Jul 16 2008
Braves at the Break: Midseason report card anything but average
Editor’s note: Braves at the Break is a four-part look at the 2008 Atlanta Braves at the All-Star break. The series began Tuesday and continues through Friday. Today, it’s midseason report card time.
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA – The law of averages would suggest the first half of the Atlanta Braves’ 2008 season has been anything but average.
The same can be said for the 41 players who appeared for Atlanta at some point in the first 95 games of this wild and crazy campaign. Certainly, there are those who received a C grade for their efforts in the first half and, as your grade-school teachers told you, a C means your work is merely average.
But the path to the Braves’ midseason report card hasn’t been mundane. Rather, it’s been a ride that has unfolded in a manner nobody expected. I mean, who had a pair of Seattle Mariners’ rejects – Jorge Campillo and Greg Norton – playing key roles for this team during the first part of this season?
Exactly.
So, like the smart kid who hasn’t exactly performed the way his or her parents expect cringes when midterm grades hits the mailbox, let’s get on with unwrapping our midseason report card:
Pitchers
Manny Acosta – C. Overuse, pressure of closer’s role too much; currently on DL.
Jeff Bennett – B-. Pitched in every role imaginable; currently on DL.
Blaine Boyer – C. Showed signs of overuse, yet has the tools to be dominant.
Will Ohman – A-. One steadying force in the bullpen.
Mike Gonzalez – A. The only honest-to-goodness closer on the roster; brilliant since returning from injury.
Buddy Carlyle – A. Has recaptured last summer’s success, flourishing in long relief.
Royce Ring – B. Overall solid season for lefty specialist.
Tim Hudson – A-. A little more run support, and Huddy would’ve started the All-Star game.
Jair Jurrjens – A-. Best rookie pitcher in the NL; an ace in the making.
Jo-Jo Reyes – B. Dominant when he spots his fastball; made major strides since mid-May.
Jorge Campillo – B+. From pleasant surprise to the glue holding together the back end of rotation.
Charlie Morton – C. The talent is there; just needs a little more seasoning.
Rafael Soriano – INC. When will this guy decide he wants to pitch? Big disappointment.
Peter Moylan – INC. How bad have the Braves missed the side-winding Aussie?
John Smoltz – A. The ultimate gamer is done for the year (maybe for good).
Tom Glavine – B-. Record, stats before injury hurt by lack of run support.
Mike Hampton – INC. Will he finally make it back to the bigs next week?
Chuck James – F. Still working on that third pitch at Richmond.
Chris Resop – F. Couldn’t harness his control; contract sold to Japanese team.
Julian Tavarez – INC. One appearance, and it wasn’t pretty.
Vladimir Nunez – INC. One appearance, and it was pretty.
Phil Stockman – INC. Pitched well when called upon, which wasn’t often enough.
Jeff Ridgway – F. Hitting a batter with the bases loaded in extra innings … not good.
Infielders
Mark Teixeira – B. Solid numbers, but too many cold streaks.
Greg Norton – C. Numbers suffered from having to play every day.
Kelly Johnson – B-. Better suited to hit lower in lineup; drop pop-up against Phils defining moment of first half.
Yunel Escobar – B+. Injured shoulder aside, a very solid first half.
Omar Infante – B+. Provided big spark before hamstring landed him on DL.
Martin Prado – B-. Bolstered bench after returning from injury.
Brent Lillibridge – D+. Starting to hit just a bit, but still looks overmatched.
Chipper Jones – A+. MLB’s leading hitter enjoying best season of fantastic career.
Ruben Gotay – D. Has struggled to produced when called upon.
Outfielders
Gregor Blanco – C+. Speed helps; inconsistency at the plate hurts.
Brandon Jones – C-. Showed flashes of good play before being sent back to Richmond.
Mark Kotsay – B-. Back problems sidelined him for a month, and the Braves spiraled south soon after.
Matt Diaz – F. Nightmarish season got worse with bad knee injury.
Jeff Francoeur – F. Three-month slump, criticism of demotion to minors very bad signs for once Golden Child.
Jason Perry – INC. One big hit in cup of coffee.
Catchers
Brian McCann – A+. All-Star again, one of baseball’s best catchers.
Corky Miller – F. A joke he’s even on the roster.
Brayan Pena – INC. Got hurt, then got released.
Manager
Bobby Cox – C. Steady leadership in choppy waters has been critical, but questionable use of bullpen troublesome.
Team view
Starting pitching – B+. Can’t fault the starters, who for the most part have kept this team in games night-in and night-out.
Relief pitching – B-. Overworked and battered by injuries, bullpen has performed well given the loss of Soriano and Moylan.
Offense – D. The blame for 22 one-run losses? Place it right here. Injuries haven’t helped, obviously, but this team has underachieved in hitting with runners on base.
Defense – B. Defense has been good enough most nights.
Bench – C-. Depleted by injury and by having to play Norton and Infante on a regular basis.
Overall first-half grade: C.
Given the fact this team was expected to contend for the NL East title – and according to some experts, so much more than that – being five games under .500 and 6 ½ games out of first at the All-Star break is a grave disappointment. Yet, it could be so much worse, when you consider the number of players on the list above who have missed time with injuries and the ripple effect it’s had on the roster. The Braves don’t have a lot of time to turn this thing around, and with the trade deadline looming large come July 31, this team best make up its mind if it’s going to perform like the honor-roll student we all think it should be, or will they take their seat in the back of the gym come graduation and watch the parade of more successful pupils bask in the glow of October.
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