The Braves clubhouse is in a complete funk, punched in the gut by the failures on offense that have resulted in their amazingly bad 2-14 record in one-run games, most of which have come on the road, where they're 0-11.
That's what compelled manager Bobby Cox to shuffle the lineup on the Braves' last road trip, moving Kelly Johnson, who was leading off, further down, anywhere from sixth to eighth, depending on who else was in the lineup. Freed of the obligation Johnson felt he had as leadoff hitter to see as many pitches as possible, his batting average perked up immediately. Yunel Escobar was installed as the leadoff hitter, and that worked just fine at the beginning of the recent homestand. But Escobar has been swinging at bad pitches recently (although he had three hits Thursday) which has led to calls -- by Braves announcers, among other observers -- to have Gregor Blanco lead off.
Blanco is a contact hitter, and the more starts he gets, the better his batting average looks. He's also speedy, able to beat out a lot of groundballs for singles. But until Matt Diaz tore a ligament in his left knee Tuesday, he had been platooning in left.
Lately, with Mark Kotsay's stiff back keeping him on the bench, Blanco has been playing center field.
The point is that while Blanco may become an everyday player, and soon, he isn't one yet. And Cox likes to keep his lineup stable from one day to the next. Particularly at the top.
The Braves' anemic road batting average and Diaz's injury -- he's expected to be out four to six weeks -- may prod Cox to try Blanco at the top this weekend in Cincinnati.
BRAVES 8, BREWERS 1: 1B Teixeira drove in four runs and Jorge Campillo drove in two with his first major league hit while pitching five sparkling innings with blisters on his pitching hand.
