I've been an Atlanta Braves fan for quite a number of years and while it appears as if the Braves are in pretty good shape to make the playoffs once again - this time as a Wild Card - I've remained extremely disappointed with second baseman, Dan Uggla.
Last night, in the bottom of the 13th inning against division-leading Washington, the Nationals had runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. A ground ball was hit right to Uggla, who was playing in on the infield. The runner at 3rd base ran on contact. Uggla had to either try and get a double play by going to the shortstop at second or go directly at home. Based on how he was positioned - the best odds would have been to throw to home. What did he do? He froze. He froze like an ice sculpture being visited by the president. The run scored and that was the ball game, which then placed Washington a full six games ahead of Atlanta with about 40 to go.
Sadly, his glove work hasn't been the most disappointing aspect of his game. No, the most disappointing part of his game for the two years he's been with the Braves has been his bat. To his credit, he did bounce back fairly nicely after a horrendous start last year en route to jacking 36 home runs and 82 RBI's. However, he also finished the year only hitting .233 - his lowest batting average as a major leaguer. He got off to a much better start at the plate this year and even made the all-star game, but has struggled ever since then and his numbers are even worse than last year - hitting just .210, with 15 home runs and 62 RBI's.
It's really a shame, because I like Dan Uggla. The guy always hustles, swings the bat like he wants to decapitate somebody and is fun to watch play. He's a guy that's easy to root for in the game. However, the Braves can't afford paying this guy the kind of money they are and only getting .210 - .230 average in return. The Braves (outside of Chipper Jones) have a great young line-up when healthy, with: Michael Bourne in center (one of the fastest players in the majors), Jason Heyward in right (who's having a solid comeback year after his disappointing sophomore campaign), Martin Prado in left (one of the more underrated players in the league, in my opinion), Andrelton Simmons at short (he's banged up now, but should be back before too long and appears to have a great deal of potential), Freddie Freeman at first (one of the purer swings on the team - should be a solid contributor for years to come) and Brian McCann at catcher (having an off-year, quite possibly due to nagging injuries, yet is a very solid all-around hitter most years and is contributing in the power production categories this season). If Chipper does in fact retire at the end of the season, I might try trading Uggla and a minor league prospect or two for a more reliable second baseman and a left fielder, as Prado may then be shifted from left to third in Chipper's absence. Hopefully Uggla can turn it around in the final 40 games of the season (and the playoffs), but based on what I've been seeing in recent weeks, that's not all too likely.
Last night, in the bottom of the 13th inning against division-leading Washington, the Nationals had runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. A ground ball was hit right to Uggla, who was playing in on the infield. The runner at 3rd base ran on contact. Uggla had to either try and get a double play by going to the shortstop at second or go directly at home. Based on how he was positioned - the best odds would have been to throw to home. What did he do? He froze. He froze like an ice sculpture being visited by the president. The run scored and that was the ball game, which then placed Washington a full six games ahead of Atlanta with about 40 to go.
Sadly, his glove work hasn't been the most disappointing aspect of his game. No, the most disappointing part of his game for the two years he's been with the Braves has been his bat. To his credit, he did bounce back fairly nicely after a horrendous start last year en route to jacking 36 home runs and 82 RBI's. However, he also finished the year only hitting .233 - his lowest batting average as a major leaguer. He got off to a much better start at the plate this year and even made the all-star game, but has struggled ever since then and his numbers are even worse than last year - hitting just .210, with 15 home runs and 62 RBI's.
It's really a shame, because I like Dan Uggla. The guy always hustles, swings the bat like he wants to decapitate somebody and is fun to watch play. He's a guy that's easy to root for in the game. However, the Braves can't afford paying this guy the kind of money they are and only getting .210 - .230 average in return. The Braves (outside of Chipper Jones) have a great young line-up when healthy, with: Michael Bourne in center (one of the fastest players in the majors), Jason Heyward in right (who's having a solid comeback year after his disappointing sophomore campaign), Martin Prado in left (one of the more underrated players in the league, in my opinion), Andrelton Simmons at short (he's banged up now, but should be back before too long and appears to have a great deal of potential), Freddie Freeman at first (one of the purer swings on the team - should be a solid contributor for years to come) and Brian McCann at catcher (having an off-year, quite possibly due to nagging injuries, yet is a very solid all-around hitter most years and is contributing in the power production categories this season). If Chipper does in fact retire at the end of the season, I might try trading Uggla and a minor league prospect or two for a more reliable second baseman and a left fielder, as Prado may then be shifted from left to third in Chipper's absence. Hopefully Uggla can turn it around in the final 40 games of the season (and the playoffs), but based on what I've been seeing in recent weeks, that's not all too likely.
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