The Atlanta Braves (thread 1)

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#11,051
#11,051
Lee is hitting .236 with 0 HR and 7 RBI in 55 ABs since being acquired. I'd say he's due.
 
#11,056
#11,056
GAVol said:
Derek Lee is looking like a complete bust. It's hard to believe the way Ankiel and Lee just have not hit a lick since joining the Braves.
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I didn't really think Ankiel would do much, but I expected that Lee would at the very least be an upgrade over what Glaus was giving them. But it's been basically the same thing. You could pretty much have Lee, Glaus, and Freeman draw straws out of a hat to see who plays at this point.
 
#11,057
#11,057
Vercingetorix said:
I didn't really think Ankiel would do much, but I expected that Lee would at the very least be an upgrade over what Glaus was giving them. But it's been basically the same thing. You could pretty much have Lee, Glaus, and Freeman draw straws out of a hat to see who plays at this point.
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It is simply amazing that this team has done what they have done with their 1st basemen and center fielders probably hitting a collective .230.
 
#11,059
#11,059
Let's go to the stat sheet, shall we? Going into tonight:

Braves 1B: .239, 20 HR, .337 OBP., .408 SLG
Braves CF: .225, 4 HR, .319 OBP, .316 SLG (ouch)
Braves LF: .246, 14 HR, .304 OBP, .395 SLG

If you believe in OPS+ -- which is just OBP + SLG, and then normalized to a percentage as compared to league average -- then Braves 1B have produced 85 percent as well as average NL 1B, their LF have hit 82 percent as well as the average NL LF, and their CF a rollicking 76 percent of average NL CF. Over the course of a season, that's leaving a pantload of runs on the table.

The Braves' biggest institutional failure this decade (other than being bought by a cheapass cut-rate media company who has slashed payroll down near $80m) is their abject, consistent failure to find decent-hitting players at what should be the two easiest spots on the field to fill. Replace LF and 1B with average NL left-fielders and first basemen this year, and the Braves would have the division well in hand.
 
#11,060
#11,060
Those numbers are telling. You do have to acknowledge though that some of the reason they get away with that is that they get a lot more than league average offense out of the Catcher and 2nd base positions.

I still don't get why they didn't make a run at keeping Adam Laroche last winter.
 
#11,061
#11,061
Vercingetorix said:
Let's go to the stat sheet, shall we? Going into tonight:

Braves 1B: .239, 20 HR, .337 OBP., .408 SLG

Replace LF and 1B with average NL left-fielders and first basemen this year, and the Braves would have the division well in hand.
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It's hard to fathom how a franchise went from having guys like Fred McGriff, Andres Galarraga and Mark Texeira manning first, to Troy Glaus and a faltering Derrek Lee.

Hell, bring back Casey Kotchman or Sid Bream. Or Gerald Perry. Anyone.
 
#11,062
#11,062
I think that's exactly what they think -- they say, well, "we've got a good hitting catcher, a good hitting 2B, and a good hitting 3B, so we're good," and then they're satisfied with fielding spare parts at LF and 1B. The problem is that if you turn around and have below-average players at what are supposed to be the two prime slugging positions, you've thrown away the whole advantage of having your good-hitting catcher and 2B. The great value of having a guy like McCann is that he's supposed to be an extra bat in the lineup, not a free pass to play Scott Thorman at 1B.

The LaRoche thing is puzzling. The only thing that I can figure is that they just assumed he'd want an extra year and/or more money than they were willing to give. Maybe he even told them so. And so they moved on and made other plans, and by the time LaRoche had to settle for a single year, it was too late.

The Braves would look a whole lot better with him in the lineup, that's for sure.
 
#11,065
#11,065
I never thought I'd see the day when I'd long for the days of Sid Bream or the fatter version of Bob Horner when he moved from 3rd base.
 
#11,067
#11,067
Tommy Gregg. Darrell Evans. Well played.

I have to admit that I'm stumped by Jim Gallagher - never heard of him.
 
#11,068
#11,068
TennNC said:
Tommy Gregg. Darrell Evans. Well played.

I have to admit that I'm stumped by Jim Gallagher - never heard of him.
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Perhaps the most maddening 1st baseman of all. He was a backup outfielder in the mid to late 90s. At times, Cox was so intent on platooning Klesko that he played Gallagher against lefties. It would be something akin to playing Melky Cabrera at 1B.
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#11,069
#11,069
GAVol said:
Perhaps the most maddening 1st baseman of all. He was a backup outfielder in the mid to late 90s. At times, Cox was so intent on platooning Klesko that he played Gallagher against lefties. It would be something akin to playing Melky Cabrera at 1B.
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Anyone with that level of Braves' knowledge gets my utmost respect. Tip of the hat to you, GAVol.
 
#11,071
#11,071
TennNC said:
Anyone with that level of Braves' knowledge gets my utmost respect. Tip of the hat to you, GAVol.
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Now that I think about it, JIM Gallagher is an obscure professional golfer. DAVE Gallagher is the former Atlanta Brave.
 
#11,072
#11,072
GAVol said:
Perhaps the most maddening 1st baseman of all. He was a backup outfielder in the mid to late 90s. At times, Cox was so intent on platooning Klesko that he played Gallagher against lefties. It would be something akin to playing Melky Cabrera at 1B.
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I'm totally drawing a blank on this guy, and I thought I knew everybody that had played for the Braves since Brett Butler. You sure about the name?
 
#11,073
#11,073
Vercingetorix said:
I'm totally drawing a blank on this guy, and I thought I knew everybody that had played for the Braves since Brett Butler. You sure about the name?
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Pretty sure. He was a backup outfielder in the mid 90s. He probably played only a few games at 1B, but I remember for some reason one day when Cox started him instead of Klesko because of a lefty pitching and how absolutely dumb I thought it was.
 
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#11,075
#11,075
GAVol said:
Pretty sure. He was a backup outfielder in the mid 90s. He probably played only a few games at 1B, but I remember for some reason one day when Cox started him instead of Klesko because of a lefty pitching and how absolutely dumb I thought it was.
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Baseball-reference shows he played in 89 games in 94.
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