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Braves: 50 - 39, 2nd place - 2.5 GB
Well, it's the Braves again and I'm sure y'all think you know these guys like the back of your hand .... but you'd be wrong.
Or, as Butch once said to Sundance, "Who are those guys?"
In this case, "those guys" - recognizable only to everyday Brave followers or to viewers who tune into WTBS looking for 'Friends' or 'Sex in the City' reruns then are too lazy to change the channel - are a bunch of recent call-ups (some directly from AA) who are doing nothing less than keeping their team afloat as some of the more familiar names have been injured (Chipper, Estrada, Perez, Jordan, Hampton, Hudson, Thomson) or just plain finished (Raul Mondesi). At times they've started games with 7 rookies in the lineup.
In other words, when the main portion of his teammates were being born, Julio Franco was ... well he was still being called a veteren even back then.
Kiddie Korps Roll-Call:
C - [u:a7ff21e50d]Brian McCann [/u:a7ff21e50d]-- A 21 y/o drafted out of a Georgia High School (the Braves draft almost exclusively HS guys and many of them locally) has been filling in for both Johnny Estrada & Eddie Perez.
32 ABs, .313/.389/.500. Actually waited until his 2nd game to HR.
IF - [u:a7ff21e50d]Wilson Betemit [/u:a7ff21e50d]-- 24 y/o, This guy was as highly touted as Reyes even before Reyes. It's taken him longer to get there but he's getting there, filling in mostly for Chipper at 3rd.
150 ABs, .300/.363/.507 Started slowly, then hit .304 in May and .325 in June.
[u:a7ff21e50d]Andy Marte[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 21 y/o, his minor league career has been shadowing David Wright's for the last 2 years, and is considered at least as promising.
44 ABs so far, he's one of the few not tearing things up right now: .159/.235/.250
[u:a7ff21e50d]Pete Orr[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 26 y/o A Canadian by birth who appropriately wears #4 - though he's no relation to Bobby.
101 ABs; .297/.336/.406
OF - [u:a7ff21e50d]Kelly Johnson[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 23, a former SS moved to the OF.
132 ABs, .258/.376/.447 after a slow start. 12 of his 34 hits have been for extra bases.
[u:a7ff21e50d]Jeff Francoeur[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 21, Another Georgia HS product who signed w/the Braves after rejecting numerous football scholarships, this uber-athletic righthanded hitter was considered their top prospect when called up just last week.
Has 2 HRs in his first 13 ABs including a 3R job in his first game.
[u:a7ff21e50d]Ryan (Isles of) Langerhans[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 25, This one actually started the season w/the team but willprobably see his time reduced due to Johnson & Francoeur.
182 ABs; .248/.327/.412
P - [u:a7ff21e50d]Blaine Boyer[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 24, A reliever drafted out of (all together now) a Georgia HS
Called up in mid-June, the RHP has a 1.46 ERA in 14 games/12.1 IPs.
[u:a7ff21e50d]Roman Colon[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 25, Was relieving at first, but has since been thrust into a starters role w/mixed results. 5.44 ERA
[u:a7ff21e50d]Kyle Davies[/u:a7ff21e50d] -- 21; We saw him earlier in the year as he skunked us in his 2nd ML start.
4-3, 4.32 overall in 11 starts.
And what about the "old" guys on the team:
Furball: Was having a lousy year, until hitting over .400 in July.
Andruw: MVP-type season; 13 HRS & 1.151 OPS in June.
Marcus Giles: Doubles machine (27 this year) is hitting .412 in July
Julio Franco: Only plays about half the time but hit THREE-SEVENTY-FREAKIN-TWO in June with a 1.195 OPS ... from a guy old enough to be a '60 Minutes' correspondant.
Thursday; 7:10 PM, Ch 11/TBS
Horacio Ramirez (L, 8-5; 4.65) vs Benson
Friday; 7:10 PM, FSNY
John Smoltz (R, 9-5; 2.86) vs Glavine
Saturday; 7:10 PM, Ch 11
Kyle Davies (R, 4-3; 4.32) vs Zambrano
Sunday; 1:10 PM, Ch 11
Jorge Sosa (R, 4-1; 2.89) vs Martinez
Pitching selections due to change depending on whther Hudson and/or Hampton are deemed ready to come off the DL.
Currently on the DL: Pitchers Mike Hampton, John Thomson & Tim Hudson.
OF Brian Jordan. 3B C. Jones. C Eddie Perez.
Mientkiewicz played in St. Lucie last night, possibly will be reactivated.
Matsui is likely to need more time. Either that or they've "lost" his phone number and pretend not to be home when he calls them.
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