Back Woes Bench Renteria
By David O'Brien
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
February 24, 2006
Considering the year that Dan Kolb had for Atlanta in 2005, few expected the Braves to get much at all for him in a trade.
But Wes Obermueller actually looks capable of helping the Braves.
The 29-year-old right-hander looked quite good pitching against Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur in batting practice Friday, eliciting whispers and nods of approval from the players and team officials around the batting cage, including manager Bobby Cox and hitting coach Terry Pendleton.
"He threw the ball super," Cox said. "He's got good stuff, 92-94 (fastball), great slider, and he's around the plate. Our scouts liked him, and you could see why."
Obermueller didn't have impressive numbers last year with the Brewers - 1-4 with a 5.26 ERA in 23 games (eight starts) - and frankly hasn't done much worth noting in his four seasons of major league ball (62 G, 41 starts, 9-19, 5.71 ERA, 131 K, 104 walks, 256-1/3 innings). Not good.
But the Braves think he's got the talent to blossom in the right situation, and Friday he looked like a guy capable of much more than he's produced in the past with Kansas City and Milwaukee.
He certainly can't be any worse than Kolb was in 2005, and the Braves probably hope he'll help get the taste out of everyone's mouth from that debacle.
The Braves traded 100-mph fastball-throwing prospect Jose Capellan to the Brewers at the 2004 winter meetings to get Kolb to be their closer. Kolb lost that job in May and blew seven of 18 saves while posting a 5.93 ERA in 65 games.
"The thing with Dan Kolb just didn't work out for us," Schuerholz said in a great understatment after trading him back to Milwaukee almost a year to the day at this past December's winter meetings.
Not that it means much anymore, but just for nostalgic fun, let's write and read this sentence in disbelief: Kolb was an All-Star for Milwaukee in 2004, when he had 39 saves and a 2.73 ERA.
In other news Friday, new shortstop Edgar Renteria was held out of the workout with a sore back after jumping out of the way of a ball in the batting cage Thursday. Bobby Cox said he might rest him again Saturday, but said it's not a big deal and he just wants to make sure Renteria doesn't develop a nagging injury.
The former Florida/St.Louis/Boston player has back problems off and on throughout his career, which I can attest to having covered him in his first few years in the majors when he was with the Marlins. Some in Boston last year said Renteria's back had something to do with his career-worst 30-error season in his only year with the Red Sox.
Renteria hired a personal trainer this winter for the first time and worked out hard at his homes in Colombia and Miami Beach. He reported in good shape and the Braves expect big things from him after getting him to replace Rafael Furcal. They simply can't afford to have him struggling with the back, so it's a smart move to rest him now and get it right.
One other thing: Bobby praised Joey Devine again Friday, talking about the breaking ball he's working on and how good the rookie looked. Devine is definitely a strong candidate for a bullpen job, though I’d suspect it'll be a setup job for now, not closer. But who knows? Too early to tell.
For those curious about Chipper's status, he's gained back most of the weight he lost in his bout with the flu, and he looks stronger and more defined than the last couple of years. He only lost 8 pounds, not 18, while he was sick. And his hamstrings are healthy, for those who've asked about that, too. Of course, as we know, the Chipper medical update can change in a hurry. But he's doing well, for now.
Back to 2006 Articles Page