Despite one of the most anemic offenses in baseball, the Atlanta Braves are a top of the NL East as Memorial Day Weekend approaches. A pitching staff that ranks atop of all of baseball has kept this team's head above water. Even with the season ending injuries to starting pitchers Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen, GM Frank Wren has done a nice job piecing together another top tier rotation that seems to be set to keep Atlanta in the NL East race all summer long.
With all the injuries to Washington, the main threat to dethrone the Braves, Atlanta's pitching should have stretched a formidable division lead by now. The starting rotation was given an unexpected boost by the late costless agent signings of Aaron Harang and Ervin Santana. The bullpen, anchored by the game's best closer in Craig Kimbrel, is one of the best again as well. All fingers now point to one of the worst offenses in the Majors.
Two bloated contracts in the Braves' every day lineup stand out as the biggest problem. BJ Upton is in the second year of a 5 year / 72.5 million dollar contract. Dan Uggla is in the fourth of a 5 year / 62 million dollar contract as well. Since the beginning of the 2013 season, they have both hit well below a .200 batting average. There was a time when most people considered this the Mendoza line. Named after shortstop defensive specialist Mario Mendoza who played for Texas, Pittsburgh and Seattle from 1974-1982. Mendoza finished with a lifetime batting average of .215. The term Mendoza Line is usually meant for a player hitting above or below .200 while still contributing in the field. Mendoza typically was with in 1 or 2 at bats of hitting .200, give-or-take. Chris Berman and Sportscenter is given the most credit for popularizing the term in the early 1980s. It's understandable that manager Freddie Gonzalez wants to get these guys going, but enough is enough!
Atlanta has a had a middle class payroll for quite some time now (ranked 14th of 30 for 2014). So, just dumping the two inept batter's salaries is not an option that's likely to be explored by the average fan. Baseball contracts are guaranteed too, and that's not helping, either. What is in the Atlanta dugout is what fans will have to deal with for the foreseeable future. A match-up / platoon system is what is needed. B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla should be sat for left-handed outfielder Jordan Schafer and switch hitting infielder Ramiro Pena. Both have shown promise when called upon in the platoon role. But, as opposed to them starting sporadically, Schafer and Pena should be implemented as true platoon players.
The Braves are in a tough spot. It's understandable that manager Freddie Gonzalez wants to get these guys going with all the money that is invested. But, facts are facts: that ship of hope sailed a long time ago. Dan Uggla was even left off the 2013 post season roster. Effort is not the the problem at all. Fans won't find more hustle by anybody in the game going down the first base line on a routine grounder than Dan Uggla ( kind of the anti-Bryce Harper ). Once on base, B.J. still wreaks havoc with his speed as well as a solid defender in center. A spark is needed in this offense that has been plain offensive to the eyes of Braves Country. About half of Atlanta's games have resulted in 2 runs or less scored by their offense. If that number was halved, the Braves would probably have a Detroit Tiger-like 4 to 7 game lead.
The Braves better get their tires out of the mud and fast. Simple fact is that the Washington National's talent will not stay on the DL all year long. The Marlins are just young enough, to not know they don't belong in October. As for the Mets, they have a team that can be dangerous if you let them hang around, and a market that will make a trade in late July. Also, Philadelphia might be able to turn the clock back one more time if they are allowed to hang around until September.
The last thing Atlanta fans want is to be infamously synonymous with a derogatory baseball term. Yet, that's what is staring us in the face. Neither one of these guys were ever Hall of Fame type of players to begin with. With that said, they were expected to be .250-ish type hitters with good power. Neither has been the case over the last season and some change. Everyond hopes that B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla find their earlier form and help this Braves team to even greater heights. Averages by them over .200 will probably do just that. Watching these two consistently hit around or below .190 makes Mendoza's infamous .200 mark a feat of envy. If something isn't done to shake these two up, generations of baseball fans will be referring to the sub .200 batting average as the Ugg-Ton line for years to come.