In his latest Fried Baseball audio blog, Kent Covington explains why many are underrating Atlanta’s lineup and the importance of new Braves second-baseman, Dan Uggla, to that lineup.
Over a 2-month period; roughly 1/3 of the season, the Braves led the NL in scoring. That happened to be the 2-month span during which Troy Glaus hit like the big right-handed, middle-of-order hitter he was hired to be. Coincidence?
Jason Heyward played an important role in Atlanta’s offensive success in May, but really no more so than in April when the Braves were near the NL cellar in runs scored. McCann stepped up his production a bit in May/June, but he was far better in July… when the Braves again had difficultly scoring.
What did the Braves have in May and June that they did not have the rest of the season (a short stretch with a healthy Derek Lee notwithstanding)?
Answer: A big right-handed power bat in the middle of the order.
Sometimes one missing piece can bring an entire lineup together. Re...
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