Chuck James: James had a down year from what he did in his rookie season. He had many ups in the season and he had many downs. He went 11-10 with a 4.24 ERA last season for the Atlanta Braves. James main problem last year was his inability to pitch late into games. Being a two pitch pitcher hitters really lock into a pitch from Chuck and never miss it. James has also had problems pitching up in the zone at times. From time to time he will hang up one of his low 90’s fastball and it will get hammered. To add insult to injury at the end of the season James had to miss a couple of starts with arm troubles last season. We can only hope his arm troubles are long gone. The biggest problem with James last season was probably his homerun total. He gave up a Braves record high 32 homeruns last season. So Chuck should really work on keeping the ball down and away from hitters next season.
James really needs to develop a 3rd pitch to be able to get left handed hitters out. Left handed hitters hit .252 off him last season. That’s no a huge average but a slider or curveball would really help him out. That is why the signing of Tom Glavine helps out Chuck James more than any other Braves pitcher. Glavine and James are very similar pitchers. They have similar deliveries, mechanics, and pitching repertoire. The best thing for the young lefty to do is to pick apart the brain of Tom Glavine. Glavine is very well experienced and should be able to teach Chuck a great deal of pointers about being a successful pitcher. I would really like for James to develop a 12-6 curveball. That pitch is very effective against lefties and is a really good two strike pitch versus right handed hitters. May be developing a 2-steam fastball will help out his fly ball tendencies also.
The young Alabama native is going to be in a real fight for the final spot to make the Braves rotation next year. Chuck’s experience makes him the front runner over the other young guns Charlie Morton, Jair Jurrjens, Jeff Bennett, and JoJo Reyes. Chuck really has to cut down on his homerun totals from last season. That was one of the main problems why he had a roller coaster year. Learning a third pitch is going to be vital for him if he wants to have better success versus left handed hitters. I am anticipating a very good year from Chuck James next year. Tom Glavine is going to show him the ropes of pitching. I also trust that he will develop another pitch between a 2-steam fastball, 12-6 curveball, and or a 3-9 slider.
Mike Hampton: Well there isn’t much to say about Mike Hampton for the past couple of years now about him. Hampton has had back to back season ending arm surgeries. Well there is one thing, NEVER TRUST MIKE HAMPTON. When healthy, Hampton has been a very good pitcher for the Atlanta Braves in the past. The only problem with him is that stupid injury bug keeps biting him. His latest injury was when he was in the Dominican League and he pulled a hamstring while trying to make a hockey catch. Hampton was doing marvelous up till that embarrassing moment. When he did pitch it looked like his sinker was sinking, his curveball was curving, and his fastball was in the low 90’s. I actually was impressed at the pitches he was throwing. Unfortunately he had to try to make a great catch and now he is hoping to be ready for spring training.
Hampton is going to be a very big key for the Atlanta next season. That will leave the Braves with 4 quality veteran starting pitchers in the rotation. That should really help down the stretch when they need to go on a streak to stay ahead of the Phillies and Mets. This really helps Bobby Cox manage how he wants to use the bullpen. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Mike Hampton is going to have a good season for the Braves next year.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
