Center Field Gate

Remember when Tommy Hanson was the next big thing in Atlanta? The 6-6, 220 pound righty is still the ace-to-be in the Braves rotation, but his rise to stardom has been eclipsed by all the attention given to new Atlanta right fielder Jason Heyward. Or maybe it’s that Hanson, while still sporting a nifty 2.83 ERA, can only help the Braves win every fifth day — that is, not often enough to keep Atlanta from drifting ever lower in the standings. Hanson’s cannon-shot arm was what the Braves needed last night to keep the Tomahawks from losing their tongue-swallowing ninth-in-a-row on the road, but the 23-year-old phenom was shaky in six innings, giving up nine hits and four runs while striking out five. Instead, it was the normally somnolent Braves bats that came through, as Atlanta squeaked out a much-need (at least from their point of view) 7-6 extra innings tilt vs. the Nationals at Nats Park.

Braves manager Bobby Cox, who has been slowly steaming through the Braves’ early season woes, was not impressed with Hanson. “Tommy probably had the worst game that he has had all season,” Cox said after last night’s contest. “He just wasn’t on tonight. He made mistakes with the breaking ball and some fastballs.” Not everything came up roses for the Chops last night, despite the win: Heyward left the game with a groin pull in the second inning, the Braves line-up continues to struggle at the plate, and Cox is attempting to juggle a starting rotation that has been just so-so. In fact, for Cox, working through this year’s starting rotation issues might be more of a challenge than what he faced in 2009 — it’s now clear that Kenshin Kawakami will not be the answer on the mound that the Braves front office once supposed, Tim Hudson isn’t getting any younger (and has a history of arm problems), Derek Lowe is proving particularly susceptible to giving up big innings and the Braves’ middle-of-the-rotation starter, Javier Vazquez is somewhere in New York (nursing arm pain and getting hit around). That leaves Bobby Cox with a lot of questions, and very few answers.

It’s not as if the Nationals don’t have issues of their own. You have to wonder how long Livan Hernandez can pitch like Whitey Ford, whether Jason Marquis will return healthy (or at all), whether John Lannan’s sore elbow will recover enough for him to become the John Lannan of 2009, whether Scott Olsen (who faces the Tomahawks tonight) can keep up his I’m-finally-back-where-I-was performances and whether Craig Stammen can prove consistent enough to get out of his every-other-game funk. The sobering truth is that while the Braves rotation is skaky, the Nats’ is even shakier, despite the Nats solid early season run. While Nats fans wait on the promotion of Strasburg, Storen and the healing of Jordan Zimmermann, their arrival is no guarantee that Washington fans will be watching one of baseball’s best rotations come July. As far as pitching is concerned, not only can anything happen, it usually does. So don’t be surprised if, in a few weeks — and the inevitable blow-outs that greet young arms — Mike Rizzo is shopping around for someone to complement a staff that is (after all) a patchwork of older arms and untested shoulders.

Garrett Mock outdueled Braves’ rookie Tommy Hanson on Thursday, delivering a six inning, 2-1 performance that marked the Nats’ fourth victory in a row. Reliever Tyler Clippard registered the win, with 2.2 innings of one hit pitching — a stellar, but by now standard, performance. Once again, the Nats won on a late inning hit: this time delivered by former Tomahawk Pete Orr, who singled in the top of the ninth to drive in Ryan Zimmerman with the winning run. This was Mock’s best performance of the year: “With the way my arm feels, my body feels, I felt I made some steps in the right direction,” Mock said after the game. “I wish I had a couple of more starts.” The Braves appeared sluggish, the likely result of being eliminated in the N.L. Wild Card race earlier in the day, when the Colorado Rockies defeated the Brewers 9-2 in Milwaukee.

After a terrible 2008 (72-90) the Braves were philosophical about their failure to make the post-season: “To make that dramatic of a jump gives us a lot of confidence, and it should give Braves fans a lot of confidence that next year we can contend,” Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said before the Nats-Braves tilt. “I don’t think there’s any doubt in anybody’s mind in here that we can be a playoff team next year.” As it was, the Braves had a late-season rush that compares favorably with the streaky Rockies, winning fifteen of their last seventeen games. Just two weeks ago, the Braves trailed the Rockies by 8.5 games in the Wild Card standings. Braves pitching carried the team to the near-Wild Card triumph — with one of the best starting rotations in baseball. The N.L division and Wild Card champions are now decided (the Dodgers, Cardinals, Rockies and Phillies), but the Minnesota Twins remain alive for the A.L. Central Division crown — and take on the Royals today in Kansas City. The Twinkies will need help from the White Sox (who play the Tigers in Detroit) to have any chance of catching the Kalines.

Faced with a must-win situation, the Atlanta Braves stayed in the race for a wild card birth in the N.L. playoffs with a three-hit shutout pitched by Chops’ ace Javier Vazquez. Vazquez was brilliant in his nine inning, 4-1 complete game outing, though John Lannan was nearly as good: the Nats’ hard luck lefthander pitched seven innings of six hit ball, giving up runs to errors and a hit lost in the lights. The Nats had one chance to give Vazquez something to think about – in the fourth inning, but Ryan Zimmerman was stranded at second as Josh Willingham and Pete Orr flied out. The only Nats’ run came on a solo shot by Josh Bard.  The Nats were once again victimized by poor play: an error by Pete Orr, a ball lost in the lights, a fly ball that should have been caught but wasn’t. This was the Nats 101st loss of the season, but the win leaves the Braves just three games behind the Colorado Rockies, who have lost two.

Down On Half Street: Nats 320 has a transcript of Josh Willingham’s fan appearance at ESPN Zone (a public service, that). Willingham’s comments on the differences between playing at Sh-ti Field as compared to Shea Stadium are interesting. He can’t quite admit that he thinks the new home of the Mets is a terrible park, but he comes close. “I didn’t get to play in New Yankee Stadium because I was home. But as far as Shea Stadium and Citi Field, there is absolutely no comparison. Citi Field is so big. The wall is so tall. And like I was saying, when you are running for a ball in the gap in left centerfield—it never ends” . . .

It’s old news, but Nats Farm Authority has Nationals roster for the Instructional League. All eyes are already on Stephen Strasburg — and Drew Storen. But, there are others to watch, including forgotten fireballer Josh Smoker. Once upon a time, in a draft far far away, Smoker was a left handed fireballing supplemental first round prodigy: and all things to all men. Then he went 0-4 at Hagerstown, before ending up in the Gulf League. He reported a little tightness in his shoulder and ended up under the knife with a couple of bloody bone spurs rolling around on the shiny steel table beside him. It’ll be interesting to see how he does. The Nats insist that he’ll be ready for spring training. With all the attention on Strasburg, it’s easy to forget Smoker, who’s only 20 . . .  

 

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: The Tomahawks are on a run — they have won three in a row and 13 of their last 16. Vazquez has carried the team on his arm — in his last four outings he’s 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA. Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens have provided the Braves with an almost unbeatable one-two punch over the last two weeks, just in time to challenge the Rockies. With all the buzz about the L.A. and San Francisco pitching staffs, the troubles with Phuzzy closer and emergent head case Brad Lidge, the oohing and ahhing over Carpenter and Wainwright and the very predictable Gammonization of Dice-K (isn’t he wonderful, isn’t he fantastic, isn’t he just something), Jurrjens has been lost in the chaff. He’s had one bad outing in the last ten games and has the sixth best ERA in baseball. The heat of the September wild card race has made him pitch better: like Vazquez, he’s won three in a row. If you squeeze your eyelids together real tight and furrow your brow and think real hard you can imagine what he might become: he’s 23.

If you’re from my generation (those of us born before the Reformation), it’s hard to think of the Braves as a pitching dependent team. The franchise has a history of breeding legendary sluggers : from Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews to Bob Horner and Chipper Jones. Even when the Braves were bad they could count on the bat of at least one slugger to make headlines — with a Rico Carty or Dale Murphy or Chris Chambliss (or Sarge, for that matter) providing the lumber. Even in the 1990s, when the Braves were on their historic run, the triumverate of Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux were complimented by a trio of titans, all “hitterish” — Chipper and Justice (that bane, that bum) and (of course) Fred McGriff.

But not this year.

The Chops’ top ’09 on base guy is Adam LaRoche (a mid-season acquisition), their dominant long-ball artist is catcher Brian McCann (with a measly 20) and their spark plug is slash-and-burn singles hitter and glove man Martin Prado. Ryan Church, brought aboard to provide some spark (as well as a warm body stand-in for dearly departed Jeff Francoeur — whom the Braves couldn’t wait to dump) is slumping – with just four dingers. Worse yet, the normally dependable Chipper Jones has 17 home runs, well below his average, and is struggling at the plate. Finally, Nate McLouth, the former Ahoy and mid-season “steal,” not only looks average, he is: he’s hitting .264. That leaves the hopes of a post-season pinned firmly on Vazquez, Jurrjens and all-around clutch pitcher and tantrum thrower Derek Lowe. Add rookie phenom Tommy Hanson and a solid bullpen (saves leader Rafael Soriano — and set-up artist Mike Gonzalez) and you can see why Braves’ fans are excited. With a handful-plus games to go the Braves’ll need some help from the suddenly wobbly Rockies, but don’t count ‘em out.

Hopes for a ninth straight win were dashed by Tommy Hanson and the Atlanta Braves on Monday night, as the Chops prevailed over the Washington Nationals, 8-1. The normally effective John Lannan struggled with the strike zone early and left the game in the fourth after giving up five runs. Lannan’s lack of command was unusual for the lefty who, even on his off days, regularly goes beyond the fifth. Matching Lannan’s ineffectiveness was Braves’ phenom, Tommy Hanson, who gave up a single run in nearly seven innings pitched. Hanson showed why the Braves, who need to surge in the NL East to catch the Phillies, have so much confidence in him. Hanson fanned nine in his nearly seven innings of work, while giving up seven hits. Hanson dampened the Nats’ red hot bats: while the Anacostia nine threatened to undo Hanson’s early innings handiwork — particularly in the first inning — the team could never put together a real threat. “That’s the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been up here,” Hanson said after the game.

The highly touted Hanson appears to be everything the Braves hoped he would be: the number one prospect in the Braves’ system going into 2009 Hanson (once rumored to be headed to San Diego as a package for Jake Peavy), was called up to the big club after the legendary Tom Glavine was released. Hanson was not always a phenom: he was drafted by the Braves in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft — pick number 677 overall. Nor was Hanson necessarily always slated as a starter. In 2006 and 2007, Hanson was used often as a reliever and, while he compiled impressive numbers, there was no guarantee that he was on the fast track to the majors. In 2006, Hanson pitched for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (a Braves single-A affiliate), compiling a 3-3 record with a 4.20 ERA. Even so, many in the Braves’ organization knew that Hanson could be something special. Hanson was fast-tracked out of Myrtle Beach in 2008 and began the 2009 season in triple-A Gwinnett. At the age of 22, Hanson is 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA.

Having finally returned to Peachtree and Sweet Auburn after a west coast swing, and now within striking distance of both the Wild Card (they’re 3.5 back) and the division title (they trail the Phuzzies by 4.5), you might guess that Braves fans would be excited by their team’s chances. Guess again. Despite taking three of four from the Dodgers (and going 5-2 on their recent road trip), Braves’ bloggers (but, most especially Talking Chop) report a distinctive lack of fan confidence in the team. Or perhaps it’s just anxiety about the future: their next stretch features twelve of fifteen games at home (where the Braves are always tough), including two against the surging (well, “red hot“) Nationals and then three against the Phillies. August will be a make-or-break month for the Chops: after facing the Nats and Phillies (and a one game break to play the Showboats), the Braves take on the Mets (in New York) and Marlins. At the end of the month they travel to Philadelphia for three. So this is it for the Atlanta nine: by August 31 they’ll know whether they’ll be playing baseball in October — or teeing off to play 18. 

Atlanta fans are worriers. The Braves seem at the top of their game — two of their knock-downs in L.A. were decided by a Braves’ starting rotation that has finally come together. Tough-as-nails Javier Vazquez might be the best reflection of the way the Braves play. He’s gritty, low key and plays better when the pressure’s on. While the world ooohs and aaahs over Tommy Hanson (and for good reason, methinks), Vazquez has become the workhorse of the Atlanta rotation, posting a 10-7 record and a snappy 2.90 ERA. Vazquez eats innings — he’s notched over 200 innings per season in seven of his twelve years in the majors. Vazquez pitched a gem against the Trolleys on Sunday, going eight innings while giving up only five hits. The knock against Vazquez is that he’s good until the end of the fifth or sixth — but can’t close out opponents who see him the third time through the line-up. But Vazquez has all but erased that rap this year: he’s walked only 32 (32!) in 155 innings and surrendered 129 hits. He’s second in the N.L. in strikeouts with 171.

Vazquez has always been underrated and underappreciated: he was trade bait in Montreal (where he was swapped to the Yanks for Nick Johnson), then in New York (he was swapped for Randy Johnson), then in Arizona (he was swapped for Orlando Hernandez, Luis Vizcaino and Chris Young — who’s now back in triple-A) and then in Chicago (where he was sent packing — get this — in exchange for Brent Lillbridge and three minor leaguers). He may have finally found a permanent home in Atlanta.

Don’t get me wrong: Vazquez is only one of the reasons Atlanta has a shot in the east. Atlanta G.M. Frank Wren has spent the last month snapping off surprise deals: getting Nate McLouth from Pittsburgh to cover the yawning gap in center, acquiring Ryan Church for the overexposed and dissatisfied Jeff Francoeur and bringing Adam LaRoche back to Turner Field for Casey Kotchman. In three swift moves, Wren said ”not yet” to “can’t miss” centerfield prospect Jordan Schafer (.204 in 50 games), rid the team of a complainer, and shipped out an unpopular player — all while filling three desperate needs with better-than-average talent. And he’s done this all while bringing in a free-be in rookie pitcher Tommy Hanson who, at 6-6/220 looks like his release point is about halfway to home. 

So Atlanta fans are anxious? Well, ain’t we all. But after their recent 5-2 road trip — and a starting staff that matches up well against the Phillies (even with Cliff Lee) – the Braves are poised to give the Phuzzies a run for the NL East flag. Two months ago no one would have given a nickel for their chances; now no one’ll bet against em. The good news for the Nats is that they won’t have to face the up-and-in Vazquez in the Battle of Atlanta. The bad news is that they’ll be facing Tommy Hanson instead. The Nationals Nine will attempt to extend their eight game winning streak when they send John Lannan to the mound against the Braves at Turner Field tomorrow night.