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.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
727 comments Add your comment
mclOUTh
July 26th, 2010
9:27 am
Mark,
Thanks for being the writer on the AJC staff that calls this out. Our “beat reporters” are content to throw softballs at Cox after games.
About Chavez though, if he is the 12th pitcher, than why didn’t KK get to pitch BEFORE him? Not saying I would be comfortable with that either…just defining roles here. Maybe Chavez is the 11th pitcher? Either way, we have a couple of roster spots in serious need of upgrading.
Bat Masterson
July 26th, 2010
9:28 am
If Chavez is 12th what is KK, the invisible man? Boy Nate is going to be very expensive outfielder in AAA.
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
9:29 am
It’s a close race between Kenshin Kawakami and Jesse Chavez for last man on the staff. I’ll concede the point.
NORRIS
July 26th, 2010
9:30 am
We all know Mclouth has got to go. But has there been any real talks about getting an outfielder. All we hear is rumors that people are speculating we might do.
I just want to know if there is any real talk about getting someone.
This team is going no where without another outfielder. Mclouth had a chance to win the game yesterday but once again failed.
I say even go after podsednik. the guy is hitting and scoring runs for a bad team. Just a thought but at this point would take a hotdog vendor instead of mclouth.
mclOUTh
July 26th, 2010
9:30 am
Ross, we would prefer that you become disgusted again and leave the blog.
Paddy
July 26th, 2010
9:31 am
milesearcher33….You said Nate’s defense would improve when his hitting improves. There is not a baseball scout in America that would risk their job putting that in a scouting report! That is crazy talk and has absolutly no history of being the case with any professional player.
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
9:31 am
“If you have a guy that shouldn’t even be in the major leagues, Cox will use him all the time.” That from Navigator.
Gigga
July 26th, 2010
9:31 am
A lot of you are missing the point…. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY>>>> Nate was worthless to ANY club before he went on the disabled list. The braves will be sending him packing now.. however they wanted to show case him with this last grasp straw effort. They were hoping some club may take a chance on him and we would only have to eat some of his contract. that maybe just MAYBE he would have done something spectacular during this series. It was a gamble that didn’t pay off. They didn’t get anything spectacular from Nate and the gamble cost us games. They know they have to do something with him because he is bringing a team with the will to win down. He must go and the braves will do something about it soon.
mclOUTh
July 26th, 2010
9:32 am
Mark,
Is there any way of knowing what the sentiment of the team is concerning Nate? Are they frustrated? After his walk-off HR they all ran to the tunnel…..I now can see them running to the tunnel BEFORE he bats because they can’t bare to watch!
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
9:32 am
Ross, my feelings about Nate McLouth aren’t personal. He’s just not doing the job.
rfgh
July 26th, 2010
9:33 am
Thank you, Mark. McLouth is the new Greg Norton. As long as he is around it deflects some of the attention away from Cox and his awful managing decisions. Of course, one of those decisions is to play McLouth.
DBull
July 26th, 2010
9:33 am
Bobby is an excellence manager but in some cases he will not get
rid of non productive players. He will keep them to long.
So, why does this make him so excellent?
Kraig
July 26th, 2010
9:33 am
“Just trade him for garbage or a bucket of balls.”
LOL
Mark Bradley
July 26th, 2010
9:33 am
Players and coaches seem to like McLouth very much, mclOUTh.
DZ
July 26th, 2010
9:33 am
It is pretty simple:
Send McLouth, Kawakami and Jesse Chavez to the minors. Bring up Gregor Blanco, Craig Kimbrel and Stephen Marek.
Give Glaus more days off and move him down the line-up a notch or two.
Play Omar Infante EVERY DAY. Is a .327 batting average and an all-star selection not enough? Do you have something against Venezuelans?
Anon21
July 26th, 2010
9:34 am
Yeah, at this point even our not-very-exciting internal options (some combination of Gregor Blanco, Omar Infante, Melky Cabrera, Eric Hinske, and maybe Brooks Conrad) are looking very good compared to Nate. But of course what’s really needed here is for Frank Wren to follow up the disastrous Escobar deal with something intelligent–such as acquiring an outfielder from Washington. (Dunn and Willingham would look great in Braves uniforms!)
Tremaine
July 26th, 2010
9:34 am
I agree 100%. Funny thing is I actually forgot he was on the team until he got activated from the DL. Please don’t let him turn into this years version of Greg Norton. Give those at bats to guys that are producing.
the truth...
July 26th, 2010
9:35 am
DeJesus is a great option….trade for him and then put him on the DL…bring Blanco up because there’s not other option….
So then you at least get rid of McLouth….and get Blanco in CF…
see that has its rosy side too….
meh
July 26th, 2010
9:35 am
If the Braves are considering trading Medlen (which they shouldn’t) I think they could more than Cody Ross for him. They could probably get Chris Young from AZ or maybe even Kemp from LA.
Poorbrave
July 26th, 2010
9:35 am
Ronkowski and others..Cody Ross is hitting a buck 25 the last 30 games. Sounds like Nate to me! Someone needs to be shot if they trade Medlen for Ross.
Agree with Mark @9:03….also last week when Mark said Braves should go after Upton. Believe in Atlanta under Cox and other Braves players Upton would be a complete player with different attitude.
Scott Podsednik is hittting 300 and has good D and speed making less than a million on one year deal.
First base has also been a problem the last 30 days=130 ba.
Go Braves and Go Mark!
Paddy
July 26th, 2010
9:36 am
robdawg08… you use a minor league rehad because the player is on the DL. You can’t pitch in the ML’s on the DL. Plus you want to be 100% sure he has healed before you make roster moves. Some roster moves are irrevocable and you could thus lose a player to waiver claim. Or the player you may want to move has used up all his options and he could ask to become a free agent.
Mike
July 26th, 2010
9:37 am
Braves should make their move before Tuesday evening. McLouth needs to be gone. It does not matter whether they can work a trade. He will continue to create outs that cost the Braves games. Nobody should think a five-game lead over Philadelphia is safe. Get McLouth out; get Blanco back.
Sonny Clusters
July 26th, 2010
9:37 am
If the excuses are that Bobby had no one left on the bench . . .then he was out-managed. How does people think Blanco would be only “marginally” better? McLouth .279 OBP, .265 SLG, .168 AVG vs. Blanco .394 OBP, .362 SLG, .310 AVG. The Braves was winning with Blanco and they was losing with McLouth.
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:38 am
” Do you have something against Venezuelans?”
*****************************************
Um, we already start two in the infield . . .
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
9:39 am
Did someone REALLY just say that we may be able to get Matt Kemp for Medlen?
NCBravesFan
July 26th, 2010
9:39 am
I hate that this is happening to Nate – seems like a nice enough fellow – and it seems as though he is putting a lot of pressure on himself.
Hard to say what the answer is here – I can’t imagine anyone would touch him at this point in a trade. If you DFA him, the Braves are on the hook for his contract.
Can he even be optioned to the minors at this point?
AAron Lindaugh
July 26th, 2010
9:42 am
You know what really ticked me off was hearing Bobby Cox defending McLouth after the game saying “he hit it like a bullet”. Why can Bobby not see that the Emperor is wearing no clothes?
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:42 am
To get a quality player, the Braves will have to lose a quality player. If trading Medlen gets us a good centerfielder, trade him. Minor is supposedly ready to come up now.
DZ
July 26th, 2010
9:42 am
Joey, that was a joke.
Delbert D.
July 26th, 2010
9:43 am
Ahhh…it’s April again. What’s with the 100 degrees outside?
mclOUTh
July 26th, 2010
9:44 am
Mark,
They may like him but that won’t help come October. It’s time to put how great a guy he is and how “neat and clean” he is aside and ship him out of town. His salary would be paid for with the additional revenue from post season play!
Lawrence
July 26th, 2010
9:44 am
St. Louis has a bunch of outfielders. Try to trade for Phenix City’s Colby Rasmuss. He is outstanding in center field.
N
July 26th, 2010
9:44 am
If Nate doesn’t hit then he sits on the bench or perhaps is released — That would be WHY THE BRAVES ARE STARTING HIM — to see if he can hit. 13 AB’s is a short short lease. At least give him 25 AB’s. Then let him go.
This board is interesting. If it had its way Glaus would not be on the team either and now many are calling for Glaus to sit more too. Let the Braves manage things and enjoy this amazing ride.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:45 am
Thanks paddy.
I love my dad but I don’t want him as the CF for the Braves. Just let Nate travel around (inactive) to be chummy with the team. Just don’t play him. Non-productivity trumps friendship in pro sports.
Nacho Daddy
July 26th, 2010
9:46 am
Call up Blanco, and move Nate to batboy.
I must be the Crazy One
July 26th, 2010
9:46 am
Please stop the ‘Infante to Center field’ stuff. Please. Infante is not good defensively as a corner outfielder. He is what you call ’serviceable’ as a left fielder. Now you want to put a questionable defender into CENTER FIELD? Infante is a nice infielder, but a center fielder he is not. I love Infante, and i’m not saying he wouldn’t lay it on the line to hold it down out there, but now ain’t the time to start an experiment in center field. Infante is an Infielder who can give you some time in the outfield when you need him to. He’s not a starting center fielder at the MLB level. I think you roll with Melky or Blanco in center, send McLouth down, let his numbers rise in triple A and unload him to the first team that offers a six pack and a bus ticket as a trade.
woody
July 26th, 2010
9:46 am
That will teach you for poaching the PIRATES.
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:46 am
Cody Ross has more homers and stolen bases than all of our left and center fielders COMBINED. Plus a .330 OBP.
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:47 am
Teams in the pennant hunt like Cardinals aren’t trading players. You got to get players from the bad teams.
Larry Hancock
July 26th, 2010
9:47 am
One thing I haven’t seen anyone mention about Nate. Can the guy throw the ball at all? How many times has a runner gone from first to third without a throw. Or not throw home on hit with runner from second scoring WITHOUT A THROW. I remember one game on a medium fly the runner tagged and scored from third without a throw. The announcers even commented about that. No other base runners on, no reason not to as least give it a shot.
James
July 26th, 2010
9:48 am
Mark, As for Chavez, the better question is why is he the 12th man? If this were football, that might be a good idea. Don’t we have somebody better in the minors? In fact, why not piut KK out there? I haven’t seen him pitch much lately and I put more confidence in him than I do in Chavez.
My thoughts watching the game yesterday:
–MccLouth comes up with the bases loaded and 1 out– “There goes the inning”
–Chavez comes out to pitch: “There goes the game”
robdawg08
July 26th, 2010
9:48 am
Nate would be Batman. That’s funny.
GovClintonTyree
July 26th, 2010
9:48 am
I fancy myself an astute baseball observer and was SO excited when the Braves heisted McLouth from the Pirates. I just have a hard time believing he could go so wrong, so quick, so absolutely. But I guess it’s time to face facts.
Actually, Blanco was more than serviceable in CF for 6 weeks. If he hits .320, runs a bit and plays very good/excellent defense, we can win a WS this year.
Also, everything I see and know about Heyward would suggest to me that he’d be an above average CF; that might be worth a try.
I’m pretty patient, and Bobby Cox is even more patient than me. But I think it’s time to admit to ourselves that Nate isn’t going to help the ballclub this year.
Tim L.
July 26th, 2010
9:48 am
The Braves were giving Nate one last opportunity to snap out of his flunk – by way of his rehab. And he did modify his massive uppercut so he doesn’t strike out 50% of the time. Unfortunately – now he rolls over the ball and hits little grounders to second.
At this point Bobby and Frank can say they gave him every opportunity. If you can get anything for him in trade – pay any portion of his salary and send a rookie leaguer – do it.
Blanco and Melky could perform well enough in CF to get us in the playoffs, but I think the Braves believe they need more to compete in the playoffs.
Joey
July 26th, 2010
9:48 am
Outmanaged?? Bobby??
Turtsnap
July 26th, 2010
9:49 am
I was so hoping that I would wake up this morning to the headline, “Mclouth designated for assignment”. No such luck however. Good bloggage though MB
Jesse Stone
July 26th, 2010
9:49 am
James- no thoughts on Glaus not coming through?
Fletch
July 26th, 2010
9:49 am
Send him packing and make him take Chavez with him
McOut
July 26th, 2010
9:49 am
Let’s make sure we don’t sign any more players with the word OUT in the last name. Me and my buddies call him McOUT. I’m sure he’s pressing…he just need to go somewhere else, where he can get a fresh start…anywhere but here.
deb
July 26th, 2010
9:50 am
I agree Mark. I feel really bad for the guy and the slump he’s been in all year, but I think they should send him back down and bring Gregor back up.