A cold truth revealed: The Braves’ pitching isn’t good enough
Tommy Hanson after being pulled in the fourth inning Monday. (AP photo by David Goldman)
Even as we celebrated the Braves’ embrace of the Good At-Bat and the Sustained Rally, an ominous note went unheard. They were scoring so many runs and winning so many games that we — well, some of us — didn’t grasp that the only way they were winning so many games was by scoring so many runs. But the offense has begun to wane, as offenses will, and we’re forced to confront a rather stark reality:
The team that believed it had great starting pitching doesn’t have very good starting pitching.
The Braves awoke on Memorial Day, the first checkpoint of the baseball season, with the 13th-best ERA for starting pitchers in the 16-team National League. On cue, Tommy Hanson went out and threw … well, you couldn’t call it a game, him being gone after recording 10 outs (while yielding 12 baserunners). He left with his team down 5-0, and soon it would be 6-nil and another game was gone, the eighth in a row for these suddenly buffaloed Bravos.
Nine days ago the Braves led the NL East by 1 1/2 games. Today they’re tied for last, having been passed by three clubs and caught by Philadelphia. We can cling to the crutch of injury/illness — Chipper Jones on the disabled list for the ninth time since 2006; Freddie Freeman not being able to see straight, Brian McCann getting sick — but the Phillies and Nationals have been missing guys, too. (And the Cardinals won here Monday without benefit of Lance Berkman and David Freese.)
Difference is, the Phillies and Nationals have outpitched the Braves. The Mets, who have the fourth-lowest ERA in the five-team division for starting pitchers, have posted 29 quality starts. (At least six innings worked with three or fewer earned runs.) The Braves have managed 20, which puts them next-to-last among NL teams.
Mike Minor hasn’t won since April 19, Randall Delgado since April 17. Jair Jurrjens was demoted to Gwinnett on April 24, and here’s where his failure shows. At his best, he’s not just a starter but a top-of-the-rotation guy. Today the Braves’ No. 1 starter is Tim Hudson, who’ll turn 37 in July and who has had two major surgeries since 2008, and No. 2 is Brandon Beachy, an undrafted free agent. Put simply, there’s not the across-the-board quality you’ll find in Philadelphia’s rotation or even Washington’s.
“Starting pitching sets the tone,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said Monday, and the tone the Braves have set has been as mellifluous as a kazoo. The Braves played 36 innings over the long holiday weekend; they led after three of the 36.
Hanson needed 19 pitches Sunday to muster an out, and by then the Cardinals had loaded the bases. He would wriggle free then, and again in the second inning. In the third he yielded four runs despite a gift from Carlos Beltran, who broke for home when no squeeze was forthcoming. Hanson was done four batters into the fourth, having been touched for Rafael Furcal’s homer and then walked the next two.
Hanson: “A lot of our loss today was about me not being competitive and giving us a chance to win.”
Someone asked Gonzalez if he felt this rotation, as constituted, has what it takes to sustain a first-rate team. “In the long run, I think it will,” he said.
But what’s he going to say? “Anybody got Roy Oswalt’s cell number”? These non-quality starts didn’t just commence when Chipper got hurt and Freeeman’s vision got fuzzy; they were happening all along. But the Braves were hitting then. They’re not now. And they’re not apt to hit much when they play within the NL East, where everybody else can really pitch. (Chipper himself was sounding that note before Opening Day.)
The Braves have played 14 games against divisional brethren; they’ve won four. They’ve done great work against other good clubs — sweeping the Cardinals in St. Louis, taking a road series from both the Dodgers and the Rays — but they’ve been overmatched by the East. They’ve scored way more runs than any team in the division. They just haven’t pitched well enough. That has to change.
Said Brian McCann: “We need that big outing, that big knock.”
And that’s the way it has to begin, yes. But a rotation works only if it, duh, rotates. Are there enough quality starts in Hudson, Beachy, Hanson, Minor and Delgado — a quintet that, with Jurrjens’ four starts added in, has generated only 20 of those in 50 games — to drive a playoff run? Probably not. Someone else will be needed. That someone could be a rejuvenated Jurrjens, or the rookie Julio Teheran, or even the out-of-work Oswalt.
Hitting’s nice. A good bullpen is a must. But we Atlantans know better than anyone that the 162-game season is a ultimately a test of starting pitching. Through 50 games, the Braves haven’t even achieved a gentleman’s “C.” Said Hanson, trying to accentuate the positive: “We’re still above .500.”
Yes. By two games. After being 26-16 on May 20. If this rotation doesn’t stabilize, look out below.
By Mark Bradley
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262 comments Add your comment
Larry
May 28th, 2012
7:06 pm
Since September 1, 2011, this team’s collective won/loss record is: 46-62
Mark, how on earth could you leave out managerial ineptitude and utter, lack of leadership in your comments above?
Stanfield Sam
May 28th, 2012
7:10 pm
I never liked hiring Fredi from the start. Clone managers never live up to their predecessors.
Larry
May 28th, 2012
7:11 pm
J-Man
May 28th, 2012
7:05 pm
“Well the GM has put a talented team on the field …………..they just havent performed…
Thats on the manager…..BTW I had people like DOB chewing me out for saying we needed Roy Oswalt. Well I was right”
Agreed, but it will be a cold day in Hades before DOB says anything about FG…He needs access to the clubhouse buffet and losing such privileges is more important that reporting the facts.
No Clue
May 28th, 2012
7:11 pm
Again, it’s the rant to get rid of Fredi the Freeloader. He is a waste of money, and a laughing stock to all other teams. Yet, we just continue to listen to his drivel, and watch him do NOTHING. For the love of GOD, why isn;t anyone listening??
Rt
May 28th, 2012
7:13 pm
Talented team, not in Atlanta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JSS
May 28th, 2012
7:13 pm
Fredi is a bad fit (in a John McNammara way), but this roster really should have been addressed!
Matt
May 28th, 2012
7:13 pm
Chipper Jones player manager, John Smoltz Pitching coach and Joe Simpson Hitting coach, I get tired of hearing Joe Simpson make excellent observations of hitters in the Booth when they should be made downstairs in the Dugout
Rt
May 28th, 2012
7:15 pm
The Braves can’t hit,can’t pitch, can’t field and should I go on?
J-Man
May 28th, 2012
7:16 pm
Well right now Im banned on DOB’s blog because I have bashed Fredi too much
DHD
May 28th, 2012
7:17 pm
Bottom line: We have to have an owner who gives a crap.
Nutjob
May 28th, 2012
7:18 pm
Heyward is nothing compared to Frenchy. Frenchy had two 100 RBI years. How close has Heyward gotten to that? You get what you get with him. Starting pitching is brutal. Has been all year besides Beachy and Hanson at times. Something needs to be done. We won’t get Oswalt that’s for sure, but these guys aren’t getting it done. With the rate that we give up home runs…and hits to the opposing pitcher…we won’t sniff the division or wild card.
Larry
May 28th, 2012
7:20 pm
JSS,
Agreed on Fredi. He’s more fitted for 3rd base! The guy just isn’t cut out to lead a team through troubled waters.
Rt
May 28th, 2012
7:21 pm
What is the record for losses in a row for Braves? It may be in trouble!!!!
Skeezix
May 28th, 2012
7:24 pm
Mark: Well said and if Wren doesn’t address the problem soon, this season will be over. Going into the season I thought our problem was all on the offensive side, but I did have concerns about Hanson. Every aspect of the game has falling apart and the fielding/mental errors are killing us too. I feel like I’m reliving September.
Sonny Clusters
May 28th, 2012
7:25 pm
Irregularity. That will strike next.
Hillbilly D
May 28th, 2012
7:26 pm
Anybody else here think Hanson gives the hitters too good of a look at the ball?
Skeezix
May 28th, 2012
7:28 pm
…………I was at a Memorial Day event today from noon until 5:00, so I am glad I didn’t witness today’s debacle.
extremus
May 28th, 2012
7:30 pm
I know a lot of folks refer to Fredi Gonzalez as a “Bobby Cox clone”, and generally not in a positive way. Truth is, there’ve been times this team could’ve used having Bobby in the dugout, because it’s become abundantly clear these two men are NOT the same.
Do you ever hear Fredi Gonzalez cheering the guys on from the dugout step? How many times have you seen Fredi bother to come out of the dugout to defend one of his players on a bad call (or get ejected doing so)? How many Braves players have you heard openly say they LOVE playing for Fredi Gonzalez or brag on his stewardship of the team? Anyone?
There IS a difference, and somewhere right about now Bobby Cox is probably thinking to himself, “Those poor schmucks didn’t know how good they had it” (anyone else notice how much less visible he’s been so far this season as opposed to last year?). He probably also feels relieved to finally be out from under perennially tough-as-nails expectations from fans given what ownership gave him to work with the past several seasons. No, Cox wasn’t perfect either (far from it) as a manager, but unlike Fredi Gonzalez he’s a sure fire and deserving future Hall of Famer, and he managed like somebody who has a care about what’s happening on the field. The current skipper doesn’t do anything but sit with his arms crossed and spew company line drivel to the media that makes him look like an idiot.
J-Man
May 28th, 2012
7:31 pm
I personally think we should trade Hanson, Hudson, McCann, EOF, and Hinske. To free up money and stock up the minor league system
01HAWK
May 28th, 2012
7:33 pm
I did not fall for the early success. I knew this team was a DOG.
01HAWK
May 28th, 2012
7:34 pm
JIM LEYLAND of Detroit would have been a better fit than Fredi
Matt from MN
May 28th, 2012
7:35 pm
Utterly, utterly wretched display of supposed “professional” baseball. The front office needs to be taking some serious heat from hiring Frediot, to signing Chad and Livan, etc.. It’s a joke.
JeanE
May 28th, 2012
7:36 pm
I was at the game today, it was brutal. Nice Memorial Day cermonies, etc, very touching. The game itself was just horrendous. I have never though Hanson was very good, and today, as he has many times, he didn’t even give his team a chance. I miss Bobby Cox badly. I never see Fredi come out to defend his players, I miss hearing Bobby on TV encouraging each and every player, Come on Chip, Let’s go Kid, etc. Fredi seems to have no emotions what so ever. We have to learn to win without Chipper, what are we gonna do next year when he’s gone for good? It’s sad when the best things performance wise about the day were good innings from Durbin and Martinez. Juan hit but he has some of the ugliest AB’s I’ve ever seen. I’m am truly worried about our pitching, bullpen hasn’t been that good either but after Huddy and Beachy, we have not much else. That won’t get us anywhere.
Skeezix
May 28th, 2012
7:36 pm
Let’s revisit Wren’s evaluation of the Braves before spring training (posted on the Braves web site)–”Braves general manager Frank Wren carefully evaluated his team after it squandered the 8 1/2-game National League Wild Card lead it carried into September to miss out on the playoffs. Though he considered a few changes, Wren determined it was best to keep the team virtually intact. The most significant offseason roster move involved Derek Lowe, who was traded to the Indians.”
J-Man
May 28th, 2012
7:39 pm
Well when a team shows no heart and no fire, A manager with no heart and no fire……..Then the SAME results will happen
extremus
May 28th, 2012
7:39 pm
Yup, the Braves are paying Derek Lowe $10 million to be winning baseball games (!!!) for the Indians. The Braves couldn’t be more snakebitten if they tried.
Darryl Blackberry
May 28th, 2012
7:42 pm
Extremus: Couldn’t agree more. I think there are far worse managers out there than Fredi, to be sure, but Fredi’s managerial skills have been sorely lacking thus far.
Initially, I thought Fredi was just reserved and defensive because of his youth (relatively speaking), but if the debacle last year and the rash of injuries this year hasn’t changed that, I don’t know what will. It’s time to take a good, hard look at who’s managing the team. The old-school, hard-nosed, put-the-runners-in-motion-to-make-something-happen guy we thought we were getting from the Marlins hasn’t shown up yet.
Loyalty to one’s staff and players is one thing; making excuses for them to the media is another. I liked Fredi’s “outing” of Francisco for the bat flip, but where was his passion when it came to the Heyward play the other night? Or with regards to the terrible umpiring we’ve seen so far this year? Or with regards to the scardy-cat style of pitching employed by the young Braves starters?
What’s it gonna take to make this guy snap and show some character?
Dawgdad (The Original)
May 28th, 2012
7:48 pm
Remember we could have had Hunter Pence, but we didn’t want to give up any of our future hall of fame prospects, and we have Heyward coming back, why do we need a right fielder.
Now we need pitching, but alas no Hunter Pence.
Sage of Bluesland
May 28th, 2012
7:52 pm
It is remarkable the sheep in the media will crucify some–yet make excuses for others.
This is why competition is a good thing–and hasn’t existed in Atlanta as far as the AJC goes. Generally poor coverage and accountability….but, if the fans don’t stop subsidizing this type of incompetence, then nothing changes…
dawg4u
May 28th, 2012
7:53 pm
The fact that we have won four divisional games two months into the season is the most troubling thing to me. I knew after we went 7-2 on that western road trip scoring all those runs that the offense would come back to earth. MB hit the nail on the head with the fact that our pitching is just not that good. Beachy and Hudson are even coming back to earth and what in Hades has happened to Venters? I have to agree with Clusters on Fredi G. and all the flu symptoms, groin pulls and eye problems with this team plus Chipper’s legs are probably about my age (50 plus). I agree with some of the other posters about checking out Roy Oswalt although it probably would be a long shot. We need so many things that it’s hard to concentrate about what our biggest need is right now. Frenchy also may be well worth checking out with all of Heyward’s lackadaisical play right now.
The Bravenator
May 28th, 2012
7:56 pm
All things being said on this blog after the fact are the same things we’ve been saying since March when the Braves sucked during ST and since November/December when Wren did nothing to improve the team, endorsed FG and said he “liked” the team he had. We knew this mess was coming. It’s here now, along with a predictably useless Chipper, a manager who brings negative value to the organization and pitching which the brain trust greatly overvalued. Team hitting has been in the dumper for three years and the pitching has decided join the hitters. Where is the ownership demanding accountability and performance? Oops!! Sorry…there is no ownership we can see. Can’t hold them accountable if we can’t see them. A sad state of affairs and no remedy or white knight in sight. Impossible to be a fan of this team. The players and management don’t even seem to be fans of themselves.
iTiSi
May 28th, 2012
7:56 pm
Since the Cubs won today, I do believe the Barves(plural for Barf) now have the longest losing streak at 8. Rumor has it that they are losing right now in the 5th inning(yeh I know they’re not playing, but just seems like they are losing since they do so nightly). Also amazed me, as it did someone else, that an article of this type could be written and no mention of the ineptitude of the “robot” FG. JS did call him out on some things yesterday but did not go far enough. Looks like the fans are going to have to start staying away from the games to get anything accomplished. Money talks.
Hillbilly D
May 28th, 2012
7:57 pm
This is why competition is a good thing–and hasn’t existed in Atlanta as far as the AJC goes.
Anybody remember the Atlanta Times? Didn’t last long.
Jessie Jordan
May 28th, 2012
7:58 pm
Surely the world isn’t surprised that the Braves pitching isn’t good enough!! If you are surprised, Where the hell were you in August and Sept. last year.
J-Man
May 28th, 2012
8:03 pm
Bradley instead of giving Kudos the the First posters. Why dont you engage yourself in to the community here and answer some questions. We need somebody to talk to.
Rafael
May 28th, 2012
8:10 pm
Liberty CHEAPIA “isn’t good enough” as owners!!!!
Our Braves have become UNWATCHABLE!!!! The Braves have become a Chicago CUBS clone… lousy!!!!
With Liberty CHEAPIA as owners and Frank Wren as GM, we have NO hope of changes being made. Wren will “stay the course” all year because it is an “AFFORDABLE” plan. The sheep will flock to Turner Field so Wren won’t be forced to make any upgrades.
Fredi Gonzalez (Ricky Ricardo JR.) has LOST this team as he LOST the Florida Marlin players and got RUN out of town. Dan Uggla’s nonchalant swings showed me all the nonverbal communication I needed to know… Fredi has LOST this team. It’s not even June and the players have QUIT on our manager who NEVER played the game.
Mr. Wren, PLEASE Fire this incompetent idiot named Fredi and at least give us some hope.
As I said, our Braves have become UNWATCHABLE, Michael Bourn is GONE after this season, Freddie “Helen Keller” Freeman may never be the same young star, we pay money to watch the likes of Livian “18 team” Hernandez, Chad “Proctor” Durbin, Jack “Julio Lugo LITE” Lugo, Matt “Double Play” Diaz, Jason “BUST” Heyward…. etc…. any hope coming will be facilitated by Frank Wren and Liberty CHEAPIA so we KNOW no hope is coming…
LAC
May 28th, 2012
8:12 pm
Time to move them to winnipeg !!!!! 46 years and ONE title, SICK !! And “freddi” and “Chicken wren”
are so outclassed it’s NOT funny !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rob g
May 28th, 2012
8:16 pm
Mark, The injuries do nothing to explain the collapse in both starting and relief pitching. The injuries don’t cause sloppy play by the uninjured regulars. The injuries don’r the bats go dead in the uninjured (Uggla is taking lots of walks, but hitting rarely. If it weren’t for Prado and Pastornicky, i think we would be hitless.
The real problem here is the one you deny: Fredi has no fire in him, why are we surprised the team has none either. This manager, and his team, don’t care about winning any more (if they ever did), they just care about having a good explanation (excuse) for the losses.
Time to fire Fredi, that is now the only way to light a fire under the team. Probably should fire the pitching coach too, he too seems little else but a liability.
Hammer Mike
May 28th, 2012
8:16 pm
Bobby & Fredi are both “players”managers. Fredi was 3b coach for Bobby. Both Bobby & Fredi “tip their caps” to other teams. Both leave/left starting pitchers in games too long. They are alike.
Braves in last palce by the all star brake
May 28th, 2012
8:18 pm
Remeber I told U fist…..Braes in last place by all star brake
Greene Hornet
May 28th, 2012
8:19 pm
I know I only said it to myself, but I thought during the winning the Braves were doing that the pitching was not great. However, the hitting was there and I was happy for all the winning. In the end, the thing the Braves of the 90’s proved still rings true: Good pitching will beat good hitting. I know in the 90’s we were talking about head to head series, but now I I find it in the team aspect. The Braves problem, even in the slump, isn’t so much the bats, but the pitching not keeping us in the games. The losing streak only exposes what was obvious during the winning streak. Our pitching is lackluster at best. How we solve it? I don’t know, but this article is completely right. The bats aren’t the problem. The slump is mainly because of the pitching stinks. The bats are not good now either, but I see them coming around before the pitching does.
Braves in last palce by the all star brake
May 28th, 2012
8:19 pm
I aslo told U the managar is a looser. He had a loosing record win he got here.
NickGranite
May 28th, 2012
8:21 pm
Yeah, we’ve been talking about this for a bit on the brave’s yahoo blog…even when we were in first place. We thought we could get to the playoffs with the strong hitting (at the time) but we simply are not good enough at starting pitching to compete in a 7 game series and now that the relief corps has taken a big step back, forget about it.
tinman
May 28th, 2012
8:22 pm
we need to fire the GM, Freddi G., send minor back to the minors, bring up Teheran, see if we can get Oswald, make a blockbuster trade with somebody and then hope to compete. How can a team like Cincinnati witha bunch of no names other than Votto be so much better than our club?
Tammy Z.
May 28th, 2012
8:23 pm
Great game today. Braves almost won. Fredi is a good manager. Tyler is so cute. Go Braves !
dawg4u
May 28th, 2012
8:23 pm
My feeling is that this team had absentee ownership as if that point isn’t already obvious among most Braves fans. In the early 90’s we had ownership that it seemed addressed every need or deficiency on the team. In 2012 we are just a profit or loss statement in an accounting or board room. Does anyone out there really think that we will make any progress at all as long as ownership of this team is Liberty Media? Can you imagine them owning the Yankees or Red Sox or Phillies? The Braves as currently constituted just cannot deal effectively with problems under current ownership? Imagine Fredi managing the Yankees or any other teams with active ownership and what the consequences would be?
Terry
May 28th, 2012
8:24 pm
The Braves have a perfectly good starter rotting away at Gwinnett ( Todd Redmond ). By far the best starter in the International League. Degado or Minor need to go back to the minors and learn to pitch anywhere but the middle of the plate.Even back when people were raving about Minor, Hanson, and Teheran, Redmond was still the steady ace of the AAA staff.
Loosing Managar = Loosing Record
May 28th, 2012
8:27 pm
I agreed. Last palce by the brake.
Big Wally
May 28th, 2012
8:27 pm
Paper – thin team. Just like last year, when they start to have injuries, they fall apart like a cheap suit. The following should be fired in order; Wren for putting together this physically and mentally weak team, Fredi-Cat Gonzalez; just like last year, he has no clue on how to get the team out of a slump, McDowell; he was a gamble as a pitching coach that has not paid off – Look how good Derek Lowe is now that he is away from him.
We Fifes are sensitive.
May 28th, 2012
8:32 pm
Good points.