BF vs. AF

[KB 34]

I just took a look at the Braves record before and after trading Jeff Francoeur. On July 9, after he played his last game for the Braves, they were 41-44. Now a couple weeks later the team is 49-46. That makes the Braves record 8-2 since he was traded.

Now let us look at the Mets. They have gone from 40-44 to 44-50, good for 4-6. The Braves have been significantly been better since the bum was traded, the Mets at best are the same as before. Great job Wren, this team has more of a playoff shot than I dreamed was possible July 9. We're talking about 3 games out of the Wild Card and 5.5 out of the division with a long ways to go. I can't believe this 8-2 run has happened because I didn't see anything I thought would make it possible.

[Andy G.]

Should have traded him to the Phillies.

[Freddy_Ballgame]

Fransewer and his nothing-or-more nothing production has been moved out in favor of a guy who hits in a similar fashion as Vlad Guerrero, not that production, just an unusual ability to hit, in Diaz and a pretty solid, if unspectacular guy in Church. The team has gone the only way I could see them go to improve, and that was finding hitters who got the timely hits. Escy has that knack and moving him into a better RBI slot has helped. Prado's "Pete Rose" type efforts have helped make it a bit harder to pitch to Chipper. Shuffling the lineup, farming out KJ and the Fransewer move have really helped the team gel as an offense. Different day? Different stars. The defense has also stepped up and the pitching has been strong. I hate it for you guys who hate it, but this team has vastly improved by playing a more sound, fundamental game of what you call small ball. It's actually just playing baseball as it was designed. Power wasn't a big factor way back when, and it isn't a factor with this Braves crew. I hope they keep it up the rest of the season!

[Andy G.]

I don't think it's timely hitting that has made the difference for the Braves, because the Braves have been getting timely hits all year. On June 24th, (http://208.131.136.77/boards/showthread.php?t=136) the Braves had more than a 40 point lead on the second place team in AVG with RISP and Two Outs. They were above .300 at that time. As of right now, the top three teams in terms of Batting Average with RISP are the Mets, Braves and Phillies in that order. The Braves are still the best with RISP and two outs. They're hitting .293. The Giants are in second at .275.

The difference has been that, in the past 30 days, the Braves have been the best hitting team in the National League. It's not even close, really. We've even hit for more power than anyone else. I was surprised too. This is how we compare to the rest of the NL in AVG, OBP and SLG over the past 30 days:

AVG - .283 - 1st (Brewers are 2nd at .272)
SLG - .454 - 1st (Phillies are 2nd at .438)
OBP - .351 - 1st (Phillies are 2nd at .350)

We're tied for fourth in homeruns, and have eight more doubles than the Rockies who are second in that category. Also, believe it or not, only two NL teams have struck out fewer times than the Braves over the past 30 days.

Edit: I'm a dummy. I wrote that only two teams had struck out more times than the Braves, but I meant to write fewer. They're really hitting well.

[Dreamscape]

As Gilley pointed out, this isn't small ball.

Extra base hits and walks lead to victory and that's what the Braves have been doing.

[FrankEC]

I don't think it's a coincidence that the Braves started hitting better right about the time that Martin Prado became their everyday second baseman. I like Kelly Johnson and think he's going to bounce back and have a good major league career, but it's impossible to deny the effect that Prado has had on this lineup.

[Andy G.]

Prado has definitely been on fire, but he's not alone. In fact, the entire lineup has been on hitting well, and they all got hot at about the same time. Check out these numbers.

McLouth - .403 OBP since June 18th (he's as hot as anybody, but he had a three game stretch where he went 0-15 against the Mets)
Prado - .391 since June 21st
Anderson - .330 since June 19th
Escobar - .386 since June 21st
Diaz - .370 since June 18th
Kotchman - .329 since June 23rd

The craziest part might be that we're scoring a ton of runs, more than any other NL team in July, and Chipper and McCann aren't even all that hot right now. They're both hitting well, but they're not producing up to their standards.

[hoosjon]

I noticed that about Mac and Chip, too. It's about time the other guys picked it up a little and stopped making the two of them carry the team. When Chip was quoted saying when he or McCann was out of the lineup or hurt or whatever, that we couldn't win, I bristled. I don't like a player saying things like I'm the reason we win and all that. Of course, it was true. I just didn't like him saying it.

I'm glad that the "lesser-knowns" are tearin it UP! How long can we hope to maintain this hitting dominance?

[wordslayer©]

I noticed that about Mac and Chip, too. It's about time the other guys picked it up a little and stopped making the two of them carry the team. When Chip was quoted saying when he or McCann was out of the lineup or hurt or whatever, that we couldn't win, I bristled. I don't like a player saying things like I'm the reason we win and all that. Of course, it was true. I just didn't like him saying it.

I'm glad that the "lesser-knowns" are tearin it UP! How long can we hope to maintain this hitting dominance?


First of all, great posts, Gilley.

Who knows how long they can hit like this, but so many people have been hitting so well lately.

When you have someone suddenly hitting .360, they probably are actually hitting about .320, but are just getting a ton of luck. We have a lot of guys hitting now, and a lot of guys hitting with some luck, so let's hope it lasts a while.

I've been hoping for a streak like this for quite a while, but it has never seemed to happen. I'm glad we finally have one.

[jamminHANES]

First of all, great posts, Gilley.

Who knows how long they can hit like this, but so many people have been hitting so well lately.

When you have someone suddenly hitting .360, they probably are actually hitting about .320, but are just getting a ton of luck. We have a lot of guys hitting now, and a lot of guys hitting with some luck, so let's hope it lasts a while.

I've been hoping for a streak like this for quite a while, but it has never seemed to happen. I'm glad we finally have one.

Until the last 3 games McCann, Chipper, and Mclouth were all cold while the rest of the lineup was hot. Kelly will come back and get some playing time and should hit well along with the aforementioned trio of power bats at the top of the lineup.

[KB 34]

Speaking of KJ I'm not convinced a lot of his struggles weren't associated with his injury problems. After all, he went on the DL not to Gwinnett. I believe the Braves could have sent him down and if injuries weren't a real issue playing everyday in AAA would be a much better option than the DL. There are plenty of ways to get him some starts and see if he can get hot as well. If he gets going the offense gets really scary.

[Lauren T.]

(KJ's out of options.)*

* I should mention I'm pretty sure I read that on DOB's blog, and that he says he asked Kelly personally. You all know how much I trust DOB, though. :D

[Dreamscape]

Actually, KJ has an option, according to Bowman (http://markbowman.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/07/johnson_activated_and_conrad_o.html). He's back with the team and Conrad has been demoted in one of those "um, why not Norton?" moves.

KJ for Norton, Infante for Hernandez. It was set up and they still screwed up.

EDIT: Bowman didn't say it, my bad. I read the google search summery and saw it there, but had to find it in the comments. But I'm pretty sure KJ should have an option remaining, if not two.