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Atlanta Braves join the airport in a power outage

By Alan Carpenter

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 29: Lane Adams #16 of the Atlanta Braves hits a three run home run in the first inning during a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on September 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 29: Lane Adams #16 of the Atlanta Braves hits a three run home run in the first inning during a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on September 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Transportation in the Atlanta are was a bit more entertaining than usual over the weekend, but it’s suddenly apparent that the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport isn’t the only institution in the city having power issues.

There seems to be an odd synergy here, but did you realize that the Atlanta Braves have now either traded or released 3 power hitters over the past month?

Okay, yeah –I recognize that the Gonzalez situation is unique:  to get him to approve the deal, he’ll never play a game in an Atlanta uniform (ah, the memories of his career with the Braves).

Yet he still represents a power hitter that this team is now sorely lacking, albeit not like he once was.

Of those players returning to Atlanta (so far) for 2018, here’s how many homers they hit in 2017:

That’s 97 homers combined after losing their 3rd, 4th, and 7th best power hitters (and Brandon Phillips isn’t exactly a ‘power hitter’, yet he was 7th on the list.

The Struggle is Real

How far are the Braves behind in the quest for power and glory?

After their 2017 saw 165 balls leave the yard, that ranked Atlanta 28th overall. The Yankees were number 1 overall with 241 big flies.

I don’t expect that the Braves will be able to get into that kind of territory next season, but beating out somebody would be nice… and the Giants’ 128 is the current low-water mark.

There could be some help on the way, though with an extra 7 weeks of Freddie Freeman plus adding Ronald Acuna, the Braves could hit… maybe 20 more?  To 117?

The Intoxicating Nature of the Home Run

It was a couple of months ago that I mused about the value of home runs in terms of overall scoring. The data seemed to suggest rather strikingly that team batting average levels were actually more closely correlated to run scoring – and has been throughout the entire history of the game:

  • Dead ball era? It’s more about batting average.
  • Steroid era? Still batting average (probably due to the striking rise in strikeouts)

Sure – there are some spikes here and there, and clearly a homer translates directly to at least one run. But it seems to be that better hitting produces more consistent results.

More from Tomahawk Take

But there is also this notion that a team should posses some sort of ‘balance’ between the table-setters and table-clearers. Right now, that’s just Freeman and the catchers for the latter group.

Does Atlanta need another thumper, then? Well, that was part of the philosophy behind Tyler’s suggestion of getting Ian Happ from the Cubs… though it’s pretty clear that fans aren’t overly enamored with the price he suggested.

Still, having a new home ballpark that seems conducive to dingers almost feels like having rented a limo with no party to go to.

Next: Charlie, the new Jace?

So if you’re looking for ‘the next move’ from Alex Anthopoulos, then a hunt for the ‘next big bat’ might be looking in the right direction.

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