Caray: Second base conundrum, Varvaro's underrated worth; more Braves
FOXSportsSouth.com checks in with play-by-play announcer Chip Caray to discuss the latest surrounding the Braves.
FOXSPORTSSOUTH.COM: The Braves offensive struggles aren't limited to one player, but the organization, and Fredi Gonzalez in particular, find themselves in a difficult situation with Dan Uggla. Every indication is that Ramiro Pena and Tyler Pastornicky will continue to see work at second, and there's the potential of a call up for Tommy La Stella. How do you see this playing itself out?
CHIP CARAY: Usually the way this plays out is the guys that produce play. In a perfect, world, that's the way it would work.
There are a lot of things in play here. Dan has had a couple of really good years with the Braves, productive years. He's a very popular guy in the clubhouse, he works his butt off. He's an All-Star and he's been a big part of a lot of success for this franchise.
The fact of the matter is though right now, and going back to last year. He's had statistically, one of the worst seasons in the game and a lot of fans are concerned, quite obviously, if we're seeing the same credits to the same movie.
All of us hope that's not the case, but when you have an offense that's struggling the way that Atlanta's is, you have to evaluate and look at every position on that lineup card and see what's working and what's not.
Dan isn't the only reason the Braves aren't scoring runs, but he's part of the reason that the Braves aren't scoring runs. What kept him in the lineup last year was his ability to get on base and draw walks and he's not doing that either this year and it's just becoming more and more noticeable as time goes on.
FSS.COM: I think the thing with Uggla is the lure, the possibility that he's going to hit one of his grooves and he has that power that nobody else has that plays the position.
CC:At some point you can't really sell hope. You have to go with what your eyes see and what the numbers say and what the performances are.
How is it going to play out? I don't know. I don't know if Ramiro Pena can play second base every day. I know Tyler Pastornicky can put the ball in play. Each of them has defensive liabilities.
I've heard and seen Tommy La Stella can swing the bat and is hitting the ball well in Triple-A. But I've been told by a lot of people in the organization that he's not exactly a Gold Glove-candidate at second base.
Baseball isn't a perfect world. There's a contract. There's a lot of money on the line. The Braves are committed to Dan through the end of next season.
He's a very proud, very talented player that's going through a real rough time now and how he gets out of it, if he gets out of it, is going to determine what happens. Because right now, nobody knows how this is going to play out. That's the most frustrating thing or, if not frustrating, most disconcerting things, because there's really isn't an easy answer for this particular problem in this lineup.
FSS.COM: We always talk about how Justin Upton can carry a team on his back for stretches, but beyond the home runs -- which we saw in bursts last year -- this seems to be a more complete Justin Upton. He's hitting for average, power, is stealing bases and has a positive defensive rating.
CC: I wouldn't go as far to say he's playing great defense, he's playing adequate defense. But as far as power, yeah, he's hit his home runs and he's gotten some big hits late.
Really, the key for the offense is, in my opinion, if Freddie Freeman doesn't hit and Justin Upton doesn't hit, the Braves aren't hitting. Those are the two guys that can do great damage. Freeman's not going to strike out a lot; Upton will. But if you give him a low fastball, he's going to get on it and drive it hard someplace.
Neither one of those guy has really had a great string of at-bats during this current stretch. You look at the lineup and it's an all-or-nothing kind of lineup. Guys are either going to hit home runs or they're going to strike out. That really, I think, sums up Justin Upton to a small degree.
But when he's going the other way; when he fills the hole between first and second and he's pushing the line forward, he's as good as it gets and he gives Freddie Freeman great protection in the lineup. But if he's not hitting, nobody's going to pitch to Freeman.
FSS.COM: Anthony Varvaro established himself as a key contributor in the bullpen last season, but he's been spectacular so far this year with a 2.31 ERA and 16 strikeouts to two walks. It seems we're seeing a guy that has Gonzalez's trust in pressure situations and for good reason.
CC: We haven't seen him in the eighth inning much and we're not going to see him in the ninth as long as Craig Kimbrel is healthy, but Anthony provides really, really important innings.
On the days a starter only goes five and you've got a lead and you need him to suck up a couple of innings and get through the tough parts of lineups, he's the kind of guy that has the stuff to do that. He has an upper-90s fastball; he's got a good breaking ball; he can pitch on back-to-back days.
He's done a good job and guys like that fly under the radar and we can't understand just how valuable they are for a pitching staff. If you get into the middle innings with the lead or even down a run, he can shut down an offense and give your offense a chance to catch back up and even in extra innings when you need guys to gobble up innings, Anthony is capable of doing that.
His role on the team really suits his personality. He's a guy that's humble, sticks to himself, goes about his business and is ready when called upon.
