This and That

In the wake of the conclusion of the NBA season and the NFL draft coming and going, we’ve reached that time of year when it can seem that there isn’t much to talk about when it comes to Atlanta professional sports. The Braves are the only one of our big three that is currently playing games, and so far they’ve been about what we expected: competitive but not exactly a world beater.

Not to worry! While each sport has an “offseason,” there really isn’t much downtime in the world of pro sports; at least not for the people who keep the teams running. Managing a sports franchise is a full time job, and for the hard core fan, so is pulling for one.

With that being said, I’ve spent the last few days coming up with some tidbits from our home teams. While talking about day to day operations may not be as exciting as recounting game action, at least it gives us something to get us through the long hot summer. So let’s get started.

Falcons

The big news this week was the release of former first round draft pick Sam Baker. After taking Matt Ryan with the third overall pick 2008, Atlanta traded back into the first round to get Baker. Thinking they were getting a left tackle to protect Ryan, what they actually got was an injury prone player who competed in all sixteen games just twice in his seven seasons with the Falcons. After Baker missed nearly all of 2013 and 2014, the writing was on the wall.

In other OL news, the Falcons lost tackle Lamar Holmes to a broken foot this week, further depleting a line that struggled mightily in 2014. While Holmes may be back in time for the preseason, an injury this early in the year gives me a disquieting feeling. After all, the Falcons have been decimated by injuries of late.

On a more positive subject, new head man Dan Quinn held his first mini camp this week. There seems to be a new attitude in Flowery Branch, as the players work to learn the schemes of Quinn and new OC Kyle Shanahan. Even with a coach as successful as Mike Smith, at some point it takes new ideas to shake things up. Quinn seems to have the attention of his players.

During the mini camp, fans were treated to the first images of first round pick Vic Beasley in an Atlanta uniform. Here’s hoping Beasley can improve a pass rush that ranked somewhere below anemic last year. And let’s not forget Julio Jones, who eased all of our minds when he stated on Wednesday that he has no plans to hold out as he enters the final year of his contract. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Hawks

There was quite a bit of news involving the Hawks this week, beginning with the latest development in the Danny Ferry saga. The rocky reign of the erstwhile General Manager appears to be at an end, as the Atlanta Hawks board voted in favor of a buyout on Friday. Ferry, who has been on leave since a recording of his racial insensitive comments about potential free agent signee Luol Deng surfaced last off season, will be paid more than the remaining balance on his contract.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer will promoted to Team President, while continuing to coach the team. Assistant General Manager Wes Wilcox will assume the GM role. The dismissal of Ferry had been rumored for weeks, with the thinking being that new owner Antony Ressler, whose purchase of the team is expected to be finalized next week, wouldn’t want to deal with the distraction.

In other news, the 2015 NBA draft is just four days away, and the name I most often see attached to Atlanta’s 15^th overall pick is former Arkansas Razorback Bobby Portis. I would be perfectly okay with this pick, as Portis would fit very well into coach Bud’s system. He is a 6-10 power forward with a great motor who can also his the jump shot.

One of the reasons I like Portis is the uncertainty surrounded Paul Millsap, who will likely command a max contract. Will the Hawks be willing to give him one? What about fellow free agent Demarre Carroll? While no one will offer Carroll the kind of money Millsap will get, someone could very well make him a very rich man. Will Atlanta resign one or both of these key pieces? Time will tell.

Braves

As the only one of the big three to be currently in season, the Braves have surprised quite a few people by hanging around in the National League East. Through June 20, they are only two games out of first place, though as was the case with the Falcons and the NFC East, this fact says a lot about the underachievement of the division as a whole.

Still, there have been promising signs. Jace Peterson continues to impress as second base. He has been a steady presence in the field, and has developed into one the best clutch hitters on the roster. Another who has outperformed expectations is centerfielder Cameron Maybin. Essentially a throw-in in the deal that moved Craig Kimbrel and Melvin (B.J.) Upton to San Diego, Maybin has been so good that the team released projected starter Eric Young Jr.

Equally impressive has been the performance of young pitchers Williams Perez and Matt Wisler, the latter of whom allowed just one run over eight innings in his major league debut on Friday night. As Julio Teheran and Alex Wood have struggled with consistency, Perez, Wisler and Shelby Miller have helped keep the Braves’ heads above water.

That about wraps things up for now. I’ll be back in the near future with my thoughts on the NBA draft, as well as a Braves mid-season check in. Until next time, keep the faith Atlanta!

 

Braves Progress Summary: 40 Game Edition

As we prepare for a long holiday weekend that could turn out to be very profitable or devastatingly terrible for Atlanta’s sports scene, let us all hope that the Hawks shoot better than 4 of 23 from three-point range. Let us pray that DeMarre Carroll is able to return from injury sooner rather than later. Let us hold out hope that come tomorrow morning, Kyle Korver will be featured on ESPN rather than the back of a milk carton. Most of all, let us wish with all our heart that the referees would call the game consistently and fairly. I know, who am I kidding, right?

But enough about that. I’m here today to remind everyone that in addition to the Hawks, we have another team playing tonight. A team that may not feature too many names and faces you know, but has quietly hung in there so far. That’s right, the Braves, left for dead by most everyone in the wake of trademaggeddon 2015, have been better than expected.

Not that they are in first place or anything. After winning on Thursday night, partly due to Milwaukee pitcher Will Smith doing his best Eddie Harris impression, the Braves currently sport a record of 20-20, and are just 3.5 games out of first place. Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, time for a quick check in on what has gone right and wrong so far.

Heading into the season, we all assumed that starting pitching would be the strength of this team. That’s all we talked about during spring training! Returning starters Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Mike Minor were supposed to keep the games close enough to give an offense full of unknowns a chance. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Teheran (4-1, 3.91 ERA) and Wood (2-2, 3.83 ERA) have been good at times, but have struggled with consistency. As far as Minor goes, his season ended before he ever threw his first regular season pitch.

The leader of the staff has easily been Shelby Miller. Acquired in the Jason Heyward trade, over which there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the faithful, he has been absolutely outstanding. Through eight starts he is 5-1 with a miniscule 1.33 ERA and 43 strikeouts. Oh yeah, he almost pitched a no hitter too.

The rest of the rotation has been a complete disaster. Trevor Cahill, Mike Foltynewicz, and Eric Stults are a combined 3-8, and are the less than proud owners of ERAs of 6.97, 5.32, and 5.36, respectively. It’s gotten so bad that the last time through the rotation the Braves turned to the man with two last names, Williams Perez. The righthander did well in his first start, pitching 5 innings and allowing just one run vs Tampa Bay.

The bullpen has been surprisingly strong so far. Veteran closer Jason Grilli has converted 12 of 13 save opportunities, though he won’t make anyone forget the great Craig Kimbrel. How I’d love to hear “Welcome to the Jungle” right about now! New members Brandon Cunniff and Jim Johnson have been good in set up roles, and holdover Luis Avilan remains the team’s best lefty option out of the bullpen.

The defense has been very good as well. Everyone knows how good Andrelton Simmons is, so I won’t spend much time on him except to say that he is one of the few players who can make a game thrilling to watch all by himself. Christian Bethancourt has thrown out 3 of 6 attempted baserunners. Overall the Braves have committed just 21 errors as a team.

Now, about that previously mentioned offense; the one that was going to struggle mightily to score runs this season. The Braves lineup, which you often need a program to sort out, put up seven runs in one inning last night. They’ve put up five or more in an inning several times this season, and have been way better than anyone thought they would be.

And it isn’t just that they’re scoring runs, it’s how they’re doing it. Through 40 games, no one has hit more than six homeruns. The most recent batting order has combined to hit just 17. That’s right folks, the Braves are playing small ball! Instead of waiting around for someone to hit a three run homer (which is kind of hard to do when no one is on base, as we found out last year) they are getting base hits, moving runners over, and coming through in the clutch.

Freddie Freeman has been his usual self, batting .306 with 5 homeruns and 21 RBI. Markakis has been nearly as good, hitting .302, often from the leadoff spot. While no one else’s numbers jump off the page at you, it has been fun watching some of the other guys too. Jace Peterson looks like a player with a solid career in front of him. Kelly Johnson has been a nice surprise, hittting 6 homeruns and driving in 18 runs, though he is currently out with an injury. Cameron Maybin, though never an all star caliber hitter, is still way better than what we had in centerfield last year, or what we began with this year.

So where are the Braves at the one quarter mark? Exactly where I thought they would be. I’ve thought all along that they would be around a .500 team, though the ups and downs have come from different sources than I’d planned on. Hopefully, if nothing else, they can hang around long enough to get us through the summer. If they could do that, you certainly wouldn’t hear me complaining. Well, not too much anyway.

As always, keep the faith Atlanta.

Go Hawks! And Braves too!