A Long, Strange, and (so far) Great Trip
With 26 games remaining there is still a lot of unknown remaining in this Braves season. However, there are two things I know. First, this has been a very fun year. Second, this has been a bizarre year.
Just look at the Braves current everyday lineup (total starts at that position for the Braves in parenthesis):
Catcher: Brian McCann (106 games)
First Base: Derek Lee (17 games)
Second Base: Omar Infante (38 games)
Third Base: Martin Prado (21 games)
Shortstop: Alex Gonzalez (45 games)
Left Field: Matt Diaz/Eric Hinske/Melky Cabrera (42 games/49 games/36 games)
Center Field: Rick Ankiel (25 games)
Right Field: Jason Heyward (110 games)
Those aren’t very high totals of starts for a team about to play its 137th game. Those aren’t very high totals, particularly for a 1st place team about to play its 137th game. Now look at the players who have started the most games for the team at each position:
Catcher: Brian McCann (106 games)
First Base: Troy Glaus (105 games)
Second Base: Martin Prado (97 games)
Third Base: Chipper Jones (86 games)
Shortstop: Yunel Escobar (73 games)
Left Field: Eric Hinske (49 games)
Center Field: Nate McLouth (52 games)
Right Field: Jason Heyward (110 games)
You’ll notice that only Mac, Heyward, and the left fielders are still in the everyday lineup at the same position. Chipper is out for the year. Glaus and McLouth have been in the minors and are now on the bench. Escobar is in Toronto. The Braves have used 81 different lineups this season in 136 games. Including starting pitchers, the Braves have used 121 different lineups in 136 games. The Braves have used 3 lineups 5 or more times, and each one of those includes Glaus at first, Chipper at third, Escobar at short, and either McLouth or Gregor Blanco in center. The Braves have used 96 different batting orders in 136 games. Including starting pitchers, the Braves have used 127 different batting orders. The Braves have used 6 different batting orders 3 or more times, and each one of those includes Chipper and Glaus.
There are several points here. It’s clear that the Braves roster and lineup has been influx throughout the season. However, the Braves are currently fielding a team that looks drastically different than the one they were fielding even a month ago. It’s not all that unusual for a team to go through this sort of dramatic roster shakeup over the course of the long season. It’s really not all that unusual for a team to go through a dramatic shakeup very late in the season. But it is a little unusual for a team that has been in 1st place for 3 months to go through these things.
The weirdest thing might be that for the most part the guys who have been brought to the team and plugged into the lineup haven’t produced that much.
Gonzalez (46 games): 44 for 168 (.262/.326/.423/.749) with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 21 runs, 25 RBI, 0 SB in 2 attempts, 12 BB, and 30 K.
Ankiel (29 games): 19 for 100 (.216/.310/.318/.628) with 4 doubles, a triple, a homer, 14 runs, 7 RBI, 1 SB in 2 attempts, 11 BB, and 33 K.
Lee (14 games): 10 for 49 (.204/.291/.306/.597) with 5 doubles, no homers, 3 runs, 7 RBI, 6 BB, and 14 K.
Freddie Freeman has played in only 3 games but even he is 0 for 5 so far.
I guess none of this really matters. The Braves are a half game behind the Reds for the best record in the NL with 26 games remaining. This stuff might mean something in the postseason. Hopefully we’ll be worrying about that a month from now.
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