Braves could learn lesson from 2004 team

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE — This week’s trip to Camden Yards reminded me of something that transpired here around this same time 20 years ago.

As the Braves prepared to play in Miami on June 23, 2004, they were 32-38 and losers of 10 of their last 13. We sat in Bobby Cox’s office that day and talked about what was ailing the team. This was back when managers could actually be themselves without having to have a camera in their face for every interview.

Eventually, Cox took a puff of his cigar and said, “What do you want me to do? Do you want me to go flip tables and throw things all around the clubhouse?” This wouldn’t have been completely out of character. He had thrown a thing or two in the clubhouse after Barry Bonds hit two walk-off homers within a three-game series the year before. He then apologized to Trey Hodges when he realized the second game-ending homer was hit against a pitch that was off the plate.

But at that point of the 2004 season, Cox didn’t see any reason to panic or yell just to yell. The Braves won that night and then ended the road trip by taking two of three against the Orioles. They were down, 7-0, through six innings of the series finale in Baltimore and then won with a seven-run eighth inning.

By the end of July, the Braves were 12 games above .500 and heading toward a 96-win season. Chipper Jones and Marcus Giles getting healthy influenced that second-half charge in 2004. Ronald Acuña Jr. isn’t coming back this year. But the Braves can count on Sean Murphy and Austin Riley improving as they distance themselves from their recent extended absences.

Will this year’s series finale win in Baltimore be the turning point, just like it was 20 years ago? That remains to be seen. But what is known is that Brian Snitker will remain patient and supportive of his players throughout this rough stretch, just like Cox was.

“He’s authentic,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “He’s consistent and he’s genuine. I think it’s huge for the team to have consistency, knowing who you are going to get from day in and day out.

“He’s the same person, whether he’s winning a World Series, winning 100 games, or when we’ve lost four in a row and we’re not playing well. I think that’s why he’s had so much success and with players and dealing with people throughout the game. He’s so well respected.”

In other words, Snitker still has Anthopoulos’ full support. This also seems to be the case for hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who has been in this role throughout the team’s string of six straight NL East titles. Seitzer was the man in charge when the Braves were drawing comparisons to the 1927 Yankees last year.

“We’re going to take six years as a sample, more so than we would a two-month period,” Anthopoulos said.

As for improving the roster, Anthopoulos has always proven to be creative and aggressive when it comes to the trade market. The team could use another starting pitcher, but there may be an even greater need to acquire an outfielder.

Murphy, Riley, Acuña, Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Michael Harris II will all be in the lineup for many years to come. Orlando Arcia has played great defensively, but the Braves can only hope his bat shows more signs of life over the coming weeks and months.

Adding an outfielder would provide the option to spell Adam Duvall or Jarred Kelenic from time to time. But for the most part, this lineup is filled with proven players who are more than due to start living up to the numbers on the backs of their baseball cards.

“When you have a high-character group like this, when things don’t go well, the floor doesn’t cave,” Anthopoulos said. “They stay steady. That doesn’t mean they’re happy or they’re satisfied. There’s things that the media isn’t privy to that they’re doing behind the scenes — getting together, having meetings, things like that. Guys are trying. They care.”