Atlanta Braves 2002 Season Preview

by Paul Wysard

There have been reviews here by fans of ballclubs. This will be my first one - anywhere. If you asked me how and why I began to root for this team, in mid-1946, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I do recall several attractions: Tommy Holmes had been the NL home run king the year before (that was one of baseball's great aberrations, but I didn't know it then); Holmes and Johnny Hopp were .300 hitters; Johnny Sain was curving his way to 20 wins; the new manager, Billy Southworth, had come over from the perennial champion Cardinals, and a friend's father said he was a good baseball man; I saw a color picture of the uniform and liked it. But, most of all I think, it was because all of the other kids followed the Yankees, Cardinals, or (heaven forbid) the Brooklyn Dodgers, and ten-year-old individuality led me to look elsewhere.

And so it has been the Braves for 56 years, from Boston, through Milwaukee (where I have never been), to Atlanta (which I visited briefly once, before the move), and long before the days of Ted Turner, television, and TBS. I have seen the good pitching times (1948 and the early '90s), the power days (1950-55, the 1960s, and the 1980s with Murphy and Horner), and the two eras when they put both together (the late 1950s and the mid-1990s). There have also been several exiles into the basement, but we won't talk about that.

I was picking limes under my headset on that October day in 1996 when Jim Leyritz hit the big homer off Mark Wohlers in the World Series. I just knew that was bad, for that Series and for the future. I almost immediately thought of the remark made by British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey as World War I broke out in 1914: "The lamps are going out all over the world; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." The Braves have not won a World Series game since.

But being a fan is somewhat like being in a marriage - you have to live with the wonders and the warts. Or, as the infamous football coach Woody Hayes once said: "Murder. . .yes; divorce. . .no." With all of that in mind, let's take an honest look at the team as the 2002 season begins, skipping the usual review by position and prior stats, and concentrating on some other specifics.

1. Andruw Jones has no business batting second. Bobby Cox has tried this before and it hasn't been overly successful. Jones is not a contact hitter, does not hit to the right side all that well, and so belongs in a power slot suitable to his still-developing talent - fifth or sixth in the order.

2. If they are going to keep Julio Franco around, then use him, especially as the second hitter, where he did a good job last year, particularly in the post-season. I guess B.J. Surhoff is OK as a lefty platooner with Franco at first, but that leads me to a look at...

3. The problem at first base, which reflects the budget restraints imposed by the "suits" from new owner AOL. Those guys may know a lot about cyberspace, but certainly less about competitive Big League baseball in this new century. Say what you want about Turner, but he saw what Mr. Steinbrenner has done, and spent money to upgrade when and where needed. To expect to hire a first baseman like Jason Giambi, on top of huge contracts for Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and the two Joneses, is not realistic, but Dmitri Young was available, and Cox was interested. So we start the season with the most important corner infield position being among the weakest of all teams in both leagues; offense there is simply not of championship caliber.

4. I may be whistling in the graveyard, but I believe Vinny Castilla will be a power asset at 3rd base, if only for a year, or two. He has regained some quickness and likes to hit at Turner Field.

5. Gary Sheffield is, of course. . .Sheffield, a tremendous addition which puts the club over the top in the NL East. There is more "mutual protection" in that lineup than there has been in years.

6. Rafael Furcal is a breath of fresh air in this franchise, which hasn't had any speed at the leadoff spot since the days of Jethroe and Bruton, half-a-century ago. If he has sufficiently recovered from his injury, the team will rattle opposing pitchers and score a lot of runs.

7. I wish Chipper Jones could have fit in over at first base, but he threw and kicked the ball around so much in the post-seasons of 1997 and 2000 that maybe it is time he left the infield.

8. Reports of the demise of Maddux and Glavine are probably, as Mark Twain once said of his, "greatly exaggerated." They will be there when the chips are down - especially against bouncing Bobby Valentine and his Mets - but it also must be admitted that time has gone by for those two.

9. Kevin Millwood is scary. This guy could be 0-7 or 1-6 before our dinners are cold. A 15-12 year, at worst, is badly needed. All of the enemy scouts are very high on Jason Marquis; if you have seen him live or on TV you will have noted great stuff. And Leo Mazzone will bring him along; 12-14 wins would not only help the overall record, but would toughen him up for October.

10. At this writing, John Smoltz has cleared the hurdle of relieving on consecutive days. This is a good omen for the best closer activity in memory, and he is one of the best post-season pitchers in history. . .but, first things first: They have to get there. They will get there, with another Division Title, by at least a half-dozen games. After that, it's St. Louis, Arizona. . .formidable. Those lamps, I fear, will not yet be re-lit.

Ten Years Ago...

Our Braves Preview from April 1992, by James Floto:

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES-Perhaps the strongest rotation in baseball-Avery the peachfuzzed fireballer, Smoltz the youngster with psychological problems he seems to have overcome, Leibrandt the vet who looks like Spahn, and, the best of the bunch, Glavine. They have some fine hitters--the fluid David Justice, compact slugger Ron Gant, frequent flyer Otis Nixon (.297,72 SB), MVP Terry Pendleton, 1st baseman Sid Bream, also the Jeffs, Treadway and Blauser, who platoon at 2B & SS respectively with slick fielders Mark Lemke & Rafael Belliard. This appears to be a club without major weaknesses. Sure the bench isn't particularly deep and the relief corps is a bullpen by committee doing major business with Blue Cross. A bigger concern is Lady Luck---last year none of the four starters missed a turn; perhaps they'll luck out again, but don't count on it. Pendleton had a career year, his numbers will return to earth. A little luck would help Justice, who's beginning to seem injury-prone. As a group, defense is the Braves' weakest suit; their 138 E's was 3rd worst in NL. The slugging OF trio is particularly shaky, as you may recall from the World Series.

GENERAL OUTLOOK: On one hand, the hunger that drove a club from last to first has been satisfied. On the other hand, there are a lot of young men in Atlanta who are just coming into their prime. If Bream and Justice are completely recovered, they can corner the predictable drop in Pendleton's production and take up the slack if someone else is injured. If new 5th starter Mike Bielecki can stage a comeback, he'll replace one of the big four if they falter. Overall, this is one solid ball club.