High Performance

Braves Beat- I will be the first person to admit that Brian McCann is one of my favourite players in baseball, although I feel a slight pang of disappointment every time he swings over the top of a breaking ball on a 2 strike count. Prior to the season there was a rush of writers scrambling to write the next piece about how this was now Brian’s team, how he was now the leader and his intangibles were an unappreciated part of Mac’s game, well maybe all that ink had a point. McCann has exploded these first two weeks of the season in a way that no one expected, in the 17 games Heap has played he has put up a monstrous .356 average with a .433 OBP while only hitting two home runs. His BABIP of .422 suggests that he is going to recede very soon to a more human level of performance but what his first 67 plate appearances has given us is the opportunity to really appreciate how good the Braves catcher is. McCann was projected to hit between .280 and .295 this season with around 20 home runs and will probably do just that but, especially with Joe Mauer heading to the DL with bizarre leg problems, Braves fans should always keep in mind how lucky we’ve all been having Mac behind the plate for the last six years and at least the next three.

So Fredi made his line-up change and moved Jason Heyward up to the second spot and dropped Nate McLouth all the way down to eighth in the order and it has worked to perfection...almost. Since he made the move one outfielder has gone 4-for-8 with a walk while the other has gone 0-for-9 with no walks. Little guessing game which is Jason Heyward and which is Nate McLouth? Well apparently McLouth is a .500 hitter when in the eighth hole while Heyward is barely a Major League player in the 2 hole. The ironic thing is that at the bottom of the order McLouth should see less hittable pitches than hitting in front of Chipper but he seems to be doing more with worse pitches. Two games is almost impossible to call a sample size but the unusual immediate effect caught my eye.

The Braves scored eight runs in the ninth inning last night against the Dodgers to make a pitching duel into a laugher, however the question I found myself asking was what is the worth of that kind of outburst in a game like that? Probably not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things unless the Braves can make this kind of offense on a more consistent basis. Hopefully that ninth inning will spark the bats the way the offensive surge unlike the 10 runs in Washington did.

Derek Lowe looks to back up last night’s 10-1 win tonight and get the West Coast trip really going in the Braves favour, however Lowe will be going on short rest in another display of his unselfishness and value to the team. Because of the rain out on Friday night Lowe pitched Sunday and it was him or Jair Jurrjens going on short rest or some roster fiddling would have to take place. Much like the end of last year Lowe bit the bullet and actually seemed to relish the opportunity, something refreshing to see in a supposed ace. The only real reason I mention this is because I, like most other fans, gave D-Lowe no end of criticism when he was struggling last year and feel I only have to be fair now he’s finding success.

Ball Four

1. 1. Josh Johnson is stupid good! It seems that Johnson carries a no-hit bid into the later innings of almost every start he is making this year going closest in Atlanta when Freddie Freeman broke up a no-no effort with a double in the eighth. In his four starts this season Johnson is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA, he has pitched 27 innings across those four starts giving up only 10 hits, 3 earned runs while striking out 27 and posting a WHIP of 0.59. JJ was one of the trendy picks to win the Cy Young at the beginning of the year and is already putting up the second best ERA in the Majors behind only Gio Gonzalez of the A’s. He also happens to be one of the most enjoyable pitchers to watch in the big leagues thanks to the speed he works and his power strikeout stuff.

2. 2. In the wake of Johnson’s 2-hit 7 inning effort Brett Anderson gave an late night cap against the Boston Red Sox that could very possibly be even better than JJ’s. In 8 innings against the BoSox Anderson gave up only four hits and one walk while allowing no runs and striking out 8 Sox. There was a lot of press given to his team mates Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez and, mainly because of the occasional injury Anderson was somehow overlooked in the A’s rotation. Let’s remember quickly he is a 23-year-old in his third year in the big leagues who has a career ERA of 3.40 and put up a 2.80 mark in 19 starts last year. Like Johnson the A’s lefty is a thrill to watch pitch and should front this very good young rotation.

3. 3. I don’t expect the Royals or Indians to win anything close to 50% of their games but, despite this being April, this could be the two teams moment in the sun and they should get the coverage they might not get later in the year. They are currently in the midst of a series for the top spot in the AL central and it has so far been a wonderful series. Monday night saw a 10 inning game that the Indians managed to steal 7-3 thanks to a four run tenth. Last night the teams played out a dramatic 5-4 game in which both teams raked up 9 hits apiece. They currently have a combined record of 23-11 and are currently two of the most entertaining teams to watch in the league and could remain interesting as their respective influx of top prospects arrive. Credit to Alex Gordon who is hitting .361 and has a 13 game hit streak going after many began speculating he had become a Brandon Wood sized bust.

4. 4. Jake Peavy left a rehab start at Double-A Birmingham after throwing only 15 pitches complaining of irritation in his shoulder, an MRI back in Chicago proved there was nothing serious to worry about and he will not begin a program of anti-inflammatory drugs with a view to throwing again three days into the six day program. Any issue with Jake Peavy’s shoulder is a shame for any baseball fan, especially me with my strange obsession with pitching (more on that at a later date), is that we are being deprived the opportunity to see one of the premier pitches of our time in his peak years. A real shame.

What to Watch: Derek Lowe on short rest could either be a triumph or an adventure. Also any chance to see Jered Weaver pitch at the moment is worth taking especially in a divisional rubber game against the Texas Rangers.