Friday, November 25, 2005
Mailbag: Key to playoff success?
11/21/2005
What are the Braves going to do to get beyond the first round of the playoffs? I don't think Bobby Cox is capable of getting the Braves to the World Series again. -- Jay Minner, Tallahassee, Fla.
If the first three players in Cox's lineup hit a combined .175, as Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles and Chipper Jones did in this year's National League Division Series, you're right.
If he goes into another Division Series like he did in 2004, when Jaret Wright was overthrowing and both Mike Hampton and John Thomson were injured, I'll also bet that Cox wouldn't need to make plans for the NL Championship Series that year, either.
While I understand there is frustration that the Braves have advanced past the first round just once since 2000, I can't see how you blame it on Cox. By all accounts, he completely outmanaged Phil Garner in the 2004 Division Series. But when your top three starting pitchers are either injured or determined to throw differently than they did in the regular season, a manager is put in a rather unmanageable position.
There are instances, such as in Game 6 of the 1998 NLCS, when Cox chose to start Tony Graffanino and Danny Bautista in favor of left-handed hitters Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker, that are going to be questioned. But, at the same time, it should be pointed out that Chipper nor Andres Galarraga had much success against southpaw Sterling Hitchcock in that Series, either.
If there's one fault that can be aimed toward Cox, it's the fact that he's helped produce a product that has completely spoiled Braves fans. Every season begins with new faces and questions. Still, since 1991, every full season has ended with playoff baseball in Atlanta.
With the recent early postseason departures, it's almost forgotten that Cox was the manager who led the Braves to the World Series five times in the 1990s. He's a little older now, but he's far from being too old to lead another team back to the grand stage.
An over-the-hill skipper never would have had the patience to use 18 different rookies and still lead his team to a 14th consecutive division title, like Cox did this year.
There's always a need to place blame after a team fails to win a championship. It's the nature of sports. But instead of pointing the finger at Cox, it might be wise to remember that it was Bautista who lost the fly ball in the sun during the 1998 NLCS against the Padres.
Or that strong pitching duos like Randy Johnson/Curt Schilling and Mark Prior/Kerry Wood are sometimes unbeatable in the postseason. I mean, it wasn't Cox who hit .062, like Gary Sheffield did in the 2002 NLDS. Nor was he the dependable closer that blew a five-run, eighth-inning lead six weeks ago.
It's been said that the Braves' run will only be fully appreciated when it ends. Sadly, Cox will also likely have to retire before some understand how lucky Atlanta was to have him around all these years. It's not his fault that the Braves have lost in the Division Series five of the past six seasons. His only crime is that he's put himself in position to be blamed for multiple years of disappointment.
Other than the Yankees' Joe Torre, there isn't another manager in the past 50 years who has realized the annual success that it takes to commit such a crime.
If the Braves don't re-sign Julio Franco, who will platoon at first base with Adam LaRoche? I don't think LaRoche is ready to face lefties. He hit .188 against them last season. -- Dimas Cisneros, Los Angeles
If the Braves were to bring Franco back and once again limit LaRoche's opportunities to face lefties, then I guess it would be my turn to second-guess Cox. I don't believe the platoon should be used again, and that isn't simply because I think Franco's age is finally showing.
It's time to let LaRoche prove he can hit left-handed pitchers. You point out that he hit just .188 against them last year. Let's remember he had just 48 at-bats against them, and 13 of those came in August, when Dimas Cisneros or even Mark Bowman could have struck him out.
There are times, like this past August when he was struggling mightily, when you're going to shake your head and wonder about LaRoche. But I'm still of the belief that he can hit 25-plus homers and produce a .300 batting average on an annual basis. Thus, I'd like to see him play every day against right-handers and left-handers.
If there is room to bring Franco back as a pinch-hitter, it's worth having him on the roster. But even before his offense dropped because of a late-season elbow injury, he was showing signs defensively that he was indeed a 47-year-old man who was just looking like a 25-year-old the past few years.
Will the Braves win 20 consecutive division titles with the abundance of talent coming up from their farm system? -- T.J. Jones, Owensboro, Ky.
This forces us to look into the crystal ball and see what's in store for the 2011 season.
From what I can see, it shows an ancient form of Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Kyle Davies. Each of them begin the year at age 27 and with the excitement of playing with 44-year-old knuckleballer John Smoltz. Oh yeah, and their shortstop is this Elvis kid, also know as Elvis Andrus, who is in his fourth big-league season at the age of 22.
OK. Now back to reality. There are obviously far too many things that could happen between now and then to wisely predict whether 20 consecutive division titles is a possibility. Winning four in a row still seems like an almost unthinkable accomplishment, if your not wearing Yankee pinstripes or a Tomahawk on your chest.
But with the youthful talents of Francoeur, McCann, Davies, Blaine Boyer, Chuck James, Andy Marte, Eric Campbell and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, there are plenty of reasons to think it's possible. Oh yeah, that center fielder for the 2011 team could be a 34-year-old Andruw Jones, who would be entering the season with 13 consecutive Gold Gloves.
What is meant by "picking up the option"? This was done recently for one of the Braves pitchers. -- Leah P., Lakeland, Fla.
The Braves recently picked up the option that was in John Thomson's contract. When he signed with the Braves, he was guaranteed two years (2004-05) and the Braves had the option of bringing him back for a set salary ($4.75 million) in 2006.
Had the Braves chosen not to bring Thomson back, he would have received $500,000 from a buyout clause and become a free agent.
Most options are club options, which means the club makes the decision whether it wants to bring the player back. Some options vest when a player reaches a certain milestone, like number of games played, innings pitched, plate appearances, etc.
If Jeff Blauser has success for a couple of years at Double-A Mississippi, do you see him as Cox's replacement? Or is Ned Yost a possibility? -- Adam D., Cullman, Ala.
Let's let Blauser manage his first game before we start wondering whether he should be anybody's successor. Obviously, you hope the best for Jeff and hope that if he wishes, he does get the chance to manage at the big-league level.
Nobody knows when Cox is going to retire. But that never stops a sports fan from making projections. So right now, I'd say Yost, Fredi Gonzalez and Terry Pendleton are the three most likely men to replace Cox.
Yost has a great thing going in Milwaukee, but his family wants to be in Georgia. Gonzalez and Pendleton both have the potential to be successful managers when given the opportunity.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
What are the Braves going to do to get beyond the first round of the playoffs? I don't think Bobby Cox is capable of getting the Braves to the World Series again. -- Jay Minner, Tallahassee, Fla.
If the first three players in Cox's lineup hit a combined .175, as Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles and Chipper Jones did in this year's National League Division Series, you're right.
If he goes into another Division Series like he did in 2004, when Jaret Wright was overthrowing and both Mike Hampton and John Thomson were injured, I'll also bet that Cox wouldn't need to make plans for the NL Championship Series that year, either.
While I understand there is frustration that the Braves have advanced past the first round just once since 2000, I can't see how you blame it on Cox. By all accounts, he completely outmanaged Phil Garner in the 2004 Division Series. But when your top three starting pitchers are either injured or determined to throw differently than they did in the regular season, a manager is put in a rather unmanageable position.
There are instances, such as in Game 6 of the 1998 NLCS, when Cox chose to start Tony Graffanino and Danny Bautista in favor of left-handed hitters Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker, that are going to be questioned. But, at the same time, it should be pointed out that Chipper nor Andres Galarraga had much success against southpaw Sterling Hitchcock in that Series, either.
If there's one fault that can be aimed toward Cox, it's the fact that he's helped produce a product that has completely spoiled Braves fans. Every season begins with new faces and questions. Still, since 1991, every full season has ended with playoff baseball in Atlanta.
With the recent early postseason departures, it's almost forgotten that Cox was the manager who led the Braves to the World Series five times in the 1990s. He's a little older now, but he's far from being too old to lead another team back to the grand stage.
An over-the-hill skipper never would have had the patience to use 18 different rookies and still lead his team to a 14th consecutive division title, like Cox did this year.
There's always a need to place blame after a team fails to win a championship. It's the nature of sports. But instead of pointing the finger at Cox, it might be wise to remember that it was Bautista who lost the fly ball in the sun during the 1998 NLCS against the Padres.
Or that strong pitching duos like Randy Johnson/Curt Schilling and Mark Prior/Kerry Wood are sometimes unbeatable in the postseason. I mean, it wasn't Cox who hit .062, like Gary Sheffield did in the 2002 NLDS. Nor was he the dependable closer that blew a five-run, eighth-inning lead six weeks ago.
It's been said that the Braves' run will only be fully appreciated when it ends. Sadly, Cox will also likely have to retire before some understand how lucky Atlanta was to have him around all these years. It's not his fault that the Braves have lost in the Division Series five of the past six seasons. His only crime is that he's put himself in position to be blamed for multiple years of disappointment.
Other than the Yankees' Joe Torre, there isn't another manager in the past 50 years who has realized the annual success that it takes to commit such a crime.
If the Braves don't re-sign Julio Franco, who will platoon at first base with Adam LaRoche? I don't think LaRoche is ready to face lefties. He hit .188 against them last season. -- Dimas Cisneros, Los Angeles
If the Braves were to bring Franco back and once again limit LaRoche's opportunities to face lefties, then I guess it would be my turn to second-guess Cox. I don't believe the platoon should be used again, and that isn't simply because I think Franco's age is finally showing.
It's time to let LaRoche prove he can hit left-handed pitchers. You point out that he hit just .188 against them last year. Let's remember he had just 48 at-bats against them, and 13 of those came in August, when Dimas Cisneros or even Mark Bowman could have struck him out.
There are times, like this past August when he was struggling mightily, when you're going to shake your head and wonder about LaRoche. But I'm still of the belief that he can hit 25-plus homers and produce a .300 batting average on an annual basis. Thus, I'd like to see him play every day against right-handers and left-handers.
If there is room to bring Franco back as a pinch-hitter, it's worth having him on the roster. But even before his offense dropped because of a late-season elbow injury, he was showing signs defensively that he was indeed a 47-year-old man who was just looking like a 25-year-old the past few years.
Will the Braves win 20 consecutive division titles with the abundance of talent coming up from their farm system? -- T.J. Jones, Owensboro, Ky.
This forces us to look into the crystal ball and see what's in store for the 2011 season.
From what I can see, it shows an ancient form of Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Kyle Davies. Each of them begin the year at age 27 and with the excitement of playing with 44-year-old knuckleballer John Smoltz. Oh yeah, and their shortstop is this Elvis kid, also know as Elvis Andrus, who is in his fourth big-league season at the age of 22.
OK. Now back to reality. There are obviously far too many things that could happen between now and then to wisely predict whether 20 consecutive division titles is a possibility. Winning four in a row still seems like an almost unthinkable accomplishment, if your not wearing Yankee pinstripes or a Tomahawk on your chest.
But with the youthful talents of Francoeur, McCann, Davies, Blaine Boyer, Chuck James, Andy Marte, Eric Campbell and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, there are plenty of reasons to think it's possible. Oh yeah, that center fielder for the 2011 team could be a 34-year-old Andruw Jones, who would be entering the season with 13 consecutive Gold Gloves.
What is meant by "picking up the option"? This was done recently for one of the Braves pitchers. -- Leah P., Lakeland, Fla.
The Braves recently picked up the option that was in John Thomson's contract. When he signed with the Braves, he was guaranteed two years (2004-05) and the Braves had the option of bringing him back for a set salary ($4.75 million) in 2006.
Had the Braves chosen not to bring Thomson back, he would have received $500,000 from a buyout clause and become a free agent.
Most options are club options, which means the club makes the decision whether it wants to bring the player back. Some options vest when a player reaches a certain milestone, like number of games played, innings pitched, plate appearances, etc.
If Jeff Blauser has success for a couple of years at Double-A Mississippi, do you see him as Cox's replacement? Or is Ned Yost a possibility? -- Adam D., Cullman, Ala.
Let's let Blauser manage his first game before we start wondering whether he should be anybody's successor. Obviously, you hope the best for Jeff and hope that if he wishes, he does get the chance to manage at the big-league level.
Nobody knows when Cox is going to retire. But that never stops a sports fan from making projections. So right now, I'd say Yost, Fredi Gonzalez and Terry Pendleton are the three most likely men to replace Cox.
Yost has a great thing going in Milwaukee, but his family wants to be in Georgia. Gonzalez and Pendleton both have the potential to be successful managers when given the opportunity.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
