Sports Page Atlanta

The trade deadline moves changed the course of the NL West division. The Cubs are still top dog in the Central, and the Phillies are looking they won’t need the Mets to flounder in the final weeks, this season, to win the East.

1. Chicago Cubs | 69-46 | Previous: 1 - The Cubs lead the NL in runs scored, total bases, and the slash stats (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) and are just cruising along now that they have Soriano back. The Cubs are 8-2 in their last ten games.
2. Philadelphia Phillies | 62-51 | Previous: 3 - A career year for Burrell is keeping the boo birds away. Having a 2.5 game lead over the Marlins and 3.0 over the Mets doesn’t hurt either.
3. Milwaukee Brewers | 64-51 | Previous: 6 - A week of playing Atlanta and Cincinnati was just what the Doctor ordered. It gets better next week as the Brew Crew host Washington and travel to San Diego.
4. St. Louis Cardinals | 64-51 | Previous: 8 - Ryan Ludwick is killing the ball again, Pujols is being… Pujols, and the Cards just got Chris Carpenter back. All is good for a Wild Card run.
5. New York Mets | 59-54 | Previous: 2 - The Mets pitching staff is downwardly spiraling, both physically and mentally. Maine is hurt. So is Wagner. And what was that 80 MPH cheese that Pedro was offering last night?
6. Los Angeles Dodgers | 56-57 | Previous: 5 - Adding Manny and Casey Blake assured us of an NL West race that should go down to the wire. If the Dodgers could play five outfielders they’d be even better.
7. Arizona Diamondbacks | 59-55 | Previous: 4 - Failing to upgrade offensively at the trade deadline is the main reason the D-backs will soon look up at the Dodgers in the West.
8. Florida Marlins | 60-54 | Previous: 7 - Not getting Manny at the trade deadline will turn out to be huge mistake.
9. Houston Astros | 54-59 | Previous: 15 - The Randy Wolf trade seems to have invigorated this team. They’ve won seven out of ten since the trade.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates | 56-62 | Previous: 10 - The players coming back to the Bucs were more than enough for Jason Bay. They aren’t likely to help in ‘08, but the shining star of Jeff Karstens should be enough to get them by until next season.
11. Colorado Rockies | 52-63 | Previous: 9 - While they did nothing to make the team better at the trade deadline, think positive… you still have all your big named veterans. Unfortunately for the Rockies, another second half run is not likely as the Dodgers are just too good.
12. San Francisco | 48-65 | Previous: 12 - The Giants won series against the Padres and the Braves this past week, and we saw just how good Tim Lincecum can be. But, this offense is still anemic.
13. Atlanta Braves | 52-62 | Previous: 11 - No more Teixeira, Chipper’s out, Hudson’s out, and the rotation is counting on quality starts from the likes of Chuck James. That’s a recipe for disaster. On the bright side, Glavine could be back as early as next week.
14. Cincinnati Reds | 52-63 | Previous: 13 - The Reds were just swept by the Nationals. ‘Nuff said.
15. San Diego Padres | 44-70 | Previous: 14 - Jake Peavy is the only starting pitcher with a winning record at 8-7. The Pads just lost two series in a row last week to San Francisco and the Mets, and they’ve only won one series in the past eight attempts.
16. Washington Nationals | 42-71 | Previous: 16 - Their ace has an ERA well above 4.00 and their biggest power hitter is Ronnie Belliard with 10 home runs. However, they did just sweep the Reds after losing nine straight. That doesn’t mean things are looking up though.

Over the past day or two a few people have landed on this site searching for information about players from the 2008 First-Year Player Draft this past June. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, here’s a bit of information on the Braves’ first four picks, all of whom were pitchers.

• Brett DeVall | LHP - DeVall was taken with the 40th overall pick in the draft, which was a supplemental first round pick for the Braves. He finished his high school career in Niceville, Florida where he went 13-2 in his senior season, with only 25 walks and 152 strikeouts. You can see his MiLB draft report here. DeVall pitches for the Gulf Coast League Braves and has seen action in two games thus far, both in July. He’s thrown a total of 4.2 innings and has a 0-0 record. He hasn’t given up an earned run and has two strikeouts and two walks.
• Robert Stovall | LHP - Stovall was taken in the second round by the Braves with the #64 pick overall. He’s from Hokes Bluff High School in Alabama and was named Mr. Baseball by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. His senior season was impressive with a 14-1 record with a 1.00 ERA. He also struck out 187 batters in 84 innings and threw three no-hitters. So far for the GCL Braves, Stovall has pitched 10.1 innings in four games. He’s 1-0 with a 6.10 ERA and has struck out 14 while walking 11 batters.
• Ezekiel Spruill | RHP | Draft Report - Spruill was also taken in the second round with the #70 pick overall. Spruill, who’s out of Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia has a fastball that sits in the low 90’s. He’s also pitching in the Gulf Coast League for the Braves and in seven games has a 6-0 record. He’s thrown 27.1 innings and has an ERA of 1.65. Most impressively, he’s shown that he can overpower hitter as he has a 27:5 strikeout to walk ratio.
• Craig Kimbrel | RHP - Kimbrel was taken in the third round with the #96 overall pick and played at Wallace State Community College before being drafted. He started in the Rookie Appalachian League for the Danville Braves where he saw action in 12 games pitching 19 innings. His record was 1-2 with a 0.47 ERA and six saves before he was promoted to the Single-A Rome Braves. In Rome he’s record three saves (I spoke about him notching his third save last night) in 5.1 innings of work. He also has a 0.00 ERA and opposing batters are hitting only .056 against him. He’s struck out 12 while walking zero for Rome.

San Francisco 3, Atlanta 2 (box)
Richmond 5, Durham 4 (box)
Jacksonville 10,  Mississippi 9 (box)
Myrtle Beach 9, Kinston 6 (box)
Rome 1, Charleston 0 (box)

MLB - Atlanta: This one-run game skid has got to stop soon. Today marked the 26th time in a row that the Braves lost a one-run ball game. Brian McCann collected three of the Braves five hits as Tim Lincecum is proving just hot tough of a pitcher he really is. Chuck James struggled again allowing three runs and five hits in four innings. James gave up another home run today (his 10th in seven starts) in the first inning to Aaron Rowand.

AAA - Richmond: Josh Anderson made it two games in a row with a home run as he led the R-Braves to a 5-4 victory going 3 for 4 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI. Brandon Jones kicked in another two RBI as he went 2 for 4. Damian Moss got the win in relief (his 4th) and Jorge Julio saved the game (his 5th). Starter Jo-Jo Reyes went only five innings giving up four runs and seven hits.

AA - Mississippi: Starter Calros Sencion only made it 3.2 innings as he gave up four earned runs, three hits, and struck out four while walking six. But, the M-Braves scored some runs, and Sencion wasn’t on the hook for the loss. Matt Young, Greg Creek, and Jose Camarena each had two RBI for the M-Braves and the team even took an 8-7 lead into the ninth inning. But Luis Valdez gave up three earned runs and three hits in the 9th to blow his 8th save of the year and take his third loss.

Adv. A - Myrtle Beach: Willie Cabrera was in left field instead of the DH spot tonight, but he continued to swing a hot bat going 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI in the Pelicans 9 to 6 victory. Most of the offense came from Randy Gress’s three RBI and Eric Campbell, who hit his 17th home run and went 1-4 with two RBI. Georgia Southern’s own Dustin Evans gave up a home run Carlos Rivero, but managed to lock it up and earn the win in relief (his 2nd). Nick Fellman earned his 6th save of the season as he struck out two and walked one in 0.2 innings.

A - Rome: 20-year-old Jeffrey Locke earned his fifth win of the season as he pitched six shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out five while walking two. And continuing with the trend of 20-year-old pitchers, Craig Kimbrel earned his third save as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two batters. Rome only managed five hits tonight, but scored on a fielding error by Charleston pitcher Jairo Heredia.

The Mississippi Braves have slated Tom Glavine as their starting pitcher this Saturday night against the Jacksonville Suns.

This will be the second rehab start on his road back to “The Ted”. On Monday he pitched four innings at Myrtle Beach allowing  three hits and one run with a walk and four strikeouts.

Saturday night will mark only the second rehab assignment for Glavine since 1987. And, if all goes well, it’ll be his last for a while as he’s expected to rejoion the big club next week.

Atlanta 11, San Francisco 4 (box)
Durham 9, Richmond 6 (box)
Huntsville 4, Mississippi 2 (box)
Myrtle Beach 4, Kinston 3 (box)
Rome 9, Hickory 1 (box)

MLB - Atlanta: Mike Hampton hasn’t had a lot to be happy about on the diamond in the past 2 and a half years. He’s been criticized for his injury prone ways and many fans have used him as the butt of their jokes. After last night Hampton can smile with Braves Nation as he earned his first win in almost three years. In seven innings of work, Hampton allowed two runs and four hits. He struck out two, walked only one, and even added to the Braves offense with a double and a RBI at the plate.  Seven Braves hitters notched RBI’s last night and all nine starters got, at least, one hit.

AAA - Richmond: The R-Braves were trampled early on by the Durham Bulls as pitcher Brian Lawrence gave up seven runs and 12 hits in only four innings. And even with a four run 7th inning from the R-Braves, led by Josh Anderson’s two-run home run, Durham maintained control and won handily. Anderson was 2-5 with two RBI, and that 7th inning blast was his second of the year. Brent Lillibridge went 0-4, but did steal his 16th base of the season.

AA - Mississippi: After third baseman Van Pope tied the game in the 6th inning for the M-Braves with a two-run home run, relief pitcher Paul Bush came on and promptly gave up the eventual game winning home run to Huntsville first baseman Chris Errecar. Pope’s home run was his fourth of the year as he went 1-3 with two RBI and a stolen base. Bush fell to 0-1 on the year.

Adv. A - Myrtle Beach: The Pelicans were behind Kinston for most of the game, 25 outs to be exact. It wasn’t until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Designated Hitter Willie Cabrera singled in Jon Owings and Randy Gress with one out, that the home team pushed ahead and won the game. Cabrera was 3-5 on the night with a double and those final two RBI that won the game for the Pelicans. Jaye Chapman won the game in relief, bringing his record up to 1-1.

A - Rome: Scoreless through five innings, the Rome Braves started the scoring in the 6th and never let up, scoring nine runs in the final four innings. First baseman Frederick Freeman started the scoring by tripling in Jason Heyward in the 6th inning and added a home run (his 18th of the season) in the 7th. Heyward was 3 for 3 (two doubles) on the night with two RBI, and Aussie catcher Matthew Kennelly was 3 for 4 with three RBI and is hitting .464 in his eight games since being called up from Danville. Cole Rohrbough improved his record on the mound to 3-4 while giving up only one hit in eight innings of work. He struck out seven and walked three.

What do the following quotes have in common?

• From the Braves 1995  World Series win. “Yes! Yes! Yes! The Atlanta Braves have given you a championship! Listen to this crowd!”
• How about from the 1992 NLCS? “Here comes Bream! Here’s the throw to the plate! He iiiiiiiisssssssss … safe! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! … Braves win!”

Both of these legendary Atlanta Braves calls were made by Skip Caray, who died yesterday in his sleep while taking a nap.

Skip Caray had been a fixture in Atlanta sports broadcasting since 1964 when he came to town to handle minor-league games for the Atlanta Crackers. He moved to the Atlanta Hawks after that before finally settling with the Atlanta Braves in 1976, where he stayed broadcasting both radio and television games until his death yesterday.

The AJC did a nice write up of some of Caray’s best lines and thoughts about his family.

Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz had some great things to say about Caray in a different AJC article.

“It’s a sad day,” Smoltz said. “There are no words. Sad doesn’t do it justice. I will always remember Skip for his humor and his ability to go about life the way he did. I gained so much respect for what he did and how long he did and how he did.”

Jones was at home with his family on Sunday evening when he was informed.

“I figured Skip Caray is as much a part of Atlanta Braves baseball as any of us,” said Jones, who will rejoin the team in Arizona later this week. “We all grew up listening to Skip, whether it be on TV or radio. Any time the guys on ESPN imitate [you] calling the highlights, you’re pretty much a legend. From a fan’s standpoint, he’s going to be a huge loss for them because he relayed the games to fans for so long.”

And Dale Murphy and few other famous Atlanta sports figures speak about Caray in this AJC article.

“I knew that he had been battling some health issues, but I was just really shocked and saddened when I got the e-mail,” former Braves star Dale Murphy said upon receiving the news that longtime Braves broadcaster Skip Caray died Sunday at his Atlanta home.

“And I was grateful for the many years I was able to be with Skip from 1976 until 1990.

“Skip saw the funny side of things and enjoyed making people laugh when we weren’t giving them too much to smile about during some of those years that I was with the Braves.”

Skip died at the age of 68 after following his father Harry Caray into baseball broadcasting. His son Chip Caray still broadcasts games for the Braves. Just about anyone who has listened to and watched the Braves for a while know the names of Skip and Pete [Van Wieren] just as well as Chipper, Smoltzie, and Bobby Cox. This loss to the Braves family is devastating and it will be a long time before the mourning ends for Skip Caray.

Ouch!

Before today’s series opener against Milwaukee, catcher Corky Miller was sent down to Triple-A Richmond, and Chuck James was brought up to start.

The Miller move was pretty obvious. In 54 at-bats, Miller only had 5 hits. An .093 batting average with a .148 slugging percentage just isn’t going to cut it in the big leagues. And with Clint Sammons coming up big in his first two games, and Brian McCann’s return imminent, there was no room for Corky.

James, on the other hand, has had huge troubles in Atlanta with an ERA of 8.22 and a record of 2-3 in five starts. Furthermore, he’s given up seven home runs in five games, has a 17:16 strikeout to walk ratio, and allows hitters to bat .284 against him.

For James though, a player with potential, it’s his Triple-A numbers that keep getting him sent up. In 13 starts in Richmond, he’s only given up three home runs, has a 67:34 strikeout to walk ratio, and has a 2.48 ERA.

Is James a big league pitcher or someone who’s too good for Triple-A, but not good enough for MLB? Some call players like that Quad-A players.

Well if tonight’s performance is any indication, james may well just be a band aid for the Braves pitching staff; one that gets ripped off once Hudson, Smoltz and the like return from injury.

James pitched 2.2 innings tonight giving up six hits, six earned runs, and allowing two home runs. He also walked four batters in those 2.2 innings. He’s clearly not ready for big league hitters.

As of July 30th, here are the National League power rankings. As sellers Atlanta and Cincinnati have dropped a bit, and some strong play out west has seen stock rise for those clubs. The top and the bottom remain the same since the mid-season NL power rankings were released.

1. Chicago Cubs
2. New York Mets
3.  Philadelphia Phillies
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Los Angeles Dodgers +1
6. Milwaukee Brewers -1
7. Florida Marlins +3
8. St. Louis Cardinals -1
9. Colorado Rockies +4
10. Pittsburgh Pirates +2
11. Atlanta Braves -2
12. San Francisco Giants -1
13. Cincinnati Reds -5
14. San Diego Padres
15. Houston Astros
16. Washington Nationals

About an hour ago, the Los Angeles Angels pulled Casey Kotchman off the Fenway Park field and into the clubhouse. He was informed that he and minor league pitcher, Stephen Marek, had been traded to the Atlanta Braves for Mark Teixeira.

It should be easy to compare Kotchman to Teixeira as they’re both first basemen. Let’s now look at Marek.

Marek is a 6′2″ right-handed pitcher in the Angels organization playing for Double-A Arkansas. He was a 40th round selection for the Angels (#1,193 overall) in 2004. He started his professional career as a starting pitcher, but moved to the bullpen this season. He’s never played above Double-A baseball.

His record, this season, is 2-6 with a 3.66 ERA. He strikes out more than a batter per inning as he has 57 strikeouts in only 46.2 innings of work. He holds opponents to a .223 batting average.

Casey Kotchman was a first round pick (#13 overall) by the Angels in 2001 and is playing in his fifth big league season, second as a full-time player). In 100 games this season he’s batting .287 with 12 home runs, 54 RBI, and two stolen bases.

While Kotchman doesn’t have the power that Teixeira has, his value to the Braves comes in a smaller salary. He’s playing the 2008 season under a one-year salary worth $1.45 million. If the Braves do resign Kotchman, it surely won’t be as expensive as it would have been for the Braves to resign Teixeira.

Here’s a little update on some of the rumors flying around on where, and if, Mark Teixeira might land before the trade deadline.

• The L.A. Angels have increased their interest as of late.
  

  Though a deal for the Atlanta switch-hitter would probably cost them promising first baseman Casey Kotchman, the Angels believe Teixeira and Vladimir Guerrero would give them a three-four punch comparable to Boston’s David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks may not be willing to send Conor Jackson any longer. But they may send Chad Tracy and, maybe even uber-pitching prospect Max Scherzer.
  

  ‘Zona’s surplus of pitching prospects means they can offer up Max Scherzer (top pitching prospect in the org) and Wes Roemer (87/28 K/BB in High-A) for the opportunity to romp into the playoffs over middling NL West competition.