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Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2009

Leadership lacking in Braves’ clubhouse

Jair Jurrjens could only shake his head.

The Atlanta Braves had lost their game last Wednesday. Jurrjens had taken the loss, despite pitching six strong innings and giving his team, once again, the chance to win. He was being asked about Yunel Escobar, the Braves’ shortstop whose mental mistake led to a run for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Next question,” Jurrjens said, practically begging the media to not ask him again about Escobar.

The frustration was nothing new, and Jurrjens is not alone. The talented shortstop causes more than one player in that clubhouse to shake their heads. And on Sunday, more mental lapses led manager Bobby Cox to bench Escobar in Baltimore.

The Braves are below .500 mainly because of an inconsistent offense. We all know that. The lineup has not produced and not complimented a very improved pitching staff. But beyond that, the occasional fundamental lapses have also cost this team some wins. The Escobar incident only exposed the other problems.

There is no doubt about Escobar’s talent. He is perhaps one of the best players at his position in the game. But as one member of the organization told me last week, “You take the good and the bad with Yunel. You know he’s going to help you win games, but then you know he’s going to do things to just make you shake your head.”

Cox got tired of shaking his head, so he benched Escobar. But will Escobar get the picture? This situation brings up another problem with this club: there is no enforcer in that clubhouse to make sure Escobar understands what he has done wrong.

Chipper Jones is what he is, and he’s trying this year to be a leader. He spoke out earlier this year about Jordan Schafer’s troubles, and then the next day he was pictured with the struggling rookie in the indoor batting cage. That’s leadership.

But an enforcer is a bit different. When a player messes up, someone needs to be there to make sure it doesn’t happen again. For years, Julio Franco was that enforcer in the Braves’ clubhouse. If a young player, more than half his age usually, did something that was not liked by the veteran, Franco stepped in and fixed it. He would put his arm around the player, or maybe even just raise his head and glare. Franco was an enforcer.

That’s not Chipper Jones. That’s just not him. And that’s fine. But it does not change the fact this team needs that type of clubhouse presence. It needs someone who when Escobar got benched Sunday, he had a veteran player sitting right there next to him telling him what he did wrong. Instead, Escobar was sitting by himself.

It’s the type of thing Terry Pendleton would have done when he was playing. And to an extent, John Smoltz, although it really needs to be a position player, someone the everyday players can look up to and respect.

It’s a weird mix of personalities on this team. Garrett Anderson and Casey Kotchman are uncomfortably quiet, and they appear to wish they were back in Anaheim. There’s Kelly Johnson, who is laid back, and Jeff Francoeur, who is more confused about not having a long-term contract than realizing how unstable his spot on the roster is right now. There’s Escobar, who doesn’t interact much with his teammates. And then you’ve got Nate McLouth, who just got here and can’t be expected to step right in and be a leader.

In a few years, this will be Brian McCann’s team. But right now, it’s just hard for a 25-year-old player to take the role as a leader. Would Escobar have respected a player a year younger than him coming over to tell him what he needed to do? Probably not, but please believe McCann is the one who eventually take over as the team leader.

Right now, however, there is a void. General manager Frank Wren is still looking for another bat. But this team needs more than that. It needs someone to get mad when the team is playing lackadaisically, and someone to provide leadership when a young player is not doing his part. It’s about accountability, and the Braves just don’t have that right now.

The Bill Shanks Show airs weekdays from 3-6 pm on WFSM Fox Sports 1670 and online at www.foxsports1670.com.