It Wasn’t A Lack Of Power…..

Written by Kent on July 22, 2009 – 7:32 am

….it was the “Axis Of Feeble”

If you’re one of the many fans or national sports media types who still aren’t taking the Braves seriously, there is something you need to know… You are mistaken.

You observe that the Braves have little more thunder in their lineup than they had through the first 3 months of the season, and you see no reason why they’re offensive woes won’t extend into the figurative “second half”. The trouble is… your premise is flawed.

You think the Braves have failed to score runs consistently for most of the year because they have lacked “impact power”. But the truth is that a lack of power was not the primary source of their offensive impotency in the first half. The REAL problem was having not one, not two, but THREE near-automatic outs in the lineup.

You can score plenty of runs without a single 30-homerun hitter. Just ask the ’98 Yankees. If you don’t have 2 or 3 huge bats in the middle of the order, that’s just fine, but you need to have a well balanced lineup full of quality hitters. The problem was… the Braves didn’t have either. There were three “Shaq”-sized holes in their lineup.

For the first 2-3 months of the season Jordan Schafer, Kelly Johnson, and Jeff Francoeur formed an axis-of-feeble. Like a black hole, they sucked the life out of this Atlanta offense. This underachieving trio killed rally after rally, and prevented many others from ever being sparked in the first place. It even managed to turn two of the league’s best starters, Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez, into losing pitchers for a time.

While Atlanta now has more homerun power than many think, and will likely top their first half homerun total by a wide margin, the Braves don’t have multiple mashers in the middle of their lineup. That means that, to some extent, walks, singles, and doubles have to come together in combination in order to score sufficiently and reliably. But when you have THREE members of your lineup who are virtually guaranteed to pull the plug on any potentially productive inning… how can you ever score runs consistently?

You can’t. And they didn’t.

But the Braves plugged one of those holes when they replaced Schafer with all-star Center Fielder, Nate McLouth, in June. And now, in July, they have plugged the other two holes as well. Martin Prado ripped the starting second-base job out of Kelly Johnson’s hands with his recent all-star caliber play. Then, Frank Wren and Co. replaced the floundering Francoeur with the capable right-field platoon of Matt Diaz and Ryan Church (for whom the Braves dealt “Frenchy” to the Mets).

Atlanta’s offense isn’t likely to be among the game’s very best from now until the end of the season. However, I believe this Braves lineup will surprise the naysayers in the second half. Their detractors have failed to recognize the TRUE problem. Therefore, they have yet to notice that it has been fixed. But they will be forced to take note if the Braves continue to climb the ladder in key offensive categories. Atlanta recently jumped from 11th to 8th (out of 16 teams) in the National League in runs scored, and now has the 4th best team batting average in the NL. In my view, smart money says they’ll finish higher than 8th in runs scored by season’s end.

Every single position in the Braves batting order is likely to hit for a solid average, and is capable of delivering 15 homeruns or better. Three positions can deliver 25 or more homeruns. And six of the eight positions are manned by players capable of thumping 40 doubles in a season.

Frank Wren and Bobby Cox now have the lineup they envisioned at the start of spring. There are no 30 homerun bombers… but solid hitters with pop throughout the lineup, 1-8. And more often than not, that will be enough to win behind this Atlanta pitching.

The axis-of-feeble is gone, and better days are ahead.


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Looking Forward To The Mets

Written by Jonathan on July 16, 2009 – 4:30 pm

To look forward to the Mets series to kick off the second half of the season, Colin from here at Braves Blast answered some questions for Matthew Falkenbury over at The Daily Stache.  An excerpt of the article is below and be sure to head over and check out their site (and feel free to harass them about the Mets).

Matthew Falkenbury: What has been the opinion of the Braves fans out there about the Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur deal?

Colin Ake: Francoeur came up to unbelievable hype two years ago and has not been able to meet the (admittedly unrealistic) expecations put on him by a Sports Illustrated cover calling him “The Natural.” He’s since had two subpar seasons and hasn’t been able to get back on track. The Braves coaches have been frustrated by him seemingly not being willing to learn and decided it was time to trade for someone more productive. Church will hit for more average than Francoeur but has less long-term upside, which is not an issue with the crop of outfielders (including Jason Heyward) that the Braves have coming up. It’s about a fair trade – we get for the short term someone who can hit for higher average and platoon with Matt Diaz, and the Mets get someone with larger long-term upside, IF Francoeur can turn it around. I think we all hope he turns it around – he’s a nice guy – we’d just rather not see the Mets benefit from it.

MF: Who was the Braves best player in the 1st half and who needs to step it up in the 2nd half?

CA: Best player in the first half? Brian McCann offensively, and probably Jair Jurrjens or Javier Vazquez on the mound. I’d say that the bullpen needs to be more consistent in the second half of the season, and the offense HAS to step it up. Yunel Escobar has to stop making mental errors – he’s talented but gets cocky sometimes. The collective offense just has to step it up – that’s the final answer here.

Head on over to The Daily Stache to read the rest of the article.


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Francoeur, Church Debut With New Teams

Written by Jonathan on July 12, 2009 – 9:01 am

Last night saw Jeff Francoeur and Ryan Church step onto the field in their respective new team colors.  Francoeur, who admittedly was a little stressed about starting to play for his once division rivals, calmed his nerves early with a decent night at the plate for the Mets.  He got his chance early in the game to make an impression on the New York fans.  In Francoeur’s first at-bat in blue and orange, he came to the plate with one-out and the bases loaded.  Fighting off a pitch, he dropped a single just inside the line in short right field, plating two runs.  This was all that the Mets and Johan Santana would need as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Reds.

It wasn’t a completely flawless night for Frenchie however, when he got caught stealing second in the seventh inning.  He took off for the base a little early and, Reds’ pitcher, Carlos Fisher turned and threw him out at second.  The Mets shouldn’t have to look to do much for Francoeur fielding-wise.  He’s a one-time Gold Glove winner (2007) and is respected around the league for his powerful arm.

Ryan Church’s debut for Atlanta wasn’t quite as good as Francoeur’s, who ended the game 2-4 with 2 RBI.  Church went 0-4 and left a couple runners in scoring position.

Overall, I think this trade will work out for both teams for the time being.  A fresh start for Francoeur might be what he needs, but I’m concerned that he’s getting that fresh start as a member of a division rival.  You don’t want him to find himself and his abilities inside the division and start making you pay for it.  Church looks to be lined up to work a right field platoon with Matt Diaz for the Braves, which should work out well from the plate.  Let’s just hope that he can avoid getting another concussion from Escobar in the coming weeks.

So now that the trade has had a little time to sink in, how is everyone feeling about it?  I’ll admit, it will be a little strange seeing Francoeur in a Mets uniform, but he just wasn’t performing like the Braves needed him to.


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Ryan Church, You Deserved That

Written by Colin on May 21, 2008 – 11:15 am

Dear Ryan Church,

When you’re trying to break up a double play, I have some advice for you: Don’t use your head.

I know you were wearing a helmet and all, but c’mon. Slide a little sooner. It’s not the first time you’ve run from first base to second base. It’s 90 feet. And you know that Yunel Escobar is going to be coming across the bag from the shortstop position towards first base. It’s not like this is new information. It’s the exact same on every single 1-6-3 or 4-6-3 double play you have tried to break up.

AP Photo

This isn’t your first concussion of the year, either. Do you just like going to the hospital? You should know by now you have a penchant for running into people – that should have probably played into your decision of when to slide. Multiple concussions are bad, Ryan, they’re not good for you at all. And it’s not good when your manager defines you as “pretty glazed” – that’s a description that should be saved for doughnuts.

So don’t use your head next time, Ryan. When you use your head you’re just asking for another trip to the hospital. Ryan Church, you deserved that.


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