Atlanta Braves 2005 Season Preview

by Paul Wysard

The off-season acquisition of Tim Hudson may well be the most significant swap made by the franchise in more than half-a-century. This is because it reflects a shift in orientation and philosophy. Coupled with the return of John Smoltz from the bullpen, it signals a renewal of emphasis upon starting pitching, the cornerstone of the club's success in the 1990s.

Over the past 25 years, making over a team has ordinarily been accomplished by a combination of trades and free-agent enlistments; it is very difficult to do by free-agents alone, and so the Hudson deal reminds this fan of the transaction in early 1950 which radically altered the style and future of both the Braves and the then-New York Giants.

The Braves won the 1948 NL Pennant through the legendary late-season survival featuring "Spahn, Sain and Pray for Rain." Although Bob Elliott continued to put up batting numbers which won him the MVP the previous year, and Jeff Heath, a star in the late '30s and early '40s, put on a late-career surge, they were the only Braves to hit 20 or more homeruns. Elliott was the only (exactly) 100-RBI man, and much of the rest of the offense came from slap-hitting Tommy Holmes (.325). Most of the rest of the roster was a mix of itinerant veterans and fringe players who just happened to meld into one special year. By the time the franchise moved to Milwaukee after four more seasons, only four players remained from that 1948 club - future Hall-of-Famer Warren Spahn, fading righthander Vern Bickford, utiliity infielder Sibby Sisti, and "Bonus Baby" pitcher Johnny Antonelli, who had to be kept in the Big Leagues in 1948 under the rules of the time.

This unlikely combination of players won that year due to the determination of Spahn and Sain, but also because of a winning attitude inspired by its middle infielders, feisty second baseman Eddie "The Brat" Stanky and talented and tenacious rookie shortstop Alvin Dark. Branch Rickey once said that Stanky couldn't "do anything" - except win - but the little guy almost always drew 100 or more walks in each of his ten seasons and led the league in that category three times in 1945-50. Dark was a superb athlete, and a leader, and he just kept improving as years went by.

Stanky and Dark were coveted by Giants manager Leo Durocher, who had managed Stanky in Brooklyn before being suspended for 1947 after a complicated chain of events involving libelous statements he made about executives of the New York Yankees. When the Giants asked him to be their skipper for 1948, he eagerly accepted, but he detested the makeup of the club from day one.

The New York Giants were a lumbering, homer-hitting machine which blasted 653 in 1946-49 (exactly twice as many as the Braves), and led the NL three times and the Majors twice in those years. In 1947, they released a barrage of 221, which stood as the record until the Maris-Mantle Yankee year in 1961.

Five sluggers formed the core of that; powerful group - first baseman Johnny Mize, outfielders Willard Marshall and Bobby Thomson, third baseman and outfielder Sid Gordon, and catcher Walker Cooper. Despite the pyrotechnics on the road, as well as over the short walls in the old Polo Grounds, the club had a winning record only twice in the late '40s and never finished better than fourth. Durocher wanted his "kind of team" - scrappy and fundamental - and was obsessed with shedding the power and building a champion.

Mize and Cooper were the first to go, during the 1949 season, accompanied by howls of disapproval by sentimental Giant fans. Meanwhile, the Braves dropped in the standings, to fourth, a point more in line with their capabilities. Stanky played well, but was a pest in the clubhouse, and management was tempted by the apparent availability of Giant corner outfielders who could hit homeruns.

And so, in early 1950, one of the most important trades of that post-War era, and beyond, was consummated. Stanky and Dark went to New York in exchange for Gordon, Marshall, and shortstop Buddy Kerr. Durocher kept only Thomson, who was younger and faster than the others, and this would appear to have been clairvoyance some 20 months later when he hit THAT homerun against the Dodgers in the playoff at the end of 1951.

Gordon fulfilled the promise and the vision, averaging .290, 25, 90 over the next four seasons, with two of the campaigns at more than 100 RBI. Marshall, however, fit perfectly into the old Rickey tactic that stronger players should be traded JUST BEFORE skills begin to erode. He was never again the performer he was in the late '40s - in Boston and elsewhere. His best year for the Braves was 1951 - .281, 11, 62. The average was adequate, but the power numbers were not what the club had in mind. As for Kerr, he fielded well but was a disaster offensively, an enormous drop from the contributions of Dark. Over the next two seasons, he hit .216, scored and drove in grand totals of only 60 runs, and was replaced by Johnny Logan. Yet despite this mixed beginning, the franchise persisted in the pursuit of big hitting. Eddie Mathews appeared, and then Aaron, followed by Joe Adcock, Wes Covington, and even Thomson, who became part of a two-way pipeline between the traders as Elliott and Antonelli were sent to New York. Eventually, the approach paid off, as the Milwaukee years featured perennial contenders, the most homeruns in 1957 and 1959, pennants in 1957-58, and the World Series victory in 1957.

The Giants had almost immediate success in the aftermath of the 1950 manuever. Stanky and Dark were mainstays as the pennant was taken in 1951. "The Brat" then left to manage the Cardinals, but Dark remained, joining Willie Mays as a critical player in 1954, when they won another pennant and the Giants' last World Series to date.

Both clubs wanted makeovers those long years ago. The Giants were rewarded earlier, and were seen in the earlier '50s as having "won" the deal, but the Braves later dominance through new strategy seems to have made it a "good" trade for both sides.

Now the Hudson arrival means Schuerholz, Cox and Company have decided to put most of their eggs in the starter basket, which should be enough to capture yet another Divisional title, but an ironic lack of power will keep them from advancing much farther.

In closing, let's continue in the present with a look at the probable lineup and outlook for Atlanta '05:
Rafael Furcal, ss - Needs to be a more consistent catalyst, as he was when he first came up. Will his off-field misadventures bother him?

Marcus Giles, 2b - Could again team with Furcal for steadfast fielding and pesky, run -scoring top of the order. Does tend toward injury.

Chipper Jones, 3b - Along with Smoltz, he is Mr. Brave, and must give them .300, 36, 110.

Raul Mondesi/Brian Jordan, rf - They're gambling that ONE of these two will have a productive year, but it appears neither can play every day. That would suffice if they could combine for something like .280, 25, 90.

Johnny Estrada, c - A nice hitter, and better defensively than many people at first thought. A repeat of .300, with an increase to 15 homers, would really help.

Andruw Jones, cf - Continued superb defense, but the wait for the big breakout goes on. Fans will have to live with .265, 30, 90.

Adam LaRoche, 1b - Smooth swing does generate some power. Hit well in late-season and post-season, a good sign. Potential for .290, 22, 80.

??----------------??, lf - Unless Jordan or Mondesi can spend some time there, the post will be manned by kids. Don't expect a lot.

Rotation: John Thomson and Mike Hampton are solid veterans behind Hudson and Smoltz. And if Horacio Ramirez can return from injury to 2003 form, this staff could be among the best in either league.

Bullpen: Is Dan Kolb an upper-level closer... or just average?

Bench: Julio Franco will still give them some key hits and Nick Green was good. Absent trade or purchase, the rest of the reserves will be young.

Prediction: Will win Division and Divisional Series, but will come up short in NLCS.