Apperently,Jeff Van Gundy is not a guy for the job

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[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 5/15/03 ]

Consistent Braves surprise McCarver

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The Braves are in the same place in the standings -- first -- as they have been almost constantly since 1991. And yet Tim McCarver says, "I think Atlanta is one of the more surprising teams in baseball" this season.

He has a point.

Even if you expected the Braves to weather the departures of Tom Glavine and Kevin Millwood, you surely didn't expect the remodeled team to have the best record in the major leagues in mid-May (27-12 entering Wednesday's game). And you couldn't have expected all of this: a 4-8 start followed by a 23-4 run; better hitting (second-best batting average in the National League) than pitching (eighth-best ERA); Gary Sheffield, Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles and Robert Fick hitting above .320; Giles' and Furcal's vastly improved defense; an inclination to steal bases, of all things; Jung Keun Bong with more wins than Greg Maddux.

Heck, about the only altogether unsurprising element of these Braves has been John Smoltz's pick-right-up-where-he-left-off-last-season dominance.

So back to McCarver, the Fox baseball analyst who has been a player or broadcaster in the major leagues since 1959 . . .

"It's just a credit to what they do in Atlanta," he said of the post-Glavine, post-Millwood Braves. "And what they do better than anybody, with the exception of the Yankees, is . . . put winners on the field, regardless of who leaves."

He cited the example of Fick, an uncelebrated off-season acquisition who has "fit right into that lineup, admirably."

Not that McCarver is ready to award the NL East to the Braves yet again, mind you.

"We're talking on May 13th," he cautioned, "and the Braves have lost just 12 games, but I expect the Philadelphia Phillies to make some noise in that division before it's all over. They have a terrific lineup."

And yet -- another surprise -- the Phillies' team batting average is 30 points lower than the Braves'.

We'll be brief . . .

McCarver's broadcast partner, Joe Buck, doesn't understand the money-driven Millwood trade any better than the rest of us: "I thought it was stunning that they gave up Millwood for what they got. Johnny Estrada is a great name. In fact, I wish I was named Johnny Estrada. However, you're talking about a horse [in Millwood]. . . . You had to know it killed them to give him up."

And you thought the SEC East was tough in football: Imagine a hypothetical ACC division that includes Florida State, Miami, Syracuse or Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia. No Vandy there.

David McDavid hasn't commented recently -- he's keeping a low profile while his lawyers work toward completion of his Hawks-Thrashers purchase -- but he no doubt is contemplating possible hires. Asked earlier if he already were thinking of candidates for key jobs with the teams, he said: "Well, we play the mind games. You couldn't not play the mind games. We've played the mind games for nine months."

McDavid's stated philosophy is to hire an experienced general manager and let the GM hire the coach. So maybe this is cart before horse, but we keep hearing that Paul Silas will be a prime candidate for the Hawks' coaching job. And he should be.

More whispers: Jeff Van Gundy isn't a likely Hawks hire; Mike Dunleavy is more likely to be a GM candidate than a coaching candidate here; Mike Fratello will get the New Orleans coaching job."