| Bob Souza. 26th May, 2005 - 2:46 pm
 The Atlanta Braves continue to hum along like a well-oiled machine, once again giving their fans loads of reason to skim the daily boxes. If not for those pesky Marlins, they would already find themselves on their familiar perch -- the one that sits smugly atop the N.L. East division.
Many faces have changed since 1990, but Bobby Cox remains the constant. The man is doing something right. In thirteen seasons beginning with 1991, and excluding the shortened 1994 (when the Braves record was 68-46), he can lay claim to a record of 1273-813. That’s a rough average of 98 wins and 63 losses each year. His big blemish was in 2001, with only 88 victories. Good gosh.
Of course, it didn’t hurt to have guys like Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz doing your dirty work. As manager, I probably could have won a few too. Just turn in the line-up card, take a seat, wake up when it’s over, and pat some rumps. Tough.
The real rub has been their post-season failings -- but why get into that now. We’re in the middle of the regular season, and currently the Braves are 27-19. It’s a long way until another implosion. We can wait.
In the meantime, they are glowing from their recent sweep of the Mets. Kyle Davies looks to be another in a long line of hot young Braves pitchers. After 2 major league starts, he is yet to give up a run. “I've always wanted to pitch for the Braves,” the Georgia native said. Nice when it works out.
Andruw Jones is having a sparkling year. He leads the team with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs, batting .269 and of course, playing his usual brilliant defense. Chipper Jones is chipping in with a .331 average, along with 7 homers and 23 driven in.
A strong effort by Tim Hudson against the Mets bodes well. He blanked them for eight innings, pitching with only 3 days rest. For the year he is 5-3, with an ERA of 3.05.
John Smoltz is just 3-3, but carries a solid 2.61 ERA. You know he’s gonna be strong. He almost always is.
But there are some ominous signs. And injuries are always a concern.
Marcus Giles has been playing despite severe pain from back spasms. “I've never had back spasms. I've heard about them but I never knew what they were like.”
So now he knows what we all know.
Mike Hampton was recently added to the DL with a sprained forearm. He was having one of his better seasons (4-1, 1.96), and going back to the last 4th of July, he is 15-2 with a 2.61 ERA.
John Thomson will be out 2-3 months after a mysterious injury to his finger. Who says baseball is a pansy game? All he had going was an 11-3 record, and a 2.85 ERA since last year’s all-star game. No reason to miss that.
Brian Jordan (.234), Rafael Furcal (.216), and Raul Mondesi (.216) aren’t going to scare anyone with their puff-cake averages. Adam LaRoche (.254) looks great by comparison.
Assorted odds and ends: Dan Kolb was demoted from his closer role due to a rash of blown saves; various injuries have befallen Eddie Perez, Kevin Gryboski, and Chipper Jones; Raul Mondesi has apparently decided there is never any good purpose for the cutoff man.
And then there’s Florida.
And Dontrelle Willis (8-1, 1.55) and Josh Beckett (6-3, 2.63) and A.J. Burnett (3-4, 3.19). Not a bad little rotation to keep the heat on.
So how do the Braves always manage somehow to get it together – to keep winning? The count is up to ten straight division titles, and 13 of the last 14.
Maybe it’s Bobby Cox, his soul, and something about a secret sale. |
