TEAM REPORTS: Braves

Atlanta Braves

LOOKING BACK: After the worst April since Bobby Cox re-joined the Braves as manager in 1990 (see graphic), there is nowhere to go but up for a franchise that finds itself in an unfamiliar place: second. The Braves suffered injuries to the left side of the infield and, to their credit, the fill-ins have performed serviceably. Okay, so the Braves only managed just over 3.8 runs per contest in Larry’s absence, but we didn’t really expect that much production from Wilson Betemit and Pete Orr (.229 average, 3.9 K/BB ratio through May 1), did we? If these past few weeks are a preview of what the future (as in 2008) holds for Atlanta, I will be the happiest Mets fan on the block.

THUMBS UP: The good news, such as it is, would have to be Edgar Renteria’s blistering start, which, while it hasn’t led to success in the win column, is definitely an encouraging sign. After the Mummy’s downright awful 2005 campaign in Boston (.721 OPS, 30 errors) had many people questioning his mental and physical strength. Those concerns have been erased, for now; through yesterday, Renteria had hit safely in every game this season, and his .373 average led the National League (min 50 AB). It remains to be seen whether Renteria can reverse his steady decline in offensive performance since 2003, but the Braves certainly weren’t going to be playing Andy Marte anytime soon, and, in Renteria, GM John Schuerholz appears to have netted a solid, if unspectacular, replacement for Rafael Furcal.

(Digression: As Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux enjoy brilliance in their grey years, it has been difficult not to notice that Atlanta has lost more talent in the last five seasons than the Pirates (or the Royals) have developed. While other teams scramble to pick up the wayward pieces of their organization – see Furcal , J.D. Drew, Javy Lopez, Julio Franco, Jaret Wright, Kyle Farnsworth – the Braves rely increasingly on homegrown talent such as Kyle Davies, Jeff Francouer and Brian McCann. This is no secret. What’s truly impressive has been Schuerholz’s acumen on the trading block. Oscar Villareal (!) is the team’s wins leader, Tim Hudson is pitcher 1A in the Braves’ rotation and Renteria’s early success speaks for itself. In previous years, Atlanta brought in Johnny Estrada, Mike Hampton, Drew, Bret Boone and Fred McGriff. The only questionable deal made under Schuerholz’s watch was sending a young Jason Schmidt to Pittsburgh for Denny “I look like the young John Lithgow but I pitch like the old John Lithgow” Neagle in the 1996 playoff run. At least Schuerholz didn’t make the mistake of signing Neagle to a long-term deal…)

THUMBS DOWN: Oscar Villareal (4-0) is the team’s win leader, as the starters have pitched poorly, or received little run support. Forecasting a decline for Jorge “I Miss Leo Mazzone” Sosa wasn’t too difficult, as the former Devil Ray rotation castoff (never a good suffix) was due to suffer a bit once his luck started evening out. Atlanta’s pitching woes go beyond Sosa (0-4, 8.89 ERA, 2.04 WHIP), though. John Thomson’s 1.32 ERA obscures the fact that he has faced the Dodgers, Nationals and Padres. Hudson’s one-hititer yesterday was only the fifth win by an Atlanta starter this year. The rotation simply has not performed, throwing fewer innings than all but four NL starting staffs (one of which is the Marlins). The bullpen has already blown five saves, and sports the lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio in the National League (1.2). Quite simply, these are not your older sister’s Atlanta Braves.

I hesitate to place all the blame on new pitching coach Roger McDowell. By all accounts, he is a fine teacher and will have his work cut out for him, with youngsters Joey Devine, Blaine Boyer, Macay McBride and Chuck James ready to make an impact with the big club. McDowell’s predecessor looms large in the equation, however, and Mazzone’s strength always seemed to be reclamation projects like Sosa and Thomson, with Wright, John Burkett, and Chris Hammond before them. I have little doubt that McDowell will bring along the young pitchers just fine, but the Braves as a team cannot win games unless the No. 3-5 starters consistently deliver 6-7 strong innings. This will bear watching throughout the season, and into next year, when Hampton will begin to rebuild himself and the young Braves are a little more seasoned.

LOOKING AHEAD: Starting tomorrow, the Braves will play 15 straight games against NL East opponents, including this weekend’s series against the Mets that will be Atlanta’s last chance to beat up on New York until late July. Desperation is not a condition usually associated with these Braves; they’ve been written off plenty in the past, and to declare Bobby Cox’s crew dead in the water would be premature. The thing is, they haven’t had to climb out of a hole this steep since 1990, which was also the last time the National League held a postseason without visiting Atlanta. As evidenced by their poor April, the Braves will need a lot of breaks to keep their title as Division Champions beyond mid-September. We’ll check back on June 2.