Different staff to take the Mound at Turner Field

Note: This piece will be in next week's issue of Score Atlanta, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peek! Enjoy!

Ever since the Braves’ magical run began back in 1991, the team’s rotation has always featured a future Hall of Famer or bolstered a Cy Young award winner or two (or three). As of right now, the 2009 Braves starting rotation features neither a Hall of Fame candidate nor a single Cy Young winner – but that might be OK for this team. In a recent chat, general manager Frank Wren called this roster’s bullpen one of the Braves’ “biggest strengths.” With closer Mike Gonzalez and set-up men Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano, the bullpen should be strong come August and September, whereas last season the bullpen was overtaxed by unreliable starting pitching.
Wren has taken steps in recent weeks to acquire starting pitchers that can work deep into games, beginning in a trade for Javier Vazquez. The big right-hander has made it a habit of reaching 200-plus innings, and he will be expected tp strike out a high number of hitters while winning 15-plus games.
The next move Wren made was going overseas to sign Japanese sensation Kenshin Kawakami. The 5-foot-10 righty was the 2004 Central League MVP and has won 112 games in 11 seasons. For his career, Kawakami has a 3.22 ERA with 1,328 strikeouts.
In his biggest move though, Wren was finally able to nab his elusive ace; third choice or first, we might never know. On the same day former ace John Smoltz was officially welcomed into Red Sox Nation, his former team, the Atlanta Braves, added Derek Lowe. The sinkerballer’s deal was announced as four years, $60 million. Lowe was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings pitched last season, and for his career, Lowe is 126-107 in 12 Major League seasons. All three additions are expected to chew up valuable innings and shorten the game for the bullpen, and each has averaged at least 10 wins per season.
Lowe will headline the rotation with “sophomore” Jair Jurrjens in the second spot. The other two new Braves, Vazquez and Kawakami, will slide into the 3 and 4 spots, with Jorge Campillo, JoJo Reyes and Charlie Morton competing for the fifth spot until either Tim Hudson returns from Tommy John surgery in late August or lefty Tom Glavine is able to make a successful return from the first arm surgery of his career. According to Wren, Glavine would be “a great addition to our staff if and when (he) can pitch. We have to go about our offseason planning as if (he) won’t be back and then adjust” if Glavine does return.
The right-handed Lowe is more than just an “innings eater.” In 2004, while with the Red Sox, Lowe was the starter in each of the series-clinching wins as Boston won the World Series. Despite being 35 years old, Lowe was still coveted, mainly for his ability to keep the ball in the park. Vazquez also has postseason experience and Kawakami is a Sawamuri Award winner, which is the Japanese League equivalent of the Cy Young. Add all of that with Hudson’s eventual return and perhaps what Glavine can bring to the table, and the chances at a postseason do not seem as grim as they once had.

REPLACING GLORY …
But will these guys be enough to make up for the losses of Mike Hampton and John Smoltz? Hampton pitched well late in the year last season, but ultimately gave the Braves very little return for his huge salary. Smoltz, however, leaves a huge hole that Wren is hoping to fill with sheer numbers. The 41-year-old left the team after 20 years to sign with Boston after the Red Sox offered him a higher guaranteed salary for 2009, with potential for more in performance bonuses. The greater chance to win a World Series title also had to be in Smoltz’s mind when he signed with Sox.
And even if this team does manage to find enough success to reach the playoffs, will it be the same without John Smoltz sporting a Braves tomahawk? Barring injury, Smoltz will no doubt be taking to the bump for the BoSox come October, and that will certainly be a strange site. Smoltz had been a Brave for 20-plus seasons, and try as they might, Braves officials cannot replace what Smoltz meant to the city. Coming off surgery though, even if the bearded righty had not gone to Boston but instead retired, the team would be turning the page.
Now that the page has indeed been turned, the team will rely on this staff to bridge the gap once again. Lowe, Kawakami and Vazquez are nice additions, but the future of the Braves rotation is still in the minor leagues. Phenom Tommy Hanson was recently named MVP of the Arizona Fall League, the first pitcher to ever win that honor. According to Baseball America, the team also has several more studs just a year or two away from the Major League level. Left-handed pitchers Cole Rohrbough and Jeff Lock along with right-handed pitchers Julio Tehran and Craig Kimbrel could join Hanson to be the future Smoltz-Glavine-Avery murderer’s row of a rotation. The future is no doubt bright, and even the present is a little brighter than it was last week.