McCarroll21
04-20-2007, 11:53 AM
Is Our Offense Really This Bad?
By: Josh McCarroll (http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=1) | Braves-Nation.com
As you may know, the Braves offense has been downright atrocious in the early going. You may not know how bad it has been though.
The Braves have a .236 team batting average. That is good enough to be 14th in the National League. The team has struck out 115 times in 491 at bats. The 115 strike outs are the third most in the National League.
Some regulars helping out the team in these areas? Well, we first have to point our head at the $13.5 million man. Andruw Jones is currently hitting .170 with 17 strike outs in 53 at bats. Andruw isn't expected to hit .300, nor is he expected to put the ball in play every time up to the plate, but he is expected to do more for the offense than have only three home runs and eight RBI after nearly three weeks. Hopefully he warms up as the weather warms up and we see him back in the .270 range with the power numbers we expect to see.
After Andruw, you have to look at Ryan Langerhans. Langerhans owns a .074 average in 27 at bats. That's right, he has a zero as the first number in his average. Wake up Langerhans. We all love your defense, but two singles in 27 at bats, while striking out 12 times isn't going to help your defense get on the field. Note to Ryan, Tim Hudson has a .167 average.
Scott Thorman and Craig Wilson aren't helping matters either. The first basemen have combined to hit .185 and strike out 15 times over 54 at bats. I guess it could be worse. Adam LaRoche is hitting .106 with 17 strike outs in 47 at bats in Pittsburgh.
Other than those players, no one is really doing that poorly. Kelly Johnson could have joined the club, but he's hit .667 over his last three games to raise his average to .269. Even before his recent hot streak, all hasn't been lost for Kelly since he has kept his walk rate, helping him keep an acceptable on-base percentage.
Chipper Jones has been a little slow out of the gates, but he still has a .286 average, and even more important, he is still playing. Chipper is providing decent power numbers, but his average will come up soon enough.
Jeff Francoeur is only batting .255, but most wouldn't have predicted him to be much better than .265 anyway. He is leading the team with 15 RBI, so he's doing something right. The most surprising thing about Jeff right now is that he has the 5th most walks on the team (6), same as McCann.
So, if I didn't name you ... you're either not expected to do much or you're doing okay. McCann has a .327 average, Diaz next in line at .303. Renteria has a .298 average and a .385 on-base percentage. These three are doing more than their share.
Even with the poor batting averages, the Braves are right in the middle of the pack as far as runs scored goes. The 68 runs are enough to tie for 6th in the league. They've also hit 20 home runs, four more than any other team in the National League.
So, while all isn't lost with the poor average, it needs to come up soon. The team can't keep hitting home runs to score runs. When the guys that have hit number one and two in your order all year have a .397 and .385 on-base percentage, respectively, it says there should be more runs sitting out there for the middle of the order than the 16 that the Jones boys have driven in.
To add to it, Chipper has a .412 on-base percentage. He can't drive in runs when he's walking, but that puts more men on for Andruw. Andruw has had 16 at bats with runners in scoring position. He is hitting .125 and driven in only four runs in that situation.
The runners are out there Andruw, do your job.
It's not all Andruw's fault, but the clean up hitter should be held accountable for the offense. If the runners are out there, it's your job to drive them in.
However, after all the ranting, I realize that it is still just April 20 and the team is 10-5 and one of the better teams in the National League -- just ½ game back from divisional foe the New York Mets.
We have time, but we can't wait for ever.
By: Josh McCarroll (http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=1) | Braves-Nation.com
As you may know, the Braves offense has been downright atrocious in the early going. You may not know how bad it has been though.
The Braves have a .236 team batting average. That is good enough to be 14th in the National League. The team has struck out 115 times in 491 at bats. The 115 strike outs are the third most in the National League.
Some regulars helping out the team in these areas? Well, we first have to point our head at the $13.5 million man. Andruw Jones is currently hitting .170 with 17 strike outs in 53 at bats. Andruw isn't expected to hit .300, nor is he expected to put the ball in play every time up to the plate, but he is expected to do more for the offense than have only three home runs and eight RBI after nearly three weeks. Hopefully he warms up as the weather warms up and we see him back in the .270 range with the power numbers we expect to see.
After Andruw, you have to look at Ryan Langerhans. Langerhans owns a .074 average in 27 at bats. That's right, he has a zero as the first number in his average. Wake up Langerhans. We all love your defense, but two singles in 27 at bats, while striking out 12 times isn't going to help your defense get on the field. Note to Ryan, Tim Hudson has a .167 average.
Scott Thorman and Craig Wilson aren't helping matters either. The first basemen have combined to hit .185 and strike out 15 times over 54 at bats. I guess it could be worse. Adam LaRoche is hitting .106 with 17 strike outs in 47 at bats in Pittsburgh.
Other than those players, no one is really doing that poorly. Kelly Johnson could have joined the club, but he's hit .667 over his last three games to raise his average to .269. Even before his recent hot streak, all hasn't been lost for Kelly since he has kept his walk rate, helping him keep an acceptable on-base percentage.
Chipper Jones has been a little slow out of the gates, but he still has a .286 average, and even more important, he is still playing. Chipper is providing decent power numbers, but his average will come up soon enough.
Jeff Francoeur is only batting .255, but most wouldn't have predicted him to be much better than .265 anyway. He is leading the team with 15 RBI, so he's doing something right. The most surprising thing about Jeff right now is that he has the 5th most walks on the team (6), same as McCann.
So, if I didn't name you ... you're either not expected to do much or you're doing okay. McCann has a .327 average, Diaz next in line at .303. Renteria has a .298 average and a .385 on-base percentage. These three are doing more than their share.
Even with the poor batting averages, the Braves are right in the middle of the pack as far as runs scored goes. The 68 runs are enough to tie for 6th in the league. They've also hit 20 home runs, four more than any other team in the National League.
So, while all isn't lost with the poor average, it needs to come up soon. The team can't keep hitting home runs to score runs. When the guys that have hit number one and two in your order all year have a .397 and .385 on-base percentage, respectively, it says there should be more runs sitting out there for the middle of the order than the 16 that the Jones boys have driven in.
To add to it, Chipper has a .412 on-base percentage. He can't drive in runs when he's walking, but that puts more men on for Andruw. Andruw has had 16 at bats with runners in scoring position. He is hitting .125 and driven in only four runs in that situation.
The runners are out there Andruw, do your job.
It's not all Andruw's fault, but the clean up hitter should be held accountable for the offense. If the runners are out there, it's your job to drive them in.
However, after all the ranting, I realize that it is still just April 20 and the team is 10-5 and one of the better teams in the National League -- just ½ game back from divisional foe the New York Mets.
We have time, but we can't wait for ever.