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
jeff
July 29th, 2010
1:55 pm
Freddie you are staying down until you can hit 30HRs’ and 100 RBIS
POAD
July 29th, 2010
2:01 pm
Braves tie it then give up 2 and then an easy top of the 5th. Braves got to get people on base. Come on LOW get them out and Brave Bats get some hit and people on base. Ari @ the Phillies we need this win only up by 3 1/2 gms.
POAD
July 29th, 2010
2:10 pm
Diaz with a rope and Omar with a hit and Diaz scores now down by 1. Maybe a pitching change.
MyPatooti
July 29th, 2010
2:17 pm
Braves are not, I REPEAT NOT, a playoff team right now. There’s a couple of pieces missing. They are struggling with the last place team, who has the exact opposite record of ATL. They should have gone into Washington and swept them with no problem, yet they are struggling with them. If the Braves cannot take advantage of their very favorable schedule in August and put some distance between them, the Phils, and Mets, then you can forget it. Their Aug. schedule has them only off 2 days, but they have 19 home games and only 10 games away. At the end of August the Braves should be at least 10 games ahead.
DawgDad
July 29th, 2010
2:21 pm
“Wasn’t supposed to be the Man”? Who are you kidding here. Was he expected to be .200 hitter with virtually no power, which is essentially what he’s been for almost 3/4 of the season to this point? If Wren passed on LaRoche at $7 million for expectations of no production from Glaus at $1 million then Wren should be fired. That’s not the case, though. Glaus is a first baseman, and he’s expected to produce at least at the level of an average starting first baseman. He’d be the first to tell you that.
Braves have been hampered by not having Hinske available to platoon with Troy because Hinske has to platoon in left field, because – - – our esteemed GM did not acquire a corner outfielder capable of starting and producing against RHP.
This team as presently constituted will struggle mightily to hang on to the Division lead, and quite frankly I don’t believe they can. That extra $6 million for LaRoche is looking like it would have been quite the bargain at this point.
The Braves have the wherewithall to shore up this lineup without completely selling out the future. A decision on Glaus should come very soon (this weekend). Two glaring holes need to be filled: center field and first base/left field. There is plenty of room to be creative; for example, you could pick up a second baseman and move Prado to first, a left fielder and move Hinske to first in a platoon. Need a real center fielder to play center, though. Me, I’d focus on trading for a center fielder and bring up Freeman when Blanco comes up. All Freeman needs to do is hit .250, drive in some runs, and not embarass us in the field. I suspect he can handle that, and I also suspect Glaus might start hitting better with a reduced work load.
James
July 29th, 2010
2:24 pm
Braves should trade for Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur. I would like to see these guys come back so they can be apart of the final braves season with Bobby Cox.
POAD
July 29th, 2010
2:32 pm
Rain delay and they just showed Gene Garber striking out Rose to end Roes’ hitting Streak. I got got the Braves ended that HoF deserving record of Pete’s.
Roger
July 29th, 2010
2:40 pm
Truth is he is hurt and he is not telling anyone. Not that I know for sure or anything, but isn’t that always the pattern, someone does well, mysteriously tanks and then AFTER the season admits they were hurt. This is his last real shot a sizable contract next year so he is going to keep playing through the injury. Trade him.
papadawg
July 29th, 2010
2:49 pm
I think this team peaked before all star break and I don’t really see to many of the current players who can boost them up for a playoff run
chippers daddy
July 29th, 2010
2:51 pm
I wonder if Freeman is ready:
http://ijpb.blogspot.com/
DawgDad
July 29th, 2010
2:53 pm
Glaus doesn’t have to tell anyone he’s hurt, all they have to do is watch him limp down to first base. This isn’t an attack on Troy, he appears to be a good teammate, but he sure looks like he needs help at first base and not run out there every day in the heat of summer.
Omar Infante is NOT the answer. He’s a very good (All Star!) utility player and a substandard every day player at a large number of positions. Not a good enough glove man to start up the middle, and not powerful enough to play the corners every day. Defensive difference between him and Gonzalez might cost the Braves the game today.
For those adamant on Freeman not coming up now, how do you explain McCann and Francoeur? If you want to see if he can be the every day first baseman on a Division winning team, plug him into a Division leading lineup and find out. I agree the experts need to decide if he can handle MLB pitching acceptably but if they are worried about his character then TRADE HIM NOW.
jfreak13713
July 29th, 2010
3:07 pm
Oh how quickly we forget! The Phillies have a very good team and if they get Oswalt they will be even better. Maybe better than our Braves over the course of the entire season? However, I don’t expect this team to just throw in the towel because Glaus has stopped hitting! Give the guy a break he saved our season! I could probably use a day off a little more but I think he’ll heat up again.
Wren will try to make a move but I can’t see giving up a Top Prospect at this point unless we are getting a STAR player in return and that doesn’t appear on the horizon. For the most part this is our team and we are in first place so relax and enjoy it!
captain Midnight.
July 29th, 2010
3:18 pm
Mark this team “will not” win the division unless they get another good power hitter. Glaus had one good month and ran out of gas. Chipper is a bare shadow of what he used to be. They need to think about some one else at 3rd base but I notice you and the announcers keep dodging this issue. The announcers keep saying if we can get one or two on that Chipper is coming up. Quite frankly I get worried when he comes up as you can pretty well predict the results. He has been great and is a hall of famer but his day in the sun is over. I don’t claim to be an expert but I have folled this team since 1966 and have learned a little about the game as well as playing when I was younger.
James
July 29th, 2010
3:20 pm
Bring back Jeff Francoeur.
http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Atlanta+Braves+Photo+Day+FHQe5z1ZZR6l.jpg
POAD
July 29th, 2010
3:26 pm
Francoeur is old news right now. We don’t need him.
Please rain delay get over I want some more baseball. I am in need of my afternoon fix.
StingerSplash
July 29th, 2010
3:31 pm
Mark,
Don’t know if calling Glaus a linchpin means that much when, in the midst of his horrid July, the Braves are still in first place. It could get a little tight before the weekend. But Glaus’ bad month — and it’s been bad of epic proportions — hasn’t caused that much damage, thanks to Prado, McCann, Diaz, Jurrjens and Hudson.
As far as inserting a rookie into the lineup in the heat of a pennant race … sure hasn’t bothered one Posey, Buster, of Lee County.
bob
July 29th, 2010
3:33 pm
July
Jones and Glaus batting average: 235
Jones and Glaus rbi 15
Jones and Glaus hr 2
Enough said. The dance is over unless these guys sit or these guys produce.
H9
July 29th, 2010
3:48 pm
Kyle why U ripping Milkey…He’s only hit 298 since May 10th and Braves started winning after losing 9. U don’t know what your talking about. Switch hitter, great arm, plays all three positions, good D, what more U want. lol!
Howard Ray
July 29th, 2010
3:50 pm
James why don’t you just become a Mets fan if you love Frenchy so much. We don’t want him back, period.
JoeFan
July 29th, 2010
4:04 pm
Glaus to the DL and Freeman to 1B. It adds more offense and improves the defense. The Braves have enough to win the wildcard. Its not necessary to mortgage the future in order to beat the Phillies.
Howard Ray
July 29th, 2010
4:09 pm
Braves down 4-3 in bottom of 7th. here we go again…Go Braves.
The Doktor
July 29th, 2010
4:13 pm
Bring the kid up (Freeman), plug him in and see what happens. It’s already a known-given what they’re getting now out the dinosaur that’s currently holding the position…
BTW, on top of it all, the Phils just officially picked up Oswalt to raise the stakes…
nique
July 29th, 2010
4:20 pm
What about Prado? He’s probably my favorite player on the team, but his struggles at the plate seem to coincide with increased HRs. As the leadoff man I think he needs to revert to his prior approach.
Fan since 1977
July 29th, 2010
4:22 pm
Roy Oswalt officially accepted his proposed trade to the Philadelphia Phillies.
After considering his options and speaking with friends familiar with the Phillies’ situation, including former teammate Brad Lidge, the Houston Astros’ staff ace waived his no-trade clause Thursday in order to be dealt to Philadelphia for left-handed starter J.A. Happ and two prospects, the Phillies said in announcing the trade.
“I’m glad it worked out for both of us. I wanted to go to a contender, and Houston gets some good prospects in return who will hopefully allow them to build a winning team,” Oswalt told ESPN.com’s Amy K. Nelson.
“The hardest part about it is cleaning out my locker. I’ve been in the same place for 10 years and having to say goodbye and clean out the locker is the toughest part,” he said.
Oswalt, who was previously scheduled to start Friday against the Brewers, said he will fly to Washington on Thursday night and start for the Phillies on Friday against the Nationals. Coincidentally, Happ was scheduled to start Friday for the Phillies.
The Phillies, who had won seven straight and were 3½ games behind the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves entering Thursday’s games, get one of baseball’s best right-handers and a pitcher with playoff experience.
Oswalt said his goal was to land with a contender with a chance at playing in October.
“I’m at a point in my career where I just want a chance to get back to the World Series like I did in ‘05 with Houston,” he said. “I’m excited to be going to Philly. I love watching Roy Halladay pitch and I think with him and [Cole] Hamels the three of us can feed off each other.”
Decade of Dominance
Since breaking into the big leagues in 2001, Roy Oswalt has 143 victories — 28 more than any other NL pitcher. And his 1,593 strikeouts are the most for any NL pitcher with 100 starts since 2001.
Category Oswalt NL Rank
Wins 143 1st
ERA 3.24 5th
Strikeouts 1,593 1st
Innings 1,958 2/3 2nd
The Astros will pay $11 million of the approximately $23 million that the 32-year-old right-hander is guaranteed through 2011, sources said.
Oswalt did not demand that his 2012 mutual option for $16 million be picked up by the Phillies, a baseball source told Nelson. Instead, if either he or the Phillies chose not to pick it up, his $1 million buyout will increase to $2 million.
If Oswalt or the Phillies decline to exercise the option, then the pitcher will make $18 million next season. But both Oswalt and the Phillies must agree on the option for 2012 for him to stay with the team that season, the source told Nelson.
“I didn’t want [the option] to be a deal breaker. It wasn’t about the money, it was about getting a chance to go somewhere and win,” Oswalt said. “I was confident that we could always find a way to overcome that.”
He said his conversation with Lidge made him confident that he’d chosen the right destination.
“We played together for seven years and I trust his opinion. He told me that the clubhouse was great that I was going to love it over there. His opinion means a lot to me,” Oswalt said.
Although the Phillies prospects have not been publicly identified, sources said the Astros will receive outfielder Anthony Gose as part of the deal and then send him to the Toronto Blue Jays. Gose is currently at Class A Clearwater in the Florida State League, where he was batting .263 with a team-high 110 hits.
Sources said the Astros pressed hard for first baseman Jonathan Singleton, considered the team’s best minor league hitting prospect. Singleton is currently at Class A Lakewood in the South Atlantic League, where he was hitting .312 with 18 doubles and 12 home runs as of Thursday.
The Astros were off to a National League-worst 14-27 start when Oswalt asked for a trade May 22. As of Thursday, he was 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA.
A baseball source told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres both made late efforts to land Oswalt, but got involved too late.
For his career, Oswalt is 143-82 with a 3.24 ERA.
Fan since 1977
July 29th, 2010
4:25 pm
Mark, don’t write another thing about the Braves the rest of the year, you jinked us.
And yes, Oswalt deal finally confirmed:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5420095
Matt
July 29th, 2010
4:25 pm
Another series loss. This team is in trouble. Of course some writer for the ajc gave 8 reasons why they weren’t. Wonder who that was.
tommyonestick
July 29th, 2010
4:27 pm
Maybe, but for you to have any credibility, you would’ve called out chipper, and melky who have done absolutely nothing this season.
Christopher Chance
July 29th, 2010
4:43 pm
We scored 7 runs in 3 games against a last place team. If the Phillies win tonight, they’ll be 2 1/2 games behind the Braves. We play our next 3 games in the 1st place Reds, while the Phillies host these same Nationals.
Christopher Chance
July 29th, 2010
4:43 pm
We scored 7 runs in 3 games against a last place team.
Christopher Chance
July 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
If the Phillies win tonight, they’ll be 2 1/2 games behind the Braves. We play our next 3 games in Cincinnati, while the Phillies host the Nationals.
Christopher Chance
July 29th, 2010
4:46 pm
We could wake up Monday morning in 2nd place.
dawginDC
July 29th, 2010
4:51 pm
mark, you wrote just last week that the braves would not squander this lead..looks like another one of your genius predictions are going down the tubes…LOL
Peter
July 29th, 2010
4:54 pm
Question Mark……why all of a sudden Chipper Jones lack of production is not the real issue ?
Chipper is batting in the 3 hole, isn’t that the place for a teams most productive hitter ?
Is it now he gets a big pass ? Yes Glaus carried the team for a month and 1/2……. but when is our most expensive hitter going to do the job he is paid to do ?
Peter
July 29th, 2010
4:57 pm
Looking at today’s Box score……. Chipper is a real problem……blaming Glaus is really silly Mark !
All aboard the Hey-Train
July 29th, 2010
4:58 pm
Go get an OF. Now that we know Heyward is comfortable in Center, a corner will do. Get a 1st Basemen. If you can’t get one, try Freeman. He can’t possibly be worse than Glaus and even if he is, we can put Prado there and have Infante and Brooks platoon at 2nd or put Hinske at 1st and just keep a platoon in left. Glaus doesn’t look like he really cares at this point. I’m tired of watching him hit. Hit very, very, very lightly used. Oh by the way, if you don’t know what a linchpin is (Darnell) don’t talk. Lynching is bad linchpins are good.
kurula
July 29th, 2010
5:03 pm
hey, since troy is hitting like it’s april, maybe that bodes well for august and september. all i know is that i am gonna break out the glaus-isms again. it seemed to work last time. there is no glausing over the fact that he is terrible. his glausome average over the last month proves it. he had a pretty month of june, but he has been glauful for the rest of the season. i hope they aren’t thinking about signing him to an extension. that would be a glaustastophy. i admit, i thought that i was premature in jumping on him in july. when he was hitting in june, it was like he was santa glaus and the gifts kept giving. now, it think he’s looking more like the glaus who stole post season. …. okay, that’s all i’ve got for now. maybe that will work. it seemed to last time.
Freddi Gonzo
July 29th, 2010
5:10 pm
Glaus is a streaky hitter, he always has been. But it seems like he is really struggling with an injury, I think a 15 day stint could serve him and the team well. Hinske can play there if they don’t want to bring Freeman up(which I understand). We probably wouldn’t be where we are now without Glaus’ torrid 1.5 months. Give the dude some credit(those that are bashing him).
Chipper needs to move out of the 3 hole, down to 6th or so. I am a huge Chipper defender, but this is getting rediculous for even me. It may be good if he hit the DL too, with a pinky cut or a chafed taint or whatever little injury he can come up with this week.
I hope at least Wren gets us another piece in the Pen. Or can pull off a solid OF trade, something that no one is talking about….
Infante needs to see more playing time.
JCH
July 29th, 2010
5:14 pm
Gonzalez at shorstop has been a major Plus for Braves Defense & Offense, Glaus will improve, but Wren waiting on Waiver-Wire ????? Gimme a Break, how many above avg players are going to be availalble via Waiver-wire???? That’s a move for a Team 10 games out in front, with No immediate Needs….. This does not apply to the Braves !!! Wake Up Frank !!! You’re wearing out those power Naps.
T_Plunk
July 29th, 2010
5:16 pm
Glaus may be the ‘colossus of May’ but i swear after seeing Freeman i know who the ‘colossus of 2011′ will be.
JCH
July 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
7 runs inonly games against a lst place team ??? Wow.. maybe against the Philles we might manage 3 runs in 7 games ???? And how many earned runs are Avg per Game… That has to factor in as well. my point is where is the real issue….. not to give up more than 3 runs per game is what most teams expect/
Robert
July 29th, 2010
5:30 pm
Darnell, you poor man. A “linchpin” has nothing to do with lynching therefore there is no need to get offended by anything more than your ignorance of the English language. Since you obviously can’t read and therefore cannot look up the definition I will provide it to you.
Linchpin>A person or thing regarded as essential or coordinating element.
I know that there are several big words in that definition so I’ll break it down further. Glaus was important to the team’s success (w i n n i n g).
atlbaseball11
July 29th, 2010
5:34 pm
i got two things to say about the braves….
One, the braves are not going to go much farther with the corner of infield of chipper and glaus. sorry chipper fans but he cannot continue to hit third if the braves expect to go anywhere after the regular season. and glaus is too streaky and he seems to be the main bat in the lineup which is not a good sign.
Two, for all you fans who are saying be patient and all that other crap, we have the 2 time national league champions getting really hot. and the braves just lost 2 straight series against the bottom two teams in the NL east. it is time to worry as far as im concerned. frank needs to go out and try to get a decent center fielder(and by decent i dont mean cody ross). i would love to see him work on getting a chris young or matt kemp but im not holding my breath.
The Doktor
July 29th, 2010
5:35 pm
Beaten 4 out of 6 by two teams, in their division no less, that they should just flat out put away! Good baseball teams beat the teams they’re SUPPOSED to beat. You cannot say that about the Braves at this point in time, or is it that they’re not supposed to beat the Fish/Nats? Sad, either way ya slice it…
However, I would NOT trade any of their kids for a rental (or for anyone else that’s out there and available), there’s no sense in mortgaging the next 5-10 years so this current group can TRY to win something at the party they’re not even guaranteed to attend. Most of these guys are gonna be around next year anyway – they’re too close to re-establishing themselves as the dominant team in the East with their kids…
All aboard the Hey-Train
July 29th, 2010
5:36 pm
JCH how can you sit there and tell me that we can sit back and wait on Glaus to improve? He might, he just might, but we in no fathamable way can we take such a HUGE, GIGANTIC, MONUMENTAL, chance on that! Glaus can’t make plays on D either. We can go get an Adam Dunn or get an OF and move Hinske or Prado who we know, for a fact, can hit when we need it, or we can place our bets and hopes on a player who has 5 RBI in July and risk EVERYTHING in 2010. What are you thinking now? I do agree that Wren said all the wrong things with the Waiver-Wire, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he’s changed his mind on that.
bobby's little helper
July 29th, 2010
5:38 pm
Diaz in left, Blanco in center,Hinske on first, Infante resting Chipper,Alex,and Martin
but playing every day somewhere. and keep up with who’s hot and bat them in
the order where they can drive in runs. It seems every time we get people on base
up comes the guy who’s hitting 180. Now pay me for my good work…..
Braves Fan
July 29th, 2010
5:45 pm
At times lately when Lowe, Hanson and Jurrgens have been pitching. I am wondering if I am not watching batting practice, instead of a game. They too often underperform against whoever their pitching opponent is for that day. Too often don’t match the other pitchers effort. Blaming defense and run produstion cannot be a continual excuse this fan wants to hear. Hudson is not in the same class with the Phillies Hammels or Holiday, but has overachieved this year thank goodness and has had fewer batting practice games. Hudson has been about the only consistent starter, which is scary considering the Phillies big two starters are now getting help from their other starters. Based on performance and compensation Venters is the Braves best pitcher. Too bad he’s not a starter, but he’s the most trustworthy picher out of the pen.
Double plays, sloppy defense, etc. are game killers on every team but good starting pitching seems to have the law of averages on its side from season’s start to finish. The Phillies have recently, before the seven game win streak, gone through a time when nothing seemed to go right for them. To their credit they seem to have righted the ship and conceivably may be in first soon. That will depend only if the Braves can overchieve with less talent in the regular season, and then worry about their history of 1 out of 5 series wins. The facts are the Phillies are a talented team, and are defending world series champs. The Braves organization needs to decide this year whether they will be champs or chumps. Even winning the National Leaque title, or Division title would make them champs of something.
funWhileItLasted
July 29th, 2010
5:51 pm
The lead over the Phillies has disappeared in about 1 week. Nothing from the middle of the lineup….Game over.
Dumbass Darnell
July 29th, 2010
6:01 pm
What makes you think we would want someone like lebron, the dude bailed on his hometown, you think he is going to have loyalty to another. The only reason racism is still alive is because people like you keep it alive.
Peter
July 29th, 2010
6:31 pm
Mark gives Chipper Jones a pass….. he is the problem in general….. Good luck to this team as they face the division the rest of the way.
No way they have what it takes to win in the playoffs.
Peter
July 29th, 2010
6:46 pm
Hey Mark here you go………
Chipper Jones 251 avg 7 Hr 41 Rbi 387 slg $14 million a year
Troy Glaus 250 avg 14 Hr 61 Rbi 421 slg $1.75 million a year
Are you and Chipper big pals ?
Time to call out the right guy !
Please give me a break here…. Troy is now our leader and they guy that is suppose to carry us ?
HA HA HA HA HA HA…….. Chipper has been great in the past…..but it is NOW !