Catcall of the night

Directed towards the league's most overpaid mop-up man, portly former Bravo Odalis Perez --

"Hey Odalis, what's Spanish for fat tub of goo?"

Not even a titter, save from CD. Have Braves fans already forgotten Terry Forster? Actually, we could use him right about now.

--CB

Dayton Moore is gone

Looks like JS lieutenant Dayton Moore is KC-bound to become GM of the moribund Royals.

As paranoid Braves loyalists, our first thought is that Moore might be bailing before Liberty Media comes in and ruins everything. There could be a sliver of substance to that conspiracy theory. But according to the Kansas City Star, Moore will have final say on all baseball decisions as part of a five-year contract with KC owner David Glass. That has to be attractive.

Moore turned down the Red Sox GM job in the offseason. That is obviously a far more glamorous gig than running the Royals. On the other hand, Moore would’ve been working with the specter of Theo Epstein looming, a GM by committee approach and an insanely intense and critical New England fan base and media.

Things should be much calmer in the Beef Belt. When he rejected the Boston offer, Moore said the usual stuff about family and so forth. We speculated then about whether the Braves might’ve promised him JS’s job when he retires. However, the official Braves site recently wrote that JS might be staying around a few more seasons.

So if his boss isn’t going anywhere soon, what assistant GM of baseball operations wouldn’t want to leave and become the boss? Especially if he has complete authority, albeit over a team with a limited payroll.

It’s probably reaching to conclude that Moore is fleeing Atlanta ahead of John Malone’s evil Liberty Media. But it’s probably also naïve to think that was no factor at all. There is also this: J Graham posited a few weeks ago that as the new president of the Nationals, Stan Kasten could be expected to raid the Braves’ executive suite to staff his new operation. Who better to bring on as GM than Dayton Moore, schooled for the past dozen years in the Braves way of building an organization as solid as any in baseball?

With a new ballpark coming and a bigger market, the Natspos job figured to offer wider horizons than those in KC. But Dayton must’ve figured an offer from DC was no sure thing.

All this is of course pure speculation. All we know is Dayton Moore is booking. That is not a good thing, but it shouldn’t cripple the Bravos organization. A rash of front office departures would be another story.

* If interested, see earlier post about the Royals jack ass owner, David Glass, who let his former GM Allard Baird twist in the wind for three weeks and then blamed the media for it.

-- CD

Bravos must improve against better teams

There’s a baseball axiom that says you have to pole ax the bad teams and hold steady against the good ones. We’re great on the first half of that; we need work on the second.

The Bravos are a sterling 12-3 against teams with losing records. However, against .500 or better clubs, the home team’s just 15-22, a .405 winning percentage. Play .405 ball for a season and you’re 66-96. We’ve only played three teams with losing records – the Marlins, Natspos and Cubs. In the 15-5 May run before the Dodgers came to town, 11 of the wins came against those three sad sacks.

That’s great work. The Braves did what they needed to do, and then some. Now we must beat stronger clubs more often. Like this entire season, much of that probably hinges on the bullpen. You’re rarely going to pound quality teams, so the pen will more often pitch decisive innings in those games.

All too often, those decisions are going the wrong way. According to the Office’s elite research department, the pen is either wholly or largely responsible for 12 of the club’s 25 losses. Reverse half of those 12 and the home team’s in first place. I included in that figure not just blown leads but also close games that the relievers sparked into conflagrations, like last night. That doesn’t count a few wins that the pen made a lot tougher, like Sunday at Wrigley, or games in which a starter stayed in longer than he should’ve and was less effective because Bobby was, rightly, hesitant to bring in a reliever.

Right now, the Braves relief corps stands 14th in the NL in ERA, at 4.90, better than only the Giants and Brewers. Only the Nationals, Marlins and Pirates have worse save conversion rates, and those are three of the Senior Circuit’s four worst teams. (Chicago is the other.) In walks plus hits per inning pitched -- a key stat as you don’t want relievers filling the bases – the home team’s pen is better than only San Fran’s, 1.58 to 1.62. And the Giants’ closer has been hurt most of the season.

It becomes clearer every day that any moves must focus on bolstering the bullpen. We’re more or less OK elsewhere. The starting pitchers rank solidly in the middle of the league and are improving, as Sosa notched his third straight crisp game last night. Offensively, the team strikes out too much and gives away more at-bats than you’d like. Still, only the Dodgers and Arizona have scored more runs than the Bravos, and we’re just one run behind the D’backs for second place.

Last night, the pen’s collapse began with a single pitch, as it often does. With two outs in the 8th inning of a 3-3 game, Remlinger threw a two-strike fastball down the middle that Andre Ethier, a lefty hitter who had been 3-for-15 vs. lefties, slapped into left field for an RBI single. Tyler Yates then threw more gas on the fire. The game was still tied in the 8th because an inning earlier Danys Baez made the pitches to get Chipper, with one out, and then Andruw with the go-ahead run on third.

-- CD

Bullpen watch

So at first glance the Tyler Yates experiment appears a failure. We'll give him some more time, but might Will Startup be the Bravos' next bullpen reinforcement?

The former UGA closer, who started the season in Myrtle Beach, has been promoted to Richmond after torching Double A hitters.

Besides being a decent prospect, Startup is lefthanded, making him even more attractive to the home team. At this point it appears he'll make it to Atlanta before fellow '05 draft pick Joey Devine returns.

So what's Ed Olwine up to these days? Still flinging peanuts at Hawks games? Might want to warm up that left arm, Eddie.

--CB

Another modest proposal

Revised trade scenario --

Earlier I floated the idea of a Betemit for Scot Shields swap. Maybe we could get away with this instead: LaRoche and Reitsma for Shields and back-up IF Macier Izturis. The Angels are getting nothing from their first basemen (Darrin Erstad is on the DL, again, and heralded prospect Casey Kotchman is hitting .152 in 79 ABs), and while Adam has been considered somewhat of a disappointment he's on pace for roughly 30 HR and 100 RBI this year.

Said deal would require putting Betemit -- or Chipper -- at first, and calling up prospect Scott Thorman, who's hitting a solid .295 at Richmond with an .852 OPS. Then I'd demote Pete Orr to make room for Izturis, who's excellent defensively at 3B, SS and 2B. Said trade would improve our bullpen, offense and -- assuming Betemit or Chipper can handle first -- defense.

Shields vs. Reitsma: upgrade. Izturis vs. Orr: upgrade. Thorman vs. LaRoche: downgrade for now, but the Canadian first sacker projects as a potential LaRoche, minus the ADD. Or you could bring up Kelly Johnson, who can play several positions (maybe first).

Meanwhile, the Angels get a desperately needed bat without spending a lot of money. As much as they've struggled, their bullpen remains deep, so Shields is conceivably a luxury the Halos could afford to deal. And it's not a stretch to assume that Reitsma might re-emerge as a serviceable set-up option in a different environment.

--CB

Tiny bubbles make me warm all over

Can't resist a Don Ho reference, probably the last you'll ever read on the Office. I mention the island icon because the Braves have imported a new retread for the bullpen, native Hawaiian Tyler Kali Yates.

Yates, 28, missed last year following rotator cuff surgery and was released by the Baltimore organization a month into this season.

Feeling that his shoulder was almost all the back back, Yates set up a workout at the Houston Astros training camp in Florida for several team and Braves director of minor league operations J.J. Picollo liked what he saw.

The Braves immediately signed the native of Hawaii in early May and Yates had a 2.16 ERA in seven appearances. In 8-1/3 innings, he allowed six hits, walked three and struck out 10.

"Everyone was raving about him," Braves manager Bobby Cox. "We've been wanting to get a look at him up here."

Yates has a fastball that reached 95-96 mph at Richmond and also a good slider. He occasionally mixes in a changeup.

Lance Cormier was optioned to Richmond to make room for Yates. The way our 'pen is going, Kali might be closing games by August. Ridiculous? No more so than the idea of Ken Ray closing games in May.

--CB

(Potentially) bad news

Newsday, not the most reliable source, is reporting that Roger Clemens has decided to return to the Astros. As much as I loathe the Evil Empire, I'd rather the Rocket head north (actually, Boston or Texas would be my preferences).

Why not Houston? Blame the Mets. With New York's other team a definite playoff contender, we have to consider the rest of the National League's elite as rivals. Right now, because of their bullpen instability, you'd have to rate the Bravos behind the Mets in the East.

Besides the Metropolitans, I'd place the 'Cards -- assuming Cris Carpenter's injury is as minor as it appears -- and Dodgers as the teams to beat in their respective divisions. Next best: the Braves and Astros (Arizona is off to a nice start, but their starting pitching beyond Brandon Webb is atrocious). With Clemens, Houston gets the edge. Without him, advantage Atlanta.

--CB

Renty so far better than Fukey

With the Dodgers in town, it seems an apt time to compare Braves shortstops past and present. Yeah, they flogged us yesterday, they’re a half game back and we’re 4-and-a-half out. But the shortstop transition is so far in our favor.

Furcal had a couple hits and runs scored yesterday, is hitting .324 in May and has 10 steals. He’s heating up after a .198 April and is at .266 for the season. On the other hand, Fukey leads the National League with 11 errors, and he’s been caught stealing six times. Last season, he stole 46 bases and was caught just 10 times. That’s a 63 percent success rate this year, 82 percent last year. For his career, he’s stolen a base on 77 percent of his attempts.

So he’s off to a decent start offensively and a shaky one afield.

As for the Bravos’ new shortstop, Renteria has been superb with the stick. He’s hitting .333 with 5 homers, 21 RBI and a .415 on base percentage. He easily surpasses Fukey in all those categories. He has half as many steals as Furcal, but you expect that. Renteria has not been excellent defensively but he’s been a little better than Furcal. He has 8 errors -- two in the past two games on tricky throws to second -- compared to Fukey’s 11.

You’d have to give the edge to Renteria based on performance. And one more critical statistic makes it a landslide so far. Salary: the Dodgers are paying Raffy $13 million a year; the Braves are paying Edgar roughly $6 million per while Boston picks up the other $4 mill.

This is not to say Renteria is necessarily better than Furcal. They’re both fine players. I would simply argue that so far, the Braves are probably better with Renteria than they would’ve been with Furcal playing as he has so far this season. When you consider finances, there’s no doubt the Braves are better for having Edgar.

If the Braves had met the Dodgers’ price for Raffy, JS probably would have had to trade Giles and other players for minor leaguers. It’s not worth speculating because there simply was no way the Braves could match the LA offer.

We don’t blame Furcal for taking the Dodgers’ money. They offered far more than the home team. As Bobby has said, he had to take it. Apparently some fans don’t agree. At the game yesterday, there were a few boos, more cheers but mostly indifference greeting Raffy.

Rather than pondering what would’ve been had Furcal stayed, a more intriguing question might be: What if the organization had opted to play Betemit at shortstop every day, kept Marte and spent a little more money on the bullpen? Who knows? Willy B. has had a fine year so far, but in limited time he has not hit as well as Renteria. Defensively, I suspect Renty is better, though Betemit has at least held his own when he’s played short.

There is little doubt that another quality arm – Tom Gordon? – could have made a difference in the pen. Again, all this is hindsight. Going into the season with Betemit, who’s never been a regular, as the starting shortstop would have been a risk. So was going into the season with Reitsma as closer. JS judged that gambling on the pen was the wiser choice.

It would be easy to say that was wrong. And, apologies for sounding like Donald Rumsfeld, but the results of some other strategy are unknowable. These moves should not be judged solely on what’s happened in the first two months of the season, or even on what happens in this entire season. Gordon, for example, signed a 3-year deal with the Phillies averaging around $6 million a year. That’s a hefty price and a lot of years for a reliever who’ll turn 39 in November. In 2008, Philly might wish they had Gordon's money to spend elsewhere.

Being a major league GM is complex, never as simple as we fans portray. Decisions are made within a larger context – every trade or free agent signing sets in motion a chain of events. And each one matters when you effectively operate with a salary cap, as the Braves and most teams do.

-- CD

JS is looking for bullpen help

More kudos to the local organ’s Jeff Schultz. He’s got a column online that includes the first comments I’ve seen from JS acknowledging that the bullpen is a mess and that he is trying to make a deal.

Schultz:

“The situation with the bullpen now, even as early as it is, we’re far enough into the season where the body of evidence is there,” said Schuerholz.

Schuerholz doesn’t divulge a whole lot. For him, this was the equivalent of yelling, “My head’s on fire.” …..

Schuerholz still hopes a closer will emerge from within the franchise, but said: “I would be less than honest if I said we haven’t talked to people [about potential trades], because we have. Calls have been made.”

It might or might not mean anything, but JS also insisted that he has not been told he can't make any deals because of the pending sale of the team. To think that when the home team acquired Reitsma in March 2004, then-Phillies manager Larry Bowa was quoted as saying he hoped it was not Reitsma when he heard the Bravos had gotten a pitcher from the Reds.

On the other topic du jour, it is more than obvious that we here in the Office are huge Bobby fans and don’t brook much criticism of The Skipper. But it seems past time for him to get Betemit on the field. The guy is right now a better hitter than at least three Braves playing far more than he is – LaRoche, Langerhans and Diaz. For the moment, he’s hitting better than Giles, but benching Gilly would just be silly. He’s a proven producer. And you could make an argument that Willy B’s a more complete hitter than Frenchy, but despite his peaks and valleys Francoeur has contributed plenty. Like Giles, benching Frenchy would clearly be foolish.

So get Wilson a first baseman’s mitt. Start hitting him fungoes in left. LaRoche and Langerhans, L.L. Cool Breeze, are hitting a combined .242 and striking out every 3 at-bats. Betemit has as many homers and three fewer RBI than Langerhans in 57 fewer at-bats. With regular playing time, Betemit might level out and be no better than L&L. So what? Give him a shot and see. All he does now is produce and have solid at-bats. We need more of those.

-- CD

Moore, more more

The official Brave site lends some insight into Dayton Moore's decision-making process as he ponders a move to Kansas City --

But recently there have been some thoughts developing that Braves general manager John Schuerholz may remain in his position even after his contract expires after the 2007 season.

With Moore's children nearing high school, he would like to ensure himself a GM job within the next year. Thus, he may be looking to get one as soon as possible, and, for that reason, the Royals may benefit.

--CB

A milestone worth forgetting

Bonds made history Sunday, and no one cares. AJC columnist Jeff Schultz sums it up well:

Barry Bonds hit his 715th home run Sunday. But every overblown ESPN news break-in couldn’t drown out the sad reality of the moment. It was as awkward as it was historical. Some wanted to watch. Most wanted to cover their eyes.

This wasn’t a player punctuating greatness. This was the most vilified sports star we’ve ever seen affirming his place among the five darkest moments in baseball history.

Count them. Like plagues:

1. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox are banned for conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series.

2. Pete Rose, the game’s greatest hitter, agrees to a lifetime ban for betting — on baseball.

3. Baseball cancels the 1994 World Series, not because of natural disaster but rather mutant labor negotiators.

4. Congress holds steroid hearings. Among the Murderers Row giving testimony: Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco — who ironically turns out to be baseball’s shining light.

5. Bonds passes the great Ruth and closes in on the great Hank Aaron. But he’s the poster child of the steroid era, and his baggage and personality have led him to become the sport’s greatest pox instead of ambassador.

Sometimes, there's consquences. Apathy may not be adequate punishment for Bonds, but today it speaks volumes.

--CB

An anniversary worth forgetting

Thanks to Office reader Jeff for reminding us that today is the one year anniversary of Raul Mondesi's release. And I'd just about forgotten he ever played here.

I was bully on Raul when the Braves signed him, predicting a .260, 20 HR, 80 RBI campaign. As is so often the case, I was dead wrong. Wonder where Francoeur would be right now if Mondesi had met my unrealistic expectations?

--CB

Set your sights on "Death Ray"

It's Kenny Ray's job now. Perhaps Bobby will play match-ups here and there, but this much we can assume: Next time there's a save opportunity, Chris Reitsma won't get it. It's a shame -- Chris is a helluva guy, proven by the way his teammates, and Bobby, have stuck behind him. But he's no closer, as evidenced once again Sunday afternoon.

And Ken Ray is? He looks more than capable so far, but it's hard to imagine a 31-year-old journeyman salvaging our 'pen. The guy was probably one step away from playing in the Korean League, and now our playoff hopes rest squarely on his shoulders (barring a trade).

Also, looking for as much feedback as we can get on what to do about Wilson. Put him in left, or first? Keep him where he is? Or trade him for pitching help?

I vote the latter, if we get a premium arm in return. Obviously I'd rather Betemit stay put, but I don't think that's a luxury we can afford anymore.

--CB

R.I.P. "Ironhead"

About a decade ago, while logging some freelance work with an Atlanta Falcons publication, I was contracted to do a piece on Craig "Ironhead" Heyward. I was immediately intimidated, considering my subject was a guy nicknamed "Ironhead."

Right away he recognized my trepidation, calling me out in front of a gaggle of reporters camped at his locker. If I felt I could've rescued a shred of dignity running out of the room, arms flailing over my head, I would've done so. But after briefly pondering that unpardonable option, I persisted, and eventually Heyward relented. A (barely) serviceable Q and A was conducted, salvaged by a consistently great quote. Bravado aside, I left our chat thinking Heyward was a cool cat.

The onetime Falcons FB died today, and I thank him for one of my more memorable "celebrity" interviews (better than Paul Newman, Kathy Bates, Duran Duran and even Jerry Clower). The guy was an original; funny as hell (even when putting down yours truly) and doggedly candid. That ranks one high on the Office character scale.

"The one thing he's still got and that hasn't changed a bit," former Falcons QB Bobby Hebert (an even better interview than "Ironhead") said two weeks ago, "is that devilish sense of humor of his. Hopefully, that will keep him going for a while."

Unfortunately, it didn't, but I'm guessing someone in the afterlife is quite entertained right now.

--CB

Royally tempted

He turned down the Red Sox last winter, so why is Dayton Moore -- the consensus heir apparent to JS -- considering an offer from the Kansas City Royals to become that team's new general manager?

My neurotic instincts tell me he's getting out because Liberty's getting in (to the baseball business). But there's no proof of that. So why take on baseball's worst franchise when he could have been in charge of one of its best, and most profitable?

There's several different possibilities to explain this. Maybe JS is planning on hanging around another five years. Maybe it's personal -- Moore is a Kansas native. Maybe he relishes the challenge of rebuilding a perennial cellar dweller, just as his boss did here in Atlanta (and, don't forget, JS started his GM career in Kansas City).

My guess is that he passed on the Boston job because he knew Theo Epstein would always be lurking in the background, if not the foreground. Either that or he bristled at the committee-like approach followed the the Red Sox' front office.

If he gets complete control over personnel matters, as he's demanding, then I can't blame Dayton for leaving the Bravos. Let's hope it works out better for him than it did Dean Taylor (formerly the Brewers' GM).

--CB

McCarver way off base

During today’s Fox broadcast, Tim McCarver said he had seen a “great stat” showing that during the Braves’ 14-year run of titles the Cubs had outdrawn the home team by 6,000 fans a game.

Judging from the context McCarver seemed to mention this more as a sign of how powerful a draw Wrigley Field itself is, as opposed to the Cubs team, and not as a shot at Atlanta fans.

The problem: It’s not true. Not even close. Over those 15 seasons, the Braves drew 43.12 million fans at home, the Cubs 38.20 million, according to the Braves 2006 media guide and the Cubs official website. The Braves, from 1991 through 2005, drew those 43 million in 1,171 home dates, an average of 36,825 a game. The Cubs site does not specify how many home dates the team had each year, but it obviously has to be very close to the Braves’ number.

If McCarver’s stat included road games, then it’s meaningless, and probably still inaccurate.

-- CD

I can't resist

Reacting to local radio rants by aging hack Beau Bock is like analyzing the politics of a LaRouche candidate – pointless, beyond a waste of time.

But I can’t resist. Bock’s latest “commentary” chastised the local media for, A, not ripping JS for being “snookered” by the Yankees when they overpaid for Kyle Farnsworth, and B, referring to Bobby as a future Hall of Famer, which he most certainly is. Of course Bock added his usual digs at Schuerholz and Cox for not winning more than one Series.

Bock is beyond absurd. The last of his diatribes we dissected was some laughably revisionist tripe about the Falcons offering to share Deion Sanders with the Braves and JS turning up his nose. The truth was quite different.

Apparently Bock’s 33 years bouncing among dozens of Atlanta sports media gigs have not much improved things. But say this for the guy – he can always land a job and he’s no newcomer to the role of buffoon. (He’s also apparently part owner of the station 790, which might explain why he’s on the air.) Bock was lambasting Bobby and JS as early as 1993. Here’s a quote in the local organ from November ’93:

"I've followed Jerry since his days as an assistant coach, and I believe in his system of accountability and aggressive, hard-nosed football," Bock said. "Down at the Braves, I see a superstar-laden team but no appreciation for athletic ability. John Schuerholz has a hidden agenda, and we don't look for alternative ways to score runs."

Jerry refers to Beau’s sacred cow, Jerry Glanville. Let’s examine Beau’s bull about his sacred cow and his favorite targets. Glanville in 1993 was in the midst of his fourth and last season as Falcons coach. That season began with five straight losses and ended with four defeats in the last five games. Glanville had one winning season in four with the Falcons. A purported defensive mastermind, Glanville’s Falcon defenses were a sieve: most points allowed in the NFL in 1992 and 93, and 21st and 20th in points allowed his first two seasons. This system of accountability and aggressive, hard-nosed football produced a 28-38 record in Atlanta.

Glanville fashioned losing streaks of seven and five games with the Birds to bookend his tenure, the first streak in ’90, the second in ’93. His 1986 Houston team lost eight in a row, half a season.

Glanville also left Houston in fine fashion. His 1989 team coughed up a division title by losing its last two regular season games by a combined score of 85-27, including a 61-7 pasting by the 8-8 Bengals. Glanville’s squad then limped into the playoffs as a wild card and lost its first game. Glanville’s overall coaching record is 60-69.

To review:

Glanville – 0 Super Bowl titles, 0 conference titles, 0 division titles, 0 coach of the year awards, a .465 career winning percentage, one 56-17 humiliation with a “California trophy” on the Candlestick Park sidelines.

Bobby – 1 World Series title, 14 straight division titles, 5 NL pennants, 7 Sporting News NL Manager of the Year awards, a .566 career winning percentage that is third best in baseball history.

Bock – 168 different radio and TV jobs, one soured business relationship that spawned a lawsuit against Life College founder “Dr.” Sid Williams, a supposed football career at the University of Miami but no mention on a list of the school’s lettermen, an endless and continuing string of asinine radio yap. And he does commercials for a Hummer dealership.

-- CD

What almost was

In 1989, when he was still the Braves' GM (and Russ Nixon was in the dugout), Bobby backed out of a blockbuster deal that might've revitalized the franchise a year before the '91 miracle.

From a 1990 column by Mark Bradley, courtesy of the AJC archives:

What if the Braves had pulled the trigger on Murphy-to-the-Mets? Doesn't the idea of having a .400 hitter (Lenny Dykstra) and a 30-homer man (Howard Johnson) and a card-carrying closer (Rick Aguilera) seem even sweeter in retrospect than it did at the time?

Not that the Mets trio would've turned the 1990 squad into a pennant contender, but Aguilera would've been a big improvement over Joe Boever. Same with HoJo and Jim Presley. And Dykstra would've sent Lonnie Smith to the bench a year earlier.

But what about the next year? We would likely had never seen TP and Otis in Braves uniforms, with Johnson entrenched at third and Dykstra in center. And Alejandro Pena would probably have not been needed, either.

A statistical comparison from '91:

Johnson -- 38 HR, 117 RBI, .259 BA (and 30 steals)
Pendleton -- 21 HR, 105 RBI, .311 BA (and much better defense)

*TP's clubhouse leadership gives him the edge here

Dykstra -- Played in only 63 games that year, with a .297 BA, .391 OBP and 24 steals
Otis -- .297 BA, .371 OBP, 72 SB

*Dykstra had a better career, but Otis had the better season. Which drug is worse: coke or 'roids?

Berenguer/Pena -- The Braves two main closers in '91 performed quite capably; Pena had 11 saves and a 1.40 ERA while Senor Smoke recorded 17 saves and a 2.24 ERA
Aguilera -- Ironically ended up with the Twins in '91, saving 42 with a 2.35 ERA

*Long-term, Aggy would've solved a lot of bullpen problems. He remained a solid closer through much of the nineties ...

Hard to make a final verdict here, but TP was a pivotal element of those early 90s teams (along with the starting pitching). Without him, I don't think the Braves would've won in '91. Beyond that, who knows? Overall, though, I'm glad Bobby didn't make that deal (not that Jeff Parrett, Jim Vatcher and Victor Rosario contributed much to the Bravos).

And did you know Tommy Greene was sent to the Phillies along with Murphy? Sometimes even bad trades work out for the best.

--CB

Baseball Blunders

Rob Neyer has a new book out called Big Book of Baseball Blunders in which he chronicles some of the most egregious front office blunders in baseball history. For instance, he relays the story of how Babe Ruth became a Boston Brave. I always just assumed that it was a sentimental move to let The Babe finish his career in Beantown without having to face the Yankees. Nothing could be further from the truth, which might be good fodder for another entry.

Espn.com jumps on the bandwagon to let the fans vote on what they think is the greatest blunder in baseball history, as well as top blunders by each team. In typical Esspen fashion, pretty much all the choices are post-1979, which is when sports began in its opinion. Every franchise has had its blunders, particularly since hindsight plays a large role in determining whether a player transaction works out or not. Here are my Top Ten Braves Blunders, which I’ll limit to time in Atlanta:

10. Trades for Denny McLain and Dick Allen. The Braves had an obsession in the early 70s to trade for enigmas and ending up with enemas. The Braves gave up Orlando Cepada (who was at the end of his career as well) in 1972 for McClain, who never reported. Likewise, Jim Essian was traded to the White Sox for Allen after the ’74 season. Allen never reported. The Braves eventually traded the rights to Allen to the Phillies for Jim Essian, who they had gotten from the Sox in the meantime.

9. Signing Nick Esasky to a three year, $5.6 million contract. Not so much a blunder as just bad luck. Esasky gets in all of six at-bats and is never able to play again because of vertigo.

8. Trading Dave Justice and Marquis Grissom for Kenny Lofton and Alan Embree. The trade on paper wasn’t a disaster; after all, the Braves have won nine straight division titles since this “blunder.” And the trade arguably freed up the cash to sign Maddux, Glavine, and Smotlz to another round of contracts. What the trade did do, though, was give up a team leader in Justice and a character guy in Grissom for a clubhouse cancer in Lofton. That the team weathered it was yet another testament to Bobby Cox.

7. The signing of Jim Bouton. Virtually blackballed because of "Ball Four" and having not pitched in the big leagues since 1970, Jim Bouton managed to convince Ted Turner to sign him to a minor league contract, against the advice of farm director Henry Aaron. Bouton would pitch for AA Savannah for the better part of three months, and would get a September call-up with the going-nowhere 1978 Braves. He made five starts with the parent club, going 1-3. Aaron’s criticism was valid – Bouton took valuable starts away from prospects in both Savannah and Atlanta.

6. Trading Andre Thornton for Joe Pepitone. The colorful Pepitone was traded to the Braves in 1973 and managed to wear out his welcome after only 11 at-bats. He was released after one month. Thornton went on to have a steady 14-year career in which he amassed 253 homers with the Cubs and Indians.

5. Signing Al Hrabosky. Sure, Bruce Sutter never measured up to his contract in a Braves uniform, but the Hrabosky signing in 1980 was a bigger bust. The tone was set early. The Braves were shellacked in the first two games of the season by the Reds 9-0 and 6-0, but have the lead in Game Three. Hrabosky, in to nail down the game, gives up a two-run homer to Dave Concepcion to lose the game. Hrabosky didn’t get the save that day, but he would manage to get seven saves over the next three seasons (after having 90 in the previous seven).

4. Releasing Luis Tiant. In 1971 a 30-year-old Tiant was thought to be washed up when he was released by Minnesota. The Braves gave him a 30-day tryout at Richmond to see if he could regain the All-Star form he had achieved with Cleveland in the 60s. After 30 days, the Braves let him go. He signed with the Red Sox’s AAA affiliate and was recalled to the Show a few weeks later. He went on to eat another 2,100 innings over the next 10 seasons.

3. The Eddie Haas experiment. Haas was the choice of Turner’s baseball people to replace Cox after Cox was fired after the 1981 season, but Turner went with Joe Torre instead. Though Torre finished first, second, and second in his three years in Atlanta, he and Bob Gibson were always clashing with the front office (Al Thornwell, John Mullen) and minor league pitching instructor Johnny Sain. When Tommie Aaron, a coach on Torre’s staff, entered the final weeks of his battle with leukemia in 1984, Eddie Haas was plucked from Richmond by the front office to replace Aaron, which created even more friction. Torre would eventually be fired after the 1984, and was replaced by Haas, whose tenure as manager would last all of 121 games. The Braves would finish either 5th or 6th in the NL West each of the next six seasons.

2. Trading Brett Butler, Brook Jacoby, and Rick Behenna for Len Barker. In the throes of a pennant race for the second straight year in 1983, the Braves panicked. Just before the roster freeze, they traded three players to be named later to Cleveland for Len Barker. The trade itself was bad – Barker was never effective for the Braves, Butler and Jacoby had decent careers (three All-Star appearances between the two). The blunder was in how the trade was handled. Word leaked out that crowd-favorite Butler was one of the PTBNLs during the September pennant race. The Braves’ brass later admitted that he was one of the PTBNLs, though the commissioner’s office let him finish the year with the Braves. The damage was done. The trade cast a pall over the team, which finished second to the Dodgers. Barker was never welcome in Atlanta, and the home team made matters worse by then signing him to a five-year deal. He was released 2/5 of the way through the contract as part of the April Fools Day Massacre in 1986.

1. Botching the signing of Tom Seaver. In 1966, the Braves signed USC standout Tom Seaver to a $40,000 signing bonus, only to have Commissioner Spike Eckert void the contract because USC’s baseball season had begun when the contract was signed. Every other team was offered the opportunity to match the Braves’ offer and get Tom Terrific. Three teams were interested, and the Mets were awarded the rights to Seaver by lottery. 311 wins, 3,600 strikeouts, and three Cy Young Awards later, Seaver was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.


JGraham

Great post by JG, but have to disagree on one of his selections (although I can't dimiss the merits of his point). Signing Jim Bouton may have been a stupid baseball decision, but it was a cool moment in diamond history nonetheless -- two mavericks, Ted being the other, flipping the middle finger at the establishment for no other reason than they could. Watching Bouton get his first and only win that season against the Giants in Candlestick stands out as one of my earliest Braves memories. I didn't know much about Bouton's past -- I had yet to discover "Ball Four" -- but I was intrigued by the brushstrokes. Plus, I thought it was neat when his hat fell off during his delivery (and I'm a sucker for knucklers).

--CB

A modest proposal

Sam Bass got me thinking as well, and he's directed my sights toward Scot Shields (no relation to ex-Brave hurler Steve Shields) of the struggling O.C. Angels. He's not a closer, but he's as durable a reliever as there is in baseball, accumulating 198 innings out of the pen from 2004-05. Yet he's never spent time on the DL, and this season he's off to a stellar start, with a 1.03 ERA through 26 innings pitched.

Shields' career numbers are stout -- 432.2 IP, 356 HA, 148 BB, 376 K's and a 2.69 ERA. One downer, however: Shields has blown nine out of 22 lifetime save opportunities.

But he's pitched well in the postseason and has the stuff to close. Considering he's never held the job outright, Shields' resume as a ninth inning option is incomplete.

Moreover, there's a clear match with the Bravos. The Halos are desperate for offense, and they're particularly lacking at the hot corner. Enter Wilson Betemit. I know, none of us want to trade him (and I'm pretty sure CD would be against this proposal), but I'm not sure we have a choice. It's good to have Chipper insurance, but otherwise where is he going to play? (Left field and 1B are options down the road, but are we certain Willie B can handle either position?)

I am certain that the Braves need bullpen help, and, if available, Shields just might be the answer.

How about:

Shields and Macier Izturis (a switch-hitting slick fielder, much like his brother Cesar) for Betemit and Villarreal?

Naturally I'd rather do said deal with Escobar, Pena, Lerew or even Salty, but I don't think that would be enough.

--CB

Cubs pen might be good place to shop

Sam Bass over at the Brave-O-Matic blog raises interesting possibilities regarding new closers. He suggests that the home team should explore raiding the Cubs pen, which is loaded with relatively expensive set-up men who are little use to a floundering team.

Specifically, Bass mentions Scott Williamson, Scott Eyre and Bobby Howry as possible targets for JS. Intriguing. All three guys are pitching well, and if the Cubs don’t pull a spectacular about-face soon it would hardly be surprising for them to dangle some contracts on the market.

Howry is signed for another couple of years after this one at $3 mill per, while Eyre is paid similarly and under contract for next season with a player option for 2008. Williamson, on the other hand, is signed only through the rest of this season at $2 million. So if the Braves go closer shopping at Wrigley, Williamson might seem the likely candidate. He's hardly a glamorous name. He has a history of injuries, yes, but has closed and, as long as we don’t have to give up too much, would be a reasonable gamble.

Chances are Jim Hendry & Co. wouldn’t look to dump any of these guys for another three or four weeks to see if they can reanimate (reference to great B horror movie) when Prior, Wood and Lee return. Remember, Houston was 15-30 last year.

However, if the Little Bears keep sliding – and they just got swept by the Marlins – you’d have to figure some or all of those relievers will be made available. They probably won’t come cheap. Bullpen arms are always in demand. So JS would have to ponder how much of the future to mortgage. There might be a nice match: the Cubs need help in the middle infield, and we have multiple prospects there in Pena, Prado, Andrus et al. I’d try to keep Betemit in a deal like this.

Can Reitsma right himself and be a reliable closer? I confess I’m clinging to a shred of hope, but it seems as likely as Bob Rathbun becoming Vin Scully. Failing a Reitsma revival, a deal is mandatory if we hope to contend even for the wild card.

Thinking about the Cubs, that's a team that, unlike the Braves, chose to invest heavily in its bullpen. It clearly is not working so far. There is no perfect formula.

-- CD

Offense frustrating but hardly awful

Yeah, it’s maddeningly inconsistent. Yet for all the bitching and moaning – including some from this blog -- and even after an anemic series in Arizona and first two games in San Diego, the Braves’ offense is fourth in the National League in runs scored.

They trail only the Dodgers, Reds and Diamondbacks, in order. The Bravos are averaging 5.2 runs a game, which should generally be enough to win. The club is fifth in team batting average, at .267. Where the Braves lag offensively, no surprise, is in strikeouts and walks. The club is 10th in walks, with 160, and has struck out more than all NL teams but the Marlins and Brewers.

LA and Cincy are 1-2 in walks and runs, which is probably not a coincidence. The home team averages 7.3 strikeouts a game, and just 3.4 walks, or 2.1 Ks for every BB. The best offensive K-to-BB ratios in the league are the Cardinals and Dodgers, who strike out about 1.3 times for each walk they draw. The Redbirds, who own the league’s best record, rank just behind the Braves in runs – 246 to 244.

Of course you don’t have to score scads of runs to win. The 1995 Series champions hit just .250 and scored 4.5 runs a game. The difference, of course, is pitching -- a 3.44 team ERA compared to 4.32 right now. So unlike their predecessors, the 2006 Braves must hit to win.

So far, OK. I think they’ll improve, mainly because the leadoff hitter is hitting 51 points below his career average. You have to think Giles will heat up. To wind up at .280, he’ll need to hit about .300 the rest of the way. That’s certainly feasible.

And Chipper, while he’s at .315, is on a pace to hit only 14 home runs and drive in 86, vs. career norms of 30 and 101. He might not match those power numbers, but he’s a good bet to come close, which would mean much clutch power hitting to come.

-- CD

Stat of the night

LaRoche has received considerable grief this season, much of it warranted, but consider that he's on pace for around 95 RBI and 45 doubles. I wouldn't bet Adam meets those projections, but if he gets close we'll all be satisfied.

--CB

Flashbacks are bad

And sometimes, so are comparisons. I hate to be right on this, and no doubt the jury remains sequestered, but lately whenever I see Marcus Giles at bat I'm reminded of Bret Boone, circa 1999.

The swing is just way too long, more from his heels than his center. This from a guy we assumed would be a perennial 20 HR, 45 doubles producer. So far Marcus has only 10 doubles and one homer. I don't think that has anything to do with him adjusting to the lead-off role but rather his approach at the plate, more Frenchy than Fukey.

I still think Gilly will rebound, but I'm increasingly concerned that my admittedly underinformed observation may be proven correct.

--CB

19 for 30

Matt Diaz is on an incredible run, the likes of which we've rarely, if ever, seen from a Braves hitter. Again, that's 19 hits in his last 30 AB's. I don't know how he does it, but I'm convinced, and the Office staff offers its apologies for our early season doubts (long live the agricultural shot!) In addition, Diaz is competent in left and is a minor threat on the bases.

He's earned the right to play every day (I'd wager CD, who has Diaz on his fantasy team, would concur). Not that I'm giving up on Langerhans, but you can't keep a guy hovering around .400 on the bench forever.

One warning sign: Matty D still hasn't walked this year.

--CB

His rampage has vaulted Diaz into the class of Henry Aaron, Chipper Jones and Ralph Garr as career .300 hitters. Diaz's career batting average before this season was a pedestrian .252. Now it's .301. That can happen when you have 183 major league at-bats. Diaz is obviously not remotely in the class of even Garr, who won the 1974 batting title by hitting .353. He also had two 200-hit seasons as a Brave, including a club-record 219 in 1971. Nevertheless, Matty D. is earning respect in the Office. Keep swinging, Matty.

-- CD

I'm not a violent man, but ...

Nothing makes me want to sling a monitor across a room like reading online comments from imbeciles blasting Bobby Cox. I become especially enraged when they write things like one did on ajc.com the other day about how “astute baseball fans” realize Bobby’s a bad manager because of the Braves postseason losses.

Funny how astute baseball fans like Peter Gammons and countless other people inside the game unanimously rank Bobby among the best managers of all time. Here’s another salute to Bobby in an interesting piece over at SI.com exploring how few managers, Bobby being among them, make a substantial difference for their team.

In his 25th year as a big league skipper, Cox remains sharp. The Braves finished in last place in 1990, his first season in Atlanta; they've won the division title each year since, a staggering run of success. Cox is an outstanding talent evaluator: He helped build the Braves as a general manager before he took over in the dugout, and has won despite Atlanta's payroll decreasing noticeably in recent years.

One of the reasons both veterans and youngsters enjoying playing for him, says historian Bruce Markusen, is because "his strength as a manager is his ability to assign sensible roles that his players are capable of handling." It is rare to hear any of Cox's players say a bad word about him. "If you can't play for him," Fred McGriff once said, "you can't play for anyone."

-- CD

Hats off to Jake Peavy

Add Padres pitcher Jake Peavy to the Office’s list of favorite non-Braves.

As a native of Lower Alabama, I’m naturally partial to guys from that area. But the native Mobilian Peavy took a further step in my book of good guys with a gesture during a Padres’ salute to the Negro Leagues this month.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

For his first pitch to Cubs leadoff hitter Juan Pierre, Peavy went to a double-pump windup reminiscent of an era that was long gone by the time Peavy was born in 1981.

It was Peavy's own way of saluting the Negro Leagues, which the Padres were officially doing.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do," Peavy said yesterday. “We were wearing old-style uniforms. And Satchel Paige is a Mobile (Ala.) guy like me. I just wanted to say, 'I know what you guys did and who you are.' "

Later in the story, Peavy said, “Mobile has five Hall of Famers and five pioneers ... Aaron, Ozzie Smith, Satchel, Willie McCovey and Billy Williams. I just wanted to show some respect. I practiced the double-pump in the bullpen to be sure I could throw it for a strike.”

Peavy wears No. 44, and I’m curious whether that is an homage to Aaron and/or McCovey, who both wore that number. I’ve been unable to find anything online about that.

It’s always refreshing to discover that a major leaguer is actually a fan of the game and its rich history. It’s too rare. Way to go, Jake. Maybe you’ll end up in Atlanta some day.

-- CD

I echo CD's cap tip to Peavy, who symbolizes a small yet encouraging trend among young players (like Jimmy Rollins and Dontrelle). I'd include many of the "Baby Braves" -- namely Brian McCann -- on the list of burgeoning stars who actually appreciate and enjoy the game they play. I'm sure there's plenty who don't, but I think we've made some progress from the days when Jay Bell -- quoted in a Sports Illutrated article about the topic more than a decade ago -- asked, "Who's Mickey Mantle?"

--CB

Desperate for affirmation

Cheering for a team so thin on talent, Braves fans are forced to focus on the positives, regardless of the outcome.

So here it is: Jorge approached dominance once again, perhaps postponing the debut of Chuck James, starter. Meanwhile, Paronto and Remlinger were stalwart in relief, betrayed by a Chipper miscue.

As losses go, this one wasn't that bad. Still, the Bravos, as presently constructed, seem ill-prepared for contention.

--CB

Curse the myrmidons

This is Howard Cosell speaking of sports.

This reporter has never censored himself on the topic of what in our superficial culture passes for sports journalism. This reporter does not plan to begin doing so now. For truth and candor are more important than ever.

For all its ballyhooed power to democratize the media, to bring a “voice” to “the people,” the rise of the Internet has as far as I can fathom done little more than fling open the gates to a thundering herd of expletive-spewing, ill informed mediocrities and miscreants. The same goes for the proliferation of cable television outlets.

To wit, the shrewd Aussie magnate who would have you believe he’s a lunatic right winger when that suits his purposes, but who also shills for Sen. Hillary Clinton is inexorably marching across the broadcast spectrum, systematically fouling the airwaves of American sport and political discourse. I speak, of course, of Rupert Murdoch’s enormously lucrative Fox television empire.

Recently, as a study in sociology and pathos, this reporter began immersing himself in the life of the benighted American South, what former president and New Dealer Franklin Delano Roosevelt described as our nation’s No. 1 economic problem.

But wait! If you consider garish strip malls and bland residential subdivisions and office parks progress, then progress is washing all over that region. Indeed, the same lifeless uniformity has sadly seized control of the broadcasts of the region’s oldest big-league sports franchise, the Atlanta Braves. Fox has taken over the colorful if insane maverick Ted Turner’s once spirited television operation and peopled the broadcast booth with non entities who would make the milquetoast Frank Gifford seem positively scintillating.

This Bob Rathbun is blander than a dinner at that hillbilly eatery called Picadilly. His new sidekick, Ron Gant, was a fine ballplayer and seems like a nice enough fellow. But his rise to the mic is only the latest manifestation of the jockocracy that has ruined a business that this reporter and others fought so nobly to lift up from banality.

I read that the head of this particular appendage of Murdoch’s media leviathan, one Jeff Genthner, says that "Our talent is going to have a much greater presence. We're going to keep a completely open mind about who's available, who fits with us and, most important, who fits with the fans."

If the fans are a horde of unthinking, incurious drones happy with whatever their media masters spoonfeed them, then the Fox corporate myrmidon Mr. Genthner is indeed delivering a perfect fit.

I never played the game, but I tell it like it is. Good afternoon.

-- CD

Gnashing teeth

Yeah, put Kenny Ray in the 8th. He's our solution. We asked, and Bobby delivered. KR, meanwhile, barely survived.

At least there was some good news out of the late innings, as Reitsma bounced back impressively from an abysmal weekend. Right now, outside of McBride -- a big if -- he's the Bravos' only option at closer.

Meanwhile, I hate to keep slaughtering this poor horse, but can RathGant get any worse? They must've said "you'd like to get another run across" a dozen times Monday night. Hey, you know, they're right -- it is good to score more runs. I mean, when you think about it, the team with the most runs does win.

I'm tempted to say I'd rather hear Chris Berman and Joe Theismann call a game, but that's just frustration talking. Where have you gone, Billy Sample?

"You're right, Bob. It's a crazy game."

--CB

Gant and Rathbun: the bland leading the bland.

Last night’s game reminded me of one in 1975. I was an 11-year-old third baseman for the Bank of Atmore Warriors when our pitcher, Todd Powell, fanned 17 of 18 hitters in a perfect game. (Little League games are six innings.) Braves hitters looked like the Rotary Club Tigers did that night, flailing futilely.

Back at Tom Byrne Park 31 years ago, one Tiger grounded weakly to first base and if I’m not mistaken we won 3-0. A nice guy, Powell became a high school bench warmer when everyone else grew as big as he was.

-- CD

The Office's quarterly report

PITCHING

Starters -- Hudson and Smoltz have been aces, and Thomson solid, but no one could've expected Jorge to be so bad. Maybe Horacio can return to 2004 form. Maybe Sosa can return to 2005 form. Maybe Chuck James can become a competent fourth starter. Maybe Kyle Davies can heal quickly. That's one too many maybes for a playoff caliber rotation

Grade: B-

Relievers -- Not much more to say. If you had told us before the season that Ken Ray would be our most dependable bullpen arm, we would've said: "Who the hell is Ken Ray?" Overall, the Braves 'pen hasn't been this lackluster since the days of Large Charles Kerfeld, Dwayne Henry and Joe Hesketh.

Grade: D

THE ROOKS

McCann's better than anyone imagined, while Langerhans hasn't exactly lived up to CB's overly optimistic Paul O'Neill comparison. Frenchy's pretty much met expectations, delivering plenty of pop but not enough consistency.

Grade: B+

LEADING OFF

Gilly's been a disappointment, but we’re bully on a resurgence. However, he's been a pale imitation of Fukey atop the order thus far.

Grade: C-

RENTERIA

Hopefully his propensity for costly errors is a spring thing. But offensively he's been a marvel. He never has a bad at-bat, which is critical on this whiff-happy club. We expected better defensively, worse with the bat. Still, we're lucky to have him.

Grade: A-

THE JONES BOYS

Neither has put up great power numbers though Andruw’s are solid. Chipper has yet to get hot and Andruw is mired in a long homerless drought. Expect them to crank it up. Andruw’s defense is back to his usual excellence after dipping a tad last season. Chipper’s glove work has been adequate.

Grade: B-

BENCH

Jordan has been a pleasant surprise. Diaz has been a bigger one. And Betemit might be the team’s best backup infielder since the days of the Bomb Squad. He’s one of the eight best players on the team but has no place to play daily. After those three -- well, Pete Orr’s a good pinch runner, and Todd Pratt's a solid receiver. Overall, though, this unit has surpassed expectations, particularly at pinch hitting.

Grade: B

OFFENSE

Streaky and way too strikeout prone, the Braves need more sound at-bats. In the big leagues, only the Marlins and Brewers have struck out more. An improved Giles and more pop from the Joneses will help. All in all, the sticks should be good enough.

Grade: B-

DEFENSE

Not great, but it’s been generally solid. Chipper makes most of the routine plays but will remind no one of Brooks Robinson. See above on Renteria. Giles and the outfielders have been mostly superb, and McCann has made big strides throwing out runners.

Grade: B

BOBBY

The worst bullpen in baseball, a rotation decimated by an injury and an erratic offense would be disaster for most teams, but Bobby somehow keeps it together. Thus far he's kept a team that should be battling to stay out of the cellar competing for the division lead. The grade never changes:

A

SCHUERHOLZ

Should've invested more in the 'pen, but the Renteria deal was a master stroke. Gonna take some creativity to improve the pitching, but JS always seems to find a way. Not trading Thomson may have been his best move.

Grade: B (sure to change)

Cold light of day

We in the Office have acknowledged our mood swings. We know it’s unwise to make sweeping pronouncements amid the glee of winning streaks or the gloom of blowouts and bullpen collapses.

Nevertheless, if you make a clear-eyed assessment right now it seems inescapable: If JS does not strengthen the bullpen there is no way the Bravos finish ahead of the Mets, and probably not the Phillies. Even if a capable closer emerges -- Ray or McBride, some combination or a new arrival – we still need set-up help.

Think about it: the Mets have two very good relievers, Wagner and Sanchez, and another who's been outstanding in one season, Heilman. The Phillies have Gordon and Rhodes, two established quality veterans. We basically have Ray and McBride and what for now is a befuddled Reitsma.

Not even close.

The Mets are 5th and the Phils 6th in bullpen ERA in the NL. We are 12th. The Mets have 10 saves in 14 opportunities, the Phils 14 in 18. We have 9 saves in 19 chances. Only the Marlins are worse.

So it appears we’re a solid fourth starter, a closer and another set-up man from being a truly capable challenger. We have some chips to deal. Pena, as we saw in his brief call-up, is probably as good as any defensive shortstop in the National League now, and he’s hitting better. Salty’s struggling mightily but is likely still valuable trade currency.

And of course there’s Betemit. The view here is that you don’t deal Wilson unless JS can make the moves to put this team in position to win in the postseason, not just to barely squeeze in. That is a tricky call of course. In what is shaping up as a surprisingly strong National League, any team that makes the playoffs this year is probably capable of winning.

-- CD and CB

Bargain bullpen not working

I’ve never heard JS flatly say it, but his history makes it clear that he is not a believer in spending heavily on the bullpen. Sometimes, like now, it shows.

To be fair, he has budgetary constraints and has chosen to spend the bulk of his limited money on starters and everyday players. And it's difficult to quibble with his results the past 15 years.

But even in the freer spending Ted era, the Bravos never splurged on free agent relievers, or even traded for high-profile bullpen arms. The biggest relief name JS has imported in his Atlanta tenure is probably Jeff Reardon, and he arrived at the end of August 1992 as a 36-year-old who was clearly on the downside of a great career. A Brave for only September and October ’92, his biggest mark here was surrendering the Ed Sprague homer, probably the second most excruciating October home run allowed by a Braves reliever. About the only other notable bullpen names JS has acquired in trades were Farnsworth, far from a star, and Remlinger, who arrived as a mediocre fifth starter/reliever and blossomed as a Brave.

Other than Smoltz, who earned his contract as a starter, the most a Bravos closer has been paid was the $5.2 million Wohlers got in 1999. That was of course after his collapse, and he faced just 10 hitters that season.

Indeed it’s easy to see why JS might be stingy with relievers. When he has written reasonably big checks the money has mostly been wasted. Reitsma, our ostensible closer – Bobby all but said he’s demoted in the local organ today -- is making $2.75 million this season. Last year Kolb “earned” $3.4 million. No point rehashing that disaster, but just for fun: he allowed a .400 on base percentage, compared to a .272 given up by closer Smoltz the prior year, and Kolb walked 29, more than Smoltzie had walked the previous two seasons combined.

Turning back to Wohlers for a minute, a couple of good seasons earned him a nice contract, and he disintegrated. Wohlers saved 97 games in three seasons, 95-97, with ERAs from 2.09 to 3.50. Then in 1998 he began to disintegrate, posting an ernie of 10.18.

Rocker's peak earning year was 2001, when he made $1.9 million and was traded on June 22. JS typically builds a bullpen by gambling on a few retreads and minor league products and hoping he gets lucky. Often he does.

These guys fit that description and were mostly competent closers, albeit briefly: Juan Berenguer, Al Pena, Mike Stanton, Greg McMichael, Rocker, Wohlers and Ligtenberg.

This year, JS’s bullpen approach has left Bobby with a late-inning migraine machine. Ken Ray or Macay McBride would fit comfortably into that list of bargain surprise closers. If they don’t, it might be a long, hot summer.

Our primary NL East rivals have taken a decidedly different tack in assembling their bullpens. They have more money to spend, but the Phillies payroll is roughly comparable to ours.

The Braves’ top six relievers will make a combined $4.92 million this season, less than half of Billy Wagner’s $10.5 million salary. The Mets six main relievers will be paid $15.78 million this season, more than triple what our pen will earn.

Philadelphia’s six main relievers will make $12.65 million this year, led by Tom Gordon’s $4.5 million and Arthur Rhodes at $3.7 million. Other NL contenders are also investing far more heavily in the pen: St. Louis’s will cost $14.46 million and Houston’s $7.7 million. All these figures are according to USA Today.com.

-- CD

Rowland tends the farm

Time for the Office's periodic check-up on the minor leagues, with some hopeful news from the Richmond pitching staff :

*Veteran minor leaguer Kevin Barry has been a revelation since moving into the rotation. He's 2-2 with a 2.33 ERA; his secondary numbers are even more promising -- 45 K's in 46 innings, with only 35 hits and 18 walks allowed. Fast-rising bullpen prospect Manny Acosta was just promoted to the R-Braves, where he's off to a nice start, tossing three scoreless innings and recording a save. More good bullpen work from veteran lefty Wayne Franklin (late of the Astros and Mariners), who has a 2.63 ERA in 13 IP. He's allowed only eight hits and four walks while striking out 19. Don't get too excited, however: his career ranks him as a poor man's Gabe White. Meanwhile, former D-Backs' prospect Phil Stockman, another of the Bravos' Aussie brigade, has a 1.42 ERA in 10 relief apppearances, allowing but seven hits in 19 innings. He does have 10 walks, however (against 24 K's).

Solid bat work from Tony Pena since his return from Atlanta. The slick fielding SS is hitting .326 after 23 games, perhaps raising his profile for a trade down the road. Canadian first basemen Scott Thorman continues his steady work, checking in with a .314 BA ( with an OPS of .887) through a quarter of the season.

*At Pearl, highly touted slugger Jarrod Saltalamacchia is struggling, hitting only .207 with little pop. Wheeler High grad Josh Burrus has been even worse, batting .160 through 19 games. Better news on the pitching front: righty starter Matt Wright seems to be finally reaching his potential, striking out 33 in 25 innings (2-2, 3.20 ERA). And lefty closer Will Startup continues to shine: 24 IP, 16 HA, 6 BB, 27 K's, four saves and an 0.75 ERA.

*In the lower minors, Jake Stevens' struggles persist at Myrtle Beach, but Matt Harrison is impressing (4-3, 2.90 ERA). Otherwise, no one's doing much offensively or on the mound for the Pelicans. The news is much better out of Rome, where 21-year-old Hawaiian frst baseman Kala Kaaihue is destroying Sally League pitching: .331 BA, 1.128 OPS, 11 HR, 32 RBI. Meanwhile, third sacker Eric Campbell, compared by Braves scouts to Matt Williams, is raking, with 8 HR, 30 RBI and a .294 average. Catching prospect (yes, another one) Max Ramirez has also been solid, hitting .310 with 4 HR and 19 RBI.

Pitching-wise, Jo-Jo Reyes has been sharp, posting a 5-0 record and 2.78 ERA (with 51 K's in 45 innings).

--CB

Raining on his parade

No celebration of Barry Bonds' 714th home run here at the Office. Those who consider Steroid 3000 a better player than Babe Ruth should note one record Barry will never break:

(I think this qualifies as our stat of the night, compliments of prepubescent ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian):

Babe Ruth has more career shutouts than Pedro Martinez.

I think that closes the case.

---CB

This is nitpicking and doesn't detract from the point, but according to Baseball-Reference.com, Pedro and the Babe both have 17 career shutouts. It's hard to argue against Ruth as the most influential player ever, if not the best. In addition to power numbers that were stratospheric in his day, he hit .342 in his career and was 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA. Granted, he didn't play against black or Latin players, but that's not his fault.

-- CD

Please God no!

Seeing McCann leave the field hobbling scares the bejeezus out of me. It looks bad, and we don't have a Wilson Betemit to step in behind the plate. Moments like these make you realize how valuable certain players are. Not a knock on Chipper, but you lose less with Wilson at third than you do with Pratt at catcher. Let's pray it's not serious. If so ... will we see Salty by summer? I'd assume not, but if, God forbid, B-Mac is out for awhile, then Jarrod might provide our best option. I don't see a Pena/Pratt platoon as any kind of long-term solution.

Just when things start looking brighter, it looks as if our momentum has been stuck in the desert. And who says there's no drama in baseball?

Unfortunately, sometimes that drama sucks dirt.

--CB

Rooting for the enemy

Usually watching the Yankees stumble around the field -- as they did in the first inning against the Mets Saturday, with two errors on top of two misplayed fly balls -- brings me great pleasure. But with the Metropolitans re-emerging as our chief rival, I find myself doing the unthinkable: cheering on the Bronx Bombers.

It's not unprecedented, however. Back when I first became aware of baseball, the Yankees and Dodgers were squaring off in consecutive World Series' (1977-78). Even though my grandmother was a big Dodgers fan, there was no way I was going to cheer for the boys in blue, considering they were everything the Braves weren't, and proved as much each time the two teams played. And how could you not despise Lasorda, Garvey and the like?

Besides, I actually liked those Yankees teams. I was a huge Reggie Jackson fan, and I totally fell for Billy Martin's aggressive style. I dug Piniella and Chambliss as well. To be fair, I was young and kids have a hard time comprehending evil.

Now, for one weekend, at least, it's back to the seventies. Unfortunately, it looks as if the Yankees are no match for the Metropolitans.

--CB

Whither Reitsma

Fortunately, I feel asleep before the end of last night's debacle in the desert. While it was heartening to see Adam LaRoche get some redemption, we can't deny the obvious any longer: the Braves don't have a closer.

Let me get one thing out of the way. I've been reluctant to pile on Reitsma, as I spent some time with him up in his native Calgary this winter for a Chop Talk profile. You won't find a nicer guy, nor one more determined to change fan's perception of him as unreliable. So far, he hasn't been able to do that.

We've mentioned some trade possibilities before, but the Bravos might not be able to wait that long for a change. Internally, who do we have? Well, um, there's, uh ... not many options.

Why not Ken Ray? He's unscored upon in his last 15 innings pitched. Whether he can handle the closer's job is something altogether different, but what's to lose? Remember, the Bravos auditioned guys like Adam Benero for the role last season. Obviously that didn't go too well, but Reitsma is running out of chances.

Regardless, you can't keep asking this much from the Braves offense. Our needs our obvious: another starter, and a closer. JS' mettle will be tested this season, as this roster needs more than a little tinkering.

--CB

We win, they both lose

It's a good day
Jorge had no walks and 8Ks
We nicknamed him Fat J
Frenchy keeps hitting like Willie Mays
And the Mets are in a thick haze


National League East

Team W.... L....... Pct.....GB.... Last 10
Mets .. 24.....16..... .600... - ..... 3-7
Phillies 22.... 17..... .564... 1½..... 6-4
Atlanta 21.... 20..... .512... 3½..... 8-2


* In an unrelated side note, I believe ESPN.com has a picture of Betemit as part of a teaser for a piece about former Red Sox shortstops thriving this season. The photo should be of Renteria, of course, but I'm almost certain that's Betemit. For one thing, it appears to be a lefthanded hitter, which Renteria is not. It's always fun to pick on the big guys.

-- CD

Follow the star

This time three weeks ago, your Office proprietors speculated that Frenchy would be in Richmond by this point. Instead, he leads the team in homers, and he's on a pace for about 140 RBI. I still think he's got a ways to go -- frankly, I'm not sure how he's done this well with his erratic place discipline -- but the Lilburn flash is providing something we might dismiss, but can't ignore: star power.

He's got it. He delivers in the clutch. He wants to be on the spot. That's a rare thing. Chipper's got it. Andruw's got it. And now, we have Francoeur, the new Murph, the new star in town. Move over, Mike Vick.

And this is what's great about baseball. One day you're a bum, the next, a savior. Week by week, divisions realign (of course there are exceptions ... see: Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Tampa). In football, you have to wait seven days and maybe your team will gain ground in the standings. In baseball, the line between also-ran and contender is temporary, at least until summer. Football fans dwell on the past. Baseball fans can depend on tomorrow, with a bright future always on the horizon, realistic or not.

For us, the future is now. Two homegrown superstars are as rare as a compelling Monday Night Football game. And the Braves have 'em. And, if one-fourth of a season is enough to gauge, they're for real.

Now it's the Mets turn to worry. That might change in a week, but fortunately we have 18 more weeks to go.

--CB

The Home Team responds

It might be asking a lot, but it doesn’t seem unrealistic to gain four games on the Sheasters in the next two to three weeks. Do that and we’re a workable four games out.

On May 8, we pondered the possibility of pulling within four games of the Mets over the following two or three weeks. It’s almost happened in just 10 days, as we enter today’s afternoon tilts just 4.5 back. The home team, Mets and Phils all play afternoon games.

The Braves have done exactly what they needed to do in consistently beating the Natspos and Fish, no matter if we’ve had to come back a lot. They count the same. Over the next couple weeks, the home team will face tougher competition but will still have a chance to perhaps inch closer to the leaders, as they also play some stout foes.

Let’s check the calendars, starting with the Bravos. The home team’s agenda is about to stiffen: three each at Arizona and San Diego, both hot teams. From San Diego, the club goes to Wrigley for three vs. the struggling Cubs, then to close May it’s home for a three gamer against the Dodgers, who have been up and down.

Meanwhile, the Mets' road does not get much easier. After they finish in St. Louis today, they return home to face the Yankees in the first half of their annual hype fest. After that, they stay home for three against the Phils – talk about a big six-game stretch – then travel to Florida for three. Bumbling as the hatchling Fish are, that could be dangerous for the Shea boys coming off what figure to be nine straight intense duels against the Redbirds, Yankees and Phillies. After visiting south FLA, the Metros go home again to face the surprisingly solid Diamondbacks.

Neither do the Phillies have a pleasant stroll the rest of May. After finishing with the Brewers this afternoon, Chas Manuel’s club has the BoSox in for three, then goes to Shea followed by three at home with Milwaukee and three against the Natspos.

We have kinks in the rotation, sure. So do the Mets and Phils. It’s going to be a fun summer.

-- CD

Starting to worry

With Kyle Davies requiring surgery on his injured groin, I'm going to repeat a familiar refrain. Our biggest need, more than bullpen help, is another starter. And before the season began, when I begun my call for rotation reinforcement, I didn't expect Jorge Eichelberger to be so bad.

Now I'm really concerned. We have two aces, and a solid third starter. Then, nothing. I think we saw Horacio's best two years ago. Anthony Lerew's minor league numbers don't suggest competence. Chuck James might be an answer, but is he ready to start a playoff game against, say, Andy Pettite?

So, once again: Salty for Dontrelle. We can afford it, and if we don't get him, the Mets might. That, the Braves can't afford.

As for tonight's game, I think the Office might've been prescient when we wondered why Ken Ray wasn't being used as the primary set-up man. Have to think he would've fared better than Remlinger. Still, I'm uncomfortable second-guessing Bobby. Therefore, I won't say anything about Smoltzie throwing 130 pitches in one May start.

***ALL HAIL LARRY WAYNE***

--CB

Cool and uncool

Tonight is Game 40. The one quarter mark seems as good a time as any for our first best and worst list of the 06 season. If this dissolves into a rant, my apologies.


Things I’m digging:

Watching John Smoltz, stellar and classy as always. May he retire and enter Cooperstown as an Atlanta Brave.

Jeff Francoeur busting out of his funk and hitting two 9th-inning homers in four days.

Brian McCann.

Edgar Renteria at the plate.

Walking through a parking lot after a game and hearing people discuss the Bravos with genuine knowledge and passion. It happened last night. It doesn’t happen that often.

The tomahawk on the grass behind home plate.

The free programs the ushers give you. Not a big deal, but it’s nice to be able to look up a player’s age or hometown.

Pitch count and pitch speed on the scoreboard.

The drum line that plays in the plaza pre- and post-game.

No Dan Kolb.


Things I’m not digging:

That insipid whistling Pepsi commercial that airs about 14 times during every telecast. I’m probably weeks behind, but I learned today that that silly (badly) dancing fella is indeed Jimmy Fallon and the badly dancing chick is none other than indie movie queen Parker Posey. How disappointing that she’s doing an annoying Pepsi commercial with a native New Yorker who played a Red Sox fan in a movie.

The UPS ad that basically says baseball’s slow and boring but UPS is fast.

Jorge Sosa pitching like Juan Marichal one minute and Juan Tyrone Eichelberger (a Brave for a season) for the other 59 or so minutes he’s usually in a game.

Dead horse alert. Bob Rathbun and Ron Gant calling a game. Liberty Media.

Official scoring that awards a player a hit as long as he makes contact and reaches base.

The wave. When will it stop? Disco died. Leisure suits and white belts went away. So did Gallagher and the Facts of Life. Please, people, the 8th inning of a tie game is no time for standing and sitting in unison.

A huge message on the center field screen telling fans to yell, sponsored by a security company called “Loud.”

The almost total disappearance of the ballpark organ.

Corporate-sponsored promos in the ballpark between every inning.

-- CD

Fat tubs of goo

The Office is trying to cobble together an all-time team of heavyweights, including players from the modern era (post 1970s, hence no Babe Ruth). Several Bravos on the list, but CD and I are having trouble coming up with portly middle infielders. Your nominees are welcome.

So far, we have --

C: Hector Villanueva

1B: Cecil Fielder, Boog Powell, John Kruk

2B: Carlos Baerga (thanks Sam Bass)

3B: Bob Horner

SS: Rafael Ramirez's ass

OF: Kirby Puckett, Tony Gwynn, Greg Luzinski, Pete Incaviglia

SP: Rick Reuschel, Mickey Lolich, Fernando Valuenzuela, Sidney Ponson (while he's out of jail), David Wells, Steve Bechler, Bartolo Colon ... this list could go on a while.

The bullpen is stuffed with Braves past and present --

Charley Kerfeld, Terry Forster, Juan Berenguer, Ray "Burger" King and the newest member, Chad Paronto.


--CB

The James Brown of Braves teams

Just caught part of a good interview with Chipper by Chris Dimino on local sports yap station 790 the Zone. Most interesting comment: Chipper said he’s never been on a team that has had to work as hard as this one to win day in and day out.

After noting that the home team has invested the bulk of its payroll in the rotation and everyday lineup, Chipper said the Mets and Phillies are better than the Braves in some areas. Fair enough. It was in no way whining or giving up. Dimino, as a good interviewer will, was pushing him to get an answer on whether Chipper thinks the Braves are as good as the Mets and Phils.

-- CD

Inside the control room

I hung out in the Braves Vision control room at the Ted for a while before last night’s game.

Impressive. The place looks like NASA – banks of high-definition screens, lots of keyboards and PCs. It’s where they operate the scoreboards and the huge video screen in center field. I was there doing a freelance piece for ChopTalk. I rode the elevator up with JS, who chatted amiably with a guy who'd just finished his book, saw the butt cut wearing between-innings promo guy and Pete Van Wieren in the media cafeteria (they were not together). That free food attracts an element that seems to have no good reason to be there, like a group wearing 96 Rock softball jerseys who appeared to have just finished playing a game.

Scintillating info, eh? I also caught up with former coworker and SI.com baseball writer John Donovan, who lives in Atlanta. Donovan is a great guy. He said he’s working on a piece about Albert Pujols, and said he had placed a call to Brad Lidge, though he suspected Lidge wouldn’t return it considering his career has been in free-fall since giving up a mammoth homer to Sir Albert in last year’s NLCS.

I also heard from someone who used to work with him that Rathbun, Broadcastron 3000, is a really nice guy. He’s still a hopelessly bland announcer.

-- CD

Nice agricultural shot, Matty

CD and I have both made sport of Matt Diaz, but no more. Despite having the ugliest swing since Rick Camp, Matty makes it work ... just like JS and his team of scouts.

While his major trades get all the attention, JS' under the radar deals have been just as effective (such as acquiring Reitsma for two minor league journeymen).

THE GM sent unheralded pitcher Ricardo F. Rodriguez to Kansas City for Diaz -- I don't know if he's injured or released, but I can't find any trace of Rodriguez in the Royals farm system. Advantage, once again, to the Braves' resident genius.

Other observations from tonight's huge win:

*The bullpen -- save for Macay McBride's brain freeze -- saved us again. Reitsma looks as if he's figured things out (no better pitch than a well-placed fastball) and Ken Ray continues to dominate. I'm not one to quibble with Bobby's decision making, but you gotta wonder why Ray isn't the Bravos' primary set-up man;

*Bob Rathbun just gets worse. I don't know how we're going to make it through the season having to endure that guy;

*Look for Chuck James to be starting games within two weeks. If he can't deliver, JS has to look for another starter (that Dontrelle guy sure looked good tonight). My prediction: Charlie J will have a rookie season akin to Horacio's first campaign. Let's hope the Ramirez comparison ends there.

--CB

Upper minors lacking stud starters

With Davies headed to the DL and Jorge’s ERA headed toward double digits, the Braves’ farm doesn’t offer much in the way of big league-ready starting pitchers.

According to the team site, old friend Travis Smith, who at 33 defines the term minor league journeyman, appears the most likely player to be called up until Horacio is ready to return. For perspective, Smith is older than Andruw Jones, Tim Hudson and Chris Reitsma.

Smith has pitched 1,200-plus innings in the minor leagues, and 107 in the majors. Credit him for sticking to it. I admire guys like him, and if I had the chance I’d probably keep playing baseball instead of getting a job. Nevertheless, a Travis Smith start conjures visions of many line drives and long fly balls for the other team.

He’s pitching well at Richmond, 3-1, 2.91 in eight starts. He got slapped around on Monday – 7 runs and 10 its in 6-1/3.

Kevin Barry at least sounds slightly more interesting. At 28 and a reliever through most of his minor league career, he’s not a notable prospect either. But since becoming a starter last season, he’s been good. This season in six starts, he’s 2-2, with a 2.75 and 39 Ks in 39-1/3 IP. In his most recent start, on Friday, he gave up three hits and fanned nine in six scoreless innings against Toledo. Barry excelled last season too.

From the Richmond site:

Barry made the first eight starts of his five year pro career last season and turned in outstanding numbers. He had an ERA of 1.65 as a starter and won his last three decisions. Barry earned IL Pitcher of the Week award for August 8-15. Began the season in the R-Braves bullpen and spent time with Double-A Mississippi. He held opponents to a .209 average.

Yet another retread who’s burning up the IL at Richmond is Ricardo Rodriguez. He’ll turn 28 this month and had a lackluster stint with the Texas Rangers last season, going 2-3 with a 5.53 in 10 starts. He’s 2-1 with a .94 in five starts at Richmond this year, but he has just 12 strikeouts in 28-2/3. Not surprisingly, the knock on him is he can’t put hitters away.

The biggest prospect among Richmond’s starters continues to struggle mightily. Anthony Lerew has an ERA over 8 as a starter. He was considered a long-shot to make the big league bullpen out of spring training.

A look at Double-A Mississippi’s stats turns up no starting pitcher with overly impressive numbers.

Given this lack of options, Chuck James seems almost certain to get a look in the rotation when he returns from injury. And Horacio will get every chance to stick as a starter.

-- CD

Rotation injuries can weigh on pen

Here’s a nugget from The New York Times (registration required) about how injuries to the back end of the rotation are wearing on the Mets’ bullpen. Their pen has been a strength. Our pen already has enough problems, so let’s hope it doesn’t get worse with Davies out.

Lima, González and Steve Trachsel must go deeper into games to ease the burden on the Mets' bullpen, which has thrown the second-most innings of any relief corps in the major leagues. Only Kansas City's relievers, with 127 1/3 innings, had racked up more innings going into Monday's games than the Mets' 126 1/3. Lima went only four and two-thirds innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in losing Friday for the second time in two starts, and González lasted one batter into the sixth on Saturday.

An overworked bullpen tends to wilt as the weather becomes warmer, and the Mets may have seen an inkling of that last weekend in Milwaukee. Relievers were charged with 9 earned runs in 10 innings, raising the bullpen's earned run average from 3.33 (third best in the majors) to 3.70 (11th). They also gave up four homers to a Brewers team that leads the National League with 59.

-- CD

Hello, Travis Smith

It looks like nothing is going to come easy for the Bravos of 06. Just when the team is gathering a little steam, we’re down to three-fifths of a rotation.

So much for my theory of having a core of our best pitchers pitch most of the innings. Truth be told, even before Davies left last night’s game for a long stay on the DL, we already only had three-fifths of a major league rotation. Outside of the one terrific start by Davies in New York, he and Jorge have floundered.

Consider: Those two have combined to go 2-8 with a 6.27 ERA in 71-2/3 innings, serving up 19 homers, about one every four innings. Meanwhile, Smoltz, Hudson and Thomson have thrown 150-1/3 innings with a 3.41 ernie, which would rank No. 1 among NL rotations. (LA is tops at 3.67.) The top 3 Bravos starters have allowed just 14 homers, or one every 11 innings.

Quite a difference. So bad pitching and injuries mean Bobby must cobble together a rotation on the fly. It’s much like what the Mets are having to do, but that’s their problem and we like them having problems.

The home team is our concern. This is far from ideal, but hardly new for Bobby and his staff. Look no farther back than last year. The Bravos used nine starting pitchers, as a core three – Smoltz, Hudson and Ramirez – each logged at least 29 starts. Jorge’s stellar second half settled things, and he made 20 starts. After that we had Thomson (17), Davies (14) and Hampton (12), Colon (4) and Greisinger (1).

Other similar years were 2001 and 1996. In 01, Glavine, Burkett and Maddux each made 34-35 starts, then Millwood had 21, O. Perez and Marquis 16, Smoltz 5 and Moss 1. In 1996, which might well have been the best team of the run, Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz each started 35 or 36 times. Then Avery toed the slab 23 times. After Ave, five guys made between 3 and 11 starts -- Jason Schmidt, Terrell Wade, Mike Bielecki, Neagle and Brad Woodall.

There have been numerous years when Bobby rotated fifth starters. But mixing and matching at two spots is far more difficult. In past years, it’s always ended with a division title. So come forth you Armando Reynosos, Terrell Wades and David Nieds. Your successors will be Chuck James, Horacio Ramirez and who knows.

-- CD

Rupert's revenge

So what happened to Jeff Torborg? Anyone heard? I actually liked him as an analyst, but soon after the management change at Turner South he disappeared from the telecasts, replaced with someone closer in ability to Broadcastron 3000.

If I fell for conspiracy theories I'd assume this was some sort of fiendish plot by Rupert Murdoch, saddling "Ted Turner's team" with the worst set of announcers working (sorry, Ronnie). And I've endured Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler -- the primary broadcast tandem of the O.C. Angels.

And would it hurt the local organ to do a follow-up story on Skip and Pete's "demotion?" Fans are pissed -- yet Monica Kaufman's changing hairstyles have gotten more ink than the displacement of two Atlanta icons.

(As always, keep registering your complaints with FOX here).

--CB

Don't mess with Bobby

LaRoche's benching reminds of a similiar incident featuring a much better player some eight years ago.

From the AJC (July 22, 1998):

And what's worse is Andruw Jones has fallen back into the Cox doghouse. In the eighth he failed to hustle in on a ball hit in front of him and was immediately replaced by Gerald Williams. Jones came off and met a furious Cox in the dugout tunnel. Afterward, Cox was still seething.

"He has to grow up, it's as simple as that," Cox said.

Cox will likely bench Jones and certainly fine him. Again. "I've taken so much money from him it's a joke," Cox said. "Unfortunately, I have talked to him more than one time about this. Nobody is better than the game. Period."

--CB

If at first you don't succeed

Adam LaRoche will be watching from the bench tonight as the Bravos open up a series with the Fish. And not because the Marlins have a lefty on the mound.

It may be time for Chipper to break in a first baseman's glove ... or Wilson. I think Chipper at first and Betemit at third base makes for a stronger defense, but there's some disagreement about that here in the Office. Either way, Wilson's case keeps getting stronger as LaRoche's weakens (maybe he should give pitching another try).

But before we pile on Adam too much, let's give him credit for admitting his mistake and taking the criticism like a man.

"It was a mental mistake and just being lazy, and there's no place for that in this game," LaRoche said of his error with two outs in the fifth inning. "It's a lack of focus and lack of hustle. That's all it is."

He (Bobby Cox) doesn't have many rules — we all know that. Just show up on time and hustle. And I didn't hustle."

--CB

LaGet off your ass and hustle!

I missed a lot of today's game. But I saw a replay of the key play. One thought: Bobby needs to wobble over to Adam LaLoaf and give him a swift kick in the ass. Come on, dude. If you're going to hit .230 and strike out every 3 times at bat, you need to hustle on defense. Make that play and it's a different ball game. I had flashbacks of his NLDS jog around the bases in Houston last year.

-- CD

Night of many minutes, two moments

As Jorge fidgeted, walked around the mound and generally acted like a Dominican Dan Kolb, CB and I had to agree with our companions that the game was indeed trudging along. Pitching changes, deep counts, brow wiping, resin bag juggling – we had only covered six-plus innings by the 2-and-a-half-hour mark.

But among the subtle beauties of baseball are the moments. Consider Jorge last night. He had muddled through 5-2/3 allowing only two runs, and Frank Robinson looked to be doing him and the Braves a huge favor by letting his .000 hitting pitcher Mike O’Connor bat with a runner on second and two out. Surely Jorge would retire him and thus fashion a quality start -- six innings, two runs.

After the game had served up its share of tedium – and I say that as an out and out baseball lover -- that all changed in the span of about four pitches. Just as we were speculating that this could turn Jorge around toward his 05 form, O’Connor slapped an opposite-field ground single to tie the game. Then Jorge calmly goes to 0-2 on the free swinging but lethal Alfonso Soriano. Surely he’d get him and we’d escape the inning tied. Four hundred and twenty feet later, the ball disappeared behind the blue wall in center. Natspos 5, home team 3.

Game upside down. Jorge’s resurgence is snuffed out. Instead, it’s another crappy game and his bloated ERA bloats even more. A minute earlier, we are talking hopefully of a Jorge revival. Now we’re deciding who’ll take his place in the rotation. Then the pen holds, and with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, another moment. Or MOMENT. The Lilburn Flash smites a bolt into section 136 and glum defeat is transformed to glorious victory.

It’s just another example of baseball’s sweet rhythms – the tension gathers as McCann homers, Giles and Langerhans and Chipper single, Andruw strikes out – argh, hope dims – then the Flash authors the game’s second, and last, moment.

The team jumps up and down just like the fans, and the players form a scrum at home plate like a bunch of little leaguers as the Flash circles the bases with arms raised. Anyone who says those guys don’t care has never seen moments like that.

-- CD

Mea culpa

My apologies, Jeff Francoeur. Just keep doing what you're doing, considering you're on a pace for about 140 RBI.

Other notes from Saturday's game, attended by the Office founders:

*Show Rowland some respect. If you're going to put his name up on the giant board, run a spellcheck. It's not ROLAND. The man has the second longest hitting steak in Bravos history ... get it right;

*Jorge's exhaused all patience. Horacio will be back soon, but he's not much of an upgrade. My preference: make Chuck James the fifth starter once he returns from the DL, then get whatever you can for Ramirez and Sosa on the trade market (each should fetch a decent bench player or serviceable middle reliever ... or maybe Frenchy's walk-off slam has left me a little too optimistic tonight);

*Hats off to Braves fans, who are turning out in numbers not seen here since the nineties. More than 37,000 showed up Saturday for what looked to be a fairly uninspiring match-up on paper;

*Prediction: this time next week the Bravos will be two games over .500, and the misery of April will be long forgotten.

Bipolar? You betcha.

--CB

Leave 'em in

After Smoltzie’s gem last night, the Bravos have pitched 5 complete games, three more than any other team in the majors.

Given a shaky bullpen, Bobby is wise to let his starters pitch as much as possible, as long as he’s not risking injuries. Right now, the Braves bullpen has pitched less than all but two others in the National League – St. Louis and San Francisco. The Cardinals pen has pitched 99-1/3 innings and the Giants 97-2/3. (Oddly, the St. Louis bullpen is the NL’s best, by ERA, and the Giants’ the league’s worst.)

Braves relievers have logged 100 innings, and if it seems like half of those came in the first 10 days of the season, that’s about right. In the first 14 games, home team relievers amassed 52-2/3 innings, about 4 innings a game. In the 21 games since, the pen has logged just 47-1/3 innings, or about 2 innings a night. That’s excellent. Let’s keep it that way.

I’ve beaten this horse often, but the best way to minimize the bullpen damage is to minimize the chances for damage. That’s what has happened lately.

For the season so far, Bravos starters have pitched 67 percent of the team’s innings, just behind the Cardinals and Giants 69 percent. That’s about a wash, as each comes out to roughly 6 innings out of nine. I’m not sure but I would imagine the Braves’ starters over the past 21 games, by going almost 7 innings per start, have outworked most of the NL.

Our top four starters – Smoltz, Hudson, Thomson and Davies – have worked 60 percent of the team’s innings. That’s not bad but ideally will rise, because history shows that the Braves’ best teams’ best pitchers ate the bulk of the innings. On our best regular-season team, the top four starting pitchers were on the hill for 67 percent of the innings in the 1993 104-win season. For the 1995 World Series champs, the top four worked 60 percent of all innings. For the last Bravos NL pennant winner, the 1999 club, the top four pitched 59 percent of the innings. Last year, the top four worked just 50 percent of the team's innings.

That number needs to go up. This club doesn’t have Smoltz, Maddux, Glavine and Avery in their primes. Still, we want our best pitchers pitching as much as possible. It just makes sense.

-- CD

Canned heat

Give this Braves team this – they’ve saved their biggest cans of whoop ass for the two games they needed most this year, pole axing Dontrelle and the Fish 9-1 last night and thumping the Mets 13-3 in that Sunday game at Shea.

Getting swept at New York or simply losing a series to the AAA Marlins would have both been borderline disastrous. But Hudson and a passel of hitters like my man Matt Diaz wouldn’t let it happen. I’ve said all along that Diaz looks like a .349 hitter, which he now is.

Of course I’ve ripped Diaz repeatedly in this space, as the scribes say. Apologies to MD. I hope he keeps raking, but I still have my doubts. He and the offense have been rolling. The home team has scored 47 runs in its past six games, about 8 runs per. Don’t look now, but Frenchy is hitting .304 with 9 RBI and a walk in 10 games in May, and is up to .245 overall.

Finally, as happy as I am to see the home team pummel him, I hope Dontrelle isn't hurt or somehow losing it. He's a great guy, by all accounts, and good for the game.

-- CD

The real thing?

The Bravos might not have a dependable closer, but it appears they have a solid set-up man. I've been fooled before, as recently as last year when Adam Bernero strung together a few solid outings in a row. Then there was Will Cunnane ... I could go on.

But Ken Ray appears to be the real thing. Outside of one bad outing, he's been dominant, throwing strikes and keeping things close. If the Bravos can get a closer, then I think the rest of the 'pen will shake out nicely, with Ray, Villarreal, Reitsma and McBride forming a serviceable middle innings corp.

Or this just might be that bipolar disorder talking. Hell, it's been so long since we won a series we might as well savor it.

--CB

Faint praise

During last night's telecast, Pete said Bobby was very impressed with Chad Paronto in Spring Training, saying he reminded him of Kevin Grycrapski, er, Gryboski. Geez, how encouraging. Kind of like comparing a young actor to Keanu Reeves.

--CB

Pondering bipolar disorder

Maybe it’s the same no matter your team. For me, being a Braves fan is like being bipolar: a strange mix of pure pessimism and blind optimism – Davies’ll win 15, Boyer and Devine will save the bullpen, Bobby will fix everything, he always does.

After an abysmal shellacking by a team that belongs in the International League, I’m swinging toward the former. Davies turned in yet another wobbly outing, to put it kindly. So let’s examine the 22-year-old lad from Stockbridge, Henry County, Ga., USA.

CB and I have predicted he’ll be a solid No. 3 big league starter and win 15 games this year. Here you witness the manic phase.

I’m starting to wonder. To be fair, Davies is in his first full big league season. Even future Hall of Famers generally struggle as rookies. Tom Glavine was 7-17 with a 4.56 ERA in his first full year and wasn’t truly outstanding until his fourth full season, which was 1991. Greg Maddux was even worse in his first full year in the majors, going 6-14 with a 5.61 ERA. Smoltz was the exception, with a 12-11, 2.94 rookie season.

Davies is 2-3, with a 5.31. Of his seven starts, one was great, one good, three so-so and two bad. That is not a quality No. 3 starter. The bipolar disorder took hold. We should not expect a 22-year-old two years removed from A ball to consistently win in the majors. He started the 2004 season at single-A Myrtle Beach, so he’s got some maturing to do yet.

Of course I’m still hoping that by July he’s routinely going 7 innings and allowing 3 or fewer runs. Can’t help it. Now about Reitsma….the lights are growing dim. About the only interesting thing I’ve heard Ron Gant say in two games as a commentator is that he thinks Reitsma is throwing too many changeups and not enough fastballs. Maybe he’s on to something.

Whatever the problem, if our “closer” doesn’t right himself soon, maybe we put out a call to Kyra Sedgwick.

-- CD

Thank God for Jim Duquette

Imagine where the Bravos would be if then-Mets GM Duquette had not traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano (probably 12 games out). Kazmir is developing into the ace most predicted he would become, posting a 5-2 record this year with a 2.94 ERA, striking out more than a batter per inning. Meanwhile, Zambrano -- the second coming of Jaime Navarro -- is out for the year, which may not be such a bad thing for the Metropolitans.

The Mets are going to be looking for another starter before too long, and it's doubtful that they'll be able to get anyone appraoching Kazmir's talent, unless they're willing to empty their farm system.

--CB

Like Caminiti at 1B

Listening to Ron Gant and Bob Rathbun broadcasting from the moribund setting of Dolphins Stadium brings back unwelcome memories of Billy Sample calling games from Fulco in the mid-80s. We appreciate Ronnie here at the Office, but he manned third base better than he analyzes a game.

Strangely, I find myself missing Darrel Chaney.

--CB

The O's aren't getting Leo's message

Not a lot of talk lately about how much the Braves miss Leo and what an incompetent Roger McDowell is.

That's because the Braves are 10th in baseball, and 7th in the National League, in team ERA, at 4.29, and the Orioles are next to last, 5.71. Only Minnesota is worse, 5.72.

Leo preaches fist-pitch strikes and control over velocity. Apparently the Baltimore pitchers have not caught on. They have walked more hitters, 155, than any staff in baseball, averaging about 4.7 per nine innings. The home team has issued 119 bases on balls, about 3.7 per nine. (Strangely, the Twins own baseball’s worst team ERA but have the fewest walks, at 66, or only about 2 a game. The problem: Twinkie hurlers have given up more hits than any team.)

I’m not bashing Mazzone. Leo hasn’t forgotten how to coach pitchers. I imagine Roger will turn out to be an excellent coach as well. We love Leo and all he did for the Bravos. In fact I wish he had gotten more love from the Braves after he departed. The point is that a pitching coach can’t make or break a staff.

-- CD

Gilly's leaving the table unset

Leading off last night’s game, Giles grounded out to shortstop in a full count after swinging at one bad pitch. Don’t swing at that low, outside pitch and he walks. Renteria followed with a double.

Now, of course if he walks Renteria might get different pitches and might not double. But chances are, if Giles is on base the Braves score in the first and perhaps start the blowout early.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter that Giles grounded out to start the game. However, the leadoff at-bat was emblematic of Giles’ season so far. He has not been getting on base nearly enough, and it’s hurting the team.

He’s hitting .205 with a .306 on base percentage. Leading off games, he’s even worse: 3-for-27 with 2 walks, or a .111 batting average and .172 OBP. All those numbers are, of course, far below Gilly’s norms – he’s a .287 career hitter with a .363 OBP -- and he’ll surely improve. Plus, I’ve been thinking he tends to start slowly anyway.

That’s not true, though. In fact, for his career April has been his best month. He has hit .363 with a .424 OBP in the season’s opening month. Last season Giles hit .323 in April with a .389 OBP; in 05 he went .393, .432 and .365, .439 the year before. This April, the second baseman hit just .192.

At some point you’d think Bobby will ponder flipping Giles and Renteria in the order. You’d hate to move Edgar since he’s ripping, but it might be worth trying just for a game or two to see if it’d ignite Gilly.

-- CD

BJ and the Braves

All things being equal, the Bravos need Brian Jordan in the line-up. Right now, all things aren't equal, making the decision that much easier. So far Jordan has been more productive than either Ryan Langerhans or Adam LaRoche, looking as healthy as he did in his first Atlanta tour. More importantly he adds intangibles needed on this young squad.

So while I'm still bully on Langy's future (and besides, he's on my fantasy team), I think BJ has earned more starts in left. He's a proven clutch hitter, and he gives the line-up experience it sorely lacks. He makes the whole team better just by his presence.

As long as he continues to produce. He'll never be the Jordan of old, but .280, 15 and 70 look like reasonable targets for the Bravos' oldest position player. I'll take that in my eight hole any day. Everything else is gravy, and this team needs all the seasoning it can get.

--CB

Malone flip-flop

"I’m less interested in getting redeemed out in a cash-rich with a set of assets that we may or may not have interest in or have much growth potential."

That was Liberty Media headhoncho John Malone's position last year when speculation was rampant that Malone and Liberty would use their favorite tax loophole, the Section 355 tax spin-off, as a maneuver to redeem their increased stake in News Corp. Malone further bloviated, "I’d prefer to hold the position indefinitely and enhance the position, or alternatively, find a way to distribute the position directly to Liberty shareholders."

Of course, Liberty never distributed its News Corp. stock to its shareholders, and a subsequently-adopted poison pill provision would seem to prevent Liberty from acquiring any more News Corp. stock.

Similarly positioned with a block of Time Warner stock, Malone has acknowledged for the first time today that Liberty is indeed with talks about acquiring the Braves from Time Warner. No more talk about not wanting non-strategic assets. No mention of distributing the stock to Liberty shareholders.

But then again, Liberty shareholders have enough other things to grouse about these days. Liberty announced today that it lost $26 million in the quarter ended March 31.

-- JGraham

On a happier note, Malone said he'd like to invite Ted to be involved with the team. Malone also said he thinks baseball is a good investment.

That second point sounds better than using the team strictly as a tax shelter. As for Ted, he's already said he's uninterested in buying the club, and he probably won't care for some small role either. It would be fun just to see him around now and then, as long as he's not telling us what a nice guy North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is.

Turning to last night's game, I was wondering how long it'd take to start whomping on Moehler. His stuff looked imminently hittable from the beginning. (There's a reason he has a near double-digit ERA.) Jordan finally got it going with the three-run shot in the 5th. I never expected to see him making meaningful contributions this year, but he damned sure is.

I like McCann batting 5th. Maybe LaRoche does too, as he lashed three hits last night in a damp, dark, cavernous and empty football stadium. "Dolphins Stadium," as it's apparently called, is easily the worst baseball environment this side of Montreal's Olympic Stadium.



There were only 6,079 tickets sold last night, and maybe half that many people in the stands. South Florida baseball fans have only shown up during the playoffs. Who can blame them? The team gets good, really good, every five or six years then the owners gut the roster and threaten to move if the taxpayers don't build them a new ballpark.

The Fish averaged just over 16,000 fans a game in their 2003 World Series title season, and just above 10,000 the season before that. The team has drawn 2 million or more fans just twice in its 13-year history, and five of those seasons came before the first fire sale.

Don't expect crowds this year. The club plays like what it is, a AAA team.

-- CD

K Marte

"The Red Sox were able to acquire one of the top two or three prospects in the whole game in Andy Marte." -- Theo Epstein on Boston radio

"A National League scout on Boston third-base prospect Andy Marte, whom the Indians have hotly pursued in a deal for [Coco] Crisp: 'He's the best prospect I've scouted in 10 years, hands down. He reminds me of a young Manny Ramirez, but with a steadier personality.'" -- Cleveland Plain-Dealer

So far this season, the former Bravos top prospect is playing more like Manny Alexander than Manny Ramirez. From mlb.com’s Indians site:

Rough start: The early returns on third-base prospect Andy Marte have not been as good as advertised.

Marte, the hot prospect acquired in the Coco Crisp deal with Boston, has hit just .255 with no home runs and five RBIs in 28 games at Triple-A Buffalo.

"We want him to continue to develop and be consistent with his approach and hitting," Wedge said. "That's more important than anything. He's going through what you expect somebody to go through. I think when it's all said and done, he's going to accomplish what he needs to accomplish down there."

-- CD

Glavine appears anchored at Shea

It was unlikely anyway, but it appears we can forget about the idea of Tom Glavine returning to Atlanta to win his 300th. He and the Mets have reworked his contract to include an option for next season. If the 40-year-old lefty keeps pitching well, it looks like he's almost certain to be back in Flushing next season.

I hope Tommy wins 300 and the Mets completely collapse around him.

-- CD

JS talks tactfully about owners

JS said today he doesn’t know how the Time Warner-Liberty Media talks are progressing nor how a deal would affect his ability to make trades.

On a local sports radio station this morning, 790 the Zone, the GM insisted, as he always does, that he has operated the same under Ted’s individual ownership and TW’s corporate stewardship. JS is obviously being politic, as he has to be. Chipper doesn’t and has lately taken to criticizing TW’s ownership for being tight fisted.

With all due respect to Schuerholz, there clearly is a difference in the kind of in-season deals he’s made under Ted and under TW. On Ted’s watch, JS acquired high-level players like McGriff and Neagle during the season. More recently, our deadline pickups have been average players or reclamation projects: B.J. Surhoff, Rey Sanchez, Andy Ashby and Jaret Wright. The man in the suspenders has of course imported high-level talent in offseason deals under TW, including Sheffield, J.D. Drew and Hampton. But all those moves required financial gymnastics and there’s a difference in those moves and the kind teams make to juice their stretch drive. The stretch-drive moves are where ownership’s grip on the wallet makes more difference.

What sort of difference it makes this year is probably more uncertain than ever with a new owner, whomever or whatever it might be, about to take the helm.

-- CD

The search for relief

No doubt the Bravos need bullpen help, and as CD just pointed out we're not likely to get it from the minors. And neither the Royals or Marlins have much to offer in the way of closers.

Who might be available? Here's some potential possibilities:

*Keith Foulke -- Not impressed? No one was with Foulke's performance last year, but don't forget he was a key member of Boston's 2004 championship team. And his early numbers indicate he may be returning to form: In 20 IP, Foulke has 17 K's and just three walks. Jon Papelbon has made him expendable, though, and the Red Sox have one gaping hole the Braves could fill: SS. Betemit for Foulke? I'd prefer not to, but we may have no choice, and Boston has the money to make this deal work financially (eating some of Foulke's contract);

*Joe Nathan -- The best closer no one knows. Last year he recorded 43 saves, with 90 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched. Why would the Twins trade him? Because they appear dead in the water, and they have an otherwise deep bullpen. Meanwhile, the left side of their infield features aging journeymen Tony Batista and Juan Castro. Minnesota's offense is anemic, and I'm sure they'd welcome Wilson's bat. Again, a steep price, but one we'll likely have to pay: Reitsma, Betemit and Lerew for Nathan;

*Eddie Guardado -- Another closer on a team going nowhere. And he'll be a free agent after the season. The M's need starters, and some combination of Jorge Sosa, John Thomson, Lerew and/or Horacio might do the trick;

and

*Francisco Cordero -- The Rangers also need starters, and Cordero may be their best bait, particularly considering he's been supplanted as closer by former Padre Akinori Otsuka. While he's struggled mightily this year (8.40 ERA), Cordero has 114 career saves, and he's only 30. Texas has shown interest in bringing John Thomson back to Arlington, so this one might be not be that far-fetched.

Obviously Wilson is emerging as a key trading chip. There's a risk in trading him, considering Chipper's fragile health. And God knows the Braves bench can't afford to be weakened. But reserves are easily imported come the trading deadling (see: Mike Deveraux, Luis Polonia), and you can't get to the playoffs without a solid bullpen. Beyond this, I'm still campaigning for a Salty-Dontrelle deal. Unfortunately, the Liberty purchase casts a dark pall over that possibility.

--CB

Upper minors don't offer much bullpen help

If JS is going to fortify the bullpen any time soon, help will likely have to come from outside the organization.

There don’t appear to be many intriguing major league-ready relievers at AAA Richmond or AA Mississippi. One reliever on the rise, though, is lefty Will Startup, 21, who is blistering the AA Southern League. He’s 3-0 with 3 saves, a 1.06 ERA, 21 strikeouts and only 3 walks and eight hits allowed in 17 innings. Startup, a former University of Georgia closer, had a solid 05 at Rome – 3-2, 2.37, 31 hits, 30 Ks in 38 IP.

Startup, however, started the year at high-A Myrtle Beach, and you’d have to think needs further minor league seasoning. After the Joey Devine debacle, JS and Co. don’t figure to rush Startup. As for Devine, the latest news I could find on him is an April 25 Richmond Times Dispatch item saying he’s rehabbing a sore back at the extended spring training complex in Orlando.

Richmond has a couple of relievers with good numbers, Chad Paronto and Brad Baker. Neither is regarded as a top prospect. Paronto turns 31 in July and has a pedestrian 10-year minor league resume, 40-45, a 4.14 ERA and 30 saves. So far at Richmond, though, he’s sparkled: 4 saves, a 1.02 ERA, 15 Ks, just 3 walks and 17 hits in 17-2/3 innings.



Meanwhile, Baker, who drew some attention as a dark horse closer candidate at the start of spring training, has a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings with 16 Ks and 4 walks. He was awful in the spring and , at 25, is bordering on becoming a minor league journeyman. He had a great 04 season in the San Diego organization, fashioning a 1.48 ERA and fanning 85 in only 67 innings. Then he regressed with a 4.75 ERA in 05, though he again notched more strikeouts than innings, 75 and 66. He was a first round draft choice of the Red Sox in 1999.

Behind Startup on Jeff Blauser’s Mississippi club, there are a couple of relievers with decent early-season numbers but checkered minor league histories. Matt Wright, 24, has fanned 20 hitters in just 13-1/3 innings and has a 2.70 ERA. But he’s walked six. Wright started 2005 all the way down in rookie league ball then got a call to Miss. But he posted a 6.11 ERA as a starter there last year.

Then there’s 25-year-old Manny Acosta. Before this year, he had never pitched above A ball in seven pro seasons. Now he’s got a 1.35 ERA in 13-1/3 IP. He’s allowed just five hits, fanned 12 but he’s also walked 12.

So let’s hope JS is working the phones. The problem is that this early in the season, few teams outside the Marlins and Royals are ready to give up and deal veterans. And those teams don’t have any attractive bullpen arms to speak of.

-- CD

Is Nationals brain-drain heading our way?

Since an off-day usually means zero Braves coverage by the local media (it would take ink away from another story on the Falcons picking a local favorite in the 7th round of the recent draft), here’s something the local media should be ruminating over, courtesy of my favorite gumshoe:

A. The Lerner group, which includes Stan Kasten as the organization’s president, has been picked by Bug Selig to be the owners of the Washington Nationals, pending completion of the sale. The Nationals’ incoming president will be inheriting….

B. Jim Bowden, a lame-duck general manager in every sense of the word. Bowden originally had a contract that expired on April 1 and celebrated its extension through the end of the year by getting liquored up and getting behind the wheel of a car. Regardless of the off-field incident, Bowden has not done much to improve the Nationals and left scorched earth behind him in his previous tenure in Cincinnati. Nobody outside of the immediate Bowden family expects him to be retained. Also on board is…

C. Frank Robinson, who’s one of the most respected people in baseball, but at 70 is a lame-duck manager. Robinson worked in the front office of MLB and reluctantly took over the managerial reins of the Nationals when Bug Selig took over the Nationals/Expos organization so his buddies John Henry and Jeffrey Loria could upgrade their baseball investments. Kasten would be expected to turn to his previous organization…

D. The Atlanta Braves, who have been a model of consistency on and off the field for the past 15 years. The Braves are apparently about to be traded to a second-rate media content provider, who could possibly decide to put their own imprint on the makeup of the organization so it more closely resembles QVC. This could affect the present employment of…

E. John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox, who as general manager and manager, respectively, have been the architects of the Braves success. Both have contracts that expire at the end of the 2007 season, are in their 60s, and could possibly retire rather than bristle under new management. Mentioned as possible successors to Schuerholz and Cox are …..

F. Frank Wren, Dayton Moore, Terry Pendleton, and Fredi Gonzalez. Wren has been assistant GM to Schuerholz since 2000 and previously had a one-year tryout as GM under what passes for baseball ownership in Baltimore. Moore is Director of Player Development and considered a front-office rising star. Pendleton and Gonzalez are on Cox’s staff and were granted managerial moves this past offseason.

The Braves have lost front-office and on-field personnel in the past. Chuck LaMarr and Dean Taylor both bombed out as GMs, but were under constricted by working for some of the worst ownership groups in baseball. Jimy Williams, Grady Little, and Ned Yost have had varying degrees of success as managers (Williams of course had managerial experience prior to returning to Cox’s staff as a base coach). What’s different here, particularly with the front office position, is that Kasten gets it, and he’s going to build a baseball operation that’s modeled after the Braves – from the front office to the major league roster to the farm system.

It’s not a question of if, but when will Kasten be calling to ask for permission to speak to either Moore or Wren, if not both. Other organizations will be calling as well (as Boston and Cincinnati did this past season). Do they both stick around to see if Schuerholz retires after 2007, or do they bolt for a chance to work with someone they’ve worked with in the past? Will the pressure to identify a successor and not lose both of these guys lead to Schuerholz announcing his retirement and successor? Will the Nationals go even deeper into the Braves’ organization to tap new talent? Will they go one step further and hire away Pendleton or Gonzalez as manager? Will protracted negotiations between Time Warner and Liberty Media lead to inertia on the Braves’ side, allowing everyone to leave? Will Cox decide he doesn’t want to work for another general manager? Will they hire Jeff Dauler as well? What’s for sure is the potential of a domino effect that could be created by the tandem of changes in ownership in both Washington and Atlanta. There probably won’t be any answers until the off-season, but impact of these dominos is a lot greater on the sports landscape of this town than is the number of reps D.J. Shockley gets in the next Falcons mini-camp.


--JGraham

Will he ever learn?

Hard to criticize Frenchy after a big day at the plate, but he still doesn't seem to get it:

"I'm not going to worry about not taking enough pitches," Francoeur said. "That was what was messing me up. I have to be aggressive. That is the kind of hitter I am."

Sounds like something Dave Kingman might say.

--CB

CB has been slapping Francoeur around like most NL pitchers lately. The Lilburn Flash has obviously been anything but for most of this season, and his insistence on impatience at bat is frustrating. He’s hitting .231 with zero walks in 130 at-bats. That’s atrocious.

Still, judging the right fielder by what he’s recently done, rather than said, you can muster a small defense for him. Shockingly, he’s hitting .344 with runners in scoring position and is second on the club with 22 RBI. He’s hitting .273 with 8 RBI in the past seven games. So maybe he’s coming around.

-- CD

Big stretch ahead

Having played nine times in three weeks, the Bravos and Mets will play just nine more times the rest of the season. We won’t see them again for almost three months.

But the next couple of weeks could be critical. The Mets, who to their credit have won 10 of 12 games against NL dregs Florida, Washington and Pittsburgh, are entering a punishing 15-game stretch with the already ragged back of their rotation in disarray. The Apple’s long-time second banana has six games against the hot Phillies and three each against Mr. Pujols and the Cardinals, the Brewers and the Yankees.

In about 9 of those 15 games, the ones Glavine and Pedro don’t start, you figure the other team has an advantage in starting pitching.

Meanwhile, after just two games so far against the league’s three worst teams, the Braves play the Marlins seven times and the Natspos thrice in the next 10, followed by a trip to Arizona and San Diego. It might be asking a lot, but it doesn’t seem unrealistic to gain four games on the Sheasters in the next two to three weeks. Do that and we’re a workable four games out.

If we hit late May still out by eight or so, we’ll have left a pond teeming with ducks.

-- CD

Chip rips TW again. He's right

Always outspoken, Chipper is again ripping Time Warner’s ownership. Specifically, the New York Times quoted him on Sunday blaming the bullpen problems on its discount price tag compared to the Mets’costlier relief corps.

Jones cited the relief corps as an example of where he felt the lack of spending had undermined the Braves.

"We've got a lot of people down in that bullpen who are making the minimum and don't have the experience that bullpens like New York's has," said Jones, who has been with the team for 12 years. "That's where the glaring differences are."

It was pointed out to Jones that the Mets had bullpen problems last season, but they have apparently fixed them. "We had the same problem last year, too," Jones said, "and we didn't have the money to address it."

He has a good point. The Braves’ top six relievers will make a combined $4.92 million this season – Reitsma’s $2.75 million accounting for 55 percent of that – or less than half of Billy Wagner’s $10.5 million salary. The Mets six main relievers will be paid $15.78 million this season, more than triple what our pen will earn.

Same story compared to Philadelphia. Their six main relievers will make $12.65 million this year, led by Tom Gordon’s $4.5 million and Arthur Rhodes at $3.7 million. Other NL contenders are also investing far more heavily in the pen: St. Louis’s will cost $14.46 million and Houston’s $7.7 million. All these figures are according to USA Today.com.

A discount bullpen is nothing new for the Braves. JS has often cut costs on the pen while spending elsewhere. For the most part, it’s hard to quibble with the results. But this year’s pen is cheaper than some others, and it shows. For example, the excellent 2002 bullpen salary was $12.38 million. Even excluding Smoltz’s $7.7 million, a salary committed to Smoltzie when he was a starter, that’s still about as much as this year’s pen is making.

We well know that in baseball, you often don’t get what you pay for. Unfortunately, in this case we are getting exactly that.

-- CD

How deep is too deep?

Buster Olney lazily notes in his ESPN blog (full blog is premium content): “The folks at ESPN Research checked and found this: Since the start of the 1991 season, the Braves have never been more than 4½ games out of first on May 7.” Olney goes on to note that he’s learned from history never to count out the Braves, but the insinuation is that the Braves have never been more than 4½ games out this late in the season.

The more appropriate question might be “what’s the most games the Braves have had to overcome to win the division?” We all know it’s not 4½ games. Here are some comebacks during the Braves’ run:

1991 – trailed by 9½ games on July 7; won division by 1 game
1992 – trailed by 7 games on August 2; won division by 8 games
1993 – trailed by 9½ games on August 7; won division by 1 game
1995 – trailed by 5 games on June 25; won division by 21 games
2001 – trailed by 8 games on June 1; won division by 2 games
2004 – trailed by 5½ games on May 30; won division by 10 games
2005 – trailed by 5½ games on July 3; won division by 2 games

In roughly half of the seasons in the Braves’ division-winning run, they’ve had to overcome sizeable leads significantly into the season. Twice they’ve had to overcome leads larger than the 9-game deficit faced after Saturday’s game (hey, it’s already down to 8 games!). It’s a tall order, but let’s see where they are at the end of May.

During the past 10 seasons, the Braves’ average win total has been 97.7. The Braves will need to go 85-46 (.649) the rest of the way to get to 98 wins. The Mets will have to go 76-55 (.580) to settle for 97 wins.


-- JGraham

Are the Phillies a threat?

Despite a seven-game winning streak (soon to be eight, it appears), I'm still not that worried about the Phils. While their line-up is fearsome, their pitching -- namely their starting pitching -- is quite weak. For the sake of context, consider this: John Thomson would be their number two starter right now, and they have no one approaching the likes of Hudson or Smoltz in their rotation.


But that could change. Lefty prospect Cole Hamels is dominating at Triple A Scranton, and if he can translate that success to the majors Philly might very well be the second best team in the NL East

This much is certain: Tom Gordon would look mighty good in the Bravos bullpen right about now.

--CB

Fighting the power

Let's not give up on our respective crusades --

Keep the complaints flooding in to FOX for their demotions of Pete, Skip and the rest, and don't forget to let Feckless Ass Clown, aka the Commissioner, know just how you feel about the potential Liberty takeover of the Braves at:

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
Phone: (212) 931-7800

--CB

Whew!

God we needed this one. Tim Hudson may be the number one starter, but John Smoltz is our ace, the pitcher you most want out there in a must-win game.

**Frenchy must've read the Office in between innings. I suggest he be moved down in the order, and he responds with four RBI. Still, I'm not convinced he's "back," seeing those last two hits came off of Bartolome Fortunato. But a promising sign nonetheless.

--CB

Not only did Smoltzie come through on the hill, with three days' rest, but he also laid down a perfect squeeze bunt on a tough pitch and doubled. I'm about ready to proclam No. 29 the greatest ATLANTA Brave ever. Big claim I know. Henry Louis Aaron is no doubt the greatest player in franchise history, but he hit 420 homers in Milwaukee and 335 here. Also, the Hammer's Atlanta teams made the playoffs just once. Murph is the all-time Atlanta HR leader, with 371. Chipper has 333.

Of course you can make an argument for Murph, Niekro and Glavine. It's not his fault, but most of Murphy's Braves teams were bad. He got dealt in 1990. Same for Knucksie, who in his brilliant Atlanta career won 266 games. Glavine won 242 games for Atlanta, and pitched the masterpiece 8-inning one-hitter to clinch the '95 Series.

But Glavine left for money. It's complicated and not a straight comparison, but Smoltzie's had chances to leave for more money and hasn't. Smoltzie has amassed 179 wins, 154 saves and sparkling postseason numbers: 15-4, 4 saves and a 2.65 ERA. His performances in big games has been uniformly superb, better than Glavine and Maddux. He's the only Brave on every division winner since 1990. In short, he has been the most important, and probably most popular, Atlanta Brave in the team's 40 years in the South.

Glavine's postseason pitching has not been awful, by any means, but it pales next to Smoltzie's: 12-15, 3.44. Curiously, Tommy's worst playoff work has come in the Division series, where his ERA is 5.15.

Like Glavine, Maddux has pitched decently but nothing like Smoltz in postseaon. Maddux's October stats: 11-14, 3.22.

In time, Chipper, Andruw or someone else could supplant Smoltzie as the top Atlanta baseball player. For now, though, I put Smoltz at the top. Long live Atlanta's heroic No. 29.

-- CD

Gotta agree with CD on his bold claim. Solid arguments can certainly be made, but I don't think any Brave will ever approach the well-deserved affection afforded to Smoltzie. Maybe not the best Bravo ever, but definitely my favorite, even if he's campaigning for Ralph Reed.

--CB

And now for a commercial message

Nice job by Delta on the Jeff Francoeur ad. It's quite feasible that there are kids in Copenhagen rooting for the Bravos, but the shortsightedness of Time Warner will make that less likely in the future as they continue to transfer more and more games away from TBS.

And what's with this stupid advertising campaign for "Seinfeld": "Baseball would be boring without them?" Way to market your team, TW. God I hate corporate ownership!

--CB

Speaking of crappy commercials, has anyone else noticed the UPS spot on Braves radio? The message is essentially that baseball is full of waiting and slow, but UPS delivers things fast. So if you like waiting, "well, there's baseball," the radio voice says. Can you imagine an ad on a football game saying something like, "If you enjoy tedium, loudmouth yahoos and obsessive hype, you'll love video replay timeouts, Terry Bradshaw, incessant blather about 'T.O.' and the weeks of NFL draft analysis."

-- CD

Multiple choice

So who looks more overmatched at the plate:

Adam LaRoche

The Golden Child

or

Matt Diaz?

With our bullpen troubles, the last thing we need is a gaping hole in the middle of the order. But it continues to grow, unfortunately. My suggestion: move Langerhans up to second (yeah, he's struggling now, but down the road I think he fits nicely sandwiched between Gilly and Chipper), McCann to 5th (against righties), Renteria to 6th (5th against lefties), then rotate Frenchy and LaRoche in the 7th and 8th hole. The line-up as currently constructed has grown alarmingly flaccid, so much so that Brian Jordan is starting to make a legitimate case for more playing time.

--CB

In Smoltzie we trust

Thirty minutes before game time, and I'm supremely confident that Smoltize will rescue a sour weekend. I may be losing faith in the local nine, but I'll never doubt our ace righty.

--CB

Dammit to hell

We're making Darren Oliver look like Steve Carlton. No one named Darren should get people out in the big leagues. If we lose back to back games started by Trachsel and Victor Zambrano/Oliver, that is grim. Oliver has a 5.07 career ERA and didn't pitch in the majors last year. Ah, Chipper just tied it on a bloop. We really, really need this game.

-- CD

Don't take me back

I'm not sure I can spell the noise I made when that letter-high floater in the 11th inning landed somewhere in Deleware. It was something like, "AAAAAAHHHHHHEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!"

Anyway, it's been so long I've forgotten what it's like to root for a mediocre baseball team. My Braves fan career has been about evenly split between 15 or so mostly bad years and 15 wonderful ones. I realize we have 133 games left, and I hate the radio call-in panic that always sets in as soon as the Bravos hit any sort of rough patch. But this just feels different.

There are so many ways this team is finding to lose tight games:

Bullpen collapses, check
Crucial errors, got it
Offensive droughts, can do.

More later.
-- CD

Did you know ...

Ex-Met and Pirate Ty Wigginton -- easily mistaken for Wes Helms -- has driven in 30 so far for the Devil Rays? That's my nominee for biggest surprise of the young season, even more so than the Reds holding first place in the Central.

(Real-time blogging here: Helluva job in relief by Petah Moylan, perhaps the easiest guy to root for in baseball. His inning-plus was the most impressive work out of the bullpen so far this year. Meanwhile ... it might be time to start having Chipper field grounders at first. Who would you rather have up in a clutch situation: Betemit or LaRoche?

And another silver lining: Coming into tonight, Billy Wagner had blown three save opportunities. I expect him to rebound, but I pray otherwise. Our best shot at winning the division might be his continued ineffectiveness, or a major injury to Pedro).

--CB

Time for a tirade

(This post was written during the 8th inning, with the score 6-6. I think the tone indicates my lack of confidence in the Bravos these days).

It rarely happens, but Bobby needs to blow. The local nine are conjuring up images of the Jim Morrison-era Braves, demonstrating an alarming grasp of baseball fundamentals (particularly the Golden Child in right) on a near-nightly basis.

I know, I'm panicking, but this season has been one blow to the gut after another -- on the field and off -- and it's time to unload.

--CB

Nice agricultural shot

Watching Matt Diaz at the plate, I'm left to wonder whether he knows he's playing baseball. That swing might look good in cricket, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a major league hitter look more overmatched (although Rob Deer clone Jeff Francoeur is starting to challenge).

Here's your abbreviated guide to cricket terminology:

Agricultural shot:

A batting stroke which is anything other than standard or copybook.

--CB

**Obviously my bitch slap of Diaz inspired him to drive in the fourth run of tonight's game.

Office supplements staff

In a move sure to enhance shareholder value, create a revolutionary end-to-end solution and at the end of the day drive a more impactful online presence for our various stakeholders, Rowland’s Office is delighted to announce that J. Graham has joined the Office team as a content provider.

In deciding to pursue other interests besides those interests he had been pursuing, Graham is electing to spend less time with his family. Indeed, to demonstrate his unswerving commitment to Team Office, Graham has agreed to leave his wife and two young children and live in the Office’s secret subterranean production node.

“It was an easy decision,” said Graham, who will become a member of the blog’s executive committee, board of directors and star chamber of exalted overseers. “It’s kind of a shame about the wife and kids and all, but they’ll be alright. It’s not every day you get the chance to be part of such a colossal opportunity to waste time while you’re supposed to be working.”

An experienced certified public accountant and wizard at arcane tax matters, Graham more importantly is a lifelong, ardent and knowledgeable Bravos fan. As child geeks, he and a certain other Rowland’s Office contributor were known to sit at a window overlooking a front yard and pretend to broadcast baseball games. (This paragraph is actually true.)

“We couldn’t be happier to add a writer, thinker and number cruncher of JG’s caliber to our executive committee, board of directors and star chamber of exalted overseers,” C’s B and D said in a joint statement. “It’s all about people here at the Office. Our human capital is our greatest resource, aside from Tivo. People are the past, present and future. J.G. is a wonderful human capital asset that will boost output and streamline this and positively impact that.”

Reached at his California home, Rowland Office said he couldn't talk because Sanford and Son was coming on.

Mets better than Yankees?

They’re feeling pretty puffed up over at mets.blog.com, and with good reason.

The heavily trafficked blog is having a little fun with Bobby’s gripe about the schedule cramming nine Bravos-Mets games into a three-week span. It is weird, and the Braves have a rough early slate, playing 32 of 50 on the road.

But that’ll even out, of course.

Interesting link from the Apples’ second banana fans blog: a Newsday sports columnist proclaiming that the Mets are the best team in New York. Jon Heyman makes some good points, I must admit, including this:

The Mets have the better over-40 pitcher. It's 1995 all over again for Glavine, who's been about the best pitcher in the league since the middle of last year. It says something that he had the guts to reinvent himself in his middle age by polishing the dust off his curve and using the inner half of the plate as well as the outer half.

Who’d have thought that in 2006 you could legitimately claim Tom Glavine is better than Randy Johnson.

As for the home team, LaRoche and Francoeur have to hit. Even though the Phils swept us, Chipper smacked the ball hard often and so did Rochey. Francoeur got nothing but broken-bat hits. He has shown absolutely no sign of breaking out for more than a game at a time. The way he’s swinging now – flailing at anything that doesn’t bounce and some things that do -- it’s hard to see how any decent big league pitcher won’t get him out eight times out of 10, which is exactly what’s happened so far this season.

It’d be nice to get Giles on the bags a few times too.

-- CD

Let's pounce on soft end of Met rotation

I admit I don’t feel as confident about this club as I normally would in early May. It just seems a whole lot of things have to go right for this team to win consistently.

What’s more, the Mets don’t appear to be the familiar count-on-a-summer-fade Mets. Limping into New York seven games back, the home team has this going: we get to face three mediocre starting pitchers in Trachsel, Zambrano and John Maine. No Glavine, no Pedro. We need to take two out of three.

Casting about for positives from the first month, there is this: the home team has played a more difficult schedule than the Mets. By my reckoning, the Bravos have played just two games against a team that is a sure non-contender, the pair against the Natspos in DC. The Mets, on the other hand, have played 12 times against dregs, the Natspos, Marlins and Pirates, hogging 10 wins. They’re 9-7 in their other games.

Beat up on the crappy teams -- that’s what good teams do. The Braves have always done it. They haven’t had much of a chance to do it yet this season.

-- CD

That thing I'm flogging is a dead horse

Jarring statistic of the day: The Braves bullpen has a collective 55 career saves, 36 for Reitsma and 19 for Remlinger. That’s 28 fewer saves than Jorge Julio has. He's the Mets’ fourth or fifth best reliever.

In three full seasons as closer and part of another, Smoltz amassed 154 saves, nearly three times as many as the current pen. Not surprisingly, the two main NL East rivals boast substantially more bullpen chops. Mets relievers have a combined 396 saves. Wagner has 291 of them, but five others have saves. The Phillies’ pen includes five pitchers who’ve recorded big league saves, totaling 157.

We knew this scenario going into the season, but it’s still sobering to see the numbers.

-- CD

A run makes a difference

Last night’s kick in the groin left the home team 5-9 in one-run games already. More than half of the Braves’ games have been decided by a single run.

It’s tempting to blame that deflating trend on the bullpen. That is part of the problem. Some brief research shows that the ’pen was the main culprit in four of the nine one-run defeats. So turn two of those around, and we’re .500 in the closest games. Among the other five one-run losses, three were mainly because of bad starting pitching in the first couple of weeks, one was Thomson’s 1-0 loss to the Mets and another was a Davies 3-2 loss to Milwaukee. Those low-scoring losses are going to happen here and there. The run of abysmal starting pitching appears to be over.

Bottom line: the bullpen is not the only problem but it’s not good. McBride might help this season, but it appears Devine and Boyer won't. Therefore, with the Mets rolling, JS will probably need to make a couple of deals to bolster the pen. If a new corporate owner won't let him, it's probably goodbye playoffs. For now, Bobby’s 8th-inning options are a 40-year-old lefty trying to rebound from arm problems, a minor league journeyman and a couple of largely unproven Arizona castoffs. That’s not comforting.

Playing tight games also puts a premium on turning double plays, bunting, hitting behind runners, hitting cutoff men and generally playing sound defense. This team is reasonably good there.

-- CD

Early observations

From tonight's game:

*Brian McCann is emerging as an above-average defensive catcher. I predicted the young backstop would have a better sophomore campaign than his roomie, Francoeur, and so far he's making me look pretty damn prescient.

*As uninspiring as his broadcast partner is, Jeff Torborg rates as an insightful analyst. He brings more to the table than Joe Simpson, but -- unfortunately for Torborg -- he's saddled with Broadcastron 3000. Even the great Howie C. couldn't overcome that albatross.

(Speaking of, the great one is currently working on his next dispatch for the Office. "You don't rush excellence, young man," Howard scolded me recently).

--CB

Challenge Bud on his inconsistency

Braves fans need to let Feckless Ass Clown know how we feel -- the Liberty deal must be stopped, unless you relish the idea of watching the Bravos and Marlins play a meaningless July game in front of about 11,000 other hearty souls at The Bell (formerly The Ted).

I feel like Howard Beale, in "Network" (the most observant movie ever made), urging his viewers to block his employer's planned merger. Like the venerable anchorman, I am mad as hell, as any Brave loyalist should be.

One suggestion ... don't address your missives to F.A.C. I'm fighting the urge myself:

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
Phone: (212) 931-7800

And the Office urges other Braves bloggers -- anyone who cares about the local nine -- to let Selig know how both the team and MLB would suffer if a disinterested conglomerate was allowed to take over one of baseball's signature franchises.

Might I suggest you remind Bud of his own words:

"It is a decision with long-term consequences that can last generations. There are a myriad of factors that go into it. What I want to do, as I tried to do in Boston [four years ago], is pick the owner that gives Washington the best chance for the most success. We pulled it off with the Red Sox, though I got a lot of criticism at the time."

So tell us, F.A.C., why should Atlanta be treated any differently than D.C. or Beantown? You would think the former owner of the Brewers would sympathize with smaller markets, not neglect them.

--CB

Which is it, FAC?

I would love to know just how much power Feckless Ass Clown, er, Commissioner Allan “Bud” Selig, has in determining who or what buys the Braves.

Most accounts say Selig is the most powerful commissioner in baseball history and in all of sports. MLB’s exemption from the antitrust laws that govern other industries gives FAC wide latitude to keep teams from moving, to not negotiate labor deals, and those sorts of things. Yet I don’t know how much muscle FAC has, or how much he wants to flex it, in getting between two corporate heavyweights like TW and Liberty Media, especially heavyweights that control TV networks and cable TV systems. Baseball likes to stay on the good side of those kinds of companies.

Whatever power FAC has in this situation, he was the ultimate “decider” in picking the Washington Nationals’ new owner. Of course, MLB is actually selling that team. Nevertheless, FAC’s statements about the kind of ownership baseball wanted in DC are in direct conflict with the spineless non-opinion he’s expressed concerning the home team.

While he says corporate or individual ownership is OK with him for Atlanta, he’s sung a different tune in the town where people live who can yank away his antitrust exemption. The Washington Post’s Tom Boswell, probably the best baseball columnist working, quoted FAC thusly in a May 3 piece:

"It is a decision with long-term consequences that can last generations. There are a myriad of factors that go into it. What I want to do, as I tried to do in Boston [four years ago], is pick the owner that gives Washington the best chance for the most success. We pulled it off with the Red Sox, though I got a lot of criticism at the time.”

So it sounds like FAC had a lot to do with who bought the Red Sox.

Boswell further wrote:

“Selig is convinced that some types of owners tend to be far better than others. He believes that extremely wealthy single-family owners with hometown roots tend to be stable baseball stewards for generations. They are financially supportive in hard times and have a family-business vested interest in fielding winning teams.”

Hmm. Sounds a lot like the Blank family of Atlanta. Nothing if not utterly inconsistent, the FAC told the local organ this about the sale of the club that reportedly broke his feckless heart when it left his hometown of Milwaukee for Atlanta back in 1966:

Selig said he did not have a preference on whether a corporation or a local owner should purchase the Braves. "Both have worked out well in the past," Selig said.

Which is it, FAC?

-- CD

Millionaires shouldn't whine

"The thing is, they don't even care about cheering on their team. All they care about is booing me."
--Johnny Damon reacting to the Bronx cheer he received from the Fenway faithful

"They lacked respect (Monday) night. Winning and losing had nothing to do with it. I just thought it was time to acknowledge what he's done here."
--Joe Torre

We've been down this road before here in Atlanta with Tom Glavine. Each example parallels closely. Boston fans aren't necessarily booing Damon, they're booing his uniform. Same with Glavine. If he had gone to, say, the Diamondbacks, the reaction would be muted.

There is one difference, however: about $10 million. Glavine left the Braves over roughly $5 mil, while Damon accepted a much richer Yankees offer. Plus, Boston was Damon's third team, while Glavine grew up a Brave.

Sure, neither team would likely have their championships without each player, but short memories rule in sports. The good thing about baseball: fans cheer more for the uniform than the player.

Besides, when you're making that kind of coin, boos come with the territory. Grow up, Johnny. Terry Francona seems to have the right perspective on all this:

"It's not the end of the world. It's just some very passionate fans having some fun at someone else's expense."

--CB

Keep 'em coming

This isn't a one-day crusade. Let's continue to flood FOX with our complaints over the demotion of Pete, Skip, et al. Don't hesitate to bitch plenty.

--CB

No homers, no problem. Finally

A couple of encouraging signs from this two-game sweep. First, the past two games are the Braves’ first wins of the season without a home run. That can’t be bad. Second, tonight was the team’s first win in a Sosa start.

That big dude is one frustrating hurler. He looked overpowering for four or five hitters at a time, then he’d hang a breaking ball or groove a fastball and into the seats it went. I suppose some of that is concentration.

If he can harness his stuff, he can be solid. A 94-mph fastball with movement should be a useful tool. Tonight was far from spotless for him, but it was progress. He needs to show more next time out.

A jarring stat: before tonight, Francoeur was 2-for-35 (.057) when behind in the count. Even the slumping LaRoche is hitting .185 when he’s behind. By contrast, when they get behind Renteria’s hitting .286 and McCann .417. McCann has only been behind the pitcher in 12 at-bats, or 18 percent of his ABs, compared to 35% for Francoeur and LaRoche and 31% for Renteria.

-- CD

Office exclusive: "Rathbun" a robot!

Rowland’s Office has learned that “Bob Rathbun” is not a human being but a highly advanced automaton created in a clandestine Fox laboratory deep inside a California mountain owned by the network’s diabolical potentate, Rupert Murdoch.

Variously dubbed “Blandenstien,” “Broadcastron 3000” and “FSNzoid,” the robot sounds and looks human except for a vacant stare and immovable hair. And it is expert at reading with great enthusiasm promos for even the most banal corporate promotions and television programs. But the machine lacks the capacity for original thought, humor or anything resembling a human personality.

“We considered the interests of various constituencies in designing and implementing Broadcastron, including the Braves fans, our networks and robotic science,” Fox spokesman Obfuscate F. Windbag read from a prepared statement. (It was unclear whether the mouthpiece was also some sort of humanoid.)

Rowland’s Office was alerted to the possibility that the Leader of the Bland might be the product of a Fox broadcasting laboratory when an anonymous press box source accidentally spilled a libation on “him” and “he” did not notice. So the source poured more beer on “Rathbun’s” back, and “he” just kept yammering about a “Beyond the Glory” about Tonya Harding that would air after that night’s game.

Sources in the broadcast industry say Fox plans to test Broadcastron 3000 on Braves games, and if “he” works the behemoth company will replace human announcers throughout its networks. Windbag, the Fox spokestron, read from another prepared statement: “We at Fox are continually researching ways to better deliver entertaining, quality content that will please our viewers, enhance shareholder value and further enrich our Australian overlord.”

-- CD

Send your complaints to ...

The Office hopes to play a leading role in letting FOX know just how much we oppose their decision to remove Pete, Skip and the rest from the Turner South telecasts. This link will take you to the FSN page, where there's a "fan forum" for comments, etc. Let 'em know just how you feel. We may not be able to change their decision, but these corporate jerk-offs can't remain insulated forever.

--CB

Hudson showing why JS got him

Hudson appears to be establishing himself as a true ace, the pitcher who in six full big league seasons before this averaged 216 innings pitched and 16 wins. Glavine and Maddux had similar numbers their first six years: 16 wins, 218 IP for Glav, 16 wins, 235 IP for Maddux.

Hudson didn’t find this form consistently last season, but he has been among the handful of best pitchers in the game since his big league debut in 1999. Consider that among these future Hall of Famers, just one has a better career winning percentage than Hudson: Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, Clemens, Schilling, Johnson and Pedro Martinez. Only Pedro, at .706, tops Huddy’s .683.

Huddy credits his recent brilliance to a tip from McDowell -- remember that clown the local organ’s columnists were questioning a couple weeks ago. Brilliance as in 25 IP, 5 earned runs, a 1.79 ERA, 13 hits and four walks in his past three starts. Those five earned could easily have been four or three. In any case, Hudson won’t pitch many more one-hitters this year but if he can maintain something close to what he’s done lately, he will be the bona fide ace whom this club badly needs and whom JS is paying for.

Meanwhile, not that it's crippled the A's but none of the three players the Braves traded for Hudson are on Oakland's big league roster. Two are with the Sacramento River Cats. Dan Meyer is 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA in AAA. Charles Thomas hit .109 in Oakland last season, and is back in AAA, while Juan Cruz has been traded to Arizona after going 0-3 with a 7.44 for the A's last year. He's pitching well this year for the D'backs, 0-0 with a 2.65 in 17 innings.

-- CD

The Aussie invasion

The land of Paul Hogan may not be fertile ground for entertainers, but Australia is supplying plenty of arms for the Bravos' minor league system.

By now you're familiar with Peter Moylan's story. And you might be aware that Damian Moss was back in the organization, struggling mightily at Richmond (as is Moylan A reader accurately noted that Moss has been released by the organization. He was let go on April 23 to make room for Moylan on the R-Braves roster.) But there's another Aussie who's been dominating minor league hitters so far. I've never heard of him, but his stats are eye-opening.

In 16.2 innings between Double A and Triple A, Phil Stockman, fresh from the Diamondbacks organization, has allowed only three hits, with 25 K's. His control is a bit off (eight walks so far in nine and 1/3 innings at Richmond), but you've got to be intrigued by a guy who stands 6'8 and throws hard.

In other Richmond news, Joey Devine's still hurt, James Jurries isn't producing much, but Scott Thorman is making strides(.318, 4, 14). Meanwhile, in Mississippi, Will Startup is pitching well enough to perhaps earn a look in the Atlanta bullpen before too long. In 12 innings, he's allowed no earned runs and only two walks, along with 18 K's (after tossing two scoreless innings at Myrtle Beach). The former UGA closer has three saves for Jeff Blauser's club. Finally, Salty's struggling a bit, hitting .241 with 13 RBI at Double A Pearl.

--CB

The Michael McDonald of broadcasting

He may not be a utility player, but he is annoying, and vanilla, and, in my mind, a worthy comparison to our least favorite play-by-play announcer. In fact, some friends and I recently came up with a new roster of lame material for the ex-Doobie Brother. Some highlights:

*"Casual Fridays"

*Dot.comversation (Just having myself a ... dot-comversation ... leading to a ... e-mail exchangin' ...)

*"Givin' 'em what they want"

*"Everything in moderation"

*"Bud Light on a Sunday"

*"Chillin' at Chili's"

*"Just reportin' the facts"

*"As is"

And one more Rathbun analogy: He's the smooth jazz of announcers. And I hate smooth jazz.

--CB

Some culinary hardball

Apropos of nothing, DC correspondent Larvell Pocoroba and I concocted some menu items for Ted’s Montana Grill:

The Greg Maddux shrimp-and-booger creole

Len Barker's slow-roasted, sore shoulder of beef

Alfonseca's fried octopus tentacles

The Brian Asselstine drumsticks

Ostrich burger since Ted used to ride those animals

Bobby's Red-Ass Chili (recommended for umpires)

The Willie Montanez – hot dog all the way

The Ray “Burger” King, three all-beef patties, flopping out messily from the bun

The J.D. Drew – only available on special occasions

The Terry Forster all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet



And for a classier touch: the Lonnie Smith steamed skate with lemongrass

The Bob Horner special – fragile but comes with a six pack of Heineken

Sid’s fried Bream

Smoltzie’s chicken split-fingers

On the dessert cart:

Leo's rocky road

The Nick Esasky vertigo ice cream swirl

The LaRoche windmill Dutch chocolate

Claudell's snow ball

McGriff’s I-can’t-throw-to-second cup of coffee


As always, feel free to send suggestions.

-- CD

Chipper's with us

Good to see we aren’t the only ones fretting about the ownership situation.

Ron Terwilliger, like Arthur Blank, is saying publicly that the team needs an interested local owner. He wants to be that owner, true, but he’s obviously right. Chipper also talked to the AP’s Paul Newberry about his concerns regarding Liberty, and Chip even takes a shot at Time Warner.

Chipper is always willing to fill a reporter’s notebook, and that sometimes gets him in trouble. But I say hats off to the veteran star for speaking his mind. It’s refreshing, and in this case maybe even gutsy.

-- CD

Like Benny Ayala, minus the flair

CB and I decided tonight while watching the first post-Skip and Pete Turner South telecast that Bob Rathbun is so bland, offers so little insight, humor or personality that he should not be called by his name.

We tried to think of the most pedestrian utility players to whom he compares – the Wes Helms of broadcasting? Wes did hit 20 homers one year. Won’t work. The Jesse Garcia of broadcasting? The F.P. Santangelo of the mic? Darren Bragg? Jeff Manto? Jamey Carroll? Jim Presley wasn't a utility player, but he did hit his grandmother, so maybe he deserves mention.

Send us your suggestions -- it might be better if for some reason you find the player annoying or even grating. Former Braves are preferable but not required. The winner will get the nickname he or she submits used on the Office each time we refer to the Fox Turner South play-by-play announcer, unless we come up with a name we like better.

If it’s really good, we might send a plaque. But we might not. If no one submits any names, we’ll come up with one.

Searching for a bright side

I add my big thanks to J. Graham for a first-rate job minding the Office.

Chewing on the shit sandwich that’s the recent Braves news, it strikes me how incredibly lucky we’ve been to have quality baseball for 15 years running. No other fans have been as blessed for that long. I suppose if Liberty brings darkness, we can at least be grateful for what we had.

And not that I want this of course, but a period of disgraceful ownership would likely winnow the fan base to the hard core and give us plenty to wail about in person and on line. There’s that.

If Liberty closes the deal for the home team, JS’s action, or inaction, at the trade deadline could be telling. According to most reports, he has the financial flexibility to take on some salary this season. A sale could freeze him temporarily. If Liberty handcuffs him completely, that will be a grim sign indeed. Other harbingers of doom: If we start seeing front office staff leave, and if Liberty fails to re-sign Smoltz after this season, assuming he’s healthy and wants to return.

Finally, apologies for all the recent profanity. I generally consider profanity lazy writing. I’m just so disgusted I don’t know what else to say.

-- CD

The ass clown speaks

Selig said he did not have a preference on whether a corporation or a local owner should purchase the Braves. "Both have worked out well in the past," Selig said.

Hey, as long as MLB gets its check. I have to restrain myself whenever I speak of the commish; the expletives are always bubbling under the surface. Selig said he is "hopeful" there will be a local component to the ownership, but in the end he could care less.

But there is a glimmer of good news today:

Saturday, Blank told the Journal-Constitution he was still hopeful he could purchase the Braves. If that didn't work out, would he be interested in a minority stake in the team? "I would say yes," Blank said. "But it depends on the circumstances and the arrangements that could be worked out with Liberty Media."

Hell, at this point I'd welcome onetime Hawks owner Steve Belkin.

--CB

Boycott FOX!

We need to let the evil empire know how we feel about their colossal misstep with "our" announcers ... for their own good. I know I'll be making the switch to radio whenever helmet head and Torborg are calling the games, and I suspect I won't be alone.

But like Detroit fans did when Rathbun replaced Ernie Harwell (compliments of football a-hole Bo Schembechler), FOX needs to know how displeased we are with its boneheaded decision. Take posters to the game. Call in to the talk shows. Write letters, whatever! Harwell was eventually reinstated in Detroit, and although history is unlikely to repeat, Skip and Pete deserve the love.

Now, can we go one week without some heartless out-of-town corporation mucking things up for Braves fans?

--CB

***Thanks to JGraham for maintaining the Office this past week. Great job, JG ... sorry you had to be the bearer of so much bad news.