{"id":8606,"date":"2010-07-19T07:01:19","date_gmt":"2010-07-19T06:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=8606"},"modified":"2010-07-20T07:03:36","modified_gmt":"2010-07-20T06:03:36","slug":"weekly-hit-ground-ball-braves-banish-escobar-and-warmly-greet-gonzalez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=8606","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Braves banish Escobar and warmly greet Gonzalez"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-7400\" title=\"WhgbHlSq\" src=\"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/wp-content\/WhgbHlSq.jpg\" alt=\"WhgbHlSq\" width=\"200\" height=\"225\" \/>Who would have though that veteran shortstop Alex Gonzalez would become such a hero?\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 33 year old spent the first half of the season swatting homers at an uncharacteristically rapid rate for the Toronto Blue Jays, earning some rare headlines in the process. Then he was <a href=\"http:\/\/atlanta.braves.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100714&amp;content_id=12248926&amp;vkey=news_atl&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=atl\" target=\"_blank\">traded to the Atlanta Braves<\/a> this past Wednesday and given a welcome fit for a king, <a href=\"http:\/\/atlanta.braves.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100715&amp;content_id=12265912&amp;vkey=news_atl&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=atl\" target=\"_blank\">reportedly<\/a> being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153greeted with a standing ovation from his Braves teammates\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on his arrival on Thursday and getting cheered to the rafters by the Turner Field crowd.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gonzalez would be forgiven for feeling a little embarrassed by all the new-found attention he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been receiving lately, particularly as his warm reception in Atlanta was as much about the feelings against the player he has replaced than the feelings towards him.\u00c2\u00a0 <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Never has a player made veteran manager Bobby Cox scratch his head quite so regularly as Yunel Escobar.\u00c2\u00a0 The young Cuban has built up a reputation as being a talented but frustrating player, capable of going from the sublime to the ridiculous within the same inning.\u00c2\u00a0 A spectacular fielding play could be followed by a lazy error, a great piece of hitting could be undone by a mental error when running the bases.\u00c2\u00a0 Escobar is now into his fourth Major League season and after endless attempts to get across their point, using both carrot and stick, the Braves have decided that he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to listen to them.\u00c2\u00a0 They traded him to the Blue Jays for the dependable Gonzalez as part of a five-player deal.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When Bobby Cox described Gonzalez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s qualities, you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be a genius to work out the subtext to what he was saying:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He comes to play&#8221; \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unlike Escobar<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got no problems\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unlike Escobar<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He plays like a pro\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unlike Escobar<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The players like him&#8221; &#8211; unlike Escobar<\/p>\n<p>Cox could have just answered the question of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what do you like about Gonzalez\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Escobar\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and had done with it.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, from the outside it looks like the situation had reached the point where Cox would have preferred to send anyone out there other than his young Cuban (Mr Bean, the Queen, BP\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chief Exec \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6).\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<div style=\"float:right;margin-left:5px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/entertainment\/new-york-mets-wright-out\/image\/9325011?term=yunel+escobar\" target=\"_blank\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"New York Mets Wright is out at second base as Atlanta Braves Escobar completes a throw to first base for a double play in New York\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" src=\"http:\/\/view3.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9325011\/new-york-mets-wright-out\/new-york-mets-wright-out.jpg?size=234&amp;imageId=9325011\" border=\"0\" alt=\"New York Mets runner David Wright is out at second base as Atlanta Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar (top) completes a throw to first base for a double play in the sixth inning of their MLB National League baseball game in New York, July 10, 2010. REUTERS\/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL IMAGES OF THE DAY)\" width=\"234\" height=\"215\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>What is most interesting about Cox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments is that while they partly relate to Gonzalez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability on the field, more than anything they are about his attitude and the way he conducts himself.\u00c2\u00a0 Escobar has a casual, some would say arrogant, manner about him that also affects his play at times and the view coming out of the Braves\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 camp (which might not be entirely accurate, of course) is that he rubs up his teammates the wrong way.\u00c2\u00a0 That in itself is an annoyance rather than a major problem, there are plenty of successful teams in sports history containing players that couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stand the sight of each other, but it becomes a sticking point when the player in question doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t produce.<\/p>\n<p>Escobar has had a poor first half to the season, the Braves are in first place in the NL East despite this and General Manager Frank Wren decided that Escobar was a distraction that could knock the team off their course of giving Cox one last play-off run before he retires at the end of the season.\u00c2\u00a0 When you look at the statistics, that would seem a rash move.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Career prior to 2010<br \/>\n<\/strong>Gonzalez: .247\/.294\/.395 with an average of 10 homers<br \/>\nEscobar: .301\/.375\/.426 with an average of 10 homers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2010 prior to trade<\/strong><br \/>\nGonzalez: .259\/.296\/.497 with 17 homers (age 33)<br \/>\nEscobar: .238\/.334\/.284\u00c2\u00a0 with 0 homers (age 27)<\/p>\n<div style=\"float:right;margin-left:5px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/entertainment\/mlb-red-sox-blue-jays\/image\/9336474?term=alex+gonzalez\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"MLB: Red Sox at Blue Jays\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" src=\"http:\/\/view4.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9336474\/mlb-red-sox-blue-jays\/mlb-red-sox-blue-jays.jpg?size=234&amp;imageId=9336474\" border=\"0\" alt=\"July 10, 2010 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - 10 July 2010: Blue Jays shortstop Alex Gonzalez (11) looks toward third base coach Brian Butterfield.\" width=\"234\" height=\"155\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>Escobar has been a superior hitter to Gonzalez prior to this season and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting to note that even while going homer-less so far this year, the former Brave has a higher on-base percentage than his replacement.\u00c2\u00a0 Escobar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s track record suggests he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll improve in the second half, whereas Gonzalez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s home run heroics to date look more like a first-half flash-in-the-pan (see: Raul Ibanez, 2009).\u00c2\u00a0 If so, and if we call their fielding displays at shortstop a dead heat, the Braves probably won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be much better off in terms of performance for making the switch.<\/p>\n<p>The intangible benefits they will gain, in terms of clubhouse chemistry and keeping Bobby Cox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blood pressure under greater control, are the unknown quantity when evaluating the deal.\u00c2\u00a0 As with Escobar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s position with the Braves, it will all come down to performance.\u00c2\u00a0 So long as Gonzalez does a decent job and the team makes it to October, those intangibles will seem all important.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of whether they really turn out to be a factor or not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Good deal for Toronto<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For all his alleged problems, the Blue Jays must have been delighted to make this deal for Escobar.\u00c2\u00a0 They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve picked up a talented young player at a premium position, under contract until the end of 2013, with a big point to prove and with the hope that a change in scenery will bring a change in approach from the player.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Gonzalez-Escobar swap is a good indication of the sort of deals that we can expect up to the 31 July non-waiver trade deadline.<\/p>\n<p>Now that Cliff Lee has been traded, there doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t appear to be many impact players on the market.\u00c2\u00a0 Roy Oswalt would be a difference maker, but the money left on his contract and Astros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 owner Drayton McLane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apparent aversion to letting go of his best veteran players makes it a 50-50 call as to whether he will leave the Astros after all.\u00c2\u00a0 Adam Dunn could certainly provide some power to a contending team (White Sox, perhaps?) if the Nationals decide to trade the free-agent-to-be and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always the possibility that someone might go all out and trade for Prince Fielder.<\/p>\n<p>More likely we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be discussing trades involving players who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t capture the headlines or light up box scores on a regular basis: position players like Dan Uggla, Jose Guillen and David DeJesus, starters like Ted Lilly and Fausto Carmona, and relievers like Kerry Wood, Octavio Dotel and Kevin Gregg.\u00c2\u00a0 They might not have fans jumping up and down with excitement, but in some ways that makes this trading period all the more interesting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Atlanta Braves finally decided that Yunel Escobar was a distraction they no longer needed, making Alex Gonzalez an unlikely hero in the process<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[235,107,553,103,234],"class_list":["post-8606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-hit-ground-ball","category-mlb-2","tag-alex-gonzalez","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-mlb-2","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-yunel-escobar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8606"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8625,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606\/revisions\/8625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}