And Now We’re Gonna See What Comes Next
What a first half it was. The baseball season is always an emotional ride for the fanatic. For so many years, Braves fanatics were taken on wild swings but the regular season ride always ended with a sliding stop into satisfaction and joy. You know over the 4 seasons prior to this one, riding along with the Braves was much more frustrating than it had been in a long time. There were occasional moments of elation, and some periods of hope, but most of the time there was disappointment, anger, and despair. Each season ended unhappily. And now this 2010 season has come along and reminded us Braves fanatics of what the ride used to be like. It’s been pretty neat. If the second half of this season is anything like the first half, this could be one of the most special seasons in Atlanta Braves history. Let it be so.
It’s all in the Hands of the Baseball Gods
Before you look at what sorts of things might lead your team to a division title or a postseason appearance, you think about what has already gone well and what sorts of things could suddenly go wrong. It’s pretty simple: you just have to hope to avoid health problems, and hope that the players who have been going well so far keep doing what they’ve been doing. There’s no sense in worrying about it anymore than that because it’ll all be determined on the Wheels of Fate, and more importantly, it’s just not really an enjoyable topic.
A Preemptive Strike Before the Start of the Second Half
It’s been discussed on this blog and on message boards for several years now, and the day before the start of the second half the Braves finally decided to rule on the issue of Yunel Escobar. For me, he had become so irritating and had become so difficult to root for, I had gotten to the point where I was just hoping the Braves would get rid of him. It seems that he had become just as difficult to play with and just as displeasing to coach and manage as he had been to watch for fans. The Braves went ahead and removed the one awkward piece in an other wise perfectly blended mix of team chemistry. And they made out okay on the trade at the same time.
Now that the deal has been done, I just hope it doesn’t somehow come back to negatively affect the team more than keeping Escobar around might have. I’m not talking about the future. Honestly, I think the small amount of hand wringing over the Escobar trade and what it could mean for the future of the team is a bit silly. This has all been pointed out on this blog several times but it’s worth discussing again now that the deal has been done. Yunel Escobar is not a prospect or a young player yet to reach his potential. He’ll be 28 in November. This is his 6th season in pro ball and his 4th in the Majors. While he may very well blossom into a borderline star shortstop at some point, he hasn’t been able to consistently put everything together on the field as of yet. Furthermore, his abilities are limited, talented though he may be. He’s not very fast for a middle infielder, nor does he possess much power. He makes a lot of contact, he can battle, and he will draw walks from time to time, but he also makes a lot of easy outs. Anything he gets under at all is going to be caught because he doesn’t have the power to drive the ball over the heads of the outfielders or over the wall. He hits a lot of ground balls and unless he finds a hole he is an easy out because he doesn’t run well. That makes him a serious ground ball double play liability. He has shown some power as a pull hitter but he rarely pulls the ball in the air. Defensively he doesn’t make many poor throws and his strong arm can take away infield hits. On the other hand, he doesn’t get to as many balls as you might expect.
And that’s just dealing with his purely physical traits. When you bring the mental part of the game into the discussion his prospects drop significantly. Every once in a while Yunel will surprise you with some seemingly instinctual play of brilliance (i.e. stealing 2nd when the pitcher was walking around the mound and no one was covering in Arizona). But for the most part Escobar is a liability due to his not so infrequent mental lapses (forgetting how many outs there are and screwing up on the bases; not calling someone off or covering; not making the right decision quickly as to where the easiest out is or anticipating the next development, etc). At times Escobar just appears to have his head up his ass.
But what about emotionally and personality wise? This is most certainly his biggest area of weakness. He can go from cocky to pouty in the matter of an inning. He rarely runs hard to first base on a ground ball. He was afraid of contact when covering second on a stolen base attempt. He frequently pouted and complained when charged with an error by the official scorer. Recently, when Escobar made a poor play in the field or heard any sort of instruction or criticism from his teammates he would attempt to defend himself or explain his actions while still on the field during the inning. His denials and explanations continued afterwards in the dugout. These were the sorts of actions which made him difficult to play with and impossible to root for. Whatever comes out of this trade, I’m glad he has been removed from the team.
Some Key Issues Which Must be Addressed
Well, unfortunately I’m a bit pressed for time. The second half begins in 20 minutes and I haven’t been able to deliver the sort of review/preview that I hoped. With this in mind, I will wrap up this aborted entry with a few of the key questions that the Braves will need to find answers for as we continue on into the second half.
What exactly will Kenshin Kawakami’s role be? Is he going to be an active member of the bullpen? Or is he just going to be shelved and only carted out when the team is either ahead or behind by a bunch?
Will the Braves acquire a veteran relief pitcher who can help carry the load?
What happens when Nate McLouth is healthy? Will the Braves try and trade him or try and work him back into the lineup?
If Glaus’ body continues to ail him and his power slump carries on into the second half, will the Braves begin to give Eric Hinske more playing time at first base, in order to keep Glaus fresh and healthy?
Is there a need to go out and acquire another every day outfielder to improve the lineup or can the Braves make do with the options they have currently on the roster? Is it worth shaking up the chemistry and make-up of the team that has played so well to this point?
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