Drowning my sorrows...
Drowning my sorrows...
I should have been smart like you and stay away for a while. I may do that even when they start to play better again.Originally Posted by mfree80
Chopping With The Braves And Rolling With The Tide
I‘ve always felt like last year‘s offense was built on quicksand a bit. They were (are) a talented group, but their plan of attack was basically to whack a pitcher before he had a chance to settle in. Look for first-pitch strikes, and punish mistakes. And by the time the pitcher was settling in, he was down 5-0 or out of the game, and they were in the weak part of the pen. They were a fun-loving bunch that fed off each other when things were going well. But they relied on physical talent alone. They didn‘t have any sort of plan or methodical approach at the plate. In a sense, they were the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Which is why the playoff showing wasn‘t THAT big of a surprise. Free swingers can be exploited.
Now it seems like the league has made collective adjustments. Our hitters don‘t get by on physical talent alone anymore. Unfortunately, they‘re a low baseball IQ team overall, so they‘re finding it difficult to readjust when what‘s been working well suddenly stops working. They‘re exploitable. They are Pedro Cerrano before he sacrificed the chicken wings. That last part is largely on the coaches, but not something that can be fixed overnight.
Fortunately, they are still talented hitters. Once a couple guys get going, they will feed off each other in a positive way again. And then the fireworks will return. However, the overall offensive approach will not change soon. So unless the pitchers find a way to produce shutout after shutout, we‘re again looking at an early October exit.
Ozuna. Hitting coach. That is all.
I have a bit of a different take. 2023 was a magical offensive season for the Braves' offense. Saw something similar up here in Minnesota in 2019 when the Twins hit 307 HRs and had a team .832 OPS (but didn't lead the league--Houston did). Braves' 2023 OPS was actually higher than the Twins' 2019 and did lead the league. Twins' subsequent OPSs were down considerably to .743 in 2020 (COVID season) and .738 in 2021. I expected a fall-off to some extent for the Braves in 2023 and while they are cratering now with the bats, I expect somewhat of a rebound going forward. Missing Acuna is a huge loss and we'll see how big a ripple effect that turns out to be.
That said, I don't see this team as brimming with baseball IQ. Game has changed a lot and baseball IQ has come to mean less than raw physical talent, but baseball always has been a game that requires on-going adjustments and that has become increasingly important in an era when scouting has entered the digital world and teams can more readily identify weaknesses in their opponents' players. I don't know who plays bad cop in the clubhouse. Maybe teams can't do that anymore with the fragility of egos for a lot of players. Snitker is a consistent good cop so I don't know who sits down with guys and politely--or not politely--asks them to up their games.
Seitzer has done well with guys in the past, so I'm a bit surprised the bats have turned into broomsticks and toothpicks. That said, Olson and Riley could each go on a 6 HR week and a lot of fans will be the current woes as a blip, which it might be.
I agree with strike above. The team feasted on hitting homers. They attacked early in the count. I will check some stats later but I have a feeling the team will be leaders in swing at first pitch percent and fewest pitches seen. Then teams adjusted. Started exploiting them and haven’t stopped.
I agree that a new manager wouldn’t come in and fix things immediately. That is going to take time. But someone who is baseball iq oriented and that preaches plan and approach would start to rub off. There was no reason for Ranger Suarez to throw fastball up and in and changes up away for two games of a series and the team not adjust.
I have said this before twit is the luckiest coach in history. He accomplished nothing before becoming interim coach and was handed a talented group. Now the league has figured out how to counter the talent to a point and the do nothing manager can only tip his cap. He only knows what his 1985 copy of manager for Dummies tells him and smarter teams can exploit him before the game even starts.
Coppy
This team has been an offensive juggernaut for years. I’m upset and worried too, but I think we need to pump the brakes a bit and remember it’s only been just over a month of bad play. It’s weird, but baseball is ****ing weird sometimes.
Mlb ranks...
Wrc+ 9th
WOBA 7th
But how much of that is from the onslaught we saw in April?
Probably all of it. It at least makes me feel better knowing we've hit in 1 of the 2 months so far
One worrisome thing about that though is that we still weren’t really hitting homers during that span.
Absolutely. The cat is out of the bag and they've been exploited.
I always got the impression over the course of the run that Wash and Eric Young filled this role, maybe Weiss a little bit. And Kranitz seems to right the ship on mound visits more often than not.
They are still top four or five in most offensive categories. Stolen bases, walks, and runs are the only things that are way down. Still above league average in HR, BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS. A smidge above league average in number of Ks. Of course, we don't know about if and how much the absence of Acuna, Jr., and the corresponding ripple effect are going to play out going forward.
My concern is they by and large look like a team that's mentally checked out. There doesn't seem to be a great amount of accountability just going off their quotes. Maybe those talks are behind the scenes. I loved Strider's attitude going into the season, but him going down has taken some of the wind out of the sails.
I for one will be glad to see the calendar flip to June.
With the amount of starting pitchers we had between the big league team and the upper levels of the minors, there should have been zero scenarios where Ray Kerr was making multiple starts except as a two-inning opener. This is largely because other guys have yet to step up. I know next offseason will be different with Fried on the way out, Morton likely retiring, and Strider's status for 2025 up in the air, but we should focus on acquiring as much legitimate starting pitching as possible. And for God's sake, a freaking everyday left fielder who is going to produce and who Snit doesn't have to worry about navigating righty-lefty while also taking away Snit's ability to bungle it. I'd back up the truck for Soto. It's time for this organization to make the correct move.
Agree 100%. I understand the fifth spot in the rotation is going to be a shuffle all season, but starting a guy with two post-pandemic minor league starts doesn't seem like the way to go. I know the Braves love his underlying measurements and if he was an opener (or even a one-time through guy as a stretch), I can understand it at a level. And before anyone blames Snitker, while I don't know for certain, I'm guessing this decision came from someone above Snitker on the organizational chart.
this was not decide by twit.. there is zero chance of that. I don't get this either. Kerr seemed more effective in relief personally. like you said if this is a one time through the order situation, then I can be on board with it. But then I would like to see another starter follow him.
Coppy
Organization is full of puzzling moves lately.
There seems to be a few times where the analytic nerds are given full power to make some decisions, and they usually don't turn out well because those guys seem to have no contextual understanding of the game. Lee opening that playoff game as the first start of his entire career was probably the most blatantly stupid of those moves.
I suspect whichever nerd came up with the idea of turning Lopez into a SP also pitched converting Kerr, and since Lopez worked out so well they just went with it and gave Kerr a shot.
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