His name is Nate McLouth, as in, ‘Get him OUTTA here’
Nate the Great draws a bead on a fly. Note that the ball is in fact behind him. (AP photo)
It’s difficult to hit any worse than .176, but Nate McLouth has done the deed. That skinny number is what he was batting when he went on the disabled list after his noggin clashed with Jason Heyward’s knee. Since returning last week, McLouth is 1-for-15, which represents a Twiggy-like .067.
(And the hit, we should note, was a flare that dropped into right field McLouth’s first game back. That gift should offset the live drive that became a double play Sunday.)
We have seen Braves struggle over the years — Andruw Jones, Jeff Francoeur, Yunel Escobar, the legendary Greg Norton — but we have never seen an everyday Brave perform worse than this. Nate McLouth is hitting .168 on the season. He has three home runs, 14 RBIs, four stolen bases. The highest his average has climbed since April 8 is .208.
He wasn’t very good in his half-season as a Brave in 2009 — a .257 average, 11 homers, 36 RBIs — but today the Braves would take that tepid yield and be ecstatic. McLouth has been so bad for so long, starting in spring training and continuing apace, that there’s no cause to believe he is a big-league starter, or even a big-leaguer, any longer.
There were whispers around baseball that the Pirates had noted a decline in McLouth’s skills and were thrilled to unload him before the rest of the sport caught on. If so, that marks the first time in two decades the Bucs have outsmarted somebody. (Not that losing Charlie Morton was any setback.)
The hope when he returned from the DL was that McLouth might get going enough to satisfy the team’s modest requirements in center field. (The Braves don’t need Willie Mays; they just need a guy who’ll hit a little bit and play D, but McLouth, who astonishingly won a Gold Glove in 2008, isn’t A. Jones with the leather. Or the arm.) Either that, or he’d catch the eye of another team in need of an outfielder. But now the Braves are stuck.
They can’t keep running McLouth out there because he drags down the team, and they can’t trade him because nobody would want him. (Remember when having a former All-Star under contract through 2011 — and with a club option for 2012 — seemed a capital idea?) They can’t promote Jordan Schafer because he just got demoted again, and their most viable trade targets seem to be left fielders.
Unless Frank Wren can swing a trade this week for a real center fielder — B.J. Upton or Matt Kemp — the Braves’ options at the position can be boiled down to two: They can promote Gregor Blanco, who’s back yet again at Gwinnett, or make a deal for a corner outfielder and bump Heyward, who’s a classic right fielder, over to center. Neither is the optimum, but both beat the status quo.
Put simply, Gregor Blanco is a better center fielder right now than Nate McLouth. Heck, Henry Blanco might be a better center fielder than Nate McLouth. And Henry Blanco is a catcher.
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727 comments Add your comment
Bama brave
July 26th, 2010
8:40 am
I would like to see if we could get Matt kemp.michael bourn,or Bj Upton
Ronkowski
July 26th, 2010
8:40 am
Cody Ross would be a great add to center field, he has hustle, is VERY positive, fields excellently, will hit over .275, runs great, hits with power (20+ hrs) and is available for $3m ish. Alot of baseball is chemistry, Ross has it and would blend well with the Braves organization. Keep Medlin and snatch Cody Ross…wise choice, Nate should go.
Mr. Webster
July 26th, 2010
8:41 am
Mitchell, doesn’t over half the league make the playoffs in the NBA?
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:41 am
Upton would be great. Power and speed.
meh
July 26th, 2010
8:42 am
send McLouth to the Royals. The love crappy former Braves over there. for example: Kyle Davies, Bruce Chen, Anthony Lerew, Wilson Betemit. Throw KK into the deal as well. Maybe we could get Podsednik or Ankiel or something.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:42 am
I doubt the Dodgers would trade Kemp. Andre Ethier is good but they wouldn’t trade him either.
RK22
July 26th, 2010
8:42 am
I heard someone say that one of the hardest things in sports, if not the hardest, is to hit a moving baseball coming at you at 90 plus mph and then to “hit it where they ain’t.” If you fail 7 out of 10 times there might be a place for you in the HOF. I feel sorry for Nate McClouth. He’s struggling to keep it at 1 out of 10. Why? Who knows? For his sake I hope he figures it out and has a career resurgence. Obviously, he’s not the answer in center right now. But, looking around, who is? Who out there would be a significant upgrade over a Blanco, Infante, Cabrera platoon (if they all can play CF), that would justify trading Medlen (God forbid) or a prized prospect? I love the chemistry of this team. Hold em and take your chances.
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
8:42 am
Herschel, It’s only the 3 hole if Prado leads off the inning. It’s not inexcusable. It’s having faith in Glaus to come through.
1957 fan
July 26th, 2010
8:42 am
Enter your comments here
Obama's the Man
July 26th, 2010
8:43 am
Infante, “All Star” Sitting on the bench?
jimmymack
July 26th, 2010
8:43 am
please get us an outfielder
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:43 am
Yeah just like Braves used to get washed up Pirates (Belliard,Bream,etc.).
reno
July 26th, 2010
8:44 am
Let’s not forget how much fun this season has been so far! However, it does seem that the Braves’ seasons have all too often of late morphed into pathetic, overly drawn-out sympathy-fests for some underperforming but otherwise likeable player – Francoeur being the best (worst?) example of this phenomenon. Now we have the Nate McClouth dilemma. Few Braves fans have looked back with regret at the Francoeur trade, even in light of the fact that we basically gave him away for nothing. Even fewer Braves fans will have second-thoughts or regrets if and when McClouth is demoted, traded or otherwise dropped from the active roster. Sadly, it appears that the team will be better off the sooner this occurs.
ps. Please KEEP MEDLEN!
pps. No Cody Ross!
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
8:45 am
Let’s say Glaus comes through and Braves take the lead, but the next half inning, Hinske can’t get to a ball that scores 2-3 runs for Florida. What would we be saying then? It’s easy to manage in hindsight.
The Decision
July 26th, 2010
8:45 am
Trading Medlin for Cody Ross would be a worse long term decision than playing McOut the rest of the year. Send McOut to minors (can a team pick him up? who cares.), bring Blanco up and platoon him with Infante. Our current OF can get the job done.
minnie medoza
July 26th, 2010
8:45 am
There is debate over who the mendoza line is named after….Mario as some of you suggested or me Minnie….here’s a quote I found from goggling.
“The Mendoza line is actually named after Minnie Mendoza, a career minor leaguer, who finally made it with the Minnesota Twins in 1970 At age 36. Mendoza hit .188 in sixteen games with the Twins that year. I remember seeing the term Mendoza Line first mentioned in The Sporting News in either 1970 or 1971. It mentioned that some hitters could not even get their averages above the Mendoza Line. It then stated that the term was named after the Twins light hitting infielder Minnie Mendoza. Mario did not come along until 1974. It burns me every time I hear an announcer Mention Mario instead of Minnie when referring to the Mendoza Line. Long live Minnie!”
Doesn’t matter…it’s now the McLouth Line…your friend Minnie
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:46 am
a 5 game lead looks real week knowing Braves have an auto-matic out at 1B & CF. Then the closer Wagner is on a blown saves run. I bet the Mets & Phillies are smiling.
Joey
July 26th, 2010
8:46 am
Damn, y’all lay off Glaus. We would be 15 games under .500 if not for his May/June. He’ll get hot again.
Greg
July 26th, 2010
8:47 am
Mark, I just wanted to confirm that you’re saying we should trade for DeJesus, and that would still be an upgrade (being that he’s out for the year), right?
#7
July 26th, 2010
8:48 am
bring back Jeff and put him in center !!!!
Sonny Clusters
July 26th, 2010
8:49 am
We was thinking when McLouth goes maybe Chavez could ride with him. We was among the many who was thinking, “Don’t let McLouth bat, Bobby.” We was also one of the ones that said, “Uh oh, Chavez is coming in. There goes the game.” We would be available to help Bobby Cox with some game decisions if he likes. We was on a state championship and we don’t think Bobby ever won a state champion before.
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
8:49 am
Sorry. I missed the thing on DeJesus. He would not be an upgrade, given that he’s out for the year.
RGP
July 26th, 2010
8:50 am
Bring Blanco back and send McOut and Chavez out of town!
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:50 am
But if you had a consistent 1B like R.Howard or M.Texeira then you’d be
20 games over .500 possibly.
Viva Venezuela
July 26th, 2010
8:52 am
Seriously Eddie Perez and all of the Venezuelans should approach Wren/Cox and DEMAND Blanco’s return. Time to cut the dead weight on this team and push from there. You don’t expect to win every game, but playing McClouth is GIVING AWAY GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:52 am
I agree Mark. DeJesus as an auto-matic out going 0 for 200 rest of season isn’t much worse than McLouth playing going 5 for 200 rest of season…
David
July 26th, 2010
8:52 am
“Maybe Adam Jones from the O’s ?”
Robdawg put the pipe away – just because the O’s are terrible, doesnt mean they are going to trade one of their cornerstone players
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
8:53 am
Bobby Cox, you should know, did beat Daryle Lamonica’s team in a high school game, Sonny. Cox threw the winning touchdown pass.
Willie
July 26th, 2010
8:53 am
Nothing will be done and the Braves lead will diminsh and they will miss the days of October. However, this is Bobby’s last year. I hope it is the case for TP also.
BigGrant
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
What does Cox see in this guy? The CF position is suppose to be one of your top bats…I don’t care if we bring back Claudell Washington…get us somebody that can do more than bunt!
Joey
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
Oh, that’s mean, Mark . . .
Outrage
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
Unless a change is made in CF one can only assume that the Braves managment isn’t serious about winning anything this year. WAKE UP WREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ronkowski
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
Follow Cody Ross for a few days, watch him closely and you will see the merit in acquiring him. Talent, Drive and a Self-less team player is what he is…………..no wimpy excuses where he is out for a sprain etc like so many today…………at $3mil he is a bargain
Richard Nieh
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
I believe in Bobby’s decision. He will soon run out of patience and demote McLouth. Melky Cabrera is a better CF than McLouth in both hitting and defense. Just play him everyday as a CF.
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
And belated — much belated — “first” honors to thekingtata.
Harris
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
Agreed. McLouth is a worthless bum who has to go.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
Hell, fill up that car going outta town. McLouth driving,Chavez riding shotgun,Glaus back seat left and Melky back seat right. Any room left squeeze in Wagner…
Mitchell
July 26th, 2010
8:54 am
That’s a weak column right there, now that I’ve actually read it. I’m disappointed Brad.
The only reason Nate McLouth is dragging the team down is because he is allowed to drag the team down.
Anytime he is given a chance to play, he’ll do nothing but drag the team down.
It’s our Hall of Fame manager. He’s the one who’s starting to put our playoff chances in jeopardy. He’s been dragging us down for years.
It’s nice though that the Braves are going out there to “win one for Bobby.” The less input he has into the outcome of games, the more likely he is to end up a winner.
I guess if we get swept in the World Series this time it won’t go on his permanent record.
AlG
July 26th, 2010
8:55 am
Amen Mr. Bradley. If Wren has to eat McLouth’s salary, so be it. We’ve got to get somebody on the roster who can at least have a prayer of seeing the north side of the Mendoza line.
JT Grace
July 26th, 2010
8:55 am
I wish the Braves would look into Chris Young of the D-Backs. He is still young, he wouldn’t be a rental, plays A+ defense, and has hit over 15 home runs (plus 21 stolen bases) already this season. They just gave Haren away to the Angels so maybe the Braves could get a good deal.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
8:55 am
For some pitching they might, hold me pipe fer me pleaze…
Joey
July 26th, 2010
8:56 am
I hope Cox’s footall coach didn’t let him handle the substitutions . . .
marathon
July 26th, 2010
8:57 am
ahhh. a disappointing Braves loss is the mating call of Mitchell.
Herschel Talker
July 26th, 2010
8:59 am
Jesse Stone -
It’s having faith in Glaus? Have you seen his stats since mid-June, when he hit his last HR? He’s batting like .175 with 6 RBIs. So you’re whole argument is based on the fact that you have confidence in that guy coming through? Retarded. And then you’re stuck with McLouth in the 3 hole.
HT
ron
July 26th, 2010
8:59 am
McLouth is the worst hitter on the team. To allow him to bat in a game situation is hard to imagine. Anyone else would have been better than him. Cox got what he deserved. I sure hope we dont miss the playoffs by one game. That game was given away.
BigGrant
July 26th, 2010
9:00 am
I thought we had chance in the last inning yesterday with the bases loaded until I realized McOut was up to bat.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:00 am
The names Liebrandt-Puckett,Wohlers-J.Carter,Lonnie Smith,Carlos Beltran,Mariano Rivera pretty much sum up Cox’s demise in post season losses.
ron
July 26th, 2010
9:01 am
Glaus and McClouth are both good guys who are not coming back next year. CF and 1B must hit!
Marilyn Folkerth
July 26th, 2010
9:01 am
Our pitchers bat much better than Nate. It’s almost like a automatic out when he comes up,and it always seems like there are men in scoring postition and he makes the last out in the inning. The team played much better when he was on the DL. HELLO BOBBY–leave him out of the lineup. If I were Nate, I think I would be embarrassed just going back into the dugout after striking out, flying out, or grounding out into a double play. He needs to go away if the Braves want to make it to the playoffs!
Just Me
July 26th, 2010
9:01 am
If the braves rely of McLouth then they are giving the division and potentially the playoffs away, its just that simple. I have said that McLouth is no good and hes still no good. Its time to say sorry, release him and move on. Nobody wants him in a trade, why would they. Hey, maybe we should go back to what we did before McLouth came back. They were winning then. I would rather see the kids then this loser on the team. He needs to hang it up thats for sure.