N.L. East

Sporting News, The, May 31, 1999

Matchup game

The Phillies have been a surprising addition to the race for the N.L. East title. The team is far from flawless, though, and a 10-game stretch from May 28 to June 6 will go a long way in proving its legitimacy. Here's how the Phils stack up with their next three opponents (Rockies, Giants and Orioles)--along with key offensive players--in the past three seasons (1996-98).

Philadelphia's record vs. Colorado: 17-15, San Francisco: 11-20, Baltimore: 1-5

KEY PLAYERS

Philadelphia's vs. Colorado (May 28-30)

Phillies

Bob Abreu:         .309, 5 HR, 14 RBIs
Rico Brogna:       .281, 3 HR, 20 RBIs
Ron Gant:          .329, 2 HR, 13 RBIs

Rockies

Vinny Castilla:     .283, 7 HR, 16 RBIs
Todd Helton:        .372, 4 HR, 10 RBIs
Mike Lansing:       .319, 5 HR, 21 RBIs

Philadelphia vs. San Francisco (May 31-June 3)

Phillies

Rico Brogna:       .280, 3 HR, 14 RBIs
Ron Gant:          .235, 6 HR, 18 RBIs
Mike Lieberthal:   .269, 5 HR, 14 RBIs

Giants

Marvin Benard:     .389, 0 HR, 7 RBIs
Stan Javier:       .356, 0 HR, 6 RBIs
Jeff Kent:         .359, 8 HR, 25 RBIs

Philadelphia at Baltimore (June 4-6)

Phillies

Mike Lieberthal:    .429, 1 HR, 3 RBIs
Scott Rolen:        .476, 3 HR, 6 RBIs

Orioles

Jeff Conine:       .314,1 HR, 10 RBIs
Charles Johnson:   .330, 9 HR, 22 RBIs
Cal Ripken:        .385,1 HR, 5 RBIs

Atlanta

26-16: 1st Once-dominant rotation needs a dash from past

FIRST-QUARTER ANALYSIS: The addition of Brian Jordan and Bret Boone has helped counter the loss of Andres Galarraga, and the offense has been more productive than expected. The lineup has produced an average of 5.5 runs in the first 42 games, compared with an average of 5.76 at the same point last year. Andruw Jones is developing into the hitter scouts projected he would become and should top 100 RBIs this season. Kevin Millwood's continued development has been badly needed in an inconsistent rotation. He has more wins and a better ERA than Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Millwood has learned to use his off-speed pitches, instead of trying to throw the ball by every hitter, and allow his defense to make plays behind him. Maddux's pitches am finding the middle of the plate rather than the comers, and the results am evident--the league is hitting .351 against him. Overall, the rotation has produced a startling 4.09 ERA. Leadoff man Otis Nixon has been a disappointment and his slow start finally forced manager Bobby Cox to shift Walt Weiss back to the top of the lineup, where he's more comfortable.

LOOKING-AHEAD: With John Smoltz on the D.L., Bruce Chen was recalled from Class AAA and probably will make two more starts if he is effective. He upgraded his changeup and breaking pitches at Class AAA. Cox may be forced to give Brian Hunter and Randall Simon more playing time because Ryan Klesko isn't producing the kind of numbers expected of him. When the Braves spoke to the Twins about Rick Aguilera, it signaled their interest in acquiring a veteran closer. That's no rap against John Rocker, it simply means the club thinks it needs a veteran hand in that role for the postseason.

TSNUMBER: 4.09. The starters' ERA is more than a run higher than last year's. They are on pace for only 70 wins, 20 fewer than last year's total. Besides slow starts by Maddux and Glavine, No. 5 starter Odalis Perez has only two wins, the same spot in the rotation that Millwood used for 17 wins in '98. --Bill Zack

GRADING OUT

OFFENSE A

There's only a 10-run difference between the lineup this yea and last season.

PITCHING B

The bullpen has been terrific, but the starters are stripling to find a groove.

DEFENSE B

A club that committed a league-low 91 errors in 1998 is on pace for 120 this year.

BRAVES
                  AVG    G    AB     R    H   HR   RBI    OBP

Simon( )         .333   14    33     5   11    1     3   .410
Lopez            .303   30   119    16   36    5    20   .331
Jordan           .302   42   162    33   49   11    40   .382
Boone            .288   41   170    31   49    8    24   .341
A. Jones         .283   42   152    29   43    8    30   .376
Hunter           .282   30    39    10   11    3     8   .317
C. Jones(#)      .280   40   157    27   44    9    29   .377
E. Perez         .268   18    56     2   15    0     1   .293
Weiss(#)         .266   39   124    18   33    0    15   .354
Klesko( )        .260   33   104    10   27    5    17   .314
Williams         .256   33    78    15   20    3    14   .344
Lockhart( )      .194   28    31     4    6    0     3   .286
Nixon(#)         .179   33    95    17   17    0     6   .301
Guillen( )       .158   21    38     6    6    0     2   .179

                  SLG    SB     K    BB    E

Simon( )         .485     1     2     5    0
Lopez            .529     0    19     5    0
Jordan           .580     2    25    20    0
Boone            .476     3    31    14    3
A. Jones         .526     7    32    21    2
Hunter           .590     0    12     2    1
C. Jones(#)      .510     2    25    25    4
E. Perez         .286     0     9     2    2
Weiss(#)         .347     3    20    18    7
Klesko( )        .462     1    21    10    4
Williams         .410     2    11    11    1
Lockhart( )      .226     1     4     4    0
Nixon(#)         .189    12     9    17    1
Guillen( )       .211     0     5     1    1

GRAND SLAMS: Jordan(1)

                  ERA    W-L    G     IP     H    R    ER

Springer         0.00    0-0     2    2.0     0    0    0
Remlinger( )     1.45    2-0    17   18.2    11    3    3
Seanez           1.86    1-0    20   19.1    13    4    4
(*)McGlinchy     2.21    2-2    21   20.1    16    7    5
Rocker( )        2.55    2-2    18   17.2    11    6    5
Millwood         3.32    4-3     9   57.0    48   23   21
Speier           4.15    0-0    11   13.0    12    6    6
Glavine( )       4.45    3-4     9   60.2    65   30   30
Maddux           5.02    4-3     9   57.1    88   37   32
(*)O. Perez( )   5.18    2-1     7   33.0    35   20    9
(*)Chen( )       6.00    0-0     1    6.0     5    4    4

                 HR      K     BB     SV    Avg.

Springer          0      1      0     0    .000
Remlinger( )      1     18     10     0    .169
Seanez            1     14      6     1    .186
(*)McGlinchy      1     17     11     0    .232
Rocker( )         0     23     10     6    .172
Millwood          3     48     20     0    .226
Speier            5     13      4     0    .235
Glavine( )        6     34     20     0    .277
Maddux            7     31      7     0    .351
(*)O. Perez( )    1     26     17     0    .271
(*)Chen( )        1      7      2     0    .227