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
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:01 am
All bad managerial moves, no doubt…
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
9:02 am
Herschel- We didn’t need a hit from Glaus, just a fly ball. Why the need for insults because we disagree ?
Blackberry Cobbler
July 26th, 2010
9:03 am
Apparently, Booby Cox thinks McLouth is good enough to be the bgot-to guy when the game is on the line. What a freakin’ MORON Cox is!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bases loaded yesterday in the top of the 9th with one out, game on the line. Rather than pinch-hit Infante, Booby trots the hot-hitting McOUT out there again. What does he do? Hit into a bases loaded double-play– for the second time in the game.
This is a prime example of why IF the Braves make it to the playoffs (and by the way I don’t think they will) they will go nowhere because they have an HOF nut-job for a manager!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Booby Cox man-crush on McOUT has cost us plenty already.
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
9:03 am
Let me note something: For all of you saying, “Why does Cox keep running Nate M. out there?” McLouth didn’t start Sunday. He was inserted late in a game that went 11 innings.
The Braves, contrary to popular belief, aren’t stupid. They know what’s happening.
Jeremy
July 26th, 2010
9:03 am
Mark- Any hope that we could see Chavez sent back to AAA?
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:03 am
Nate’s like the kid nobody wanted to pick in grade school P.E.
The one picking his nose,staring into space with untied shoes that somebody’s gotta pick because “everybody’s got to play”.
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:04 am
It seems to me if you are giving a once good player (McLouth) opportunities to”come around,’ you would not put him in extreme pressure situations. He should have stayed on the bench in extra innings.
1957 fan
July 26th, 2010
9:04 am
Mr. Bradley you summed it up pretty well. Mcclouth will never hit. He had one pretty good year and the Braves fell for it. The Pirates are still peeing in their pants laughing over this. Why does Cox keep putting him out their?Mcclouth must have caught Cox having sex with a monkey or something. I can’t believe that he is still managing a big league ball club. Heyward could play center field. The guy has speed and could cover center field well enough. I hate for a player or anyone lose their job but McClouth has been handed a lot of money for doing nothing. Glaus had his good month and now he’s through. The Phillies are coming and coming fast. We have gave away several games by playing McClouth that will be looked back on when the Phillies fly by for the National League East. least.
reality
July 26th, 2010
9:04 am
man, bring back blanco, he hustles, does what the team asks. He is fast, enthusiastic… something that mcclueless would love to be. Nate is in a deep fog, with not a clue as to what to do next. get rid of him. and, do not trade for cody ross, what a chump.
LWells2000
July 26th, 2010
9:05 am
Stop the Bleeding! [Need I say, "Replace McLouth?]
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
9:05 am
Jesse Chavez is the 12th man on a 12-man staff. You’re not going to have a great pitcher in that role.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:07 am
There’s got to be a young pitcher in the minors better than Chavez ? If there isn’t then the Braves farm system sucks.
Newbomb Turk
July 26th, 2010
9:07 am
MB, when is the Jesse Chavez article coming?
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:08 am
Jeremy, no hope, none, nada, zilch. He is one of Bobby’s “boys” now.
JDHGT
July 26th, 2010
9:08 am
“Heck, Henry Blanco might be a better center fielder than Nate McLouth. And Henry Blanco is a catcher.”
That line almost made me spit my coffee on my computer screen, Mr. Bradley. Thank you for giving me a good laugh this morning.
Tralfaz
July 26th, 2010
9:08 am
If any player goes into an extended hitting slump, we may as well trade him…he’ll certainly get no help from our worthless hitting coach
J-Smoove
July 26th, 2010
9:09 am
I’m pretty sure the Braves would send McClouth to anyone that makes an offer… Wren might trade him away for cash at this point. The Braves should make it a buy one get one free sale (Buy McClouth and you get Chavez for free)
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:10 am
Mark, you should have a 12th pitcher better than terrible, though. It is the majors, you know?
Mayhem Is Coming
July 26th, 2010
9:10 am
I agree with Bob in that sending him to Gwinnett could be a win-win situation. I also agree with Michael Scharff in that you “don’t want to kick him while he’s down.” The Braves are a class orgnization and at no risk to the MLB Braves quietly demoting him and working with him would seem to be the best option. It also shows that when a player is having a problem on the field the organization has the where with all to deal with the situation. Granted the double play ball was retty bad.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:10 am
I’d rather have Tim Hudson or Derek lowe hitting than McLouth. Well, Hudson over Glaus as well. If we arm chair fans can see that CF and 1B is awful why can’t the Braves ? They have in-house options. Blanco in CF. Hinske at 1B. Damn…
Vegas Jace
July 26th, 2010
9:11 am
I don’t normally comment on these, but THANK YOU for raising this issue! My wife and I (both longtime Bravos fans) have been wondering all year, “How much more do the Braves need to see to know he’s done?” While Nate seems like a nice guy, he is an albatross that must be purged. Underperformance is infectious; even Melky’s marginal performance is bad for team morale, but McClouth’s ineptitude is a cancer in the clubhouse. BTW, I actually called the game-losing double play yesterday. I would have preferred that they run into the out on Heyward’s hit (in retrospect, the throw from right was so far up the line that Ross might actually have scored) than sent McClouth up to the plate in that situation. You could almost hear the air escape Turner Field as he stepped into the box.
moondog
July 26th, 2010
9:11 am
Play Blanco, Hinske, its simple math, higher batting averages produce more runs!!!!
Blackberry Cobbler
July 26th, 2010
9:12 am
Bradley– Why don’t some of you AJC guys grow a set and start asking Cox some tough questions? The AJC’s handling of Cox with kitt gloves only makes matters worse. For example, I would realy like to know what goes through a HOF managers mind that sends a .168 hitter up there when the game is on the line when you have an all-star pinch hitter on the bench– then after the .168 guy does what we all know is going to happen, THEN you put the all-start guy. Cox is a freakin’ moron.
JM
July 26th, 2010
9:12 am
McLouth has zero value in a trade. Release him. Release Kawakami. Eat their salaries. Stop carrying a dozen pitchers on the roster. Go back to the 15-10 division of regular players and pitchers.
Tweets that mention His name is Nate McLouth, as in, 'Get him OUTTA here' | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
July 26th, 2010
9:12 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley, Sport Fanatic, Roy Harris, Michael Watkins, Eric Dye and others. Eric Dye said: OUCH MARK! @MarkBradleyAJC : His name is Nate McLouth, as in, Get him OUTTA here… http://shar.es/mMKLm #braves [...]
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
9:12 am
Jace- The game was in south Florida.
Herschel Talker
July 26th, 2010
9:13 am
Jesse Stone:
I wasn’t calling you retarded; I was calling your argument retarded.
HT
paulie
July 26th, 2010
9:13 am
bring up Blanco, send Mclouth back down, do not trade Medlin! and let’s lift up this team! We are on our way to the playoffs…keep the good karma going.
Marvin Mangrum
July 26th, 2010
9:14 am
This crap has been going on since Mr Cox got here. If we win and go to the series he will play righty lefty and sit a third of the team. If he, and I really believe Cox thinks he is doing good, thinks that Mc Louth is ever going to be good, well, it is past sad. Mark is whining cause he hit into a double play, look, I was excited he did not strike out! About another week of Mc Louth in center and we will be in second. And one more thing, give Glaus a few days off. And play Infante! We had a chance to be 10 up and we lose two of three in Florida
Coach (2011 or Bust)
July 26th, 2010
9:14 am
Trade for Scott Podsednik, send McLouth to the minors (his options are intact), give Hinske his 1st base glove and sit Glaus. See, it’s not that hard to fix now is it?
By the way, Troy Glaus last homered on June 19th. In the 26 games since he has hit .170 with 6 RBI.
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
9:15 am
Herschel- I don’t agree with your argument either, but it’s no more right or wrong than mine. They are not facts, but opinions.
Bob Horner's Blonde Mullet
July 26th, 2010
9:15 am
That’s great Bradley.. “HENRY Blanco is a better CF!” You’re right.. Gregor has no pop whatsoever, but he hit .300 while he was here and plays solid D. He’s a much tougher out at the plate, and for my money, should start out there. Or we could keep running the Melk man out –
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:16 am
And all the games KK was winning 1-0 thru the 5th then he gave up 4 runs in the 6th and lost 4-1. A dumb ass can see that KK can go only 5 innings. KK would have been 6-0 instead of 0-6 (at that point) if Cox had brought in a reliever in the 6th those games.
Telling Like It Is
July 26th, 2010
9:16 am
I must admit that I never thought that McLouth was that much of a player to be starting in centerfield. However,he is deserving of a chance to come back from the concussion. He did hit the ball better than Glaus yesterday and he can run. Don’t be in such a hurry to throw him under the bus. Even the good hitters fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate.
PMC
July 26th, 2010
9:17 am
His struggles remind us of how incredible Andruw Jones was for so long in Center Field.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for Nate. Oh well.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
July 26th, 2010
9:17 am
Speaking of Podsednik, he’s hitting .309 for the season, .350 against left handed starters and .367 in July. Did I mention he plays center field?
gcs
July 26th, 2010
9:18 am
Have you ever heard of Scott Moore?
He is hitting .209 with 3 HR,10 RBI and 3 stolen bases in 86 at bats (99 less than Nate). Pretty comparable stats, huh? Guess what happened to him. He was designated for assignment – by the BALTIMORE ORIOLES! The worse team in baseball.
How is it that the league’s doormat gets when a player is not helping their team and the Braves do not.
Wren, step up and be a man. I know it’s Bobby’s last year but you are going to have to hurt his little feelings and get rid of McLouth.
.
D.W.
July 26th, 2010
9:19 am
Nate should have never been brought back after the injury. That was a bad move.
Blackberry Cobbler
July 26th, 2010
9:21 am
Bradley– True. McOUT didn’t start. He came in as a pinch-runner. BUT, Cox did trot him out there to bat when the game was on the line while he had Infante on the bench. Why wasn’t Infante callowed to bat? After McOUT made the out, THEN Cox puts Infante in CF. Stupid, stupid, stupid. When McOUT was allowed to bat and then Chavez went to pitch, I knew the game was over. I called it before it happened.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:21 am
These scrubby teams like the O’s,Royals,Mariners,Astros are willing to trade their good OF’s for SP. Get off your azz Wren and make some trades. Are you watching what I’m watching ? Futility in CF and at 1B.
Ross
July 26th, 2010
9:21 am
While I agree with you, this will do nothing to calm the whiners, quetschers, and those who hope for the literal death of McLouth, who frequent O’Brien’s hothouse blog. (Seriously, one of them stated “I hope McLouth dies.” Trey I believe was his name.) You guys really need to get a handle of those folks.
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:22 am
Yeah, let’s get rid the MLB Player of the Month (May).
Glaus is a streaky hitter. Probably more so since he missed the last 2 seasons. Name me a major league player who is not streaky. Hell, the Phillies score what, 1 run over 6 games a month ago?
That’s no fluke when you hit like he did in May. He’ll get hot again, maybe in September.
N
July 26th, 2010
9:23 am
Why even bother bringing him back from the DL if you only give him 13 ABs?? Thats about 3 games worth of AB’s. Based on that most of the team wouldn’t have made it past April.
Navigator
July 26th, 2010
9:23 am
I’ll say this again for an unknown number of times, McClouth didn’t put himself in the lineup, Cox did and again and again. If you have a guy that shouldn’t even be in the major leagues, Cox will use him all the time. If the Braves really want to make something of this season take Cox and McClouth and send them packing. They have a qualified manager in the wings, bring him in for the rest of the year and see what he can do with a first place team. Getting back to McClouth, why is he here instead of the player the Braves just sent to the minors who had hit over .300 and played a solid outfield. Wren needs to give Cox some help and make him put the best team on the field rather than this insane platoon Cox fills he needs to do every year.
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
9:23 am
IInfante was on deck when Nate hit into a DP. If Infante pinch-hits for Nate, a pitcher would’ve had to lead off the next inning….if there were one.
PMC
July 26th, 2010
9:24 am
Depending on what it might take to get a marginal CF I think maybe they would be better served going after Carl Crawford in Free Agency and just sticking with Gregor Blanco and Melky. Even marginal production is going to be an upgrade.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:24 am
When Glaus gets hot again he will have left 50 men on base,hit zero homeruns,and the Braves will likely be 8 games out of 1st place. Why not play Hinske ? He has a great game then a bad game then a great game. Glaus is 12 straight bad games…
Gunter
July 26th, 2010
9:24 am
Bobby lost yesterdays game and we can’t afford any unnessary losses. Mclouth is no longer a major league outfielder. I like the guy but he doesn’t need to be “finding himself” while we are in a pennant race. Chavez is a similar story, he keeps everything up in the strike zone and major league hitters eyes light up when he enters the game. Blanco platooning with Infante will be adequate in CF and we have several good arms at Gwinett. Bobby is way too loyal to his favorites………..WE ARE IN A PENNANT RACE !
Gen Neyland
July 26th, 2010
9:26 am
As the trade deadline nears, the Braves are not alone in the delimma of non-productive check cashers. Gotta have faith that the Front Office will do all that is possible not to allow a darn good club overall to become a pretty average second place team in the East by trading away the future. Personally, I want another Divisional banner. Not a dang possible wildcard slot. The Phillies aren’t rolling over for the Braves so make whatever moves count..!
CECIL UPSHAW
July 26th, 2010
9:27 am
TRULY HATE TO KICK A MAN WHEN HE’S DOWN,HOWEVER,THIS COULD BE THE YEAR & JUST AS WITH ESCOBAR,YOU CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO GO ON ANY LONGER!!! WHY TRADE??!! YOU HAVE BLANCO WHOM HAS PROVEN TO DATE THAT HE BELONG’S!!! CHEMISTRY IS EVERYTHING!!! DON’T SCREW IT UP NOW THAT THE TEAM IS ON THE CUSP OF AN EXCEPTIONAL SEASON!!! ONE LAST THING…..GIVE TROY G. MORE DAY’S OFF….HE NEED’S THEM!!!!