while the Braves have ample experience catching up after a weak April and the Met rotation is similarly precarious, the Mets are a better team than they’ve been in a while and Pat Gillick is a more competent GM than Dead Ed Wade.

All true ... yet there the Braves are at 21-20 and just 3.5 games back.

Hey Walt
Francouer has an isoP of 220 right now. wonder how it is going to work over the season
mentioning this as I remember you pointing out how unlikely that was going to be when I pulled some random projection numbers out of my ass ( and FWIW , I agreed with you !! )

Chuck James is also going to be tried as a starter, and keep an eye out for Kevin Barry. He is riding roughshod over AAA hitters right now

According to MLB.com, Davies may be back in as little as six weeks. Apparently his surgery went well, and was less extensive than Nomar's.

I like Davies, but it's not like he was making a difference on this team anyway. If we lose the division it won't be because of this injury.

I agree with that. Our problem is that we have a rotation full of third starters.

Oh, and Sosa.

Doesn't look like he'll be back in six weeks. The Braves put him on the 60 day DL to make room for Travis Smith on the 40 man roster.

I had previously thought that Davies would be a stalwart of the rotation for years to come. But having watched him closely this year (after drafting him in a $$-fantasy league), I've determined he's a reincarnation of Marquis: mediocre, overly straight fastball; decent curve; no effective third pitch; in rotation in early twenties. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, given that Marquis is a decent guy (met him when he was in AA and visiting Joe Chandler about some shoulder issues) and a serviceable #4 starter. But Davies does not have an "out pitch," and that is killing him in key situations.

I hope that Chuck James might be different, but he also appears to be of the same ilk, with the key differences being a) he's left-handed, and b) insert 'change-up' for 'curveball.'

The Braves put him on the 60 day DL to make room for Travis Smith on the 40 man roster.

...and then immediately DFA'd Smith for Brayan Pena.

-- MWE

Davies looks like a guy who will be a solid #4 to me for years but never "make it to his potential" since he's overhyped in the 1st place.

...and then immediately DFA'd Smith for Brayan Pena.

And good riddance to him, too.

I think Chuck James is better than Davies. Neither of them looks to be a true ace, but they're both useful, and superior to HoRam. Sosa is the guy with the potential to be an ace, but I strongly doubt he'll ever harness his stuff enough.

Davies when he came up was supposed to have a killer change, and the curve was supposed to be his third pitch.
I think the problem is that the change up works off the fastball, and he has zero command of his fastball right now