MVN - Most Valuable Network

5/9 Game Thread: Can Anyone Stop Nate McLouth?

The Pirates just swept the Giants, and we just swept the Padres. Compared to the Padres, the Pirates are almost a major league ballclub — of course, compared to the Giants, we’re the 1927 Yankees.

The Pirates just picked up Jason Michaels from the Indians and demoted Nyjer Morgan; in my opinion this is the sort of roster tinkering that really doesn’t make a difference for a 70-win ballclub, but our friends at Honest Wagner approve of the moves. Morgan sucks a lot, and Michaels sucks marginally less, so they improve on paper.

The Pirates are actually a better offensive ballclub than you think, with 171 runs through 34 games, a little better than an average of 5 runs per game. A lot of that is the utterly insane Nate McLouth, who is batting .324/.406/.640, with 9 HR and 29 RBI. He’s not that good — almost no one other than Chipper is — but he actually might be a good ballplayer, and he wore us out the last time we played the Bucs, 5-14 with a walk, two doubles, a homer, and 4 RBI. Xavier Nady’s also out of his mind, .349/.411/.558, with 5 HR and 34 RBI; Jason Bay’s bouncing back from a horrible year last year, and Ryan Doumit’s hitting very well too. (Adam LaRoche isn’t.) They’re not pushovers, but other than those guys they have a lot of automatic outs in their lineup, so Tom Glavine should be able to handle them.

Ian Snell on the mound for them, Tom for us. Let’s push it to 7 in a row.

Chop Links for 5/8

Been a while since we whipped out the Chop Links for you guys but there has been so much going on lately that I just can’t do a separate post for each.

• Through the first month of the season, the Braves had only completed one three-game sweep. We’re now six games into May and the Braves have already doubled April’s total after a 5-4 win against the Padres. Matt Diaz came through with a ninth inning, bases-loaded single for the Braves’ first one-run win of the season. Not everything was good though as Jo-Jo Reyes had to leave early with a blister and Buddy Carlyle exited after a collision with a runner at first. It does put us ahead of the Mets by a half game though.
• Rookie starter Jair Jurrjens has been a key part of Atlanta’s success and now it is time to show the 22-year old starter our appreciation. Jurrjens is one of four rookies up for the National League Rookie of the Month award. He is up against Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs, and Kyle McClellan of the Cardinals. Do your part and cast your vote — you might even win a trip to this year’s All-Star game.
• It was all but certain that Peter Moylan would undergo Tommy John surgery after he was transfered to the 60-day DL, but now we can officially close the books on him his season as the side-arming reliever went under the knife on Thursday. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery — which was a success — and determined after seeing the bone spur in his elbow that rehab would not have gotten the job done.
• Sorry, more injury news but this time it is good… kind of. An MRI of Rafael Soriano’s elbow showed no structural damage, which had become a concern after soreness in the elbow caused him to call off a recent bullpen session. There is still no timetable for his return but with this good news, he will continue his throwing program.
• I promise that this is the last thing that has to do with an injured Braves pitcher. John Smoltz could be throwing as early as this weekend. The veteran starter/reliever/whatever might begin playing catch sooner than expected after saying that in his ten days off, the pain has pretty much gone away with only some stiffness remaining in his injured right shoulder. Smoltz will eventually go down to the minors for a rehab assignment but could be back as early as late May.

Infante Up, Pena to the DL

With Omar Infante ready to come of the disabled list and take over the utility infielder role, it was looking like Frank Wren would have to make a tough decision on just who to drop to make room. Pinch-hitter Brayan Pena made the decision very easy as a mid-back strain will force him onto the 15-day DL right in time for Infante to be activated, according to Dave O’Brien of the AJC.

Infante was acquired from the Cubs this off-season along with Will Ohman, however he’s been out since suffering a broken hand in winter ball. I said once the injury occurred, that by the time he was back, Martin Prado could possibly displace him as the main utility infielder, however his injury as well as some shaky defense really made that impossible. Infante can play second, third, short, and in the outfield, and will pretty much take over Prado’s duties. While he probably won’t hit at the level Prado was, the added versatility of being able to play shortstop and the outfield means that he’ll probably stay the main utility infielder as long as he hit at a reasonable level.

Braves 5, Padres 3: Above .500 Again, But Can We Stay That Way?

Braves 5, Padres 3

For most of the game, it really wasn’t as close as the end score makes it look. Chris Young didn’t have it, but he pitched 5 innings anyway. Jurrjens had another great start, but was at 102 pitches after the 6th and so I guess Bobby didn’t want to take any chances. Better an early hook than a late one, of course, but Bobby decided to bring in Ohman — who can only get lefties out — to pitch a full inning, and Ohman gave up an RBI triple. (He also was charged a hit for a liner that Kelly really should have caught, but the triple was definitely Ohman’s fault.) Then he brought in Boyer, who’s almost certainly headed for another surgery at this rate. Then Acosta (the “closer”) started the 9th, got an out but gave up two hits, and so Royce Ring and Jeff Bennett finished the game by pitching to one batter each and getting one out each.

You all know I don’t like seeing a bullpen handled this way. Ohman and Ring are unable to get right-handers out, so they can’t be used to pitch a complete inning. Boyer and Acosta can, and so can Campillo; Buddy Carlyle’s more of a ROOGY, and he ought to be replaced by Phil Stockman. Bennett’s our long man. Using one-out pitchers to pitch one inning and one-inning pitchers to pitch one out is a pretty obviously inefficient use of resources, not least because it saddles everyone with more appearances as they have to put out each other’s fires. And season-ending surgeries are bad for morale, bad for bullpen continuity, and pretty painful for the guy in question, too.

The offense was great when Chris Young was in the game. Chipper Jones and Kotsay homered, and everyone had a hit but McCann, who walked, and Mark Teixeira, who left 5 men on base and is annoying me in the cleanup spot. Greg Norton grounded out in his first NL at-bat, but he did so on the 8th pitch; if he can work the count like that, he’ll be a fine pinch hitter. Then everyone took a nap. As soon as Young left, the Braves were completely shut down for three innings of no-hit ball by the immortal Glendon Rusch, and I hope they’re as embarrassed by that sentence as I am.

But here’s the upshot: the Braves followed a demoralizing 4-game losing streak with a 4-game winning streak, and are now above .500 for the third time this season. On each previous occasion, the Braves lost at least 2 in a row to drop below .500 again. Let’s see if we can put a little daylight between us and the mediocrity mark.

Tonight we’ll face Randy Wolf, whom we’ve been playing for a LONG time. In 21 starts against us, he’s 4-9 with a 5.02 ERA, which is a bit strange, because he’s the sort of little left-hander that always seems to give us improbable fits. We’ve scored 30 runs in the past 4 games, so hopefully tonight we’ll continue to remember how to hit. Tim Hudson pitches for us, coming off his best start of the season — by game score, the best start of his career, and the best start by a pitcher this season. (9 innings, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts, no walks, game score of 91.)

Meanwhile, this year, the Padres have a knack for making any pitcher look good against them, as they’re batting a collective .232/.303/.343, with a collective 82 OPS+. Just for the sake of comparison, Jake Peavy has a higher OPS+ (84) than anyone on their team other than RF Brian Giles, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, SS Khalil Greene, and LF Paul McAnulty.

So just make ‘em hit it on the ground, Tim. I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

By the way, for those of you who listen to my podcast (hi, Mom!), BC Sports Treehouse Fort, the time has changed: it’s now on Tuesdays from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM, and my segment is from 9:10 to 9:30 or so. Thanks for listening!

April’s Most Underappreciated Brave

Whether you’re checking the comments on your favorite blog, scanning over a message board, or talking with a fellow Braves fan, there is an almost unanimous dissatisfaction with one player seemingly beyond any of the other 24 men on Atlanta’s roster. That man is left-handed specialist Royce Ring and I for one, can’t understand why.

Let me rephrase that last part. I can understand why fans would be calling for his head – he does have a 7.71 ERA – I just think it’s a ridiculous reason when you take into account what’s behind that all-encompassing number. Are Braves fans truly that impulsive about ERA that they can’t look beyond that one stat with a grand total of 4.2 innings in the books?

I would understand the frustration if he came with the same hype he had as a prospect, but no one expected him to come on and be a dominating all-purpose reliever or future-closer. Ring has been ineffective against right-handed batters this season (all four of his earned runs have been to righties) but the Braves knew that when they sent Wilfredo Ledezma and Will Startup to San Diego, they were getting back a LOOGY. His job is to get out left-handers so don’t be shocked if he struggles with batters stepping in from the other side of the plate, that’s why he’s a LOOGY.

The most disappointing thing to me is that even Bobby Cox seems to undervalue Ring. Neither he nor fellow LOOGY Will Ohman fare well against righties and both are effective against left-handers, yet for some reason, Ohman has pitched just under eight more innings than Ring this season and has been used on a much more regular basis. Here’s the problem; Ring has been significantly better against left-handed batters.

In fact, you really can’t get much better as a LOOGY than what Royce Ring has done so far this season. The 27-year old has used that big sweeping slider to hold left-handed batters to a miniscule line of .154/.267/.308 this season. Of the 13 he’s faced, two have reached off of hits (both doubles), one was hit by a pitch, one was walked, and of the other nine Ring retired, six headed back to the dugout after striking out.

Don’t worry, it gets better. Two of the four runs Ring has been charged with this season came during an April 5th game against the Mets where Ring was pitching mop-up with a six-run lead in the eight – a position where the reliever is told to go in, throw strikes, and pitch to contact. The other two runs came in his next game – ten days later – and the baserunners actually scored on back-to-back, two-out, bases-loaded walks by Will Ohman.

Maybe Royce Ring deserves just a bit more credit for his performance than he is getting. Then again, you could just look at his bloated ERA and tell yourself he’s terrible. I’ll leave you with just one more thought. One of a reliever’s biggest responsibilities is not allowing inherited runners to score. In his 12 appearances, Ring has inherited 16 runners and not one of them has crossed the plate.

Prado Out for 6-8 Weeks; Braves Acquire Greg Norton

Martin Prado badly injured his thumb sliding into first base yesterday, in a game we won 14-7. It is almost never advisable to slide into first base, least of all in a blowout, but it happened and Prado’s on the 15-day DL for what will assuredly be much more than 15 days; his thumb’s in a cast and MLB.com is reporting he has a grade 1-2 sprain and will likely be out 6-8 weeks, though no surgery will be required.

Anyway, the tireless Frank Wren acquired Greg Norton from the Mariners for a PTBNL and or cash. Norton’s getting on in years — he’s two months older than Mike Hampton — but it wasn’t so long ago that he was a pretty good bench bat. Trouble is, he can’t really play up the middle; he used to play mostly 3rd base, and recently he’s been a reserve outfielder, which we don’t need. So he’s a utilityman without a position. Of course, we’ll be able to find a place for him once Chipper starts missing games, assuming he can still play the hot corner, but for the moment we still don’t have a backup shortstop.

In order to make room for Norton, the Braves put Peter Moylan on the 60-day DL, and as Braves Journal’s Mac Thomason says, “This can pretty much serve as confirmation that he will have Tommy John surgery.”

Tomorrow we’ll face the Padres, but for now we can just bask in the glow of a 3-game sweep, our first since we swept the Dodgers April 18-20. Stay fresh, guys.

Minor League Report: Myrtle Beach

Update: I guess Travis Jones read my mind on this one. After I wrote this, Jones went 4/5 with two doubles, a homerun, and two RBIs, bringing his average up to .263.

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans have fared just a tad better (note the sarcasm) than Mississippi this season. Atlanta’s high-A affiliate leads the Carolina League Southern Division with a 16-12 record, on the back of a 2.66 team ERA. That’s not much of surprise however. The Carolina League is notoriously pitcher-friendly and the Pelicans’ home park is considered one of the least hitter-friendly parks in the minors. Anyways, on with the individual performances.

Who’s Hot

RHP Tommy Hanson- Questions about the 21-year old’s control and velocity arose after a mediocre showing with Myrtle Beach in eleven starts last year. This year, Hanson has done his best to put those concerns to rest and with that, has probably helped his stock more than any prospect in baseball. The 6’6” right-hander’s velocity has risen about 2-3 mph and he is now sitting in the 92-94 mph range. His fastball has good movement, his changeup has improved significantly over the past two seasons, and of all the people I’ve talked to who have seen him pitch, one phrase has come up every time when I bring up his curve — knee-buckling. Hanson is 3-1 with an 0.79 ERA as well as 42 strikeouts and only 10 walks in 34 innings. He should see a promotion to double-A within the next month or two and that will be a big test for him. He’s given up over two flyball outs to every groundball out and once he gets out of such a pitcher-friendly league and park, and starts pitching against more advanced competition, the poor groundball rate could result in some big homerun numbers.

CF Gorkys Hernandez- Hernandez, who was acquired from Detroit in the Renteria deal this off-season, has been overshadowed by the success of Jair Jurrjens in Atlanta. Hernandez has enjoyed quite a bit of success himself though. Through 19 games, he is hitting .309/.378/.568 with five stolen bases, five triples, and two homeruns. His 6/14 BB/K isn’t great but it isn’t a big issue at that young of an age. Hernandez has missed some time this year with a hamstring injury but it doesn’t seem all that serious and if he keeps producing at this level, he’ll almost certainly receive a promotion at some point this year.

SS Brandon Hicks- Hicks has really blown past my expectations early in the season. The 2007 third-round pick out of Texas A&M has four homeruns and a .586 SLG through 16 games with the Pelicans. His defense and athleticism are very good but as he moves up, his hitting ability will probably be questioned at every level. He’s doing well so far to put those at rest. The big drawback however is his plate discipline. After showing a pretty good feel for the strikezone last year (39/44 BB/K in 186 AB), Hicks’ plate discipline has tanked in 2008. His 5/23 BB/K puts him on pace for 192 strikeouts and only 42 walks over 500 at-bats and that is far from what you want to see out of a polished college product in a fairly low level. His production isn’t suffering now but if that doesn’t change drastically, he has no chance of hitting enough at higher levels. The discipline absolutely has to improve.

Who’s Not

1B Tyler Flowers- Flowers’ defensive inadequacies behind the plate mean he’ll almost certainly end up at first in the future. Defense isn’t his biggest issue this season however. After impressing the Braves in spring training, Flowers has shown very little power this season with only two homeruns and a sub-.400 SLG. In addition, he has.674 OPS against right-handers which could be the sign of a future platoon role. His on base skills have been impressive this year with a .134 isoOBP, but that alone isn’t going to make him a major leaguer. All of his value is in his bat (specifically his power) and that .247/.381/.392 line is not anywhere near good enough.

2B Travis Jones- This Georgia-native was one of my favorite players from last year’s draft and though he has struggled this season, he remains one of my favorites. The 22-year old second baseman has a meager .234/.342/.404 line, however his peripherals are solid. He’s shown pretty good plate discipline, power, and speed this season and it looks like the only thing that is really holding him back is the low average. He’s going to need to cut down on his strikeout numbers a bit but I still have faith that he can become a quality starting secondbaseman.