The Braves mid term grades are as follows:
Pitching:
Derek Lowe: C+ He started out of the gate throwing his sinker effectively, but of late, his pitches haven’t been “lowe” enough, hence, the surge in ERA. The Braves need more ballast from their ace.
Jair Jurrjens: A- He has been proving that 2008 was no anomaly.
Javier Vasquez: A- Far exceeding expectations, he ranks among the league leaders in strike outs to walks as well as ERA. He has been the most reliable, dominant pitcher on the Braves staff.
Tommy Hanson: A- He has been remarkably poised during his maiden voyage into major league pitching, losing only one game thus far.
Kenshin Kawakami: C+ His control was uncharacteristically erratic during the first month of the season, but he has stepped up his game during big games against marquee opponents, especially at home.
Eric Oflaherty: B+ Ohman hasn’t been missed much.
Peter Moylan: C At times, his arm angle looks akward, like he’s searching for his groove, and he has walked far too many batters to be a dependable 7th inning guy.
Rafael Soriano: A Almost unhittable. If he had been penciled in as the closer on day one, he would have been an all star.
Mike Gonzales: B- Of late, his control has been wild, causing some late inning leads to get away, but in much of May and June, he was the Mike Gonzales of old.
Position players:
Brian McCann: B After battling a pesky eye problem, he returned fresh and bespectacled, hitting for average and occasional power. His defense has been mediocre at best, perhaps still a bit skiddish after a couple ferocious collisions at the plate early in his career.
Yunel Escobar: B His numbers with men in scoring position is tops on the Braves, and when focused, his defense is stellar. He has a tendency to become manic on the basepaths, getting too eager at times, and some lapses in equanimity have ended a few would be big innings.
Chipper Jones: B He has avoided long stints on the DL, and has been Chipper-like enough to garner scores of walks–teams would rather deal with McCann–but his power numbers are down and he seems tardier than usual on some fast balls. His defense has been shoddy, committing 13 errors before the break.
Garrett Anderson: B- His first week in left field was a comedy of errors, but the veteran has come around, providing a servicable outfielder who can still turn on anyone’s fast ball.
Casey Kotchman: B- He has hit just about everywhere in the line-up and done so servicably. His glove work has been very good at first, but he is glacially slow, and without a lot of home run power behind him (or in front of him, or beside him…) to guarantee his touching home plate, his liability on the bases rivals Sid Bream’s.
Kelly Johnson: D With his athletic tools, he continues to baffle baseball people by playing with frightening inconsistency. His job, for now anyway, has been given to Martin Prado.
Jeff Francoeur: D With his athletic tools, he continues to baffle baseball people by playing with frightening inconsistency. His job, for now anyway, has been given to Ryan Church (for whom he was swapped).
Nate McClouth: B- He can run down balls in center field with the best of them, and has provided both speed and some Ricky Henderson type pop at the front of the order, but he has seemingly disappeared at times during games, and hasn’t consistently exhibited lead-off hitter type patience.
Coaching: C-
Stubborn as a mule, Bobby Cox has remained steadfastly devoted to players during long spells of ineptitude. He continues to be obstinately conservative with his line-ups and real time approach to the game as it unfolds, habitually running the same relievers out to pitch “their” innings. Is has been debated whether his unswerving reliance on some guys has been a detriment to the health of said players and the team overall.