原文：http://goo.gl/WE8M If Plan B fails, the Braves can try Plan FF – Freddie Freeman 4:47 pm August 1, 2010, by Mark Bradley This deadline deal wasn’t the same as trading for Fred McGriff and installing him at first base ahead of the still-pretty-good Sid Bream. The Braves cannot make those moves anymore. This was, duh, a smaller trade for parts of lesser quality. Kyle Farnsworth has had one save since 2006. Rick Ankiel, who had already washed out as a pitcher, was allowed to leave St. Louis after last season and wound up with Kansas City, a big-league club in charter only. These men are in no way saviors. But one of them could well make a difference. Forget Farnsworth. He’s just another arm for a bullpen that has enough of them. Ankiel is the key, and not because he’s anything special. He isn’t. But he’s yet another guy the Braves can try in center field, and that’s really all they can afford. Nate McLouth just got demoted to Gwinnett. Jordan Schafer just got demoted from Gwinnett. Melky Cabrera can play center, but if he’s stationed there he cannot be deployed in left. And that’s what this trade reveals: That the Braves’ lineup, which looked potent not long ago, has become a batting order based in shifting sand. The splendid Martin Prado has a broken pinkie. Troy Glaus, who propelled the Braves into first place, has reverted to being the helpless Glaus of April, only worse. Glaus had nine RBIs in April; he had five in July. Worse, he seems to be hurting. From Bobby Cox’s starting eight against Cincinnati on Sunday, we saw what this trade enables the Braves to do. (Or at least to try. The Braves lost 2-1 and mustered four hits.) Glaus sat. Eric Hinske, who has been part of a left-field platoon, started at first base. Cabrera, who played center field Saturday and uncorked the worst throw since Neil O’Donnell made Larry Brown the MVP of Super Bowl XXX, moved to left. And Ankiel, a Brave for all of 21 hours, started in center and went 0-for-3 with a walk. Simply put, the Braves cannot keep running Glaus out there without a Plan B. The Glaus of May drove in everybody — he had 28 RBIs — but the Glaus of July stranded way more folks than the S.S. Minnow. Perhaps a bit of rest and recuperation will change things. If not … well, Hinske has played 91 more major-league games at first base than has Glaus. Back to Ankiel: Far from being Willie Mays, he’s not necessarily an upgrade on Cabrera. But this is what the Braves are. They’re a first-place club trying to hang on while being chased by a demonstrably more talented opponent of far greater resources. This doesn’t mean the Braves are doomed to fail. What it does mean is that a new cohesion must be forged on the fly. The Braves charged to the top of the National League East because Cox put the men with the four best on-base percentages atop his lineup and Glaus, on cue, brought them home. We’re now seeing runners stranded by the busload — 11 in Sunday’s loss — because nobody else is doing as Glaus did. (His last RBI came a week ago, and he still leads the Braves with 61; Brian McCann is second with 53.) Cox has been reduced to throwing combinations at the wall and hoping one sticks. It’s possible one will. (Yes, it is. How many among us thought in mid-April that Glaus would be NL player of month in May?) It’s also possible the Braves will need a Plan C. In this case, Plan C would be Plan FF. Freddie Freeman is hitting .295 with 63 RBIs in Gwinnett. He’ll surely be summoned when the rosters expand in September, but the Braves might not be able to wait that long. The last thing this organization wants to do is insert a prized prospect into the pressure of a playoff race, but that’s the point. If the Braves don’t start scoring again, they will be down to last gasps. -- "I don't really feel like I know a whole lot about anything, but I know a few things about baseball." -- Greg Maddux --

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