save situation. No doubt. Bring it on, Phillies!
meh
July 20th, 2010
4:59 pm
that guy’s a moron. I’d take Wagner over Lidges everyday of the week. And if the Braves are nothing special than the Phillies must really suck horribly to be 6 games back.
Jo-Bu
July 20th, 2010
5:01 pm
That article is total envy. If the Braves didn’t matter, they wouldn’t have wote it. So this Ford guy is showing his respect to the Braves in typical Philly Phashion.
MitchC
July 20th, 2010
5:18 pm
This is a very arrogant article by the writer in Philly, and hopefully, we will make him eat his words.
The only time I ever recall a Braves team blowing a large lead in the division was in 1983 after Bob Horner was injured, in the first season I became a Braves fan. You may remember that, Mark. 6 1-2 ahead on August 13, finished three games down.
Were I the writer in Philly, I would say something like “The Braves have had a good season, hats off to them, and we have work to do to catch them”.
Okay, now I despise the Phillies just as much as I do the Mets. I know it’s only the third week of July, but, just hopefully, the Braves can continue to play as they have, to stick it right up this guy’s A$$!
John Tucker
July 20th, 2010
5:19 pm
Philly hs always had a weird view of itself and the world. It is hard for Philly fans to believe that the Phillies’ heros of last year and the year before are slumping without Cliff Lee or that the Braves will knock them off their arrogant perch.
TruthSeeker
July 20th, 2010
5:21 pm
The Phillies just aren’t what they were two years ago or even last year. Cole Hamels has been figured out by major league hitters. He’s going on two mediocre seasons in a row. Likewise, Joe Blanton is being exposed as the marginal pitcher that he is now that he’s been in the National League for a while now and isn’t fooling anyone anymore. Brad Lidge is one of the most combustible closers in the majors. I don’t see how anyone could be confident in him. He’s had essentially one good season (2008) in the last five. On the offensive side, Raul Ibanez is on his last legs and Shane Victorino isn’t the impact player he was during Philly’s World Series runs. Jimmy Rollins (a massively overrated player even at his best) is in the midst of a two-year slump. With Chase Utley injured, their lineup is very manageable for opposing pitchers these days. Ryan Howard is the only guy that scares you.
The Braves are better than the Phillies. I feel VERY comfortable in saying that. We have a better rotation, better bullpen, better bench, and a lineup that’s at least as good. I laugh at the “experts” who seem to think the Phillies are just biding their time and will blow past the Braves when they decide to get serious. If these same “experts” call Brian McCann an easy out, well, I think that should tell you how much we should care what they think.
Notewise
July 20th, 2010
5:26 pm
I’m just surprised anyone who follows the Phillies can actually write in complete sentences.
Dopher
July 20th, 2010
5:27 pm
Seems he may have missed one of the biggest differences — the benches. The Braves have the best bench in baseball, and allows extremely effective platooning. If Philly had the Braves bench, they might not be in the situation they’re in…they could have more effectively offset their injuries.
In fairness, though, I can see how casual observers can miss the big picture with these Braves. Due to their horrendous start, several of the hitters have bad offensive numbers compared to their careers. But since June a good number of the guys are back to career numbers — which is plenty good enough to merit the team’s winning % given the pitching strength. Looking like April was the mirage and mid-May on is the reality for these Braves.
Phillies problems? Don’t know. Don’t care. Braves are better.
Mr. Melancholy
July 20th, 2010
5:28 pm
Enter your comments here
JoeBrave
July 20th, 2010
5:33 pm
Fcuk, Philly, and their fans and writers!
Ken Norton Jr
July 20th, 2010
5:36 pm
2010-
Team ERA 3.66, .261 team batting average
Championship Years
1991-3.49 era, .258 team batting average
1992-3.14 era, .254 team batting average
1993-3-14 era, .262 team batting average
1994-3.57 era (strike shortened season), .267 team batting average
1995-3.44 era, .250 team batting average
1996-3.52 era, .270 team batting average
1997-3.18 era, .270 team batting average
1998-3.25 era, .272 team batting average
1999-3.63 era, .266 team batting average
2000-4.05 era, .271 team batting average
2001-3.59 era, .260 team batting average
2002-3.13 era, .260 team batting average
2003-4.10 era, .284 team batting average
2004-3.74 era, .270 team batting average
2005-3.98 era, .265 team batting average
This Braves team looks comparable to other Braves championship teams to me.
Donny Corleone
July 20th, 2010
5:47 pm
Let ‘em think what they want. They still have to do it on the field and not in the paper. Talk is cheap.
jarvis
July 20th, 2010
5:47 pm
Ford then moved away from his type-writer and split a smoke with his mother while she complained about how painful the cyst in her shoulder is.
Philly and its people are all miserable.
Bobby Lane
July 20th, 2010
5:51 pm
The real Phillies?Are they playing with replacements?
Chop Chop
July 20th, 2010
5:56 pm
You know what a “championship year” is?
It’s winning the World Series.
RA
July 20th, 2010
5:57 pm
Mr. Ford, if indeed that is his real name is sounding less and less like a journalist and more and more like an apologist for the 2010 Phillies season. ‘Well, if they don’t get to the World Series, it’s no one’s fault but theirs.’ That’s loser talk. If the 1991 season proved anything at all, it’s that games aren’t played on paper, and neither do resumes win championships. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, but it doesn’t matter what the Phillies have done in the recent past. If they don’t put a run together sooner than later, their immediate future will include watching the Braves or the Mets play out the postseason from the comfort of their homes.
Phils Will Win The NL East
July 20th, 2010
6:09 pm
Just wait and see how the season plays out. There is no chance in hell the Braves will beat out the Phillies!!!!!
P. Bull Terrier
July 20th, 2010
6:12 pm
Player for player the Phillies are a better team. If I was running a fantasy team, I would gladly trade most of my Braves players straight up for their Phillies counterpart. Since this is the real world, I’ll take the Braves and a 6 game lead over the Phillies at this point in the season.
phils hater
July 20th, 2010
6:16 pm
This article gives me more and more hatred for the phillies
GWB
July 20th, 2010
6:20 pm
Bob Ford is a douche
Jamie
July 20th, 2010
6:20 pm
You sure that wasn’t an article by that tool Kincade? Can’t even listen to him on sports talk radio!
bill
July 20th, 2010
6:20 pm
Wow, Philly fans sure got full of themselves quickly. They have a couple good years and suddenly they act like nobody is even worthy of stepping on the field with them. You are what your record says you are, and the Phillies are a third place team.
joemoedee
July 20th, 2010
6:22 pm
What separates this Braves team from the teams of the past… Bullpen. Very few teams have the power arms available at the end of the game, complimented by Moylan’s grounder inducing sidearm delivery.
The Bullpen and bench play a huge role in the Braves’ success this season versus seasons past, and it is what has hurt the Phillies this year.
The Braves have endured injuries to plenty of guys, and still are leading the division. Getting McLouth back and to the level he should be would just be gravy at this point.
Lineups at 100%, yeah, you’d have to give the nod the the Phillies but the difference from 1-8 total is not much. Starting Pitching? Braves. Bullpen? Braves. Bench? Braves. And to top it off, farm system? Braves.
Jason
July 20th, 2010
6:23 pm
Haha… this season’s highlight for me are Phail phans and apologists…. while their team keeps losing series after series, they all act like it’s still in the bag for them and they have nothing to worry about…. Well, let me say, the Phailures have LOTS to worry about. Like not finishing 3rd in the division when they apparently have the most talent… or how to keep Ryan Howard out of a twinkie box daily….
Face is the Phails are old, fat, and done. The Braves are the new class of the division. And they keep proving it night after night. Get used to it.
mike
July 20th, 2010
6:28 pm
Im pretty sure we lead the season series versus the phillies this year 9-5, with a sweep at the beginning of june…. hey at least he has a hopeful outlook. Its funny how the phils have won like 4 division titles in the last twenty years and yet they can act so big and bad now.
division titles since 90′- braves 14—–phillies 4
world series wins since 90′- braves 1—– phillies 1
world series apearences since 90′- braves 4——phillies 2—– BRAVES win!!!
OrlandoDawg
July 20th, 2010
6:34 pm
what’s our record against philly this year?
obee
July 20th, 2010
6:35 pm
Ah, Bradley, feeding raw meat to the lions.
RA
July 20th, 2010
6:38 pm
I’d just as soon leave hell out of this Phils Will Win The NL East. Now, that’s not to say they aren’t capable, they are, but the Braves are having one heck of a year. Here’s the thing, this isn’t a division where the first team to 500 will probably win. The Braves are closer to being 20 games over 500 than they are to being ten games over. They’re winning the close games, games that over the last few years, they’ve had a hard time pulling out and their bullpen has EVERYTHING to do with that. No, they don’t have anyone that can hit forty homers (anymore), but they’re patient, very patient, and efficient, great things have been done with much less. Here’s the thing, if the Phillies win the East this year, I’m enough of a fan to tip my cap to them, but if they don’t, I hope that their media, and their fans will have the self respect to congratulate either the Braves or the Mets on having a good year.
OrlandoDawg
July 20th, 2010
6:38 pm
7-5…few more left to show Bob Ford who’s boss. Even if we don’t win the division, let’s sweep philly from here on out.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 20th, 2010
6:44 pm
Sounds like they are already preparing their excuses for the end of the season.
Puma
July 20th, 2010
6:44 pm
All I got to say to Mr. Ford is enjoy the Cards for the next three games, we will meet back here and see where we are at.
The “real Phillies”…that’s like me saying the real Chipper, they are what they are now, not what they were…savvy?
Navigator
July 20th, 2010
6:56 pm
Oh well, the Philly folks must truly be worried to write that. By the way Turner field is far from being the launching pad that Philly’s stadium is, I guess they can’t tell the difference from old Fulton County Stadium (maybe they missed it being torn down). The Philly’s have plenty to worry about without these kinds of things going on. Hey, maybe when they don’t make the playoffs, reality will set in.
crymeariver
July 20th, 2010
7:17 pm
Yeah, I guess ole Ford has never watched a game at the Ted or been there. It ain’t no launchin pad.
The Philly’s park is a cracker box.