Kuzul

When Frank Wren replaced John Schuerholz as General Manager a couple of years ago, Braves’ fans were undoubtedly skeptical that he could come in and make such a difference. I think now that even the skeptics can be silenced by the performance of Frank Wren in building a ballclub that can be defined by words like “deep,” “versatile,” and “talented.”

Tonight showed just how those words ring true about the 2010 Atlanta Braves.

In Bobby Cox’s last season, the Braves wanted to make a run for the pennant. The roster at the start looked tentatively good, but it remained to be seen if this club could do well. The first month of the season was atrocious for the Braves. No one could seem to hit, pitching fell through more times than not, and a couple of guys carried the load for keeping this Braves squad from hitting the bottom of the pond. Boy, has that changed.

Flash to tonight’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Derek Lowe, a pickup by Frank Wren in the free agent market in January 2009, came out of the gate strong, giving up two runs and keeping the big bashers of the Minnesota lineup subdued. His official line was 7.1 innings, six hits, two runs (both of them earned), three walks, and four strikeouts. He left with the game tied at two runs apiece, with Eric O’Flaherty entering and retiring Justin Morneau.

Then Peter Moylan, who owns a nearly 9.00 ERA in his last 10 appearances (8.57), entered and walked Michael Cuddyer, and displayed his frustration by barking at home plate umpire Jerry Layne on a pitch that was proven to be a ball low and inside. The next pitcher to enter could arguably be considered the best middle reliever the Braves have in their bullpen—Jonny Venters.

Venters came on to face the lefty Jason Kubel and, after running the count to 2-2 and Kubel fouling a couple of balls off, Venters whizzed a 94 mph fastball by Kubel middle of the belt and away to end the inning. The top of the ninth held all of the suspense as the Braves sought to take the lead and keep the game from going into extras. The Braves did not fail to deliver.

After Melky Cabrera popped out, Gregor Blanco walked on four straight pitches. With Martin Prado hitting, Bobby Cox pulled a trick out of his hat and called for a hit-and-run. Prado singled to left and the hustling speedster Gregor Blanco went from first to third easily.

The next play displayed the genius of the man who is calling it quits after this season and shows just why Bobby Cox will be sorely missed next year.

With emerging star Brooks Conrad hitting, Bobby Cox called for a suicide squeeze, sending Blanco from third; Conrad made the perfect bunt and got on base himself, preserving the inning and scoring the go-ahead run from third. Jason Heyward, nursing a sore left thumb, fouled out to third and Brian McCann was blown away by an angry Jose Mijares.

Billy Wagner closed out the ninth to pick up the save and to preserve the win by Jonny Venters.

Key elements to the game included Eric Hinske (free agent this year), Eric O’Flaherty (waiver, 2009), Melky Cabrera [home run] (trade, offseason), Jonny Venters (draft, 2003 [Wren was the senior assistant GM]), Martin Prado (undrafted free agent, 2001), Brooks Conrad (free agent, offseason), Gregor Blanco (undrafted free agent, 2000), and Billy Wagner (free agent, offseason).

This team is chock full of talent that Frank Wren has either directly or indirectly been instrumental in bringing to Atlanta. Wren signed Troy Glaus, who has been exceptional for Atlanta. He signed Eric Hinske, whose clutch performances have vastly improved this Braves’ ballclub.

Brooks Conrad was mired in a Houston Astros organization that just had no room for him; he has since proven the Astros wrong. Eric O’Flaherty was left to die in the Seattle Mariners organization and then placed on the waiver wires; Atlanta deftly snagged this talented lefty at no cost to them. Billy Wagner has bounced back from surgery to regain his fastball and his dominance, going 11 for 13 in save opportunities.

This isn’t Wren’s first rodeo. He was instrumental, with Dave Dombrowski, in constructing the Marlins farm system and the 1997 team that won the World Series. Under Dombrowski, the Marlins’ front office was considered the best in baseball for several years (completely blameless in the firesale by Wayne Huizenga).

Wren was demonized in Baltimore for signing Albert Belle to such a massive contract, but Belle carried a reputation that warranted such a contract. All in all, Frank Wren has amassed a team that is rich in talent, incredibly deep, and, if all elements stay working together as they are now, just might give Bobby Cox the going away present of a lifetime: a World Series ring.

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Hey there, Phillies fans, I am not sure if you heard but the Washington Nationals had a young pitcher (I’ve got his name here somewhere) make his major league debut on Tuesday and he pitched pretty well.

The youngster (again, his name in a second) struck out 14 batters in 7.0 innings, throwing a dominant curveball, a fastball that regularly hit 99 miles per hour, and a changeup and slider that were simply baffling.

Now Phillies fans, I’ve sure you’ve heard all about this guy, but what you may not have realized is that he isn’t the only youngster coming up in the NL East division.

Indeed, the NL East has become a veritable hot-bed of young future superstars; unfortunately, they are all playing on teams other than the Philadelphia Phillies.

Let’s have a look at the top ten young superstars-in-the-making in the NL East, including ol’ what’s-his-name.

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In less than one month, on July 4, Major League Baseball will announce the starters for the annual All-Star Game in Anaheim. Voting from the fans has taken place, which leads to many fan favorites starting the game. However, the starters of the All-Star game should be the absolute best that the league has to offer.

Here is a list of nine players who should get an additional look, as well as some more votes, before the rosters get finalized.

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It’s June 1st and I have an alarming stat for Braves fans—this year’s primary starting pitchers (Hanson, Hudson, Kawakami, Lowe and Medlen) are having a more successful year at the plate than the starting centerfielder, Nate McLouth. Through 51 games (nearly a third of the year!) the pitchers are hitting .184 and McClouth is hitting .179 with no signs of coming out of his slump. In fact, it’s hard for me to even call what’s happening with McLouth a slump at this point.

The Braves have straightened out most of their issues in the lineup—Yunel Escobar, Melky Cabrera and Chipper Jones have heated up while Jason Heyward, Martin Prado and Troy Glaus are still more than holding up their ends of the bargain. McLouth is the lone holdout and has seemed allergic to any kind of success at the plate, save the one dramatic walk-off home run earlier in the year.

So what is there to do? The Braves have five options in the outfield—Heyward, Cabrera, McLouth, Eric Hinske and Gregor Blanco—and I think they need to shift the hierarchy, which is something Bobby Cox has been notoriously slow to do in the past. But in order to really take advantage of what’s possible for the team this year (a playoff berth and beyond) it is completely necessary and needs to happen sooner rather than later. 

Right now Heyward and McLouth play every day in right field and center field, respectively, with a rotating cast in left field. Heyward is entrenched in right field, but it’s time to see what Cabrera can do on a full-time basis.

I propose that Cox start an outfield of Heyward, Cabrera and Hinske as the primary lineup. Hinske has exactly the same number of hits as McLouth in almost half the at-bats and has proven himself as a quality ballplayer over the years.

On days when Hinske needs a rest or there’s bad pitching matchup for him, put McLouth in center and shift Cabrera to left. It may seem drastic and crazy to use McLouth as a fourth outfield considering his salary, but something needs to happen. The Braves are playing well right now and Cox needs to strike while the iron is hot. 

Two other options would be to use Blanco on a more regular basis (but he seems to have settled in as a pinch runner and late inning defensive replacement) or to bring up Jordan Schafer from triple-A. I happen to believe that the Cabrera/Hinske option is superior to this, but if you disagree please let me know in the comments. 

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The 2007 first year player draft was very pitcher-heavy, but with the exception of the No. 1 overall selection, some of the biggest names to come out of it were actually position players.

A total of 18 pitchers were called in the first round alone, led by Vanderbilt graduate David Price, but there was good overall depth in the draft, especially through the first three rounds.

How many GMs do you think are out there right now still kicking themselves that Jason Heyward fell to No. 14? How about the fact that one of the brightest pitching prospects in the game, Jordan Zimmerman, didn’t go at all in the first round? Did Florida hit the jackpot in Mike Stanton with the 76th overall selection?

With just one week to go until the 2010 draft, Bleacher Report looks back to see who came out on top this time three years ago.

Major League success and experience weighs the most here, with Minor League contributions and potential assessed from AAA down to single-A.

As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts.

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On April 30, the Atlanta Braves were sitting at 9-14—fresh off of a nine-game losing streak and five games behind the division-leading New York Mets.

Holding a minus-18 run differential and an offense that could do virtually nothing but draw a walk, the Braves’ outlook on 2010 was bleak to say the best.

Fast forward to Memorial Day (May 31), and the Braves are a half-game up on the Phillies with a plus-45 run differential and appear as if they’ve figured out things on the offensive side of the ball.

Led by Jason Heyward (who holds the fourth highest OPS at 1.019 in BASEBALL and best in the NL) who had a .358/.475/.667 May after taking a more aggressive approach at the advice of Bobby Cox, Martin Prado (the NL hit and OBP leader), and Troy Glaus (the NL RBI leader for the month of May), the Braves capped off the month of May with a six-game winning streak to bring their season’s record to 29-22.

The pitching, as was anticipated heading into 2010, was also spectacular during the Braves’ 20-win month as Tim Hudson (4-0 1.59 ERA in the month of May) and company posted a 3.53 team ERA with 192 total strikeouts.

But, with those impressive stats comes the all important question…is this the REAL Atlanta Braves squad?

Well, I can tell you: I don’t think it is.

The pitching seems to be legit, but it’s going to be hard for Troy Glaus and Jason Heyward to replicate the ridiculous averages they posted and for Glaus and Martin Prado to re-create their 20+ RBI months (especially the latter since he has transitioned to the lead-off role) on a month-in and month-out basis.

But, on the same hand, Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are going to do a little more than, respectively, one home run and 10 RBI they posted in May.

For those reasons, I think it’s fair to postulate that the real identity of the Braves lies somewhere between their identity as the team with multiple sub-.200 hitters, as they were known in April, and the team that was, arguably, the best in the National League for the season’s second month.

My gut tells me it’s closer to the latter, though.

This is a team that should be good-to-go for a divisional/Wild Card fight if the right moves are made (i.e. losing McLouth and shuffling the outfield with some sort of call-up or trade…Ty Wigginton/Luke Scott, anyone?) as long as the staff (which should be bolstered by the return of Jair Jurrjens at some point in June) and bullpen hold up.

Now all they have to do to look “real” is get their fifth starter a W (as Kenshin Kawakami sits at 0-7 on the season)…

And now, a good (albeit unrelated) song.

(This post is also featured on SportsLeak.com)

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If you’re going to bet on the World Cup , you have to keep your eyes open for surprises as you have only a month to watch. Fortunately, the MLB season is longer.

Over the first two months of the season, there have been a host of surprises on the diamond, and here is a list of the top five to raise eyebrows heading into June.

Jose Bautista, Toronto

Bautista had 13 homers in his first full year in Toronto last season (his career high is 16, set back in 2006 while with Pittsburgh).

Through 52 games, he has already equaled that, and he has locked down the right-field spot in the lineup.

It’s surprising that the Blue Jays are leading the majors in homers, but would you have bet that Bautista would lead the way (as well as in the majors)?  We don’t think so.

Ty Wigginton, Baltimore

Wigginton got into the lineup because of an injury to second baseman Brian Roberts, but the 32-year-old is making the most of his opportunity with 13 homers and 32 RBIs, along with a .288 average. 

Even when Roberts comes back, the Orioles are going to have to find a spot for Wigginton—their biggest power threat—and they need all the runs they can get.

Belmont Stakes betting players know all about riding a thoroughbred to the finish line, and that’s what the Orioles are looking to do with Wigginton. 

Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado

Jimenez has 27 wins over the last two seasons, but he’s been inconsistent. We don’t know if he’s going to keep up his current pace; however, to start the season Jimenez is 9-1 through his first 11 outings with a 0.88 ERA.

That’s right, a 0.88 ERA! 

He also threw a no-hitter down in Atlanta, and almost threw another against Houston recently. 

Jimenez is heading into the prime of his career, and he has to be the favorite to replace San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum as the Cy Young winner.

Corey Hart, Milwaukee

Who leads the Brewers in home runs, Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun?  If you bet on MLB odds and you said either, you’re wrong. It’s Hart, who has 13 dingers and 33 RBIs. 

He’s gotten hot recently with five homers in his last eight outings, and if Hart can continue this trend, that could open up more pitches for Braun and Fielder.

Jason Heyward, Atlanta

Some thought the Braves were rushing Heyward into the first team, but he went deep in his first MLB at-bat and it was on from there.

The 20-year-old prodigy has 10 homers and 38 RBIs with a .292 average—and he looks like he’s only getting more comfortable at the plate. 

The Rookie of the Year award should already have “Jason” inscribed on it, and he could be an online betting dark horse for MVP if the Braves make the playoffs. 

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Does anyone else remember the hype machine surrounding Jordan Schafer from about, say, 2007 up until 50 games into the 2009 season?

The sky was the limit for this kid.

He was (and still is) a superb glove in center and has the potential from a speed/contact standpoint to turn into something resembling an above-average Major League talent.

Pretty amazing what a 50-game suspension and a broken wrist can do to a career isn’t it?

After winning the center field job in Atlanta in Spring Training ’09, Schafer promptly introduced himself to the Major League community with two home runs in the Braves’ opening series in Philadelphia.

Then, the strikeouts came (63 to be exact) over the next 50 games as Schafer saw his line plummet to an abysmal .204/.313/.287.

Hoping to remedy the problem, the Braves sent Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez, and Jeff Locke to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a reigning NL All Star and gold glove recipient in Nate McLouth.

And all was good in Braves Nation…so we thought.

A .237 average and only (considering what the Braves thought they were getting) 14 homers in 129 games since joining the Braves has reduced McLouth to the No. 8 hole in Atlanta and left Atlanta looking around the outfield for an effective answer for their bat in center.

Amazing how things have sort of come full circle, huh?

Now, I think the time is fast-approaching to throw Jordan Schafer back to the wolves and to ship McLouth out of town.

You may be asking why I would suggest throwing a 23-year-old that has struggled to a .232/.319/.317 line in the minors this season into a situation that was not particularly kind to him last year with a guy with very strong potential already manning that spot.

For me, it comes down to glovework, money, and the future.

If you’re going to have a black hole in the lineup, he might as well be able to “go get ’em.”

While UZR painted McLouth as a “neutral” fielder at 0.8 and Schafer as below average at -4.0 in 2009, I think we can all recall Andruw Jones-esqe fielding prowess from Schafer last season while McLouth looked a little more like a mortal.

Or, to put this a little better, Schafer could fly around the field and get to a lot more in the field than the slightly-less-athletic McLouth. 

Add to that the fact that Schafer would be making the league minimum for what may well prove to be lackluster play as opposed to McLouth’s $5 million and the pendulum swings even further to the former No. 1 prospect in the Braves’ organization.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Schafer is still very “toolsy” and is likely to be the Opening Day starter in 2011 anyway.

Why not let him play through his issues a little more at the major league level (that’s how you have to learn)?

As I’ve been trying to say, it really couldn’t be much worse than what the Braves are currently getting.

Now, I’m not suggesting that this needs to go down today.

No, Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske should be starting in the outfield right now along with J-Hey (both are swinging red-to white-hot bats right now) instead of the Hinske/Cabrera-McLouth-Heyward situation we’ve been seeing.

But once everyone starts leveling out a bit in terms of “playing to talent,” I think Schafer has to be the guy you look to.

Plus, if he starts to figure it out, he’s got the talent and speed that would look awfully good at No. 8 or leading off if he really works out the kinks (SomeoneFast, Prado, Heyward is scarier than Prado, Heyward, Chipper-—by a mile…and let’s remember that he drew 27 walks in 50 games which in one less than Jason Heyward’s 28 through 43 games, as a point of reference).

Nate-Dogg just isn’t doing the job for the Braves right now (and hasn’t looked comfortable at the plate in a long time).

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Coming into the 2009 season, the Atlanta Braves’ Tommy Hanson was one of the most hyped prospects in baseball, even ranked by some above Jason Heyward.

Despite being seemingly ready for the major leagues, the Braves opted to give Hanson a taste of AAA, and left Jo-Jo Reyes in the rotation.

Instead of getting a full year of Hanson’s 2.89 ERA and 8.18 K/9, the Braves were treated to five starts of 7.00 ERA from Jo-Jo Reyes (Kris Medlen also made a couple starts, not faring much better than Reyes).

While the Braves finished six games out of the wild card race, they were in it to the end (when they lost their last six games of the year). With Hanson in the rotation all year, things could have turned out differently.

Going into 2010, the Braves faced a similar choice with Jason Heyward, who many named the top prospect in all of baseball.

Whether it was the realization of a past mistake, the need to win in Bobby Cox’s final year, to fill the stands more or because Heyward was simply the best option, the Braves decided that baseball’s hottest commodity could start the year in the MLB.

So far, it’s safe to say that Heyward has lived up to the hype. He’s got a .290/9/35 line and already has a couple walk-off hits in the bag. His on-base percentage, which stands at .414, is among the league leaders, and Heyward has shown an incredible eye at the plate.

Through 42 games, Heyward has a WAR (wins above replacement) of 1.6. This means with a replacement level player instead of Heyward, the Braves would have 1.6 less wins on the season.

But I think that it would actually be a larger difference. The two players that would have been getting more play time without Heyward around, Matt Diaz and Melky Cabrera, have a combined WAR that is less than 0 (-0.8 to be exact). That’s right; Melky and Matt Diaz have been so bad this year that they have actually cost the Braves wins.

Heyward currently leads all major league players in Win Probability Added at 3.29. That number alone makes me think Heyward should be a strong MVP candidate, not just the leader in Rookie of the Year voting.

Going further, this Atlanta Braves team feels different. With Heyward in the lineup, they are a much better team and more feared opponent. In fact, when Heyward doesn’t play the majority of the game (i.e. pinch hitting or two inning appearances as well as off days) the Braves are just 3-5, compared to 21-17 when does.

Throw in the fact that a large portion of the attendance increase at Turner Field is likely due to Heyward, and he is helping the organization on and off the field.

All in all, I think that the Braves decision to start Heyward in the majors has been huge. I would give the Braves a record of 21-25 (as supposed to 24-22) without Heyward on the team. If the Braves called Heyward up at the same time as Tommy Hanson, I think the Braves team is worse by at least 4 games, which likely determines whether the Braves will play or watch in October.

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A crazy man once said “Just win, baby.”

It’s short, simple, sweet, and to the point.

It also defines perfectly what any professional team’s mindset should be on a night-in, night-out basis.

But, that simple saying spoken, from the mouth of a deranged lunatic that once called JaMarcus Russell a great quarterback, seems to be just outside of the range of comprehension for the 2010 Atlanta Braves.

Now, don’t take this as a wild rant following a 11-1 shellacking at the hands of the Arizona D-Backs.

It’s not (although that certainly helped to push this out).

This is a product of a month-and-a-half’s worth of frustration and exasperation that this Braves fan has felt and cooped up for far too long.

It has been my understanding that a team is supposed to build on what it has learned.

To rid itself of fundamental lapses that have cost them in the past so as to create a setting both on the field and in their clubhouse conducive to a winning atmosphere.

Apparently, that memo hasn’t reached someone in the Atlanta Braves’ organization.

I mean, how else do you miss a fly ball by 50 feet in outfield when you were once a gold glove recipient?

How else do you look seas in the water following an impressive four-game streak in which your team valiantly overcame deficits when needed in desperate times and flat-out rolled at others?

How else do you find yourselves relying on the same 20-year-old kid in every single pinch?

And how else are you unable to find some sort of motivation during the final season of your skipper’s reign over what used to be the most enviable team in the National League?

For me, it comes down to a few simple things.

No spirit…no fundamentals…no toughness…and no comradery.

(Now, directly at the Braves.)

How do you explain a meteoric rise and fall of what has the potential to be (and has been shown to be) a very dynamic club?

How?

Nothing has frustrated me more than looking like an idiot for supporting various peoples’ causes.

For getting my hopes up.

And for standing up for a team that I called a Wild Card favorite before the season that has amounted to a 17-19 hot mess.

The season’s not done…we still have 126 more games to go through/watch/enjoy/whatever.

If it was a level line of “don’t give a [intercourse],” it’d be one thing.

But the utter lack of enthusiasm and direction following halfway-descent runs is deflating my hopes that I had set to a pretty high level.

I’m sticking by the team ’til the end…I love the Braves too much not to.

But I’m having a harder and harder time adjusting to the turned corners only to meet brick wall after brick wall.

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