Just Like Old Times
By Brian Edwards
Just like old times, the Atlanta Braves are leading the National League East. That was a given during a 14-year stretch in which they won the loop each and every year, but only Chipper Jones and Bobby Cox remain from those days. And both of them are on the way out the door soon, which makes the Braves’ recent surge all the more improbable.
Seriously, who the hell saw this coming? Not me, that’s for sure.
When Atlanta endured a nine-game losing streak and dipped into the National League East cellar during April, I wrote the club off. Other than Jason Heyward, what was there to be excited about?
Troy Glaus wasn’t hitting, Chipper couldn’t stay in the lineup, Yunel Escobar was injured and not hitting when he was healthy and Jair Jurrjens was still looking for his first win of the season.
More than a month later, Cox’s last Braves team is back in its rightful spot – first place. Furthermore, following a three-game sweep of the Phillies, they have sole possession of the NL East’s top spot with a little room to spare – 2 ½ games, to be exact.
What happened? Well, for starters, Glaus started hitting… a lot! He had 28 RBIs in May and then started June with a three-run homer in the first inning of Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the Phillies.
Martin Prado, who is hitting .324 and went 2-for-4 in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Philadelphia, continued to do stellar work from the leadoff spot. Heyward remained the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors thanks to a .287 batting average, 10 homers and 38 RBIs.
Chipper Jones still isn’t healthy, nor is he swinging the bat like the .306 career hitter that he is. But even when he leaves a game like he did Wednesday – due to a sore ring finger that has Chipper day-to-day – Omar Infante stepped up with the game-winning RBI in the clutch during the eighth inning.
Forty percent (Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami) of the five-man rotation has zero combined wins, but the three other staff members have been dynamite. Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson have combined for an 18-8 record. The Braves are 23-11 in their 34 starts.
The bullpen has the seventh-best ERA (3.47) in baseball. Billy Wagner is still bringing the heat, as evidenced by his 4-0 record, nine saves in 11 chances and 1.69 ERA. The veteran southpaw collected his fourth save in five days when his team polished off the Phillies for the series sweep on Wednesday.
The expectation is for Jurrjens to return to the rotation soon. Remember, the young right-hander was 14-10 with a 2.60 ERA in 34 starts last year. Meanwhile, Kris Medlen has come out of the bullpen and been effective in three starts. The Braves have prevailed in two of Medlen’s three assignments.
Nate McLouth, who has been moved from leadoff the No. 8 spot in the batting order, continues to struggle with an atrocious .178 batting average. If he doesn’t get going before the All-Star break, surely GM Frank Wren will make a move to acquire a center fielder.
Remember, Jimmy Rollins is still on the disabled list and the thinking here is that Philadelphia’s offense is going to come around in the not-too-distant future. For now, however, Atlanta is atop the NL East standings as constructed.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
In a 3-0 game with a perfect game at stake, the first-base umpire has to know that you err on the side of ‘out’ if there’s a bang-bang play. Veteran umpire Jim Joyce absolutely blew it in Detroit’s win over Cleveland on Wednesday night. His mistake cost Armado Galarraga a perfect game. However, you have to give Joyce credit for taking his medicine like a man. He has completely apologized to all parties involved and admitted his mistake. After the game, Joyce issued face-to-face apologies to Galarraga and Detroit manager Jim Leyland, who had his say with Joyce on the field but was much more diplomatic later.
Galarraga has been a total sport about the situation. After the game, he ironically said, “Nobody’s perfect” in reference to Joyce’s mistake. On Thursday, he said everyone needs to “move on” with a smile on his face.
Here’s a tip of the cap to Ken Griffey Jr., who retired after 22 seasons on Wednesday. Assuming he stays in retirement, Griffey finishes his brilliant career with 630 career home runs, ranking him fifth on the all-time list. In my mind, Griffey is one of just a handful of power hitters in his era that I can confidently say did not use steroids. On that note, we’re left wondering who would’ve hit more blasts out of Griffey and Barry Bonds if Bonds would’ve stayed clean. We’ll also never know how many Griffey would’ve hit had he not had so many injuries while in Cincinnati.
vegasinsider.com.