Now working at Turner Field: The best pitching staff in the biz
Tommy Hanson has been great. But almost every Braves' pitcher has been great this season. (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)
We’ve been going about this the wrong way. We’ve been too busy gnashing our hands and wringing our teeth — or is it the other way around? — over the Braves’ lack of hitting that we’ve missed a fairly remarkable thing. We’ve missed what has the potential to be …
(Pause for effect.)
The best pitching staff in Atlanta Braves’ history.
These words aren’t rendered lightly. The Braves’ pitching the 1990s and into the new millennium was magnificent: The finest rotation ever ate inning upon inning year upon year, and soon three of those luminaries will be summoned to Cooperstown.The Braves led the National League in ERA 10 times from 1992 through 2004. Fabulous stuff. That said …
The 2011 Braves entered play Wednesday night with a lower ERA than any of the Glavine-Maddux-Smoltz staffs posted. Indeed, this ERA — 3.05 — would match the 1974 Braves for the lowest in Atlanta annals.
(And who, you ask, was on that 1974 staff? Phil Niekro, obviously, and also Carl Morton, Buzz Capra and Ron Reed, with Tom House in the ‘pen. The ‘74 Braves won 88 games and finished third in the National League West behind the Dodgers and the Reds.)
Back to the present: The Braves’ starters have compiled the second-best ERA in baseball (behind Philadelphia, naturally), and their relievers’ ERA is also second-best (behind San Diego’s). If you’re making the case for this as the deepest Braves’ staff ever, you begin there.
Said general manager Frank Wren: “It’s a really good staff … Where this one might have an edge over those teams of the ’90s is in the bullpen. I don’t think you can make the argument that our rotation is better than that one.”
And nobody’s doing that. But the Braves’ pitching of the ’90s was always considerably lighter — by comparison, it almost had to be — in relief. The finest bullpen the Braves had was in 2002, when Chris Hammond, Mike Remlinger and Darren Holmes served as set-up men for John Smoltz. And, as broadcaster Joe Simpson noted: “Those [set-up] guys got people out, but they didn’t throw like this.”
Individual numbers: The rookie Craig Kimbrel has 18 saves, putting him one off the league lead; the set-up man Jonny Venters has an ERA of 0.44 and hasn’t yielded an earned run in 37 days; the starters Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson are 16-7 between them and rank first and third in the National League in ERA.
Said catcher Brian McCann, speaking of the rotation: “We’ve got two guys [Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe] who know how to win and two young guys [Jurrjens and Hanson] in their third or fourth year who are starting to figure things out.”
Said manager Fredi Gonzalez, speaking of the staff as a whole: “It’s got good balance. Sometimes the bullpen is your Achilles heel. Sometimes the bullpen is your strength and you can’t get to them. The strength of your bullpen goes back to the strength of your starters … If you start bringing guys in in the sixth, you burn ‘em out.”
More numbers: The Braves’ starters have worked 43 quality starts — at least six innings yielding no more than three earned runs — in 68 games. That’s roughly two times in three, and that’s also with fifth starter Brandon Beachy having been on the disabled list since May 13. And the bullpen has allowed only 20 percent of inherited runners to score. Not to sound like Digger Phelps, but that’s getting it done on both ends.
Also: The Braves lead the majors in ERA and opponents’ batting average against, are second in quality starts and are fourth in strikeouts. Yes, 3 1/2 months remain to be played, but as mid-June these pitchers — meaning starters and relievers — have been the best in the business. And, given the dearth of offensive support, they’ve had to be.
Said Simpson: “It’s the best bunch of arms we’ve had. These guys all throw hard.”
Said Mark Lemke, who played behind the great rotations of the ’90s and who serves as a Braves’ broadcaster today: “It’s the best staff in baseball — I’ll say that.”
By Mark Bradley
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154 comments Add your comment
Jason
June 15th, 2011
11:03 pm
Game over. Rain will stop it. Stupid braves. Now 5 back. They are done. Opposite of last year but the phils wont SQUANDER their lead.
NL East
June 15th, 2011
11:04 pm
Too bad…a rainout might have avoided dropping even further behind the Phillies. Good thing there’s a wild card…this division is on the brink of becoming a blowout…
PMC
June 15th, 2011
11:10 pm
Lots of good young pitchers and some older guys that need to be traded.
PMC
June 15th, 2011
11:11 pm
notice none of the Braves broadcasters want to say much about the sad state of affairs on the other side of the ball.
stevie zero
June 15th, 2011
11:47 pm
time to make a trade, mark. cant let phills runaway and nothing to suggest this lineup will breakout. ugglas lost, chippers old, outfields gimpy. same stuff every night
Dawg'88
June 16th, 2011
12:06 am
Now performing at Turner Field…the league’s worst, no adjustments ever made offense!
And it's another goose egg for the punchless Atlanta Braves | Mark Bradley
June 16th, 2011
1:25 am
[...] no assurance Heyward and Freeman and eventually McLouth will galvanize this lineup. As noted, the Braves have the best pitching in the majors. But you can’t, as the saying goes, win a game [...]
Tom S
June 16th, 2011
10:14 am
At some point, the Braves have got to realize that the steroid era is long gone and that small ball, getting on base, moving the runner over and then getting them in, is the most successful method of winning ballgames. The Braves hitters, or nearly all of them, have been in the mode of trying to hit a homer every time they come to bat, not matter the circumstances. They swing so hard and with so much of an uppercut swing that with their eyes closed and the bat in the hitting zone for a very short period of time, their chances of success are nearly zero. This was true under Bobby Cox the past few years and has carried over into this year, so it’s got to be more than just the manager. For God’s sake, someone step up and put a stop to this insane destruction of the game of baseball for personal gain and recognition. This isn’t a team, it’s a bunch of power-hungry ego maniacs who need to get their hands slapped whenever they dip into the home-run cookie jar.
jeff
June 16th, 2011
10:30 am
Classic Mark Bradley overstatement (for the worst of many such statements, see the “The (1996) Braves are better than the 1927 Yankees (after a 2-0 WS lead)”). This staff better than Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Avery/Neagle, etc.? Mark, seriously, put down the Kool-Aid already.
GTT
June 16th, 2011
10:37 am
Maybe it is. When you mix in the ‘pen. Still Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine … hmmm.
Dr. Phil
June 16th, 2011
10:54 am
I think that I will check on the Braves in a month. These two and three hit games are killing me.
Space Monkey
June 16th, 2011
11:11 am
Did you see the last three games? Have you seen Hudson’s last 10 starts? Just asking?
Space Monkey
June 16th, 2011
11:13 am
The Braves best pitching staff ever was 96. If it wasn’t for one really bad game against the Yankees, that would be remembered as the best Braves team ever.
beachcomber
June 16th, 2011
11:36 am
Best pen I’ve seen wearing Braves uniforms. Hard to say this group is better than the mid-nineties bunch overall that featured three Hall of Famers. BTW, being a really old goat, by far the best staff I ever saw never won a World Series – that was the mid-fifties staff of the Cleveland Indians that featured names like Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Bob Feller (although he was at the end of his career), Mike Garcia and two outstanding bullpen guys Don Mossi and Ray Narleski. In ‘55, they added a youngster who would been better than all of them but for a tragic injury – Herb Score.
Jay Dorkman
June 16th, 2011
11:39 am
Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. = 7 CY YOUNGS
The current staff = ZERO
Mark Bradley is a hack and should be fired.
savannahdawg
June 16th, 2011
11:42 am
Seriously? Are you kidding me? Lowe is under .500, Huddy is struggling, not a chance! We might have the best bullpenn is Braves history but not the starters. You are reaching here.
rilo
June 16th, 2011
11:43 am
would take the Phillies staff in a heartbeat! Their staff has the ability to win the game with almost NO support. Our is good but….
jeff
June 16th, 2011
11:53 am
We don’t have the best bullpen in Braves’ history either. Kimbrel has 5 blown starts, hits and walks batters, etc. His appearances rarely go without putting at least a runner on base. Venters should be the closer, bottom line.
Roger
June 16th, 2011
12:01 pm
It’s absurd to compare these guys with Maddux, Glavine & Smoltz. There will never be a trio of pitchers any better than these guys. Maddux was the best of the three (of course).
longtime braves fan
June 16th, 2011
12:02 pm
the staff that won the world series with mercker,wohlers,smith and not to mention smoltz, glavine and maddux. I do not see how you can compare this years staff to that one. Mark wohlers was lights out throwing in the 100 mph range.
Ronald Millsaps
June 16th, 2011
12:08 pm
We need Prado back at leadoff when he returns. Schafer we need in CF but not at leadoff, at least not yet. We desperately need someone with a strong average leading off.
By the way, I agree with the idea of giving Terry Pendleton his previous job back. Nothing against Larry Parrish, but Pendleton didn’t deserve to lose his job; the batting order itself seemed to hurt the offense, mainly. I’d also, if I were Uggla/Heyward, go to Chipper, Prado, etc. for help. You’ve got some valuable resources around you; not using them is pretty unwise.
Congratulations to Mark Bradley for having the guts to write this article, and I’m surprised no one has commented before on this topic. Two years ago, I spoke with a lot of baseball fans around the country who spoke of how the Braves “used to have” a great rotation. I’d mention that the then-current one (Hudson, Lowe, Vazquez, Hanson, Jair, etc. was outstanding).
This bullpen gets the nod over that of the ’90s, and I want Venters back at closer. Kimbrel did get out of trouble the other night, but he might not have gotten into it if he established tempo better.
pdt
June 16th, 2011
12:34 pm
No way this is the best rotation. Not with Lowe and Hudson, our two alleged “aces” as inconsistent as they are. Hanson, Beacy, Jurrjens — all potential greats. Lowe and Hudson — mediocre with flashes of brilliance. Get rid of them and the staff could be great.
pdt
June 16th, 2011
12:34 pm
No way this is the best rotation. Not with Lowe and Hudson, our two alleged “aces” as inconsistent as they are. Hanson, Beacy, Jurrjens — all potential greats. Lowe and Hudson — mediocre with flashes of brilliance. Get rid of them and the staff could be great.
phil
June 16th, 2011
12:40 pm
This staff better than the staffs of the 90’s?
Why even bother trying to make that argument? Our starters today don’t hold a candle to Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz….the pen isn’t much better now either….Linebrink? Sherrill? Proctor? Martinez? I’ll give EOF, Venters and sometimes Kimbrel their due but honestly…
Runner-
June 16th, 2011
12:41 pm
hmmm… no
JROLL1
June 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
MARK, PLEASE REPORT TO THE CLINIC TO BE TESTED!
SimpleDawg
June 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
Don’t have to read the article to refute the headline.
Somebody’s been drinkin’………
SuperB
June 16th, 2011
1:00 pm
Mark: You’re joking–right? Let’s see” Maddox, Glavine, Smoltz– all HOFers.
Anyway, you made me laugh and that is good. thanks.
Brad in KY
June 16th, 2011
1:14 pm
This is a horrible, no good, very bad analysis because it assumes that pitching in the 90’s is the same as pitching in the 2000s is the same as pitching in the 2010’s. But this is false. A 3.00 ERA in 1985 isn’t the same as a 3.00 ERA in 1995 or 2005 or 2015. In general, pitching is dominating the league this season. That has to be taken into account when comparing this staff to the Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz era (which, by the way, occurred in part during the “steroid” era). Also, ERA is just one measure among many and by itself doesn’t tell you much.
59bulldawg
June 16th, 2011
1:19 pm
God knows I love the Bravos and I’ve been in awe of this staff for a while now . . . but this lack of hitting is killing me. If they can’t consistently beat the Mets and Nats and other poor little sisters throughout the league, it won’t matter a bit come September whether they can beat the Phils or not! For instance the team won the first three games in Houston, like they should have, and then mailed it in during game 4 IMHO, losing 8-3, because it was a get-away day back to Atlanta. Then they follow it up with back to back losses against the Mets. I mean of all teams, the stinkin Mets have handled us this year! It just seems to me we can rarely get consistent hitting and consistently good pitching at the same time. In previous years we would have dearly loved to have had this pitching staff, especially the bullpen, along side our run production. Then this year we get arguably the finest pitching staff since the days of Smoltz, Maddox, Glavine, Mercker, Neagle, and Avery and our offense virtually disappears except on a blue moon here and there. Simply said baseball can be a cruel, cruel mistress! Still a bad day at the ball park, or even a bad night watching America’s team on tv, no matter what the frustration, is lightyears better than a good day at work. Go Bravos!
john
June 16th, 2011
1:22 pm
Let’s see- I can pick my rotation from Smoltz, Glavine, Maddox and Embry or Hudson, Lowe, Jurrgens and Hanson – ummm- Hudson and Lowe as Braves only ?- Think I ‘ll go with Smoltz,et al
Bullpen this year is very good and fits 2011 baseball (but do miss Billy Wag’s attitude, even if only saw here for 2010 Season before he got hurt) – Relief Pitching has chnaged over past ten years or so.
gbl
June 16th, 2011
1:56 pm
I always wondered if Bradley was losing it….now I’m sure.
Slappy D
June 16th, 2011
2:22 pm
Huddy and D-Lowe need to be a bit more consistent right now. Normally this isn’t the case. Usually the young guys are the inconsistent ones. Bullpen does indeed make a difference and this staff is indeed the best you’ll find in MLB right now.
I’ll hold off on comparisons until after they win a division with virtually no hitting, as the G/M/S staff did throughout the 90’s.
(didn’t read all the comments, but just wanted to say that)
vermont 39
June 16th, 2011
2:44 pm
If we had a Venters during the 90s…we would have won 10 WS…
Starting pitching today very good but sorry, not Maddux, Smotlz, and Glavine..plus Avery, Neagle…win even a few Divisions over the next 5 years and then start the comparison.
Pissed off Ralphus
June 16th, 2011
2:44 pm
Now also working at Turner Field: The worst Braves batters since 1989. We need to make trades, in BUNCHES!!!
HobbyFox
June 16th, 2011
2:45 pm
Not lately they aren’t
rilo
June 16th, 2011
2:46 pm
Who cares….This team can’t hit and unless we pick up a Reyes type player that can score on his own, we are going nowhere this year
HobbyFox
June 16th, 2011
2:55 pm
If only more resembled Venters. . . .we could have this conversation. . .
Otisnixonsmokescrack!
June 16th, 2011
2:59 pm
Trivia question… How many games do the braves need to fall behind the phillies before Hudson starts wearing a Yankees cap to team meetings?
joe
June 16th, 2011
3:08 pm
mark,please
John Leonard
June 16th, 2011
3:10 pm
Mark: For what its worth I agree. Many on here miss the point of its the whole staff.
Nick
June 16th, 2011
3:35 pm
We have a good staff, but honestly all it is is mediocre after Hanson and Jurrjens. Lowe will finish with an ERA in the 4s, and the way Hudson is pitching he’s heading for the same spot. So no, I’d have to disagree with that statement.
NL East
June 16th, 2011
3:40 pm
Now working at Turner Field: The best pitching staff in the biz? That headline must be left over from a few weeks ago when the Phillies were in town. Meanwhile, Cliff Lee just completed a 2 hit shutout to wrap up a sweep of the Marlins…
Otisnixonsmokescrack!
June 16th, 2011
3:40 pm
Braves have the best 1-5 in MLB. That’s why the phillies got oswalt, doc and lee. Out of respect for the braves and now the giants. Even as a phillies fan I can agree to that. But come oct. It’s the phillies. Like Lebron, Hudson is ringless. I smell a Yankees swat team on the horizon if braves go on a nose dive. Don’t see that happening though.
chatt matt
June 16th, 2011
3:42 pm
Yeah by the nunbers this years staff may compare with the staffs of the 90s.But those teams were playoff teams and in the running for the World Championship.This team is and staff are not on that level.
LWells2000
June 16th, 2011
4:07 pm
Chatt matt, ditto here.
Otisnixonsmokescrack!
June 16th, 2011
4:14 pm
…but isn’t that what people were saying about the giants last season. Look the mutts are on fire and the marlins are garbage.vheyward just came back. If the braves had played it right last nite the game gets ppd.
Greg Rawlings
June 16th, 2011
4:26 pm
not if Hudson and Lowe can’t get their act together!!!!
Otisnixonsmokescrack!
June 16th, 2011
4:36 pm
I don’t care how good the pitcher, after stretches w/o run support they wear down. They try tto perfect and opps bounce on it. Hudson 3 ers.one er if that hr goes foul.
damngooddawg!
June 16th, 2011
4:47 pm
The Braves had the best rotation in MLB for at least 10 years and had 1 World Series championship to show for it…duh???? Maybe you could do better with less pitching and MORE CLUTCH HITTING…and a few less errors….