Braves’ New World One of Inconsistency

Nine consecutive division titles translate to more than great expectations.

The Atlanta Braves comprehend the highs and lows of a long season and have too much pride and professionalism to panic over a struggling start in mid-May.

At the same time, their inconsistencies on the mound and at the plate are reminiscent of their October collapse against the St. Louis Cardinals in a National League division series and aren’t simply being dismissed.

“I definitely think there’s concern,” third baseman Chipper Jones said. “A month and a half should be enough time to show flashes, but we’ve been pretty consistently inconsistent. We can’t afford to go 3-3 on the road and then go 3-3 at home. At some point we have to start [doing better], but so far we haven’t. The bottom line is perseverance. We have to keep pushing and hope it clicks. To this point it hasn’t.”

The Braves open a three-game series against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium tonight with a 16-19 record.

They are five games behind the improbable Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, but it’s not strictly the record and deficit--their largest since 1994--that generate concern.

The larger issue, said Jones and others, is the frustrating struggle to put the pitching and hitting together, the inability to put a winning streak together. At this point last year, the Braves were virtually cementing another division title by winning 15 in succession. Now they arrive in Los Angeles having failed to win three in a row, making this the latest they have gone into a season without accomplishing that since 1988, underscoring their dominance of the ‘90s and inconsistency of 2001.

“We certainly have not played as well as we can, as well as we thought we would,” pitcher Tom Glavine said. “There’s any number of reasons for that, but on the bright side, we’re still in close proximity to the lead and things could be worse than they are. We still believe in ourselves. We still believe we have a solid club. We know we can play better, that we can be more consistent. We’re trying to put ourselves in position where we win two out of every three, 20 of every 30. I think that’s more reasonable than to think we can win 14 or 15 in a row again.”

More reasonable, perhaps, because it’s difficult to get a handle on how good the Braves are or should be, considering they are only 32-31 in regular-season play since Aug. 1 and were swept by the Cardinals in the playoffs.

A management that has never been hesitant to juggle a championship roster finished far back in the bidding for Alex Rodriguez and Mike Hampton. The Braves would like to have kept Andres Galarraga, who hit 28 homers and drove in 100 runs in his comeback from cancer, but not for the $6 million the Texas Rangers are paying him as a 40-year-old this season, particularly since the AOL-Time Warner merger has resulted in major staff and scouting cutbacks.

In surveying the market, the Braves cited the anticipated return of John Smoltz from elbow reconstruction, a healthier and stronger Brian Jordan, Quilvio Veras, B.J. Surhoff and Odalis Perez after surgery and the continuing maturation of rookie-of-the-year Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones for thinking their own players would improve a team that won 95 or more games in each of the last four years and represented a wiser investment than a budget-breaking free agent.

It has all been a little slower to play out, which is not to say it won’t, but asked recently what roster move he now might make to shake up the Braves, General Manager John Schuerholz put tongue in cheek and said, “If we used the current stats as criteria, we’d have to trade the entire roster.”

The stats have improved some since then, but the Braves still ranked 14th in a 16-team league in batting Thursday at .241, and next to last in runs, averaging 3.7 a game, and on-base percentage, .311.

They have scored three runs or fewer in 18 of 35 games, one or none in 10. A lineup that misses Galarraga’s power in the middle and is admittedly frustrated by the inconsistent strike zone finds the catalytic Furcal batting .229 with a .280 on-base percentage and only two regulars--Chipper Jones at .328 and Jordan, .276--above .270. Rico Brogna, .239, and Wes Helms, .224, replacing Galarraga, have combined for three home runs.

“Given what Furcal and Andruw Jones did last year and the number of guys we have capable of hitting .300 and hitting for power, I never dreamed we’d struggle like this,” Chipper Jones said. “It seems like only a couple guys are having typical years.”

Some of it stems from a strike zone that continues to vary from umpire to umpire, affecting what the Braves tout as a lineup of professional hitters, as well as their renowned pitchers.

“I’m not giving anyone credit or taking any away,” Jordan said. “It’s an adjustment period for everyone in baseball, but it’s definitely affecting us right now, as far as hitting, and when you fall into a funk like we have, everybody starts pressing, everybody tries to be the hero.”

No one, perhaps, has been more affected than Furcal, driven out of his game, Jordan said, by swinging at high pitches that may or may not be called strikes.

“I continue to do it as well, but he’s our leader, our point man,” Jordan said. “When he gets going, we get going.”

Of course, the Atlanta offense has almost always seemed like an afterthought, overshadowed by one of the best rotations in baseball. The Braves have been first or second in the league in earned-run average every year since Leo Mazzone became pitching coach in 1992. They ranked fifth Thursday at a very good 4.27, although neither Glavine nor Greg Maddux has been as consistently dominant--victimized, at times, by an allegedly higher and tighter strike zone that neither is eager to talk about.

Each of course, has made a living on or around the corners, and their ability to continue in a year that “some umpires will give the black [plate edging] and some won’t, and all a pitcher can do is feel his way,” Manager Bobby Cox said, is as critical to the Braves as John Rocker’s ability to provide consistent relief. The controversial--and at times erratic--closer has saved nine games and blown two others, managing generally to keep his mouth shut.

Amid the uncertainty, this much seems likely: The Braves know the way and figure to be there at the end, getting stronger as the season progresses. Smoltz is expected to rejoin the rotation next week. Kevin Millwood, sidelined by shoulder inflammation, should be back in two weeks, giving the Braves their most formidable front four since Smoltz blew out his elbow. In addition, Jordan, Surhoff and Veras should be more comfortable and productive as the year unfolds.

“We miss Galarraga, but we have good speed and defense, so it’s a push there,” Maddux said. “I think we have one of our better bullpens, and it will be good to get Smoltzie back. Position by position, I think we match up very well with the opposition. We just need to play the game right, play it a little better. We’ve dug out of deeper holes.”

The Braves had the San Diego Padres in a 5-1 hole Thursday but Glavine and the bullpen couldn’t seal it. The Padres rallied for a 6-5 victory, deepening Atlanta’s frustration.

Said Jordan: “We have the talent to be right back where we normally are, in the playoffs--hopefully far into the playoffs. The bottom line right now is, we haven’t been playing good baseball, haven’t been getting it done. We need to have the pitching and hitting work together, and that hasn’t happened. You know there’s a problem when we haven’t won three in a row at this point in the season.”

The Braves will try to start a new streak tonight. Their concern is that it’s becoming a habit.