Post by Bryan Stone on Apr 26, 2010 12:40:55 GMT -5
Braves’ offense has been alarmingly bad
3:43 pm April 25, 2010, by David O'Brien
New York – Only 17 games into a 162-game season, it’s not time for the Braves to panic about their currently pitiful offense.
However, it certainly should be raising some red flags and at least getting the wheels turning in the front office.
Chipper's hurt again; most other Braves just have hurting numbers.
Oh, it’s gone bad in a hurry, folks. Beyond bad. Took about one day, really.
After teasing us all with a 12-hit, 16-run Opening Day performance against the Cubs since-demoted-to-the-bullpen Carlos Zambrano, the Braves have hit — are you ready? – .219 in the past 16 games. They’ve scored 54 runs in those 16 games, including nine in one game against Colorado.
In the other 15 games, they totaled just 45 runs. Three runs per game. Whew.
And it’s gotten worse instead of better lately. A lot worse, in fact.
• The Braves have hit .194 and scored 14 runs in their past seven games. That’s horrendous. They’ve hit three homers in that stretch, and all three came in one four-batter span in the ninth and 10th innings of a stirring April 20 comeback win against Philly that looks more and more like an aberration.
Think about that: The Braves have failed to hit a home run in six of their past seven games, and have gone 2-5 in that stretch despite having their pitchers allow three runs or fewer in four of those seven games.
Remember how they talked for much of last season about wasting so many great pitching performances, how they had to stop doing that? They’re doing the same thing again.
The offseason additions to the lineup – Troy Glaus and Melky Cabrera – have been a bust, and Nate McLouth continues playing like someone who barely resembles the emerging standout he appeared to be for a couple of years with Pittsburgh.
Matt Diaz and Yunel Escobar, two of the Braves’ steadiest performers last season (I voted Escobar the team MVP in 2009), have been wholly disappointing through two weeks.
Cabrera's been one of the worst hitters in the league so far.
The Braves have four outfielders, and the only who’s come close to meeting expectations is 20-year-old Jason Heyward, who’s surpassed them. Lately, though, even Heyward hough seems to have been swept into the malaise currently gripping virtually every hitter not named Martin Prado, Eric Hinske, David Ross or Chipper Jones, and Chipper simply can’t stay healthy so he can’t be counted upon.
To be fair, Brian McCann hasn’t been bad, just hasn’t been up to his usual lofty standards.
It really is uncanny how a team can have so many guys slumping at once, so early in the season. And we haven’t even mentioned yet how the Braves’ leadoff position has been a failure of epic proportions. (They didn’t feel the need to pursue a leadoff option other than Melky this winter, huh? Well, it’s early, that’s about all that can be said in support of that decision right now.)
Here’s a few team numbers. In the 16-team National League, entering Sunday’s games the Braves ranked:
– 15th in batting average (.227)
– 14th in runs (70)
– Tied for 14th in homers (12)
– 10th in OBP (.328)
– 14th in slugging percentage (.350)
full blog: blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/04/25/braves-offense-has-been-alarmingly-awful/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
3:43 pm April 25, 2010, by David O'Brien
New York – Only 17 games into a 162-game season, it’s not time for the Braves to panic about their currently pitiful offense.
However, it certainly should be raising some red flags and at least getting the wheels turning in the front office.
Chipper's hurt again; most other Braves just have hurting numbers.
Oh, it’s gone bad in a hurry, folks. Beyond bad. Took about one day, really.
After teasing us all with a 12-hit, 16-run Opening Day performance against the Cubs since-demoted-to-the-bullpen Carlos Zambrano, the Braves have hit — are you ready? – .219 in the past 16 games. They’ve scored 54 runs in those 16 games, including nine in one game against Colorado.
In the other 15 games, they totaled just 45 runs. Three runs per game. Whew.
And it’s gotten worse instead of better lately. A lot worse, in fact.
• The Braves have hit .194 and scored 14 runs in their past seven games. That’s horrendous. They’ve hit three homers in that stretch, and all three came in one four-batter span in the ninth and 10th innings of a stirring April 20 comeback win against Philly that looks more and more like an aberration.
Think about that: The Braves have failed to hit a home run in six of their past seven games, and have gone 2-5 in that stretch despite having their pitchers allow three runs or fewer in four of those seven games.
Remember how they talked for much of last season about wasting so many great pitching performances, how they had to stop doing that? They’re doing the same thing again.
The offseason additions to the lineup – Troy Glaus and Melky Cabrera – have been a bust, and Nate McLouth continues playing like someone who barely resembles the emerging standout he appeared to be for a couple of years with Pittsburgh.
Matt Diaz and Yunel Escobar, two of the Braves’ steadiest performers last season (I voted Escobar the team MVP in 2009), have been wholly disappointing through two weeks.
Cabrera's been one of the worst hitters in the league so far.
The Braves have four outfielders, and the only who’s come close to meeting expectations is 20-year-old Jason Heyward, who’s surpassed them. Lately, though, even Heyward hough seems to have been swept into the malaise currently gripping virtually every hitter not named Martin Prado, Eric Hinske, David Ross or Chipper Jones, and Chipper simply can’t stay healthy so he can’t be counted upon.
To be fair, Brian McCann hasn’t been bad, just hasn’t been up to his usual lofty standards.
It really is uncanny how a team can have so many guys slumping at once, so early in the season. And we haven’t even mentioned yet how the Braves’ leadoff position has been a failure of epic proportions. (They didn’t feel the need to pursue a leadoff option other than Melky this winter, huh? Well, it’s early, that’s about all that can be said in support of that decision right now.)
Here’s a few team numbers. In the 16-team National League, entering Sunday’s games the Braves ranked:
– 15th in batting average (.227)
– 14th in runs (70)
– Tied for 14th in homers (12)
– 10th in OBP (.328)
– 14th in slugging percentage (.350)
full blog: blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/04/25/braves-offense-has-been-alarmingly-awful/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog
