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Brave new world It's been a while, but Atlanta's pitching is now questionablePosted: Tuesday March 26, 2002 1:17 PM
Psst. Here's a little secret: For the first time since their run of divisional titles began in 1991, the Atlanta Braves are a bit uneasy about their pitching. Yes, the addition of outfielder Gary Sheffield and the return to health of shortstop Rafael Furcal should give their offense a much needed boost. And, since being acquired from Baltimore during the 2000 season, B.J. Surhoff is swinging the bat better than ever. "Yeah, and we're going to need that offense,'' said one veteran Braves' insider, "because I don't know how good our pitching is going to be. We're hoping a lot of things fall into place. If they all do, great. If some do, OK. But if a bunch don't, we could be in trouble. It's not like we have a starter sitting there in case we need another guy. We don't." Atlanta is counting on Kevin Millwood to bust out of a two-year slump, Albie Lopez to rebound from a 19-loss season and Jason Marquis to become a fixture in his first full season of starting in the big leagues. Millwood has shown renewed arm strength this spring, with a fastball in the 92-93 mph range. Lopez has quality stuff, but too often doesn't know how to use it. Marquis' stuff can be electric -- he hit 97 mph against Cleveland in a recent start -- but he's only 23 and still learning. In that same outing, for instance, he lost his focus once the Braves handed him a comfortable lead. He also needs to have his outstanding breaking ball move out of the strike zone rather than into it. Staff stalwarts Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux -- who'll each be 36 by mid-April -- are the only sure things in Atlanta's rotation. They cannot afford to show any diminution of ability. It must have scared the pants off Braves' brass, for instance, when Maddux walked six batters and was torched for nine runs in a March 22 start. Many excuses were offered up for Maddux that day; deep ruts in the mound, pitching to newly acquired catcher Henry Blanco for the first time, and umpire Jerry Layne's tight strike zone To his credit, Maddux would have none of those excuses, writing off his performance as simply "a real bad day mentally. I just wasn't there." He added that he is fine physically. The bullpen is so unsettled that Atlanta was considering spots for veteran non-roster pitchers Chris Hammond and Darren Holmes and rookie John Foster, who threw in Class AA last year. Under pitching coach Leo Mazzone, though, the Braves have a good track record of getting contributions from retreads, such as Alejandro Pena, Juan Berenguer, Mike Bielecki, John Burkett and Rudy Seanez. The good news is that Sheffield is on a blissful honeymoon with the Braves. "It's the first time I don't have to be The Guy," Sheffield said. "You know what it's like to come to the ballpark every day feeling like if you don't do something we're going to lose? That's the way I've always felt and it's rough. Here there's so much talent and these guys have won before, that I don't feel like it's all on me." Sheffield spent the winter working out with Barry Bonds and Bonds' personal trainer. "It was the first time I ever swung the bat over the winter," Sheffield said. "And we hit so much my fingers opened up and were bleeding." Bonds, who hit 73 dingers last season in the final year of his contract with the Giants, also told Sheffield to just play these next two years of his contract without being concerned about where he might wind up next or how much money he'll make. Sheffield, who's often been distracted by such issues, said he's taken the message to heart. He could very well be the most crucial acquisition of the offseason for any team in baseball. "If you told me I could have any team in baseball right now, I'd take the Braves," one AL GM said. "And I'd take them over the Yankees. They are good. Real good. In order, I'd take the Braves, then the Yankees and then the Cardinals." Still, the Braves will not be an elite team unless Maddux and Glavine continue their amazing run of consistency, and two of the other three pitchers in the rotation step up with solid double-digit win seasons. The Braves have ranked first or second in NL ERA every year since 1991, when they were third. "Incredible," the insider said, "but that may be coming to an end this year." Less than a week before Opening Day, Yankees manager Joe Torre still did not have a set batting order. That's because Alfonso Soriano, 24, and Nick Johnson, 23, have looked so good this spring that Torre is rethinking his original ideas about keeping them toward the bottom of the lineup. Soriano, Torre said, will hit leadoff at times this year. It may seem like an odd spot for someone who walked only 29 times last year and posted a .304 on-base percentage, but Soriano has continued the rapid maturity at the plate he showed in the second half of last season. He is a dynamic offensive player with speed and power who may have been the most impressive player this spring in the Yankees' camp. "I don't think it's out of the realm someday to call him a 40-40 guy," first baseman Jason Giambi said. "When he learns the strike zone, he's going to do some severe damage." Johnson has been as good as advertised; a patient, high-average hitter with power that only now is beginning to blossom. Think of him as a young Jim Thome, Todd Helton or Don Mattingly, other left-handed hitting first basemen who showed much more power in the majors than in the minors. On Monday Johnson drilled an opposite-field homer to the power alley in left, the second time he went yard the other way this spring and his fifth overall. Johnson's patience, left-handed stick and bat control -- Torre likes to hit-and-run with him -- makes him an ideal No. 2 hitter. Torre said he is considering using Johnson in that spot and is toying with the idea of batting Derek Jeter third and Giambi fourth, though the manager cautioned he is likely to favor various lineups over a set formula. "The one thing I do know is I have a lot of flexibility," Torre said. "The other thing I like about Johnson is that he can steal a base, too -- kind of like a Paul O'Neill .'' On days when Torre does decide to use, in order, Soriano, Johnson, Jeter, Giambi, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada, he would pencil five homegrown players in the first six spots. Those hitters would include two right-handers, two left-handers and two switch-hitters. And all six are under the Yankees' contractual control for at least the next four years. Bonds' record is in jeopardy. No, not that Bonds and not that record. It's the 189 strikeouts by Bonds the Elder, Bobby, that have stood as the single-season major league record since 1970. And your leading candidates to eclipse the mark happen to hit in the same lineup. Cleveland Indians first baseman Jim Thome whiffed 185 times last year. Now comes word that strikeout machine Russell Branyan will play every day in left field for Cleveland, even if he gets off to a slow start. "Charlie [Manuel] and I made a decision to make a commitment to Russell Branyan," Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said. " Brady Anderson is here for protection for Milton Bradley in center field, not to protect Russell Branyan." Branyan, 26, struck out 132 times in only 315 at-bats last year. If he does not improve on that rate, and gets 500 at-bats this season, he would strike out 210 times, breaking Bonds' record in as few as 454 at-bats. Of course, the Indians are willing to live with Branyan's punchouts because his raw power is tremendous. He hits some of the longest and most majestic home runs in the game. The Indians believe Branyan eventually can become a bona fide middle-of-the-order hitter. "But he can't do that striking out 200 times," Shapiro said. "If he's in the 130 range, that's a lot more tolerable." Dave Nicholson's 175 punchouts for the 1963 White Sox have stood the test of time, not to mention the record rate at which strikeouts occur in today's game. No current club record for whiffs has lasted longer. Here are the longest-running team records for Ks. The Twins, Astros and Dodgers are the only clubs to never have a player strikeout 150 times in a season.
Major league baseball is giving some thought to moving a two-game series between Montreal and Philadelphia in July to Venezuela, where the crowds would be three times as big as they would be in Montreal, especially with native heroes Bobby Abreu and Andres Galarraga on the rosters. Why stop there? Why not turn the Expos into a barnstorming team, bringing major league baseball to Memphis, Portland, and, what the heck, Fargo. ... The Phillies may have sent non-roster pitcher Brett Myers back to the minors -- against the yearnings of manager Larry Bowa -- but don't expect him to stay there for long. Said one scout, "The two best young players I saw all spring in Florida were Brett Myers and [Texas third baseman] Hank Blalock ." ... There is something noticeably different about Florida shortstop Alex Gonzalez this spring -- a smile. Credit third base coach Ozzie Guillen with already having a positive influence on the inconsistent, immature Gonzalez. "I knew he was good,'' manager Jeff Torborg said of his shortstop, "but I didn't know he was this good." ... The Red Sox have no excuse for a poor start. They play 26 of their first 30 games against Toronto, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Kansas City, all losing teams last year with little hope to be much better this season. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Baseball Mailbag.
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