Inside The N.L. East

Sporting News, The, Oct 2, 2000

Who's HOT

SS Rafael Furcal is one reason the Braves are much more dangerous and complete this season. Because of his speed, they now can manufacture runs. Furcal recently had an 11-game hitting streak and has stolen 38 bases this season.

Who's NOT

It is not a great time to be a first baseman named Lee. Through Saturday, Florida's Derrek was hitting .221 in September. Philadelphia's Travis can't find his power stroke and had only one homer since being traded to the Phillies on July 26.

CIRCLE THE CALENDAR

The battle for playoff positioning will go down to the wire. The Braves finish the season with three home games against Colorado, and the Mets finish with three at Shea against Montreal. Meanwhile, the Cardinals host the Reds for three, and the Giants travel to Arizona for three.

Keep an eye on

How key Braves perform down the stretch. LHP John Rocker still can be a dominant closer, and Reggie Sanders' bat is coming alive. However, Brian Jordan's shoulder injury is affecting his power, and Andres Galarraga was in an extended slump.

High and inside

Although the Mets won a game in Atlanta for the first time since 1996, it's obvious New York can't get over the Atlanta hurdle. So the Mets have to pray that the Giants or Cardinals can get the job done for them.

TSN's Wired World

Montreal has high hopes for its rotation next season, assuming everyone can stay healthy this time. Six pitchers will fight it out for the available starting positions. For more on the Expose, visit:

sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/expos

PROSPECT WATCH The Phillies recently called up SS Jimmy Rollins and CF Reggie Taylor, two of their top prospects. Rollins could be the starter next season after hitting .274 with 69 RBIs and 24 steals at Class AAA this season. Teammate Taylor hit .275 with 15 homers, 43 RBIs 23 steals.

Atlanta

91-63: 1st

Cox says he wants to stay for three more seasons

Rumors of manager Bobby Cox's retirement appear to be exaggerated. The Boston Globe reported last week that "one big-league coach has been telling mends that Cox intends to step down after the season and his successor will be Jimy Williams." The unidentified coach apparently hasn't checked in with Cox. He says he's happy and wants to continue managing at least three more years. The Braves would love for one part of the rumor to be true. No question the team would welcome Williams back. He's one of Cox's best friends and has one of the sharpest minds in the game.... Keith Lockhart, who has become the regular second baseman against righthanders, is hitting .340 in his last 32 games.... LHP Mike Remlinger's recent ineffectiveness is a concern. In a recent 13-game stretch, he allowed 16 hits and nine earned runs in 12 innings.

SCOUTING REPORT: RHP Kerry Ligtenberg was roughed up against the Mets last week, allowing two hits and three runs, and was bluntly honest in assessing his performance. He says he was throwing too hard, instead of relaxing and throwing to his spots. He says he occasionally falls into that trap and doesn't notice it until a coach or another reliever points it out to him.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: RHP Greg Maddux has a streak of 36 shutout innings entering the week, lowering his ERA to 2.91. But he attributes the streak to luck. "Maybe the defensive positioning has been better," he says. "I'm not striking more guys out ... it's not like I've got a new pitch." --Bill Zack

Fearless Forecast

Rafael Furcal will finish with an average around. 300, have 40 steals and score more than 80 runs, He'll cap off this terrific first season by being named Rookie of the Year.

BRAVES

                 AVG    G     AB        R     H   HR   RBI

C. Jones(#)     .311   148   553      109   172   34   107
(*)DeRosa       .308    19    13        8     4    0     3
Surhoff( )      .303    38   122       13    37    1    11
Galarraga       .301   134   471       64   142   27    95
A. Jones        .301   153   622(a)   115   187   33    96
(*)Furcal(#)    .294   123   422       80   124    3    35
Lopez           .283   127   456       53   129   22    82
Weiss(#)        .275    76   182       29    50    0    17
Jordan          .272   127   467       70   127   17    75
Joyner( )       .270   113   211       22    57    5    31
Lockhart( )     .267   107   258       31    69    2    26
Bonilla(#)      .259   110   228       23    59    5    27
Bako( )         .226    79   217       18    49    2    20
Sanders         .215    96   311       40    67   11    35
(*)Sisco        .200    23    25        4     5    1     2
(*)Lombard( )   .118    23    34        7     4    0     1
(*)Helms        .000     3     2        0     0    0     0
M. Hubbard      .000     2     1        0     0    0     0
(*)Swann( )     .000     3     1        0     0    0     0
Unroe           .000     2     3        0     0    0     0

                 OBP    SLG   SB     K   BB    E

C. Jones(#)     .403   .564   14    59   90   24
(*)DeRosa       .400   .385    0     1    2    0
Surhoff( )      .368   .434    3    11   12    0
Galarraga       .369   .529    3   123   35   14
A. Jones        .366   .527   20    96   58    2
(*)Furcal(#)    .396   .374   38    75   71   23
Lopez           .333   .476    0    77   32    6
Weiss(#)        .369   .330    0    31   26   15
Jordan          .329   .437   10    75   37    3
Joyner( )       .358   .393    0    31   30    3
Lockhart( )     .333   .357    4    29   27    7
Bonilla(#)      .363   .404    0    48   37    4
Bako( )         .313   .304    0    63   27    4
Sanders         .291   .383   18    73   31    5
(*)Sisco        .259   .320    0     4    2    0
(*)Lombard( )   .167   .118    4    12    1    0
(*)Helms        .000   .000    0     2    0    1
M. Hubbard      .000   .000    0     1    0    0
(*)Swann( )     .000   .000    0     1    0    0
Unroe           .250   .000    0     1    1    0

GRAND SLAMS: Galarraga, Lopez (1)

                  ERA       W-L     G      IP        H     R

McGlinchy        2.84       0-0     8     6.1        8     4
Maddux           2.91   19(a)-8    34   244.1(a)   221    87
Rocker( )        3.08       1-1    55    49.2       36    19
Remlinger( )     3.31       5-3    68    70.2       54    27
Glavine( )       3.61   19(a)-9    33   227.0      210   101
Ligtenberg       3.67       2-3    56    49.0       40    20
Millwood         4.61      10-12   34   205.0      205   110
Ashby            4.93      11-12   29   184.1      202   116
Mulholland( )    5.05       9-9    51   155.0      192    94
Burkett          5.06       9-6    29   122.2      149    75
(*)Marquis       5.24       1-0    14    22.1       22    14
Kamieniecki      5.32       2-1    23    22.0       20    16
Belinda          7.71       1-3    56    46.2       55    44
(*)Molina        9.00       0-0     2     2.0        3     4
(*)Seelbach     18.00       0-1     1     1.0        3     2

                 ER    HR    K   BB   SV   Avg.

McGlinchy         2    1     7    6    0   .296
Maddux           79   19   183   40    0   .238
Rocker( )        17    4    72   46   23   .197
Remlinger( )     26    6    70   34   12   .208
Glavine( )       91   24   146   64    0   .244
Ligtenberg       20    6    49   24   12   .226
Millwood        105   25   160   58    0   .258
Ashby           101   27   104   59    0   .282
Mulholland( )    87   23    77   39    1   .304
Burkett          69   12   103   47    0   .303
(*)Marquis       13    4    15   11    0   .265
Kamieniecki      13    3    17   19    2   .238
Belinda          40   14    51   22    1   .294
(*)Molina         2    1     1    1    0   .375
(*)Seelbach       2    0     0    0    0   .750