Bowman Saddens Me

Mailbag: Will the Braves add a starter?

The loss of Mike Hampton to another season-ending elbow surgery has already proven tragic. Had Mark Redman at least provided some indication that he wanted to continue pitching like a big-league hurler, the Braves might have been able to get by without Hampton.

"Tragic?" Tragic, he says.

Yes, it is absolutely tragic to lose a great arm like Mike Hampton and is slightly better-than-average numbers, pisspoor WHIP, and oh, bulldog mentality. Yes, tragic that instead of just three fifth starters, we don't have a fourth.

I know I cry myself to sleep.

Now with Redman looking to join find yet another employer, the Braves are searching for ways to fix their rotation. If Lance Cormier comes back healthy next week, he'll certainly add some much-needed stability. But if this club has a definite desire to get to the World Series, they have to understand that they currently don't have anybody that they could confidently take into the postseason as a legitimate third starter.

How do we have even the slightest idea that Lance Cormier will provide stability? Was it his 5.72 ERA and 1.74 WHIP that sold you? I wanted Buddy Carlyle to get a chance, but even I wouldn't have said he was a definite to provide stability. Cormier isn't either. And Mark, since you work for the Braves, why don't you tell them that they need a legitimate third starter because they don't get that yet. Sit John Schuerholz down and tell him a story about it. Fill it with images and vivid color. Yeah, that's it. That will help him understand.

Obviously Jayson Stark's recent revelation that he determined (Andruw) Jones to be the most overrated center fielder in the game may change some perceptions. But when you see the guy make an amazing catch like he did to rob Greg Dobbs of a homer in Sunday's third inning, you once again begin to think statistics like zone rating and range factor are pretty much useless.

Okay, if something is obvious, how come it "may change some perceptions?"

I once again didn't think those stats were useless. I thought Jayson Stark had no idea what those stats meant. See, Bowman, numbers are good when you know what they mean. They help you *get* it. You obviously don't, but that may change. See, that's how you use those two together.

Putz.

I'd say it's primarily because we live in a "What-have-you-done-for-me-lately" society. Unfortunately for (Chipper) Jones, just when it came time to begin debating his Hall of Fame future, he was hit with an injury bug that just simply won't go away.

Rather than address the question, "Why are there so many people out there who doubt Chipper Jones will one day be enshrined in the Hall of Fame?" Bowman moves on to theories.

I doubt Mike B. from Grandview, IN reads this, but here is the answer Bowman couldn't be bothered to provide or couldn't think up.

Chipper Jones's career marks aren't that great - at least not in the terms of where he stands against his peers. Because Chipper Jones played third, he gets a little more love than, say, Gary Sheffield despite having pretty similar numbers. Their 162 game averages are very close. Sheff is not considered by many a HOF player without 500 homeruns, which is based more on his personality.

Chipper, meanwhile, is nowhere close to Sheff on the cumulative numbers (HR, R, RBI especially). It does, as Bowman does ellude to, health, but not because people ignore what Chipper once did, but because your career is up for discussion, not the first eight or so years of it. Taking entire careers into context, Chipper is the 15th or so best active hitter. Not elite numbers.

Nonetheless, he's pretty close. Baseball-reference's HOF monitor has him near the average HOFer so he's almost there.

Why Bowman couldn't think of that is beyond me. Maybe he can't actually use the internets, only write on it.

There's seemingly a need for them to stock the organization with more outfield depth.

Oh, really?

Brandon Jones? Gregor Blanco? Jordan Schafer? Matt Young? Carl Loadenthal?

Hell, last year's first pick was an outfielder.

Seriously, why must the Braves employ someone who knows so little?