The day after the 2007 season ended, manager Bobby Cox was unexpectedly upbeat. The reason? He was looking forward to the pitching depth he expected to have in 2008.
Well, he did have depth. And the injuries ran through pretty much all of it. Which is why right-hander Charlie Morton, left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and left-hander Chuck James have made starts this season. Although there have been flashes of promise in each of the three, the results have, for the most part, not been pretty. Reyes and James were sent down to Class AAA Richmond to toil, and Morton may not be far behind if he cannot reproduce last Saturday's two-earned-run outing on a consistent basis. (Morton lost 4-2, but it was to the Brewers and CC Sabathia.)
Reyes has been working on a different delivery, which works beautifully in the bullpen without any batters, according to pitching coach Roger McDowell, but which Reyes does not yet trust enough to take into a game.
Morton's location problems seem to be more mental than mechanical: McDowell's challenge with him is to keep him focused on each pitch, one at a time, and leave the big picture for the offseason.
James is having the toughest time; the fifth starter's job was expected to be his until Jair Jurrjens blew him away in spring training. He was 4-5 at Richmond with a 2.48 ERA is 14 games (13 starts) but has given up four or more earned runs in five of his seven starts with the Braves. James rested a partially torn rotator cuff all winter, and one cannot help but suspect what he really needs is surgery.
GIANTS 3, BRAVES 2: LHP Chuck James left after four innings because he couldn't put hitters away and because the Braves needed to keep the score close in hopes of getting to the Giants bullpen. But RHP Tim Lincecum pitched eight innings, and the Braves lost another one-run game on the road. Their record in those situations is 0-19.
