ESPN.com: MLB - Braves rising back to the top

Tuesday, June 12. Braves rising back to the top. By Phil Rogers Special to ESPN.com. CHICAGO -- Are the Atlanta Braves wearing camouflage? MLB Scores Schedule PitchingProbables Standings Statistics Transactions Injuries Players PowerAlley MessageBoard MinorLeagues MLBenespanol CLUBHOUSE Teams Anaheim Arizona Atlanta Baltimore Boston ChicagoCubs ChicagoWS Cincinnati Cleveland Colorado Detroit Florida Houston KansasCity LosAngeles Milwaukee Minnesota Montreal NYMets NYYankees Oakland Philadelphia Pittsburgh SanDiego SanFrancisco Seattle St.Louis TampaBay Texas Toronto [email protected] NikeTown TeamStoreSPORTSECTIONS Tuesday,June12  Bravesrisingbacktothetop ByPhilRogersSpecialtoESPN.com CHICAGO--AretheAtlantaBraveswearingcamouflage? GiventheheroicsoftheMarinersandBarryBonds,thetravailsoftheMetsandMarkMcGwire,theBraveshavemostlyflownunderradarthisseason.Thatshouldchangesoonastheyservednoticeontheircurrentfour-citytripthattheyintendtofindawaytowina10thdivisiontitlein11seasons. GregMadduxknowsexactlywherehispitchisgoing. WhiletheBraveswerearegionalcrisisintheSoutheast,mostnationalobserversbittheirtonguesasBobbyCox'steamspent45ofthefirst54daysoftheseasonunder.500.ThePhilliesstartedfastandthenwidenedtheirsurprisingleadtoeightgamesonJune1. ButherecometherealBraves.Oh,sure,onMondaytheymadefourerrorsinanuglylossinToronto.And,yes,JohnSmoltzisbackonthedisabledlist.Butthere'snothingwrongwithJasonMarquis,whoistakinghisplaceintherotation. DespitethatlosstotheBlueJays,theBraveswere8-2onatriptoPittsburgh,Montreal,NewYorkandToronto.TheNewYorkstopwasatYankeeStadium,wheretheytooktwooutofthree,withJohnRockergettingincident-freesavesinbothwins. Theentireweekendwasn'tincident-free,ofcourse.AfanfiledanincidentreportthatdescribeshowRockerthreatenedhimatmidnightSaturdayinaNewJerseybar,60milessouthofManhattan.Inotherwords,it'sbusinessasusualfortheNationalLeague'sperennialpowerhouse. Eventhehard-to-impressGregMadduxisencouragedbyrecentdevelopments,especiallytheseriesagainsttheYankees."Ithinkitsaysalittlebitwhenyoutaketwooutofthreefromtheseguys,"Madduxsaid."Itshowsyouknowhowtowin." RookieWesHelmshasbeenarecentkey.Heis6-for-19withtwodoublesandahomerunonthetrip,gainingmoreplayingtimeinhisfirst-baseplatoonwithRicoBrogna. "IknowIcanplayeverydayhere,"HelmstoldtheAtlantaJournal-Constitution."Ithink,totellyouthetruth,it'sagoodthingI'vebeenplatooning,ratherthanthrowingmeoutthereeveryday.It'smademetoughermentally." CoxstartedHelmsagainsttheYankees'MikeMussinaonSundayeventhoughtheleft-handed-hittingBrognahadtwohitsonSaturday.He'sraisedhistotalsto.238withfivehomersand15RBIin40games. IfHelmscan'tkeepitgoing,theBravesaregoingtohavetomakeatradebecausetheydesperatelyneedmoreproductionatfirstbase.They're14thintheNLwithanaverageof4.2runspergame.TheynolongerhopeforamajorliftfromSmoltz,whowas2-2witha5.76ERAinfivestartsbeforegoingbackontheDLwithinflammationinbothhisshoulderandhissurgicallyrepairedelbow. Coxsaystheinjuryis"nothingmajor."Thesamemightbetrueabouttheirrecentrunofsuccess,butthesuspicionhereisthatAtlanta's14-5recordsinceMay20isasignthattheNLEastisabouttoreturntoitsnaturalorder. Spotlighton:MarkBuehrle,LHP,WhiteSox HadBuehrlepitched11/3fewerinningslastyear,hewouldbeamongtheearlyfrontrunnersinthenon-JapanesedivisionforALRookieoftheYear.He'snotacandidatebecauseheexceededthelimitof50inningswhentheWhiteSoxcalledhimupfromDouble-AlastJuly. MarkBuehrle ReliefPitcher ChicagoWhiteSox Profile 2001SEASONSTATISTICS GS W-L IP H K-BB ERA 11 4-3 75 53 53-21 3.36 Buehrlehasbeenamongthemostconsistentstartersintheleague.The22-year-oldleftyfromJeffersonJuniorCollegeoutsideofSt.Louiswilltakeastreakof242/3consecutivescorelessinningsintoWednesdaynight'sstartagainstCincinnati.Hehasn'tbeenscoredonsinceaMay20startinOakland. Buehrleis4-3witha3.36ERAbutthosenumbersdon'trevealhoweffectivehe'sbeen.Hehasworkedfive-plusinningsin10of11starts.Henotonlyisholdingopponentstoa.196battingaveragebutalsocutsthataverageto.128whenrunnersareinscoringposition,bestinthemajors.He'salsowalkedonlyfiveinhislast32innings. BuehrleisaquickstudywholastyearstruckoutCleveland'sJimThomewiththefirst3-2changeupheeverthrewatanylevel.Hecreditshisrecentsuccesstoacutfastballthathehaspickedupsincethestartoftheseason.Right-handedbattershit.279offBuehrlein2000butarebattingonly.182againsthimthisyear. "Iwasthrowingmoreofasweepingslider,butthisyearIthrowahard-breakingsliderorcutfastballonaright-handedhitter,"Buehrlesaid."Itjamsthemalotofthetime.Ithinkthat'sprobablythebiggestthingthathashelpedmeout." BuehrleisseldomfarfromDavidWellsintheWhiteSoxdugout,ashetakesadvantageofWells'experience. "TherearesituationswhereIaskhim,'Ifyougooutandthrowtwobreakingballstoaguyandheswingsandmisses,doyoucomebackwithathirdoneordoyouthrowsomethingelse?'"Buehrlesaid."Hehashelpedmeoutalot." Seriestowatch YankeesatMets,FridaythroughSunday Thismightbeascloseaswegettoarematchoflastyear'sSubwaySeries.TheMetsaregoingnowherebuthomeafterthisseasonbuttheywouldlovetocausetheircityrivalsasmuchgriefaspossible. GeorgeSteinbrennerisn'thappyabouttheYankees'recentrunproduction(4.4pergameforthelast12gamesthroughSunday).TheMetsarewellpositionedtoturnhisdisappointmentfromasimmertoaboilthisweekendatSheaStadium. BobbyValentinehashisrotationarrangedtohaveAlLeiter,KevinAppierandtheunderratedRickReedworkthethree-gameseries.They'llfaceRamiroMendoza,MikeMussinaandTedLilly. TheYankees,whowontheWorldSeriesinfivegames,leadtheregular-seasonseries11-7.Thesixpreviousinterleagueseriesbetweentheseteamshaven'tproducedasweep.It'shardtopredictthatchangingthisweekendgiventheMets'troubleslastweekendagainstTampaBaybuttheYankeescouldfindthemselvesinfullpanicmodeonSundayifAppierbeatsMussinaonSaturday. Newface:JoshTowers,RHP,Orioles Buehrle'snottheonlynewcomerwithascorelessinningsstreak.Towers,arookiewithBaltimore,hasn'tallowedarunin16inningsinhislasttwostarts,throwingasix-hitshutoutagainstMontrealandsevenscorelessinningsatOakland. Towers,24,pitchedalmost700minor-leagueinningsbeforelandingaspotwiththeOriolesonMay25.Heisaright-handedversionoftheWhiteSox'sBuehrleinthathesucceedsmorefromhisskillsasapitcherthanthepowerofhisarm. "Hepitches,"BaltimorefirstbasemanDavidSeguisaid."That'swhathedoes.It'simpressivetowatch." It'sbeenfiveyearssincetheOriolesgotawinningseasonfromapitcherraisedintheirfarmsystem.TowerscouldendadroughtthathasextendedsinceRockyCoppinger. Towersisnophysicalspecimen.HewasrankedasonlytheOrioles'20th-bestprospectbyBaseballAmericawhentheseasonbegan. "IthinkIknowhowtopitch,andit'sallaboutcontrol,"Towerssaid."Ilocatetheballwell.Iworkinandout,upanddown,andatthesametimechallengethehitters." BothTowersandBuehrlearescheduledtoworktheweekendofJune22-24inBaltimorebutprobablywon'tfaceeachother.BuehrleisscheduledtogoSaturday,TowersonSunday. Teamtowatch:Dodgers Onlytwoweeksago,JimTracy'steamwasinfirstplaceintheNLWest.NowitisspiralingdownwardinthestandingsandbattlingarunofinjuriesthatwillmakeittoughertogaingroundonArizona. ItwasdefinitelyablackMondayinLosAngeles.FirsttheDodgerslearnedthatAndyAshbyneedssurgerytorepairatornflexormuscleinhiselbow,whichwillsidelinehimfortherestoftheseason.ThentheyadmittedthatthereisnotimetableforthereturnofaceKevinBrown,whohasbeenontheDLsinceJune4withanirritatednerveinhisneck. Tocapofftheday,theylostinfieldersMarkGrudzielanek(sprainedankle)andJeffReboulet(strainedhamstring)toinjuriesduringa12-7losstoTexas.Grudzielanek,whoearlierhadextendedhishittingstreakto13games,hadtobehelpedoffthefield.BothplayersweretobeevaluatedonTuesday. PitchingwassupposedtobetheDodgers'keytosuccess.InsteadTracyispatchingtogetherarotationthathasincludedonlyChanHoParkandDarrenDreifortsinceOpeningDay.LukeProkopec,GiovanniCarraraandcareerrelieverTerryAdamsarefillinginforBrown,AshbyandEricGagne,whowasdemotedtothebullpenaftergoing1-3witha6.05ERAin12starts. GagnewasthelosingpitcherinreliefonSundayagainstAnaheim."We'vegotasituationherewheresomeguyshavetostepup,it'sthatsimple,"Tracysaid."We'vegottogetthejobdone.That'swherewe'reat." Asrecentlyaslastweek,TracywasoptimisticthatAshbywasonhiswaybacktorejoiningtherotation.ButAshbyexperiencedpainwhenhetriedtothrowonSundayandasubsequentMRIrevealedtheextentofhisinjury. "It'stough,"GarySheffieldsaid."Wegotthisfarwhenwewerejusttryingtohanginthereuntilhegotback,andnowwe'regoingtohavetogetourmindsetinadifferentmodebecausewehavetodoitwithouthim." ExpectinterimGMDaveWallaceandassistantDanEvanstotrytodealforsomepitching.Thechallengeistodoitwithoutstrippingarebuildingfarmsystem. Carelesswhispers JasonVaritekmighthavebeenheadedtotheAll-StarGamebeforefracturinghisrightelbow.TheRedSoxarelikelytodealforacatcherwithTampaBay'sJohnFlahertyorMikeDiFeliceamongthepossibilities...TheCubsoriginallyhopedthirdbasemanBillMuellerwouldbebackin8-10weeksaftershatteringhiskneecaponMay13butnowwillbehappyifhe'sbackbyAugust.ItturnsoutthatinadditiontothebrokenleftkneecapMuelleralsotoreamusclethatrunsfromhiskneetohisthigh.ThelossofMuellerisbeingfeltespeciallyhardbecauseofToddHundley'sseason-longslump....WouldsomebodyexplainwhyHaroldBainesisstillontheWhiteSox'sroster?Heandrookieleft-handerKenViningweretheonlyavailableplayersnotusedduringtheweekendserieswiththeWhiteSox.Baineswasconspicuouslyabsentwithtwooutsinthebottomofthe10thonSaturday.JerryManuelgavethelefty-leftyat-battoJeffLieber(2-for-17inhiscareeragainstlefties)ratherthanletBaineshaveashotathis2,866thcareerhit....SpeakingoftheWhiteSox,JerryReinsdorfhastoldFrankThomasthathewillnotexercisetherevisedpaymentrightinhiscontract,whichwouldallowhimtodeferallbut$250,000perseasonandprobablymakeThomasafreeagent.Thomas'returncouldmakeatradeofMagglioOrdonezorKeithFoulkeafinancialnecessityeitherbeforethetradedeadlineoraftertheseason....Onlythreemanagershaveyettoallowastartertothrow120pitches--MikeHargrove,DonBaylorandLloydMcClendon....Doesn'ttheRangers'selectionofMarkTeixeiramakeIvanRodriguezevenmorelikelytobetraded?IfTeixeiraisasgoodasadvertised,hecanmakeuptheoffensiveslackwhilePudge'sspotisturnedovertothebestdefensivecatcheravailable....ThePadreshadthemostintriguingdraftwithTulane'sJakeGautreau,SanFrancisco'sTaggertBoziedandpitcherMattHarrington.Gautreau,athirdbaseman,mightgiveTeixeiraarunforhismoneyforthebesthitterinthe2001draft.Andifyouhaven'treadit,checkoutAlanSchwarz'sdetailedaccountoftheHarrington-RockiesriftinBaseballAmerica.It'safascinatingpiecethatalmostmakesyoufeelsorryforan18-year-oldwhoturneddown$3.7millionormorelastyear. PhilRogersisthenationalbaseballwriterfortheChicagoTribune,whichhasawebsiteatwww.chicagosports.com.  MorefromESPN...Campbell:Bravesweaker,butteamtobeat TheBravesarestillthe...Lastweek'sPowerAlley:It'sanodoubter TheMarinersfinallylosta... PhilRogersArchive  ESPNTools Emailstory   Mostsent   Printstory