The Braves had a 3-4 week while playing without Chipper Jones, in the meantime learning that Mike Gonzalez is done for this year and probably the next. Bobby Cox was also thrown out twice over the weekend, so he could be dodging questions about the career ejections record for weeks now. Atlanta is now four games behind the league-leading Mets and a half-game out of the wild card spot. So, how was your week?
This Week’s Stats
Scores and FanGraphs summaries:
5/22: Braves 8, Mets 1
5/23: Mets 3, Braves 0
5/24: Braves 2, Mets 1
5/25: Phillies 8, Braves 3
5/26: Phillies 6, Braves 4
5/27: Phillies 13, Braves 6
5/28: Braves 2, Brewers 1
Stats include Monday’s game, so this is for the last seven games:
| Hitting | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | WPA | pLI | WPA/LI | Clutch | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch |
| Willie Harris | 11 | 0.444 | 0.545 | 0.667 | 1.212 | +0.083 | 0.64 | +0.138 | -0.055 | +0.75 | +1.25 | -0.50 |
| Chuck James | 3 | 0.667 | 0.667 | 0.667 | 1.333 | +0.074 | 1.11 | +0.055 | +0.019 | +2.47 | +1.83 | +0.63 |
| Edgar Renteria | 25 | 0.190 | 0.320 | 0.429 | 0.749 | +0.061 | 0.92 | -0.037 | +0.098 | +0.24 | -0.15 | +0.39 |
| Kyle Davies | 4 | 0.333 | 0.500 | 1.333 | 1.833 | +0.041 | 0.53 | +0.111 | -0.070 | +1.03 | +2.77 | -1.75 |
| Kelly Johnson | 28 | 0.280 | 0.357 | 0.440 | 0.797 | +0.020 | 0.82 | -0.017 | +0.037 | +0.07 | -0.06 | +0.13 |
| Peter Moylan | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.005 | 0.18 | -0.028 | +0.023 | -0.50 | -2.78 | +2.28 |
| Andruw Jones | 27 | 0.273 | 0.407 | 0.636 | 1.044 | -0.013 | 0.70 | +0.241 | -0.254 | -0.05 | +0.89 | -0.94 |
| Pete Orr | 4 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.500 | -0.021 | 0.22 | +0.004 | -0.025 | -0.53 | +0.09 | -0.62 |
| John Smoltz | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.033 | 0.67 | -0.049 | +0.016 | -1.65 | -2.47 | +0.82 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 29 | 0.080 | 0.172 | 0.120 | 0.292 | -0.046 | 0.80 | -0.321 | +0.275 | -0.16 | -1.11 | +0.95 |
| Chris Woodward | 13 | 0.273 | 0.308 | 0.364 | 0.671 | -0.053 | 0.81 | -0.069 | +0.016 | -0.41 | -0.53 | +0.12 |
| Tim Hudson | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.059 | 1.08 | -0.055 | -0.004 | -2.95 | -2.73 | -0.22 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.064 | 1.51 | -0.043 | -0.021 | -3.20 | -2.13 | -1.07 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 10 | 0.400 | 0.400 | 0.700 | 1.100 | -0.066 | 0.78 | +0.091 | -0.157 | -0.66 | +0.91 | -1.57 |
| Scott Thorman | 22 | 0.227 | 0.227 | 0.455 | 0.682 | -0.128 | 0.77 | -0.198 | +0.070 | -0.58 | -0.90 | +0.32 |
| Martin Prado | 21 | 0.200 | 0.238 | 0.200 | 0.438 | -0.138 | 0.99 | -0.180 | +0.042 | -0.66 | -0.86 | +0.20 |
| Chipper Jones | 8 | 0.143 | 0.125 | 0.143 | 0.268 | -0.140 | 0.83 | -0.174 | +0.034 | -1.75 | -2.17 | +0.42 |
| Brian McCann | 18 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.222 | 0.389 | -0.219 | 0.96 | -0.200 | -0.019 | -1.22 | -1.11 | -0.10 |
| Matt Diaz | 20 | 0.333 | 0.300 | 0.556 | 0.856 | -0.250 | 1.09 | +0.010 | -0.260 | -1.25 | +0.05 | -1.30 |
| Totals | 250 | 0.237 | 0.292 | 0.402 | 0.694 | -0.956 | 0.84 | -0.723 | -0.233 | -0.38 | -0.29 | -0.09 |
| Total Pitching | G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | WPA | pLI | WPA/LI | Clutch | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch |
| John Smoltz | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 0.00 | 1.00 | +0.417 | 1.27 | +0.289 | +0.128 | +1.49 | +1.03 | +0.46 |
| Rafael Soriano | 2 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.00 | 0.43 | +0.357 | 1.99 | +0.142 | +0.215 | +4.46 | +1.77 | +2.69 |
| Bob Wickman | 3 | 0 | 3.0 | 0.00 | 1.00 | +0.290 | 1.99 | +0.125 | +0.165 | +2.23 | +0.96 | +1.27 |
| Chuck James | 2 | 2 | 10.7 | 2.53 | 1.59 | +0.147 | 1.25 | -0.036 | +0.183 | +0.30 | -0.07 | +0.37 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.00 | 0.50 | +0.067 | 0.33 | +0.140 | -0.073 | +0.42 | +0.88 | -0.46 |
| Macay McBride | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | 9.00 | 1.50 | +0.040 | 0.84 | +0.046 | -0.006 | +0.44 | +0.52 | -0.07 |
| Chad Paronto | 2 | 0 | 2.3 | 7.71 | 1.29 | +0.022 | 0.10 | -0.156 | +0.178 | +0.22 | -1.56 | +1.78 |
| Peter Moylan | 3 | 0 | 4.7 | 3.86 | 0.86 | +0.021 | 0.16 | -0.051 | +0.072 | +0.12 | -0.29 | +0.40 |
| Kyle Davies | 2 | 2 | 12.3 | 6.57 | 1.46 | -0.080 | 0.64 | -0.067 | -0.013 | -0.15 | -0.12 | -0.02 |
| Tyler Yates | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 6.75 | 1.75 | -0.154 | 1.12 | -0.162 | +0.008 | -0.77 | -0.81 | +0.04 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 11.25 | 2.00 | -0.310 | 1.11 | -0.052 | -0.258 | -1.55 | -0.26 | -1.29 |
| Tim Hudson | 1 | 1 | 6.7 | 6.75 | 1.95 | -0.365 | 1.23 | -0.092 | -0.273 | -1.07 | -0.27 | -0.80 |
| Totals | 26 | 7 | 63.0 | 4.43 | 1.37 | +0.452 | 0.99 | +0.125 | +0.327 | +0.16 | +0.04 | +0.12 |
| Relief Pitching | G | IP | TBF | gmLI | G/T | tG/T | USG | |||||
| Rafael Soriano | 2 | 2.3 | 8 | 2.92 | 2.77 | 2.02 | -0.75 | |||||
| Bob Wickman | 3 | 3.0 | 13 | 1.75 | 1.66 | 1.53 | -0.13 | |||||
| Tyler Yates | 4 | 4.0 | 20 | 1.11 | 1.06 | 0.45 | -0.60 | |||||
| Macay McBride | 2 | 2.0 | 9 | 0.95 | 0.90 | 1.26 | 0.36 | |||||
| Chad Paronto | 2 | 2.3 | 10 | 0.43 | 0.41 | 0.00 | -0.41 | |||||
| Peter Moylan | 3 | 4.7 | 18 | 0.30 | 0.28 | 0.77 | 0.49 | |||||
| Oscar Villarreal | 3 | 4.0 | 16 | 0.28 | 0.27 | 1.48 | 1.21 | |||||
| Totals | 19 | 22.3 | 94 | 1.05 | 11 |
Stats for the whole season:
| Hitting | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | WPA | pLI | WPA/LI | Clutch | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch |
| Kelly Johnson | 218 | 0.276 | 0.385 | 0.481 | 0.866 | +1.456 | 0.92 | +1.049 | +0.407 | +0.67 | +0.48 | +0.19 |
| Edgar Renteria | 214 | 0.320 | 0.379 | 0.495 | 0.873 | +1.308 | 0.98 | +0.967 | +0.341 | +0.61 | +0.45 | +0.16 |
| Chipper Jones | 186 | 0.300 | 0.392 | 0.625 | 1.017 | +0.568 | 0.98 | +0.977 | -0.409 | +0.31 | +0.53 | -0.22 |
| Willie Harris | 72 | 0.381 | 0.458 | 0.492 | 0.950 | +0.293 | 0.91 | +0.273 | +0.020 | +0.41 | +0.38 | +0.03 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 218 | 0.281 | 0.335 | 0.457 | 0.792 | +0.277 | 0.95 | +0.034 | +0.243 | +0.13 | +0.02 | +0.11 |
| Scott Thorman | 141 | 0.246 | 0.277 | 0.448 | 0.724 | +0.261 | 0.94 | +0.289 | -0.028 | +0.19 | +0.21 | -0.02 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 36 | 0.323 | 0.417 | 0.452 | 0.868 | +0.121 | 0.95 | +0.120 | +0.001 | +0.34 | +0.33 | +0.00 |
| Brian McCann | 165 | 0.277 | 0.333 | 0.432 | 0.766 | +0.082 | 1.01 | -0.472 | +0.554 | +0.05 | -0.29 | +0.34 |
| Matt Diaz | 116 | 0.349 | 0.362 | 0.495 | 0.857 | +0.004 | 0.96 | +0.413 | -0.409 | +0.00 | +0.36 | -0.35 |
| Andruw Jones | 214 | 0.225 | 0.346 | 0.433 | 0.778 | -0.017 | 1.08 | +0.024 | -0.041 | -0.01 | +0.01 | -0.02 |
| Peter Moylan | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.020 | 0.38 | -0.054 | +0.034 | -1.00 | -2.68 | +1.68 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.055 | 0.84 | -0.059 | +0.004 | -2.75 | -2.94 | +0.19 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.064 | 1.51 | -0.043 | -0.021 | -3.20 | -2.13 | -1.07 |
| Anthony Lerew | 3 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.072 | 0.88 | -0.081 | +0.009 | -2.40 | -2.70 | +0.30 |
| Mark Redman | 6 | 0.000 | 0.167 | 0.000 | 0.167 | -0.103 | 1.05 | -0.090 | -0.013 | -1.72 | -1.50 | -0.21 |
| Martin Prado | 26 | 0.200 | 0.231 | 0.200 | 0.431 | -0.179 | 0.89 | -0.244 | +0.065 | -0.69 | -0.94 | +0.25 |
| Pete Orr | 31 | 0.200 | 0.226 | 0.233 | 0.459 | -0.208 | 0.53 | -0.195 | -0.013 | -0.67 | -0.63 | -0.04 |
| Kyle Davies | 18 | 0.067 | 0.111 | 0.267 | 0.378 | -0.282 | 0.92 | -0.221 | -0.061 | -1.57 | -1.23 | -0.34 |
| Chuck James | 22 | 0.133 | 0.182 | 0.133 | 0.315 | -0.346 | 0.95 | -0.336 | -0.010 | -1.57 | -1.53 | -0.04 |
| Tim Hudson | 28 | 0.167 | 0.214 | 0.208 | 0.423 | -0.348 | 0.81 | -0.288 | -0.060 | -1.24 | -1.03 | -0.21 |
| John Smoltz | 23 | 0.053 | 0.043 | 0.105 | 0.149 | -0.364 | 0.75 | -0.463 | +0.099 | -1.58 | -2.02 | +0.43 |
| Chris Woodward | 70 | 0.231 | 0.257 | 0.292 | 0.549 | -0.428 | 1.01 | -0.454 | +0.026 | -0.61 | -0.65 | +0.04 |
| Craig Wilson | 69 | 0.172 | 0.304 | 0.259 | 0.563 | -0.441 | 0.93 | -0.345 | -0.096 | -0.64 | -0.50 | -0.14 |
| Brayan Pena | 23 | 0.217 | 0.217 | 0.348 | 0.565 | -0.507 | 1.42 | -0.304 | -0.203 | -2.20 | -1.32 | -0.88 |
| Ryan Langerhans | 52 | 0.068 | 0.192 | 0.091 | 0.283 | -0.674 | 0.89 | -0.843 | +0.169 | -1.30 | -1.62 | +0.32 |
| Totals | 1957 | 0.263 | 0.332 | 0.431 | 0.763 | +0.262 | 0.96 | -0.346 | +0.608 | +0.01 | -0.02 | +0.03 |
| Total Pitching | G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | WPA | pLI | WPA/LI | Clutch | pWPA | pWPA/LI | pClutch |
| Rafael Soriano | 23 | 0 | 23.0 | 2.35 | 0.61 | +2.170 | 1.38 | +1.030 | +1.140 | +2.61 | +1.24 | +1.37 |
| Tim Hudson | 11 | 11 | 77.3 | 2.79 | 1.09 | +1.146 | 0.90 | +1.719 | -0.573 | +0.37 | +0.56 | -0.19 |
| John Smoltz | 11 | 11 | 73.3 | 2.58 | 1.20 | +0.980 | 1.13 | +0.931 | +0.049 | +0.32 | +0.30 | +0.02 |
| Peter Moylan | 17 | 0 | 24.0 | 2.25 | 1.00 | +0.894 | 0.67 | +0.220 | +0.674 | +0.99 | +0.24 | +0.75 |
| Tyler Yates | 26 | 0 | 24.7 | 4.01 | 1.14 | +0.849 | 0.87 | +0.376 | +0.473 | +0.83 | +0.37 | +0.46 |
| Mike Gonzalez | 18 | 0 | 17.0 | 1.06 | 1.35 | +0.738 | 0.99 | +0.413 | +0.325 | +1.05 | +0.59 | +0.46 |
| Chuck James | 11 | 11 | 58.3 | 3.86 | 1.51 | +0.394 | 1.03 | +0.092 | +0.302 | +0.15 | +0.04 | +0.12 |
| Macay McBride | 9 | 0 | 7.7 | 7.04 | 2.61 | +0.137 | 0.36 | -0.148 | +0.285 | +0.31 | -0.34 | +0.65 |
| Kevin Barry | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 22.50 | 4.00 | -0.007 | 0.02 | -0.230 | +0.223 | -0.05 | -1.64 | +1.59 |
| Bob Wickman | 17 | 0 | 15.3 | 2.93 | 1.57 | -0.121 | 2.07 | +0.108 | -0.229 | -0.17 | +0.15 | -0.32 |
| Chad Paronto | 18 | 0 | 14.3 | 8.16 | 2.23 | -0.134 | 0.81 | -0.500 | +0.366 | -0.19 | -0.70 | +0.52 |
| Buddy Carlyle | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 11.25 | 2.00 | -0.310 | 1.11 | -0.052 | -0.258 | -1.55 | -0.26 | -1.29 |
| Anthony Lerew | 3 | 3 | 11.7 | 7.71 | 1.80 | -0.343 | 0.88 | -0.534 | +0.191 | -0.60 | -0.94 | +0.34 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 18 | 0 | 25.0 | 3.60 | 1.40 | -0.422 | 0.62 | -0.244 | -0.178 | -0.39 | -0.22 | -0.16 |
| Steve Colyer | 7 | 0 | 3.7 | 4.91 | 3.55 | -0.537 | 0.98 | -0.309 | -0.228 | -2.44 | -1.40 | -1.04 |
| Kyle Davies | 9 | 9 | 50.7 | 5.51 | 1.56 | -0.931 | 0.98 | -0.717 | -0.214 | -0.41 | -0.32 | -0.09 |
| Mark Redman | 6 | 5 | 21.7 | 11.63 | 2.26 | -1.293 | 0.94 | -1.239 | -0.054 | -1.11 | -1.07 | -0.05 |
| Totals | 206 | 51 | 453.7 | 4.17 | 1.41 | +3.210 | 0.98 | +0.914 | +2.296 | +0.16 | +0.05 | +0.12 |
| Relief Pitching | G | IP | TBF | gmLI | G/T | tG/T | USG | |||||
| Bob Wickman | 17 | 15.3 | 72 | 1.71 | 1.51 | 1.03 | -0.49 | |||||
| Rafael Soriano | 23 | 23.0 | 83 | 1.71 | 1.51 | 1.65 | 0.14 | |||||
| Tyler Yates | 26 | 24.7 | 102 | 1.11 | 0.99 | 1.15 | 0.17 | |||||
| Mike Gonzalez | 18 | 17.0 | 70 | 1.04 | 0.92 | 1.28 | 0.36 | |||||
| Steve Colyer | 7 | 3.7 | 22 | 1.01 | 0.90 | 0.14 | -0.76 | |||||
| Chad Paronto | 18 | 14.3 | 71 | 0.86 | 0.76 | 0.54 | -0.23 | |||||
| Macay McBride | 9 | 7.7 | 44 | 0.82 | 0.72 | 0.75 | 0.03 | |||||
| Oscar Villarreal | 18 | 25.0 | 109 | 0.81 | 0.72 | 0.81 | 0.09 | |||||
| Peter Moylan | 17 | 24.0 | 90 | 0.80 | 0.71 | 1.08 | 0.37 | |||||
| Kevin Barry | 1 | 2.0 | 14 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.00 | -0.03 | |||||
| Totals | 154 | 156.7 | 677 | 1.13 | 40 |
Biggest plays of the week:
- Edgar Renteria doubled in two runs off Adam Eaton in the 3rd inning of Saturday’s loss (+.169)
- Tyler Yates got J.J. Hardy to line out, preserving a 2-1 lead in the 7th inning of yesterday’s game (+.163).
- Rafael Soriano struck out Ryan Braun, preserving the same 2-1 lead later that inning (+.132).
- Bob Wickman got Jose Reyes to fly out, ending Thursday’s game (+.129).
- Andruw Jones homered off Chris Capuano to give the Braves a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning of yesterday’s game (+.128).
Comments
It was another rough weekend for Atlanta, with the Phillies coming to town and sweeping the Braves, but a series win against the Mets and a Memorial Day win over the Brewers kept it from being a total loss.
The Braves’ hitters were nothing spectacular, with only three regulars in the black: Willie Harris (+.083), Edgar Renteria (+.061), and Kelly Johnson (+.020). Some solid hitting by starting pitchers accounted for the rest of the positive weeks. Andruw, Salty, and Diaz each had good weeks that were spoiled by poor clutch performance, so it’s debatable whether they were good weeks at all. Jeff Francoeur was the opposite, having a pretty awful week but performing well enough in the clutch to make it look average.
The pitching staff got a good start and a bad start each by Kyle Davies and Chuck James, a good start by Smoltz, a bad start by plug Buddy Carlyle, and a rare bad outing from Tim Hudson. The Braves could clearly use some help in this area, and I’m hoping they’ll act now and either deal a prospect package for a veteran (like Dontrelle Willis) or another Major League-ready prospect (like Yovani Gallardo or one of the Twins’ promising young guys).
With the exception of Tyler Yates, the relief corps had another good week. Bob Wickman looks like he’s healthy again, and he combined with Rafael Soriano to throw 5 1/3 innings with no earned runs. They added well over a full win to the team’s week in that short bit of work, which is all you can ask of your top relievers. Oscar Villarreal pitched four scoreless innings in less-crucial situations, rounding out the rest of the solid relief work.
The Road Ahead
There are two more games in Milwaukee this week, followed by an off day Thursday and a weekend series at the Cubs. Here are the probables:
Tuesday: John Smoltz vs. Ben Sheets
Wednesday: Tim Hudson vs. Dave Bush
Friday: Kyle Davies vs. Carlos Zambrano
Saturday: Chuck James vs. Rich Hill
Sunday: John Smoltz vs. Jason Marquis
There are no easy games this week, so the Braves will need good starts from everyone and a bit more on the offensive side as well. Tonight’s matchup should be especially fantastic, so I hope you get the chance to watch. I’ll probably be doing some related reading (J.C. Bradbury’s The Baseball Economist) while the game is on. My TV shows have made me get behind on some books I wanted to read, and that one was at the top of my list.
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