Atlanta vs. Florida: NLCS Thumbnail Sketches
Posted: Tues October 7, 1997 at 8:51 a.m EDT
SportsTicker Baseball Editor
FIRST BASE
FRED MCGRIFF of Atlanta is not the dominant hitter that he once
was and his 22 homers were his lowest since his rookie season.
He hit .222 against the Astros in the Division Series, leaving
doubts whether there is any bite left in the Crime Dog. ... JEFF
CONINE, an original Marlin, started all three games against San
Francisco and hit .364, but made a key error in the ninth inning
of Game Two. DARREN DAULTON did not play in the first series
because the Giants started all left-handers, but he will get the
chance this series when Atlanta starts Tom Glavine. ... Edge:
Florida.
SECOND BASE
On both the Marlins and Braves, the second basemen play support
roles. KEITH LOCKHART and TONY GRAFFANINO each started in the
Houston series and get the chance again with MARK LEMKE, a clutch
playoff performer, remains sidelined due to injury. .... The
Marlins engineered a steal in acquiring unknown CRAIG COUNSELL
from Colorado, and he put down a pivotal sacrifice bunt to help
win Game One against the Giants. KURT ABBOTT shares the duties
with Counsel and is the better hitter, posting a .274 mark in
the regular season. With manager Jim Leyland putting a premium
on defense, Counsell could see more playing time.
... Edge: Florida.
THIRD BASE
Postseason is a way of life to the Braves' CHIPPER JONES, who at
age 25 is competing in his third NLCS. He finished with the a
.295 average and drove in 111 runs. Jones loves playing in
pressure situations and has few nice things to say about Turner
Field. He did not practice Monday after fouling a ball off his
heel. ... The Marlins BOBBY BONILLA has been saying all the
nice things, earning a "Goody Guy" award in Florida after
battling for years with the media in New York. He was 1-for-20
for Baltimore in the 1996 ALCS, but helped shake that label by
hitting .333 against the Giants. His defense is improving, but
is not nearly as good as Jones.. .. Edge: Atlanta.
SHORTSTOP
A Most Valuable Plyer is not awarded for the Division Series,
but if there was it would have been Atlanta's JEFF BLAUSER, who
made a number of key defensive plays an helped win Game Two with
a three-run homer. He is enjoying a career year (.308) and was
named to his second All-Star team ... EDGAR RENTERIA covers
plenty of ground for the Marlins and had the game-winning hit in
Game One against the Giants. He hit .277, but struck out 108
times, a high number for someone that hit just four homers.
.. Edge: Atlanta.
LEFT FIELD
RYAN KLESKO of Atlanta was bothered by injuries for most of the
season, but still hit 24 homers and drove in 94 runs. He can be
a defensive liability and struggles against left-handed
pitchers. ... MOISES ALOU may be the most important of the
Marlins' $89 million spending spree. Escaping exile in Montreal,
Alou drove in 115 runs and had the game-winning hit in Game Two
against the Giants. .. Edge: Florida.
CENTER FIELD
KENNY LOFTON was considered a disappointment after coming over
in the mega deal with Cleveland. Injuries limited him to 27
steals in 47 attempts. He was not the defensive player he was
with the Tribe and some Braves officials quietly did were
concerned with his attitude. But it is hard to come down on
someone that hit .333 ... DEVON WHITE is in the Marlins' lineup
for his defense, so a grand slam in the series clincher over the
Giants was a bonus. He hit just .245 and spent time on the
disabled list. .. Edge: Atlanta.
RIGHT FIELD
The Atlanta tandem of MICHAEL TUCKER and ANDRUW JONES was not
nearly as effective as planned. Jones followed up his
outstanding World Series against the Yankees by hitting just
.231 .... GARY SHEFFIELD signed a $60 million contract with the
Marlins and went out and had a miserable season at the plate
(.250, 21 homers) and in the field. All will be forgiven if he
continues to play as well as he did late in September and in the
playoffs against the Giants (5-for-9, 1 homer). .. Edge: Florida.
CATCHER
JAVY LOPEZ of the Braves is a career .462 hitter in NLCS play,
including a .542 mark last year against St. Louis. Often sits
in favor of EDUARDO PEREZ when Greg Maddux pitches ... Anyone
that did not know good CHARLES JOHNSON of the Marlins is does by
now. The gold-glove winner did not make an error all season and
hit 19 homers. .. Edge: Florida.
STARTING PITCHING
The Braves will send one of the best pitching rotations in
baseball history at the Marlins, beginning with four-time Cy
Young Award winner GREG MADDUX. Manager Bobby Cox will follow
with with two Cy Young winners, TOM GLAVINE and JOHN SMOLTZ,
along with DENNY NEAGLE, who won 20 games but was not good
enough to get a start in the division series. In Smoltz, the
Braves have the pitching version of Mr. October. The
right-hander tied a major league record with his 10th postseason
win last Friday against the Astros. ... The Marlins counter with
a staff led by KEVIN BROWN, who won 16 games and would have had
even more with better run support. Brown will be the workhorse,
pitching a fourth and a seventh game, if necessary. ALEX
FERNANDEZ is to start Games Two and Six, Braves' killer TONY
SAUNDERS goes in Game Three and AL LEITER, who struggled in
the Division Series, has to settle for Game Five. Saunders was
3-0 against the Braves this season. With the possible exception
of Brown, none of the Marlins' starters are good enough to take
a regular turn in the Braves' rotation. .. Edge: Atlanta.
BULLPEN
Braves general manager John Schuerholz spends freely everywhere
but in the bullpen, leaving him with little behind the erratic
MARK WOHLERS, who seeks redemption for his Game Four home run to
Jim Leyritz in the 1996 World Series. RH MIKE CATHER and LH ALAN
EMBREE, who was part of the Lofton, are the primary set-up men.
... The deepest part of the Marlins' team is a bullpen that
starts with closer ROBB NEN (35 saves) and includes LIVAN
HERNANDEZ, JAY POWELL and journeyman DENNIS COOK. Hernandez was
brilliant in relief of Leiter in Game Two against the Giants.
Nen did not allow a run in eight innings against the Braves
this season. .. Edge: Florida.
BENCH
GREG COLBRUNN broke a string of 25 hitless at-bats by Atlanta
hitters in postseason play when he singled in Game Two against
Houston. DANNY BATISTA and either TUCKER or ANDRUW JONES can be
used off the bench. ... When the Marlins wre spending freely,
they made sure to add super-sub JOHN CANGELOSI and JIM
EISENREICH, a career .294 hitter. .. Edge: Florida.
MANAGER
BOBBY COX has won six straight division titles but does not have
the reputation of a master strategist. Another World Series win
could help change that. .... JIM LEYLAND of the Marlins is
widely regarded among the best in baseball, particularly after
making the most of limited talent while with Pittsburgh.
.. Edge: Florida.
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