| Brian Reynolds. 24th April, 2009 - 8:51 pm
 Just two months ago, I wrote how the Braves made a great signing in bolstering their outfield with the signing of veteran Garret Anderson. Now, just 15 games into the season and one trip already to the DL, I’d like a redo.
On Friday, the Braves sent Anderson to the DL with a strained left thigh. He has been hampered by the injury during the past two weeks and has already missed 33% of the team’s games. With just five hits and an OBP of .231 Garret has not provided the type of bat many in Atlanta had hoped for. Granted, it’s early in the season, but as of now it looks like that $2.5 million could have spent better elsewhere.
Bobby Abreu signed for twice as much as Anderson did with the Angels, but his production has been significant. He is batting .373 for the struggling Halos and has driven in 8 runs with an OBP of .433. He has yet to homer, but his consistency at the plate is something the Braves could use.
Adam Dunn may have been too expensive for Atlanta, but he’s exactly the type of player that they need – a left fielder with some pop. On the year, Dunn has driven in 12 runs and has a slugging percentage of .609 (almost twice as much as Anderson’s .320). Dunn signed a two-year, $20 million dollar deal with the Nationals in the offseason.
The Braves missed out on Griffey, but I think that’s a good thing. Not only has Griffey’s production at the plate plummeted (.171 BA with the Mariners), but his range in the outfield is limited. Griffey is old, slow, and his best days are far behind him. Just like Anderson, Griffey is one awkward batting practice swing away from the DL.
So as Anderson sits for the next couple of weeks, the Braves are back to square one with their unproven outfield. Matt Diaz (the team’s best pinch hitter) will replace Anderson in left field. The rookie Jordan Schafer will continue to roam in center and while he has shown flashes of greatness, he’s still a rookie and will undoubtedly struggle for most of the year. In right field, Jeff Francoeur has been a nice surprise. He excelled in Spring Training and has brought some nice plate discipline to the start of this season – batting .317 with 11 RBI’s. Still, I can’t start believing in him again until he proves himself for a substantial part of the season.
The bottom line is you are just not going to win in one of baseball’s toughest divisions, let alone any division, with that outfield. I’m not saying Abreu or Dunn would have been the answer, but they definitely would have helped. It does look like the Braves did succeed in bringing in Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, and Kenshin Kawakami to solidify their rotation. But just like you need great pitching to win games, you have to score runs as well. If you do not include Atlanta’s 11-1 onslaught against Pittsburgh last Sunday, the team has put up 13 runs in eight games – a pathetic 1.63 RPG.
After winning five of their first six games, the Braves have dropped seven of their last nine for a record of 7-8. Expect the struggles to continue if they continue to put Diaz, Schafer, and Francoeur in the outfield. Unfortunately now, they really don’t have any other options.
If the Braves don’t figure something out, they could see themselves in the NL East’s cellar with the Nationals by mid May – where they have to go on the road for three straight series against division rivals Florida, Philadelphia, and New York.
The once promising start doesn’t look so bright anymore. It’s not all of Anderson’s fault, but he sure hasn’t done anything to help.
- Brian Reynolds is a contributing writer from Emory University and can be reached at Brian.matthew.reynolds@gmail.com |
