Omar Infante’s Second Half

Everything totaled, Omar Infante has been a pretty mediocre hitter since he came up with Detroit back in 2002. His career triple slash line of .275/.319/.399 supports that statement. He has well over twice as many strikeouts as walks while only occasionally flashing any power; a good offensive comparison for Braves fans would be Jeff Francoeur who has a career line of .266/.308/.424. Braves fans, however, know a different player than the one that spent six seasons in Detroit. Since coming over to the Braves (and National League) in 2008, he has been a significantly better hitter. With the tomahawk on his chest, Infante has played to a respectable line of .318/.360/.425. Remember how the media used to refer to Edgar Renteria as a National League player? Well Infante’s defensive versatility would actually justify that label, and he appears to have improved his hitting since coming over to the senior circuit as well. Combining his ability to play several positions well with an improved bat has earned him recognition as one of baseball’s premiere “super utility” players, and Bobby Cox has loved having him as a weapon off the bench.

But since the All-Star break, Omar has been much more than just a valuable role player; he has been the Braves’ MVP. While filling in for Martin Prado and Chipper Jones, Infante has had the best stretch of his career. Of all National League players with at least 125 plate appearances since the break, only nine have posted a higher OPS than Infante’s mark of .957. There is also a good chance that the stretch is a result of improved skill rather than statistical variation (a.k.a. a “hot streak” or luck). In 205 PA prior to the break, Omar only drew 9 walks while striking out 39 times. But in his 133 PA since coming back from Anaheim, he has 8 walks compared to just 11 strikeouts. Although the walk rate has remained somewhat similar, his strikeout rate has plummeted over the past 34 games. It is quite possible that Omar’s ability to make contact has improved since becoming an everyday player. Whatever the reason, the change in strikeout rate is so drastic that it appears Omar has actually gotten better as the season has gone along.

The stretch also highlights the fact that Omar is having the best season of his career. A major reason for this is his batting average on balls in play which is a ridiculously high .393. Although this number is almost certainly unsustainable, there is reason to believe that he will continue to post a higher BABIP than his career average of .315. Several weeks ago I wrote that Jason Heyward needed to start hitting more fly balls. In Omar’s case the opposite has proven to be beneficial. For the season, 46% of his batted balls have been grounders compared to his career average of 37%. For someone who is not a power hitter such as Omar, this is a good thing. His homerun to fly ball rate, although still relatively low, is also the best it has been since he hit 16 big flies for Detroit back in 2004.

While I am not ready to confidently say Omar will continue to produce offensive numbers significantly better than those of the past two seasons, the Braves would be crazy to decline his 2011 club option worth $2.5 million. He has clearly improved since coming over from the American League, and there is no one else in the organization that can come close to replacing him. If he can continue to keep the strikeouts down, the Braves should be more than thrilled to start him at second base next season if Chipper decides to hang it up.

Does Omar Infante Deserve To Be An All-Star?

You probably don’t need me to tell you this, but…..

Omar Infante is a good utility player, but does not deserve to be an All-Star. Not even close. I know I know, he is a valuable member of the Braves’ roster and has the propensity to deliver clutch hits in critical situations such as last Friday against the Marlins. Great. So does Ryan Zimmerman…or Josh Willingham…or how about the NL OPS leader Joey Votto? Of course Zimmerman or Votto will likely be the last player voted in by the fans, but that still leaves two of the other three that are not on the roster while Omar Infante is.

Perhaps Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel was drawn to the fact that Infante can play virtually every position on the diamond. After all, that, and not his singles bopping bat, is why he is so valuable to the Braves. But with the expanded rosters totaling 34 players per team, the need for a utility man becomes nonexistent as Manuel already has at least one backup at all of Omar’s positions.

In all fairness to the Phillies’ skipper, his hand was forced by the rule that every team has to have at least one All-Star. As a result he was forced to select Marlon Byrd (Cubs), Chris Young (D-Backs), and Michael Bourne (Astros), all of which are outfielders. But he should have picked our old friend Kelly Johnson from Arizona over Young, giving the squad more infield depth. Then he could have selected Zimmerman over Infante, giving the NL three players at second, third, and short each (as well as seven outfielders). Instead Manuel decided to carry a below league average hitter with an OPS of .717 on his roster.

From a Braves fan perspective, this is bittersweet. It is great to see one of our unsung heroes get nationally recognized, but we also need the NL to win this game. There is a good chance Infante will not get into the game, but if he does, I will be wishing that a better, more deserving player were up at the plate or out in the field.

Braves Snag Five All-Star Spots

When all was said and done with All-Star voting, the Atlanta Braves walked away with five selections for the 81st All-Star game, held in Anaheim on July 13th.  Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, Omar Infante and Martin Prado will all represent the Braves in the Midsummer Classic.

Jason Heyward is the second youngest player to ever be selected to start in an All-Star Game.  Though on the disabled list, Heyward will be activated before the game.  He will travel to Anaheim but will likely not play in the game.

Martin Prado received his first All-Star selection after a dominant first half of the season where he lead the NL in batting average and MLB in total hits.  Prado placed second in voting to Chase Utley, who has been disabled with a thumb injury.  As a result, Prado will likely start the game for the National League.

This is also the first All-Star selection for Omar Infante, whose selection came as a surprise.  Charlie Manuel added Infante to the National League roster on account of the versatility he provides in a utility role for the Braves.

Tim Hudson received his third trip to the All-Star Game, but his first with the Braves.  He last represented the A’s in the 2004 game.  After returning from Tommy John surgery last sesason, Hudson has compiled an 8-3 record and posted a 2.37 ERA in 2010.

Brian McCann receives his fifth All-Star selection in his fifth full season in the majors.  Though his production is down from 2009, McCann still leads all NL catchers in batting average.

The Braves have a chance to send a 6th player to the Midsummer Classic in the form of Billy Wagner.  He has been selected as one of the five NL Final Vote competitors, where the fans have the opportunity to select the final player on the team roster.  Wagner is facing off against Joey Votto, Ryan Zimmerman, Carlos Gonzalez and Heath Bell.

There would be no better send-off in Wagner’s final season, where he has served as a dominant closer for the Braves, than an All-Star selection.  Vote now to get Wagner in the All-Star Game!

Clutch Hits Aplenty

The Braves once again pulled out an exciting (if not sloppy) win in eleven innings.  There were so many story-lines coming from this game, but none greater than the clutch play of Prado, Blanco, Infante, and Glaus.

Prado had three singles last night, bumping up his average to .337 and furthering his already distended hit count to 114 — SEVEN more than the next closest bat in the entire league (Robinson Cano of NYY).  Clutch aspect: Prado had the first two RBIs of the game.

Blanco continued right where he left off in June, going two for three tonight with a walk.  He was the only Brave to cross the plate through the first 10 innings of play tonight for the Braves.  This play is not out of place for Blanco who has been playing great as of late.  He’s making a strong statement to be part of the lineup, but with Hinske also playing some great baseball, I think we will see these two sharing time out in left.

Glaus came up big in the bottom of the 11th, redeeming the error from the top of the inning in a big way with a huge double.  After being on an 0-20 drought, this hit couldn’t have been any more timely.  Despite going one-for-five in last night’s game, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have some great games to close out the first half of the season.  That smack can inspire confidence in even the lowliest of slumping sluggers (to which fraternity Glaus does not yet belong).

And finally, the hero of the night: Omar Infante.  You can’t say enough about this guy.  Very much in the same vein of Gregor Blanco, Infante has been a quintessential utility player — showing up to play and getting huge clutch hits like we saw last night.  Incredible situational hitting has been the calling card of the 2010 Atlanta Braves.

With all of this in mind, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see an Infante, Blanco, or Hinske move up to the 2-slot behind Prado until Heyward gets back in shape.  I think it would create some fantastic scoring opportunities that we’re going to need to get win these final three series before the break.

State of the Rotation

With just a few weeks left until the beginning of the 2009 spring training season, the Braves still have a few questions that need to be answered. The rotation is pretty much set (unless something crazy and unexpected happens in the next couple of weeks) and seven out of the eight fielding spots are set. We signed a back-up catcher in David Ross, who, with a .222 career batting average, is a huge upgrade over the backup catchers we’ve had the past few seasons.

Other signings obviously include Derek Lowe (Starting Pitcher), Kenshin Kawakami (SP), Omar Infante (2-year deal, IF util) and Greg Norton (PH). Omar Infante’s signing is very important because it gives us a legit utility guy that can play all eight positions and could probably pitch if you asked him to (….maybe not). Greg Norton gives us a great late game hitting threat and a guy that can play the outfield and first base in a spot start situation…he could probably pitch too…

Finally the signing of Derek Lowe, while ridiculous and criticized by many, gives us a light in one of the darkest off-seasons we have had. Lowe may not be the savior we were looking for in Jake Peavy, but there’s one major difference between the two: Lowe wants to be here. Yes, he is making 60 million over the next four years, but with the same money Peavy would not have been willing to be “the guy” and really did not want to be here even with the same money. Plus, I am of the mind that Peavy would have been more of a Mike Hampton than Lowe is with his elbow troubles. Lowe has pitched at least 30 times every year since his first year as a starter in 2002.

So with the rotation looking like it is, the Braves may have one of the better rotations in the league, far better than last year’s potential rotation of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Tim Hudson, Mike Hampton and Jair Jurrjens. This year’s looks like: Lowe, Kawakami, Javier Vazquez, Jurrjens and a slew of young talent headed by Morton, Reyes, Campillo and Hanson at the five spot.

Here’s the thing though, last season the Braves went into the season unsure about a lot on their pitching staff: Will Smoltz’s shoulder hold up throughout the season? Will Hampton actually throw an official pitch? Will Glavine have anything left after the meltdown in New York the prior season? Obviously the answer to the first question was no. Mike Hampton did throw a pitch, but too little too late. And Glavine barely made it into the summer before he landed on the DL for the first time for a pitching-related injury when he tore the flexor tendon in his left elbow. Tim Hudson, the most durable of the bunch, was not willing to disappoint the Braves by breaking the string of injuries to starting pitchers (seriously guys, I’m pretty sure ALL of the starters we used last year got hurt in some capacity, Smoltz, Glavine and Hampton are obvious, Jeff Bennett was out, Chuck James was shut down early as well and Jurrjens had that freak injury falling down the dugout steps in Chicago).

Should the Braves have the benefit of making the postseason this year, they will have one of the most dominant three or four man rotations with Lowe, Hudson, Jurrjens and Kawakami/Vazquez.

Here’s a numbers breakdown of the starters with respect to last season and their careers:

• Derek Lowe – 2008 – 34 starts, 14-11, 211 IP, 3.24 ERA, 147 Ks, Career – 255 starts, 533 appearances, 126-107, 85 saves, 1275 Ks, 3.75 ERA

• Kenshin Kawakami – spent 10 seasons in Japan, seven of which he pitched over 160 innings – 2008 – 16 starts, 20 appearances, 9-5, 117 IP, 2.30 ERA, 112 Ks, Career – 231 games, 106-62, 1201 Ks, 3.17 ERA

• Javier Vazquez – 2008 – 33 starts, 12-16, 208 IP, 4.67 ERA, 200 Ks, Career – 353 starts, 127-129, 2015 Ks, 4.32 ERA

• Jair Jurrjens – 2008 – 31 starts, 13-10, 188 IP, 3.68 ERA, 152 Ks.

Braves, Lowe Get Serious

The Braves are in the thick of the race for Derek Lowe – SI reports today that the Braves have offered something akin to $60M over four years. This beats the Mets offering, which is around $36M for three years. Lowe, if you didn’t know, was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA last season with the Dodgers.

If you think the Braves are done this offseason, it looks like they’re finally ready to play ball with the biggest pitcher left on the market and have a pretty decent rotation by the time September rolls around. Imagine Lowe, Jurrjens, Kawakami, Vazquez, and Hudson. We’d have Morton and Hanson, in the wings. I’d think that maybe Campillo goes back to the ‘pen this year as our long reliever. The Braves still need to add a bat to replace the hole left by Mark Teixeira. I pray to heaven it doesn’t involve Andruw Jones, as some suggest. If we can muster enough offense to make it to the postseason, we’ll have a mean rotation IF we land Lowe.

The Braves also signed Omar Infante to a two-year deal, with a team option for a third year. Omar was pretty good for us as a utility player last year. He hit .293 with 24 doubles and 40 RBIs.

Remaining shopping list:

• Big bat
• Sign Will Ohman
• Extend Chipper’s Contract

C’mon Braves, sign Lowe so we can be somewhat optimistic about the upcoming season. Mets fans, you can go sit on a tack.

Another Injury-Filled Day

It seems that I spend more time these days writing about injuries than I do about anything else.  Every day it’s disabled lists, injuries, surgeries, lack of pitching….get the picture?  So while the Braves finished up a strong homestand today, why would it be any different?  So let’s get to it and highlight the injuries du jour:

Jo-Jo Reyes – Jo-Jo made the start in today’s game against the Padres.  Reyes didn’t have his best stuff today and left the game in the third inning with a blister on the index finger of his throwing hand.  This is one of those nagging little injuries that you just want to take care of so that it doesn’t become a nagging problem.

Buddy Carlyle – Buddy replaced Jo-Jo Reyes after he left with his injury in the third inning today.  Carlyle however only made it through 6 batters before colliding with Kevin Kouzmanoff while trying to field a ball down the first base line.  He recorded the out but fell to the field in obvious pain.  Buddy was diagnosed with a muscle strain in the left side of his neck and is listed as day-to-day.

Peter Moylan – Moylan underwent Tommy John surgery today and will miss the next 12 months or so.  He will be missed in the Braves’ bullpen.

Brayan Pena - Brayan was placed on the 15-day disabled list today with a back strain.  Pena’s trip to the disabled list made room on the roster for utility man, Omar Infante, who was activated today after breaking his hand in Venezuelan winter leagues. Infante made the start in today’s game in place of Kelly Johnson at second base.

So those are the injuries for today.  Check back in tomorrow and I’m sure we’ll have more to keep you updated about.  In the meantime, let’s hope the Braves can figure out the secret to winning on the road as we head to Pittsburgh.

Reyes Hopes To Close Out Perfect Homestand

The Braves (17-15) will send Jo-Jo Reyes (1-0) to the mound looking for their second consecutive series sweep. Standing in their way will be the Padres (12-22) and former Brave Willfredo Ledezma (0-0). Both pitchers are short on starting experience this year, but they have both showed promising signs so far. Jo-Jo is coming off perhaps his best outing of his short Major League career last Saturday. Filling in for injured John Smoltz, Reyes limited the Reds to one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings before running into some control issues in the 6th. Ledezma is making his first start for the Padres this afternoon, but he has pitched well out of the bullpen in long relief this year, posting a 1.96 ERA.

Also seeing action for the first time this year will be utility infielder Omar Infante. Infante will be activated before the game today, possibly taking the place of backup first baseman Brayan Pena. Pena has been struggling with some back pain and may be placed on the DL in order to make room for Infante. Infante has batted 4-for-11 (.386) during his minor league rehab starts, prompting the Braves to feel he is ready to join the Major League squad.