Injuries force Braves to overhaul roster
Rookies like Wilson Betemit are being forced into playing major roles for the injury-riddled Braves this season.
What do Mickey Mahler, Bruce Benedict, Bob Beall, Glenn Hubbard, Chico Ruiz, Eddie Miller and Larry Whisenton have in common? They were the seven rookies who started for the Atlanta Braves on Oct. 1, 1978. That next time the Braves started seven rookies in a game was June 15, 2005 with Pete Orr, Kelly Johnson, Ryan Langerhans, Andy Marte, Brian McCann, Wilson Betemit and Kyle Davies. And Bobby Cox was the manager each time.
The difference is, those '78 Braves were horrible, and Cox was a rookie manager. Now Cox is headed for the Hall of Fame, and the 2005 Braves were supposed to win the National League East. But with seemingly half of the team on the disabled list, they have been using some un-Braves like lineups lately. And that could continue for another month.
"It's necessary,'' says Braves general manager John Schuerholz. "We have no choice. We're circling the wagons. We're looking for all volunteers. We have a lot of holes in the dike, and we're looking for fingers to fill them. So far, the kids have been doing it for us.''
During their unprecedented run of 13 consecutive division titles, Schuerholz and the Braves haven't experienced anything close to what they have already this season. "I've never been through anything like this ever, anywhere," Schuerholz said. Indeed. In those 13 years, the only year, Schuerholz said, in which the team had even two major injuries was 1999 when Andres Galarraga and Javy Lopez got hurt.
"What we're doing this year is about a year, a year and a half ahead of schedule," said Schuerholz. "But given the significant injuries to our key players, we had to reach down into our system and take guys before their time. So now we ask the universal question that's asked in baseball all the time: Can the young guys handle the frustration and the stresses that come with facing more failure than they've ever faced in their lives? Fortunately for us, they've kept their heads above water. They have talent. The talent will show.''
Langerhans is a terrific defensive outfielder. First baseman Johnson is extremely disciplined at the plate; he was named Player of the Week in the NL for June 13-20 (he was 1-for-30 in his career starting that week). Third baseman Marte "is one of the best young players I saw in the minor leagues this year,'' one scout said. Right-hander Davies allowed no earned runs in three of his first four starts. Infielder Betemit has so much ability, one major league executive said he'd trade slumping Rafael Furcal, and let Betemit play full time at shortstop.
On June 15, the day in which Atlanta started seven rookies, the team's 10 starters – Furcal, Andruw Jones and Marcus Giles were the other three – were all developed in the Braves system. Over the years, Atlanta has made its share of trades and signed free agents, but it also has done a marvelous job of developing its own players. The Braves' philosophy is simple: draft as many high school players as possible, then sculpt them into form. Many times, such as this year, their players are ready for the big leagues in their early 20s, earlier than most teams.
"We don't want to have to decode them,'' Schuerholz said. "We get them raw, like a piece of marble, then we let our artisans and our craftsmen mold them into what we need.''
The need to develop is more important now than ever for the Braves, who have, what Schuerholz calls, "constraints of payroll,'' which intimates they won't be able to swing a major trade before the July 31 deadline to bring in veteran help.
| “ | What we're doing this year is about a year, a year and a half ahead of schedule. But given the significant injuries to our key players, we had to reach down into our system and take guys before their time. … Fortunately for us, [the young guys have] kept their heads above water. They have talent. The talent will show. ” | |
| — Braves GM John Schuerholz |
"I'm not intimating it, I'm saying it," Schuerholz said. "We have an $80 million payroll. We don't have the financial flexibility to add millions more. And it's not exciting to lose this many guys to injury. It's not exciting to upset our philosophy of winning with dominant pitching. I wish all those guys were healed. I wish [former closer] Dan Kolb had made a smooth transition from what he did last year. But that hasn't occurred.''
The Atlanta rotation, which was supposed to be dominant this year, likely will be without John Thomson (finger) for another month. Mike Hampton (forearm) might be out slightly longer. Tim Hudson's rib injury should not, Schuerholz said, keep him out for too much more than another 10 days. When third baseman Chipper Jones was fitted for a boot for his injured foot 13 days ago, he was scheduled to miss four to six weeks. And there is no evidence that Kolb, who is healthy, will suddenly find what he had last season with the Brewers.
The Braves were in a difficult spot around this time last year, but, out of nowhere, they won 63 of their last 90 games to win the division in a romp. That's not going to happen this year, not with this many injuries. In the next month, Atlanta might trot out another lineup with seven rookies starting, or a game in which every player will have been developed in its system. And yet, the Braves through Wednesday are 37-33, only 3½ games out of first place in the NL East.
"With all we've been through this year, with all the impact guys that we've lost,'' Schuerholz said, "we're delighted to be where we are.''
Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a regular contributor to Baseball Tonight.
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