Archive for Braves

Suppose I titled this post something else and you had no idea in what direction it was headed: Would you have any idea that Brian McCann of the Braves, one of Dave’s favorite players, is the top offensive catcher in baseball this year? I’m sure some of you might have pegged him to be one of the best, but not the king of the castle, so to speak. No, Russell Martin would have gotten some votes, Joe Mauer, too; heck, maybe some would even forget Victor Martinez is injured and homerless in 54 games and give him some major loving. Regardless, the fact remains that McCann is having a very good offensive season, better than the large majority of non-catchers, let alone catchers themselves.

When discussing catchers, we primarily stick to offense because, well, there is no real way to quantify defensively what a catcher does behind the plate. Offense can definitely be quantified, however, and nowadays a good hitting catcher is generally a league average hitter or slightly better. McCann is way above the league average this year.

In 101 games he has a .306/.386/.558 slash line, good for a .945 OPS. The OBP ranks 10th in the NL (ironically tied with Russell Martin); the SLG comes in 9th; and the OPS ranks 8th. McCann’s SLG and OPS ranks first amongst all catchers, NL or AL; Mauer tops him in OBP, but he comes in second place. On top of that, his 2.10 WPA/LI ranks first in the NL amongst catchers (Joe Mauer has a slight overall lead), and his 2.49 REW leads all catchers regardless of league. It seems Mauer would be deserving of some recognition this year but he just does not bring the dimension of power to the plate that McCann offers.

Ryan Doumit has had a tremendous season as well, but his is built on a .359 BABIP whereas Brian’s is a very solid and much more regression-proof .306. He has struck out just 46 times this year, putting him in the top twenty for lowest strikeout percentage. He doesn’t draw a plethora of free passes, but enough so that his BB/K is a tick under 1.0.

McCann might not be a household name outside of NL East cities, but he should be. These numbers, and his numbers in the seasons prior definitely back up my sentiments.

In a game like baseball, where a team like the 2006 Cardinals can sneak into the playoffs and win the world series, where the 2007 Phillies were able to come back from a seven game deficit in seventeen games to win the division, or where hits in play allowed by pitchers are largely contingent on factors out of their control, there are very few certainties anymore. Heck, we don’t even know if the Yankees will make the playoffs this year! One thing has been more than certain over the last few years, however, and it involves the name Mike Hampton and the word injury.

After pitching a full 2004 season he made just 12 starts in 2005 and has not pitched on a major league mound since. He has tried, however, making several attempts at coming back to justify the gaudy contract titling this post given to him in 2001, but to no alas. For all we know, that third of a season in 2005 may have been the last of Hampton’s career. Now, I’m not out to romanticize his career in any way, nor do I have any real sympathy for a guy making that much money for not really doing anything in recent years, but part of me does think it’s a shame that his body just does not seem fit for the game anymore, no matter what he does.

This year, his arm was finally major-league ready following two elbow surgeries, but the rest of his body fell apart. He was all set to make his major league return in early April but hurt his left pectoral muscle, getting scratched from the start in the process. He later aggravated his chest, and in a recent minor league start in which his pitch count rose to 90, he strained his groin muscle.

Hampton’s not an all-star or even the #2 option on most teams going back to his 2004 and 2005 performances, but a healthy form of him would be a suitable #4 or #5 starter… albeit the most wealthy one. I’ve seen reports that he should sign for the major league minimum with the Braves next year so he can “give back” to the team, which made little sense since he would still be getting paid and, honestly, who’s going to give him a nice-sized contract given his history? If he hurt himself like Kevin Brown punching a wall, or something along those lines I could understand that standpoint, but the fact is that Hampton has consistently hurt himself while trying to get back to the major leagues. I don’t know if the guy is “cursed” or if he has some sort of illness like Rocco Baldelli that is preventing him from staying healthy, but he just seems unable to do so.

“I can honestly look myself in the mirror and know that I’ve done everything I possibly can to get back,” he said. “Whether that happens or doesn’t, it’s not going to define who I am. I know I’ve done what it takes to get here and be successful.”

Unfortunately for Mike, unless he can get back to the big leagues and put together 4-5 solid years, his career IS going to be defined by his numerous injuries and setbacks, as well as for performance and lack thereof relative to a very steep contract.

Anybody who has seen the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore will remember that his character generated power and distance on his drives thanks to a running start. Well, in watching the replay of last night’s Phillies-Braves game I saw rookie outfielder Gregor Blanco do something similar in an at-bat of his. Check it out:

Whatever he did worked as he singled on that pitch but Chris Wheeler said it best, “..that is different!” The Braves, in the Schuerholz era, have been known for their propensity to develop young players and Blanco is no different. He has not posted superstar-caliber numbers but has filled in nicely. In 49 games he has a .269/.379/.343 slash line. His hits have mostly been singles but he does have 5 2B, 1 3B, and 1 HR.

His .354 BABIP looks quite high but actually comes in a bit low when stacked up next to his gaudy 27.2% LD rate. He has been in a slump lately, going just 5 for his last 34, but he has hit a ton of line drives this year. His K% suggests he might not be able to sustain his current performance level but his LD rate argues it should be a bit better. Only time will tell what lies in store for “Blankman” (his nickname, not the Damon Wayans film) but at least he won’t have to deal with the evil Shooter McGavin, no matter how ridiculous that swing looked.

Back on April 3rd, I witnessed quite the odd series of events in the tenth inning of a Braves/Pirates matchup, ultimately resulting in Braves reliever Chris Resop coming into pitch, then moving to leftfield, then returning to pitch. Based on the looks I saw develop on the faces of the players involved, I was not the only one a tad confused as to exactly what was happening.

Mike Hampton had been scheduled to make his first start since 2005 but, as expected, this did not happen. A decision was made just prior to the game to scratch Hampton from the start and it was soon learned he would be placed on the disabled list. Since the umpires were already out on the field when the decision was made, the start of the game had to be delayed to allow replacement starter Jeff Bennett time to warm-up. Bobby Cox, after using seven pitchers in this seesaw game, and fulfilling his promise to give Peter Moylan the day off, was left with just Resop and Royce Ring as extra innings rolled around. The goal was for Resop to go the distance unless a crucial lefty-lefty matchup presented itself.

Resop began the frame by walking speedster Nyjer Morgan. Luis Rivas then sacrificed Morgan to second and Jason Bay walked; Morgan advanced to third on a passed ball. With runners on and lefty Adam LaRoche coming up, Cox decided to make his move. Matt Diaz came in from leftfield, Chris Resop went to leftfield, and Royce Ring came into pitch. Ring promptly struck LaRoche out, serving his LOOGY purpose. Ring came out, Resop came back into pitch, and Gregor Blanco replaced Resop in leftfield. As fate would have it, Resop gave up what would turn out to be the game-winning single to Xavier Nady as soon as he came back in. This proved to be the first time in eighteen years that an NL player both pitched and played the field in the same inning.

In that instance, the first game of a doubleheader between the Cubs and Mets, Les Lancaster accomplished the same feat. The day prior, June 12th, the Cubs got waxed 19-8, a game that saw the bullpen get used so heavily that even Doug Dascenzo, an outfielder, pitch. So we have pitchers playing the outfield and outfielders pitching in this article. In the 6th inning of the June 13th game, Cubs starter Jeff Pico had two outs, with one on, and an 8-5 lead when Les Lancaster came into relieve him. Lancaster made quick work of Mark Carreon to end the inning.

When Les trotted out to the mound for the seventh inning, however, things did not go as he planned. He gave up four singles while retiring just one batter; with the lead now just 8-6, and lefties coming up, Lancaster was replaced by Paul Assenmacher. Les moved to leftfield, though, so he could come back into the game. Assenmacher walked a batter and gave up two singles, handing the lead to the Mets. Lancaster came back into pitch and took the brunt of the Mets offense, lasting until the ninth inning. In two separate pitching stints that game, Lancaster’s line: 2.2 IP, 8 H, 9 ER, BB, K. His ERA ballooned from 3.79 to 5.02.

Another incredibly interesting story along similar lines took place on July 22, 1986, again in a game involving the Mets. The Mets roster was in shambles following a usage of relievers and the ejections of Ray Knight and Kevin Mitchell after a brawl. In the tenth inning, Gary Carter replaced Knight at third base while Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell alternated between pitching and playing the outfield. Unlike the Resop, Lancaster, and Assenmacher examples, this one actually paid off as Orosco and McDowell combined to give up four hits and no runs in four innings of relief work. Orosco even caught a fly ball as Tony Perez hit a liner right into his glove in rightfield.

These are just three examples of why baseball will forever be the most interesting and strategic sport. And, to tie everything together, Roger McDowell is currently the pitching coach for the Braves. I can only guess he experienced a wicked case of deja vu on April 3rd, thinking back to his similar experience over twenty years ago.