What A Home Stand For The Braves!

The Atlanta Braves came into their ten-game homestand with a record of 27-23. They were four-games over .500, for the first time in I don't know how long. In came the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Washington Nationals to Turner Field. Atlanta had to win game 3 against the Dodgers to avoid a sweep. Atlanta couldn't avoid the sweep against Arizona, losing all four games. Finally, earlier tonight (last night), Washington upended the Braves, to win the series two games to one. Yeah, Atlanta finished 2-8 on their homestand and are now 29-31. What happened? Just about everything one could imagine. The Braves did not play well defensively. When their pitchers were on target, their bats couldn't hit a good year blimp going five miles per hour directly toward home plate. When the Braves scored some runs, their pitchers couldn't do much right.

The good news is that catcher Brian McCann could be activated off the disabled list as soon as Thursday. The bad news is even though he went 2 for 7 in two games down at Rome, he looked anything but 100% while running the bases. I can only imagine how difficult it'd be to squat for nine innings behind the plate.

More good news is the fact that it appears Bobby Cox has made a change that I suggested in moving Kenny Ray to the closer spot and Chris Reitsma back to being a setup guy. I also heard a rumor that Florida Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis may end up in Atlanta by year's end. That'd be wonderful. Who he'd replace, though, I don't know. It obviously wouldn't be John Smoltz or Tim Hudson. Horacio Ramirez has thrown pretty well in his three starts back from the DL. Jorge Sosa has thrown efficiently in his past four starts. John Thomsen started the season great, but has struggled immensely in his previous three to four outings. At this point, I'd stick Willis in Thomsen's spot, but Sosa has more experience in the pen, so it'd also be feasible for Dontrelle to take Sosa's spot in the rotation.

It just doesn't seem like more than one (maybe two) hitter(s) can be consistently productive for the Atlanta offense. Shortstop Edgar Renteria has been the most consistent thus far this season. Second baseman and leadoff man Marcus Giles started off red hot in his first game of the season, then was colder than Moscow in the winter for a long period of time, and is now hitting around .240. Chipper Jones has been fairly efficient at the plate, in terms of average and on base percentage, but he has lacked in his power game, with only five home runs thus far and around 30 RBI's. Slugger Andruw Jones has been very streaky, but is hitting .285, with 15 home runs, and 54 RBI's. First baseman Adam LaRoche has been dreadful against left handers, but has upped his average past .250 with some good hitting during the homestand. He's third on the team with 10 HR's and has been pretty clutch with his RBI's. Jeff Francouer started the season even colder than Giles, but has steadied his average to around .250 and is second on the team in home runs with 11 and RBI's, with over 40. Left fielder Ryan Langerhans is hitting just above the .250 mark. He's been great with runners in scoring position, but seems to lose focus when there aren't any runners on base. Veteran catcher Todd Pratt completes the lineup. He's been a solid backup to Brian McCann, but cannot hit the ball nearly as well as the young McCann, hitting around .225. McCann eclipsed the .340 mark before he went down with an injury. Look at the lineup. Langerhans, Francouer, Giles, LaRoche, and Pratt are all hitting around .250 or lower. That's 5/8 of their batting order. Only Chipper (around .290), Andruw (around .285), and Edgar (around .320) hold averages well above .250. So, here we go. I have another suggestion for Bobby Cox. I suggested that he put Kenny Ray in at closer and Ray is 3 for 3 in save opportunities with an E.R.A. sub 2.30. Allright, here's the lineup:

1. Edgar Renteria (.320)- most consistent on the team
2. Marcus Giles (.240)- been successful two-hole hitter his whole career
3. Chipper Jones (.290)- good spot for Chipper
4. Andruw Jones (.285)- has proved himself to finally be worth of clean-up duties
5. Brian McCann (.340)- with his average, provides the most protection for Andruw
6. Jeff Francouer (.250)- not as much pressure on him at the 6
7. Adam LaRoche (.250)- is young, talented, and improving
8. Matt Diaz (.330)- makes the most of his opportunities and should be given more
9. Pitcher's spot

In the lineup, it'd start with two righties, followed by a switch hitter in Chipper, another righty, then a lefty, right, lefty, and righty. It'd be a nightmare for opposing managers in the latter part of games. With Renteria leading off, Atlanta would have a lead off guy who'd strike out less, reach base more, and result in more first inning runs. One reason for that? The two-hole hitter, Marcus Giles. This is the spot where he seems most comfortable, as can be shown from his prior success there, following Rafael Furcal in the batting order. Chipper and McCann would provide Andruw with some good protection through their smart hitting. Francouer, LaRoche, and Diaz would provide one of the most dangerous 6-7-8 combinations in all of baseball. Depending on how Francouer is hitting, he and Diaz could swap places in the order.

Allright, there you have it Bobby. My pitching suggestion has worked out very well thus far. Now, let's turn our attention to the batting order.