Under The Radar — Braves Sightings July 21, 2011
By Editorial Staff
Hello again everyone from that midwestern hotspot, southeast Michigan, we’re the weather is doing its best to keep up with heatwave. It’s only supposed to hit 100 today, with a heat index ten degrees north of that. The last time I remember it being this hot up here Sparky Anderson was still managing the Tigers and Doyle Alexander was about to be a tremendous late season acquistion for them. And it only cost them some unheard of prospect named John Smoltz. Man, that was a long time ago 🙂 .
As you keep yourself out of the heat in your neck of the woods, I thought I’d pass along a few tidbits of info that aren’t being widely hyped during this rumor monger’s delight period leading up to the trade deadline.
The Braves are missing Chipper’s defense at third base. I know this is an easy time to pick on Martin Prado after his error last night led to the winning run scoring in the bottom of the ninth, but this is actually something I’d noticed ever since Chipper’s surgery. Prado has missed several attempts to make Chipper’s patented barehand grab charging the ball play. But of more significance to me, he’s also fallen into a habbit of giving ground on hard hit balls or high choppers, playing them off to the side and letting them take an extra bounce. Either of these actions are dangerous; do both and you’re playing with fire, as was the case last night. I know Chipper’s not known for his defense, but I think right now Prado plays better defense either at second base or in left field. I think Chipper’s return will bring dividends both offensively and defensively.
I think there is one critical reason why the Braves aren’t likely to trade Derek Lowe mid-season. The reason is pretty simple and pretty old-school: You don’t want to have two rookie starters on a team that’s likely headed to the post-season. THe logic goes that you can’t know what to expect in a pennant race and the post-season that follows until you’ve been there. You also can’t predict how someone will respond to the situation until you’ve seen them respond. Finally, you can “hide” one rookie in the playoffs, but if you have two rookie starting pitchers, you can’t hide them both. When you combine this with Lowe’s playoff reputation, I think that means that it would take an awfully strong offer to pry him loose. I think this will translate to Lowe remaining with the team until the World Series is over.
Got to run. That’s my take on things; what’s yours?