Braves take 3 of 4 from the Reds
The Good: Nothing like a little Cincy pitching to cure the offense. The Braves have now scored 63 runs in their last 8 games. 
… John Smoltz continues to be the only starter the Braves can count on these days. For the third straight game, Smoltz walked none on Thursday. He allowed 2 runs on only 4 hits and struck out 9 in winning his 6th game. It’s a 2-man race between Smoltz and Andruw Jones to be the Braves’ sole representative at the All-Star Game this year. … Marcus Giles went was 7-for-18 with 5 runs scored and an RBI. … Andruw raised his average 10 points to .265 and leads the NL with 19 home runs after taking 3 out in the series. … Kelly Johnson is heating up and has officially eclipsed the Mendoza Line. 
He was 5-for-11 in the series and blasted 2 homers and drove in 6 runs Friday night! … Like Johnson, Wilson Betemit was 5-for-11 with a couple homers. … Julio Franco was 4-for-9 and hit 2 homers Saturday night (becoming the oldest player to hit 2 in game) before being taken out of the game with a virus and high fever.
The Bad: The starting pitching continues to be shaky for the most part. Jorge Sosa was again effective but Bobby Cox keeps him on a hard pitch count so the bullpen still ends up logging many innings in his games. … Horacio Ramirez still isn’t fooling anyone. He gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and struckout only 1. … Kyle Davies was rocked again for 5 runs on 9 hits Sunday afternoon. He was pitching on 3 days rest but it was more like 3 1/2 since he only lasted 2 1/3 innings in his prior start.
The Ugly: Just when we thought the bullpen was getting on track… They had thrown 8 2/3 scoreless innings in the series until Sunday. Then all hell broke lose! 3 times the Braves came from behind to tie the ballgame. 3 times the bullpen blew it. Dan Kolb, John Foster, and Adam Bernero each got in on the action, giving up 1, 2, and 3 runs respectively. I guess a sweep was too much to ask for given the state of the team, even if we were playing the lowly Reds! All we can do is keep winning series and hope the Nationals return to their legacy of losing.
How about a hand for the old and the new. Julio Franco hits two Home Runs in a game, and later this season, he’ll like like be the oldest player to Homer in a ball game. Last week he stole two bases in a game, also the oldest player to achieve that feat.
Youth, of corse, is also being served. I’d like to give you my perspective on how to rank these guys. You be the judge of how well I’ve done:
1. Ryan Langerhans (I hope the kid stays in Atlanta for a long time, and fills an everyday outfield position.)
2. Pete Orr (May be a surprise so high, but he can play so many positions, pinch hit/run, he’s good enough to start)
3. Wilson Betimit (My pick to succeed Furcal, but hit him 6th)
4. Kyle Davies (Shaky Lately, but useful as a temporary and eventual spot starter, hopefully he can saty on roster in a role similar to Bernero’s)
5. Kelly Johnson (Proving himself lately. Now we know why he’s been inserted high in the batting order.)
6. Roman Colon (He’s recently been demoted, but he shows a big upside.)
7. Brian McCann (He’ll play 25% of games at major league level)
8. Blaine Boyer
9. Andy Marte
10. Jorge Vasquez
Comment by Bravsox — Jun 20, 2005 @ 3:23 pm
Hi Bravsox,
Thanks for sharing your take on the Braves’ youngsters. Over the long term, I rank them as follows:
1. Andy Marte (he has been hailed as the next Braves superstar and I think he will be eventually; they just rushed him up after Chipper went down and Bobby couldn’t make up his mind whether to play Marte every day, what’s needed in order for Marte to develop into a major leaguer, or Betemit, who is swinging well this year; I think Bobby finally did the right thing - let Marte play every day at AAA and play Betemit every day and help the big league club right now)
2. Kelly Johnson (I’m on the bandwagon, he has such a great eye and now we’ve seen his power on display, once he familiarizes himself with the league’s pitchers and really gets comfortable watch out! In time, he should put up a great average and on-base percentage)
3. Ryan Langerhans (again, it’s likely just a matter of playing time before we see him blossom into a solid all-around player, his defense is outstanding and it’s frustrating when you see Brian Jordan of the .236 average start ahead of him half the time)
4. Kyle Davies (I think he’s just going through some inveitable growing pains right now, the coaches rave about his maturity, it’s hard to believe he’s only 21, the Braves have really thrown him to the wolves but he’ll learn and become the Braves’ #2 starter within a couple years)
5. Pete Orr (edges out Betemit because of his versatility, seems like the ultimate utility guy, he may be the heir apparent to second base if the Braves can’t afford to keep Marcus Giles after this season)
6. Wilson Betemit (he’s an enigma, he’s been so inconsistent in the minors… now that Marte has been sent down and he has been handed the third base position we’ll see what’s he really made of, his fielding seems pretty shaky – I don’t know if he’d be better in that respect if he was back at shortstop, I can see him batting .280 with 25 homers over the course of a full season if Furcal leaves)
7. Brian McCann (there’s a reason Smoltz has made him his private catcher, his defense and game-calling ability – not to mention his hitting – have impressed many on the Braves in the short time he’s been up, he’ll challenge Estrada for playing time in future years)
8. Roman Colon (he may have a future as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, too early to tell, he threw 6 shutout innings today after posting a 0.93 ERA in 3 starts at Richmond, maybe he’s better suited to be a starter, Bobby sees something in him or else he wouldn’t have kept him up so long while he struggled earlier in the year)
Too early to tell:
9. Blaine Boyer
10. Jorge Vasquez
Matthew
Comment by Matthew Crowder — Jun 25, 2005 @ 11:05 pm