Troy Glaus: The unlikely linchpin of an unlikely Braves team
Troy Glaus hit this two-run double in June, but not many since. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Troy Glaus was awful in April, and so was his team. Troy Glaus was terrific in May, and the Braves were likewise. He was OK in June, and the Braves made do. He has been bad again in July, and that’s a troubling sign.
Glaus in April: Nine RBIs, two home runs and a batting average of .194.
Glaus in May: Twenty-eight RBIs, six home runs and a batting average of .330.
Glaus in June: Nineteen RBIs, six home runs and a batting average of .237.
Glaus in July: Five RBIs, no home runs and a batting average of .200.
He was the reason the Braves sprang from fifth place to first in the space of two May weeks. Bobby Cox redid his batting order to get the four men with the best on-base percentage batting first through fourth, and Glaus brought them home. Just when we’d decided he was the worst acquisition of Frank Wren’s tenure, Glaus went out and became the National League’s player of the month.
But now it’s two months later, and Glaus bears scant resemblance to the colossus of May. He has four extra-base hits (all doubles) in July, with more strikeouts (14) than hits (13). From May 1 through June 19 he had 16 multiple-RBI games; he has had none since.
For this offense to hold up over the final 62 games, Glaus has to hold up his end. It’s unfair in a way: Nobody (except maybe Wren and Cox) expected great things from Glaus, and suddenly he became the linchpin of a surprisingly efficient offense. Generally speaking, your linchpin isn’t a 33-year-old coming off shoulder surgery signed at a bargain-basement rate, but that’s the way this careening season evolved.
Glaus wasn’t supposed to be The Man but, with Chipper Jones and Brian McCann off to slow starts, that’s what he became. To stay ahead of the Phillies, the Braves will need more of the Glaus of May. Otherwise opponents will pitch around Chipper and McCann and, as happened in April, nothing much will happen.
Troy Glaus had, we must all agree, one of the greatest months in Braves’ annals. But for this season to extend into October, he has to show he wasn’t just a one-month wonder. He has to get hot again, and soon.
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317 comments Add your comment
Al
July 29th, 2010
8:54 am
Just a 260 average per month, 4-5 home runs and 12-15 rbis would be enough. One home run a week and 3-4 rbis per week isn’t asking much. shoot one home run could be 2-3 rbi’s with runners on.
rekingball
July 29th, 2010
8:58 am
Did anyone see the double play that Troy made last night?
t
July 29th, 2010
8:58 am
All players are streaky hitters! And so are teams. (Phillies) It amazes me how people jump on and off the band wagon so quick. Everyone wanted to run Glaus out of town after a week and then he got hot. He’s been hitting bad for a month now so he’s due to start up again.
rekingball
July 29th, 2010
8:59 am
Enter your comments here
George Stein
July 29th, 2010
9:02 am
Who cares how many RBI he has. It’s a completely meaningless statistic.
The larger issue is Chipper and Glaus have an OPS under .800, which is a problem for your middle of the order guys. They both are getting on base at a fairly high rate but not hitting for much power. I don’t see that changing though unless they go get Prince Fielder, which is a pipe dream.
The Braves can, and should, still win the division but playoff success seems unlikely for a team so dependent upon walks.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
July 29th, 2010
9:03 am
Enter your comments hereSpeaking of picking up a bat…..
Reading the circumstances behind the Dodgers acquisition of Scott Podsednik, the trade went down in less than 24 hours from start to finish. Meaning the Braves had ample opportunity to add the Podfather.
They did not. Meaning Frank Wren had better pull the proverbial rabbit out of his butt in the next 24 hours, lest this fan lose all faith in our GM.
Regular ole Brave fan
July 29th, 2010
9:07 am
Roachy is one of the main reasons the Braves were so damn boring the past few years. No thanks.
We are what we are.
I think Scott Pod…. was our last free agent/OF chance for some proven real pop. Now he’s a Dodger.
Bautista is left but who knows. After Toronto got the Ball Bustin Yunel Escobar(yeah I know–where was he for the Braves, when we needed him?), that might be our best option.
Everybody wants bats.
Freddie Freeman
July 29th, 2010
9:18 am
Don’t worry I am tearing it up and will be there soon to save the day!!!!!
meh
July 29th, 2010
9:19 am
need to start Hinske a 1B a little more so Glaus can rest his knees.
Regular ole Brave fan
July 29th, 2010
9:19 am
bring it Fred! bring it!
George Stein
July 29th, 2010
9:19 am
Coach, Atlanta does rank 5th in runs. Further, Cincy, Philly, and Colorado are ahead (as well as Milwaukee) and they play in ridiculous parks.
The offense is not really a major issue right now. They are currently on pace to win about 94 games which will likely get them into the playoffs. The larger issue is, as you mentioned, the offense’s dependence upon walks. I see problems for this team in the playoffs because pitchers don’t issue a lot of walks then. But we should still get there.
Joey
July 29th, 2010
9:20 am
I was just looking at MLB team salaries and it’s amazing the Braves are even competing (much less leading) with the Phillies and Mets while our payroll is $54M and $45M less respectively.
The Phillies are about to sign Oswalt, it seems, even though I read yesterday that he had ruled them out.
Wren’s done a good job, considering his budget. You just can’t blame him for McLouth’s meltdown – he put up some really good numbers the two years prior to coming to the Braves: 42 dingers and 164 RBI. Man if he was putting up those stats this season, we’d have a 10 game lead right now. Unbelievable.
Hope Wren pulls the string on getting us a speedy, .300 hitting outfielder.
TheAntiMe
July 29th, 2010
9:24 am
The fact is – barring injury – we will be seeing Glaus in the middle of the line-up for most games for the remainder of the season. It’s possible, though unlikely, that Freddie Freeman could play some in September but the Braves probably would be hesitant to call him up before the beginning of 2011, although the way he is hitting right now at Gwinnett, you never know.
It would be great if Glaus were to get hot again but all the Braves really need from him is to be more consistent the rest of the way. They can get by without him being Player of the Month but they cannot afford for his bat to stay A.W.O.L. for months, or even weeks at a time.
The best hope is to get some production from Braves outfielders not named Jason Heyward. It’s just not realistic to expect the pitching staff to hold opponents to 1 run or even 2 runs every single game.
It would be awesome if Frank Wren could pull an outfielder out of his hat but that seems very unlikely with the salaries of Kenshin Kawakami and Nate McLouth on the books for 2010.
The Bravos can and I believe will make due but will have to start getting a bit better with RISP. The Phillies streak is just a mirage as their schedule can’t continue to have them play against the dregs of baseball indefinitely.
j
July 29th, 2010
9:25 am
The guy is hurt right now.
Ted M
July 29th, 2010
9:28 am
Good article by John Wawrow about Chan Gailey in the print edition. I like Gailey’s approach. I’ll be rooting for him in Buffalo.
Hawk n the Ham
July 29th, 2010
9:30 am
Troy Glaus, a double A player, and a draft pick for Adam Dunn.
JMF
July 29th, 2010
9:31 am
I am concerned that Infante, the leading hitter on the team, an all star has been sitting. The same thing happened with prado last year. We had a .167 batter in the line up with a .327 batter sitting. We have Glaus in the lineup who is in a TWO month slump. I can only hope that Infante is not too cold. He was hot when he was playing. We do not need a trade as much as we need Infante in the lineup. To make matters worse he can play anywhere.
Joey
July 29th, 2010
9:32 am
Run, Joshua, Eric Holder is coming for you!
Ralph
July 29th, 2010
9:33 am
Best thing Braves could would be to offer up a package of Infante and Minor for someone like Hart or Crawford that would give us the big bat we need and if they cant get one of those then try and trade for Niger Morgan who could lead off and make things happen.
Regular ole Brave fan
July 29th, 2010
9:33 am
Glaus you are hurt? Ok. Fine. But take yourself out. Tell Bobby you can’t go. It would force Cox to get Infante in the lineup somewhere.
JeanE
July 29th, 2010
9:35 am
I’ve been saying Troy the man-tree looks like his knees are really bothering him, he does the painful looking Chipper walk but he did get a hit last night and made an excellent play at 1st, his defense has been very good even more considering it’s not his natural position. I like Troy but don’t understand why Bobby won’t insert Hinske at 1st which is what Hinske was supposed to do when he was signed. Troy is a veteran with bad knees who could use a rest once a week like the Chipster.
‘
Bruce Mac
July 29th, 2010
9:38 am
The Braves have several good (not great) pitching prospects that could be used for the sake of a rental player that possibly puts Braves in playoffs. Once in the playoffs the Braves are going nowhere. If Frank trades Minor, Tehran, Medlin, or Kimbrell for a rental player he is an idiot. I think he has learned his lesson on giving away all star pitchers. I would rather see him do nothing than trade away another all star pitcher. I can see the Braves winning it all in 2012 with the talent coming added to what is here. Lets be smart and actually use patience.
braveshoo
July 29th, 2010
9:39 am
I agree with Coach and “regular ol braves fan”. We missed our chance to get Scott Posednic. He would have been a big upgrade to CF and the top of the order. Would have let Prado hit 2d and move Heyward to an rbi position at 3d, 4th or 5th in the batting order.
extremus
July 29th, 2010
9:41 am
I tell you MLB’s system of free agency and player salaries is absolutely broken when a team in a heated pennant race has to pause to determine whether to bring up a promising (and currently red hot) young prospect to avoid starting “the countdown”. Freddie Freeman by all rights should be our starting first baseman RIGHT NOW, if it was based purely on performance alone; Glaus simply cannot be depended on for any type of positive consistency.
I sincerely hope the Braves do the right thing and bring up Freeman and perhaps land a solid everyday-caliber outfielder (nobody except Heyward truly fits that description right now). With baseball’s labor talks just a couple of years away, I have a distinct feeling we’re going to see a major shutdown of the entire sport as a ton of small and medium-market teams and ownerships fight tooth and nail to somehow bring the sport back to a semblance of economic parity. Until then, let’s play to WIN, because we don’t know when another chance like this will come again.
Ted M
July 29th, 2010
9:42 am
If we get there, Oswalt and the Phillies will probably shoot us down now, perhaps Gluas will bring his May game to the World Series. He’s done it before.
myra
July 29th, 2010
9:43 am
ha ha. Roy has to go to the fillwees. The team he said he did not want to go to.
Joel K
July 29th, 2010
9:44 am
The Braves coiuld call up half of team Gwinnett and do as well as they are doing right now. Was really ahppy to see Daiz back in the batting order. He is a winner.
Bulldawg1444
July 29th, 2010
9:47 am
Please let’s get rid of Glauss.Maybe say trade for Adam Dunn.Nat’s will dump his salary,we get him,get him signed. Dunn and Heyward hitting in same lineup would be like Mantle and maris
myra
July 29th, 2010
9:55 am
Bulldawgy: wow. really?
wow.
Dr. Phil
July 29th, 2010
9:55 am
Bring Freeman up now! The Phillies are coming on strong.
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July 29th, 2010
9:57 am
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ChippersLoveChild
July 29th, 2010
9:59 am
It’s not so much a troubling sign as one that happens every year… Glaus is the opposite of Laroche, he cools down after the break.. look at his numbers, do some research before writing and you’d see that too.
Kelly Johnson Fan Club
July 29th, 2010
10:00 am
Glaus ain’t going to hit .330 again. He strikes out too much and hits too many fly balls to sustain that sort of batting average.
That’s OK, hitting for average isn’t what the Braves signed up for when they brought him aboard. They signed up for walks, strikeouts, and extra-base hits. He’s still walking a lot, which is good, but he hasn’t been hitting many XBH lately. Probably the nagging injuries have something to do with that. But it’s also the nature of players like this. XBH happen less often than singles, and as a result players whose production is primarily dependent on XBH will appear to be ’streaky’, just because it’s easier to go 10 games without a homer than 10 games without a single.
I think he’ll be OK, and the Braves will too.
Eric
July 29th, 2010
10:01 am
I think its time to trade for Prince Fielder. Money won’t be too much of an issue next year because Chipper is about done. Give up Freeman and a pitching prospect and get something the braves havd not had since Andres Galaraga, somebody at first who can hit.
Herschel Talker
July 29th, 2010
10:02 am
MB:
We need a bat badly. We will not win with this lineup. Who is your preferred choice right now? We also need a new middle reliever to replace Chavez. We can’t put that guy in anymore games.
HT
Feddie Freeman
July 29th, 2010
10:02 am
I already have a apartment in Midtown………….calling me up wouldn’t be a hassle, I promise
Bobby's Cox
July 29th, 2010
10:03 am
Q: What does the name Darnell mean?
A: The boy’s(albeit a dumb one) name Darnell ,also girl’s name Darnell, is pronounced dar-NEL. It is of Old English origin,means”the hidden spot”.”MORE”
Isn’t it time for you head back to your hidden spot in the corner of the Civil Self-Righteous. I am really surprised that you had enough credits in the pokie to send out this text message. Must have cost you several packs of smokes..
Darrrr-Nell the last time that I checked the ugly history regarding lynching, they didn’t use pins..Just saying…
Are lynch-pins something new that we have all missed??? Educate us Ye of Old English name origin. How are these new-fangled gizmos used?? Personally, I haven’t seen too many Bubbas in line at the local Wal-MArt saying-We runnin’ low on dem pins, Fred you best head back to Sportin’ Goods an get at least another six-pack..
Keith
July 29th, 2010
10:04 am
How about Glaus for Laroche straight up?
Laroche always has hot 2nd halves and was a nice fit here in the ATL.
Or even Glaus in a deal for Dunn. They probably won’t do that as they want 2 prospects.
Bring Freeman up, or at least put GLaus DOWN in the lineup….maybe give him some motivation to play well again.
dap01
July 29th, 2010
10:06 am
It is bad when you speak out about something and then realize, “Boy I sound ignorant”.
Keith
July 29th, 2010
10:06 am
Ohhhh, I forgot to say….
What’s the harm in giving Glaus 3 days off in a row, Bobby???? We’ve got an AS on the bench that hasn’t been used lately…
Mark Bradley
July 29th, 2010
10:07 am
I’m not sure you want to call up a rookie and insert him in the lineup during a pennant race. Pretty sure you don’t, truth to tell.
Turtsnap
July 29th, 2010
10:11 am
J-Hey needs to get the HR pop back in his bat too.
Bobby's Cox
July 29th, 2010
10:14 am
Troy “Lip Gloss” definitely has bum wheels. i definitely give him credit for trying to play through the pain. Does not appear to be driving the ball with any real authority. At this point what is the harm in platooning him with Hinske or Infante? The Braves are in a precarious position with 1B. 3B, LF and CF spots. All are in platoon situations or borderline platoon situations. Not the most ideal situation to be in while you are in the middle of a pennant race…The Braves look old and tired on the corners in the infield.
George Stein
July 29th, 2010
10:17 am
Kelly Johnson Fan Club, I think you’re exactly right. The Phillies are not going to go 60-0 the rest of the way. If they play .600 ball (which would equal 100 wins over the course of the season), they’ll win about 91 games. If the Braves continue to play at their current rate, they’ll win about 94 or 95. Furthermore, the Braves just lost only their 2nd series since May. I think the Braves will struggle in the playoffs but they should get there.
Ted M
July 29th, 2010
10:19 am
Glaus is hitting .321 in day games and .215 in night games. Glaus goes 2 for 5 today w/homer
Let's Go
July 29th, 2010
10:22 am
It’s funny that a couple months ago a whole bunch of people on this blog wanted the Braves to sign Glaus long term or were slamming Frank Wren for not signing him to a 2 year deal. I personally think Troy’s back, and maybe his knees, is bad and maybe it’s time for the Braves to 15 day DL him to see what a couple of days rest will do for him. You could call up Freeman but to keep from flip floping him back and forth you could use Hinske and Prado at first.
The Grinch
July 29th, 2010
10:23 am
It’s genuinely astounding that Bobby won’t even give the man an occasional day off when even fans in the cheap seats can see he’s hurting. That’s the sole reason Hinske was signed, because they knew Glaus was a question mark. And sitting Infante this much is asinine; he’s one of our best hitters. Yet another instance of Bobby and Frank not being on the same page (and Frank’s page is the correct one). I know Bobby likes to let players hit their way out of a slump, but if the slump’s obviously caused by him needing a rest that kind of defeats the point, doesn’t it?
The Grinch
July 29th, 2010
10:25 am
The post I just wrote that didn’t show up was not offensive in any way, shape or form. What’s the deal?
bob
July 29th, 2010
10:25 am
The problem in not just Glaus.
The problem is that CJ is not hitting with any power these days.
CJ and Glaus are both hurting and need a rest. Let the other guys carry the team for a week.
The other problem is that there are two spots….KK and Nate….which are not producing at all. Eat the money or trade for a couple of single or double A guys to clear space.
Do not panic and pick up another guy who averages 270 and hits 20 home runs a year.
Braves need speed at the top of the order. Look at what Jay Hey has done with his speed. Just think of what the Braves would look like with a guy who can swipe 30 bases. Where is josh anderson these days.
September will decide this division and the Braves need to play at least 500 ball to stay close for the Sept push when the teams are expanded.
hmmmmmm
July 29th, 2010
10:35 am
Mark Bradley
July 29th, 2010
10:07 am
I’m not sure you want to call up a rookie and insert him in the lineup during a pennant race. Pretty sure you don’t, truth to tell.
REALLY? Short memory huh. Without the “Baby Braves” a few years back this team would have fell apart? Bringing up a couple of guys to help will not spell gloom and doom. Younger, fresher legs would give the Braves a boost right now. That is an OLD lineup and they are getting tired.