The Charlie Morton Watch

Blind optimism spurred my interest in young Mr. Morton, but I don't think anyone in the Braves organization expected him to emerge this rapidly.

The hard-throwing righty hurled another gem Tuesday night, scattering five hits in seven innings, striking out seven while walking only two.

Morton is 2-0 for the season, with a 1.69 ERA. Most telling: he's allowed just 30 hits (zero homers) and 15 walks in 48 IP. That's a .94 WHIP. His strikeout totals are also on the rise; Morton averages 7.3 per 9 IP.

Don't look back, Chuckie, Charlie Morton's gaining on you, fast.

--CB

*Meanwhile, another young Braves hurler (and Atlanta native) fell one strike short of a complete game no-hitter for Myrtle Beach Tuesday night. Deunte Heath, 22, throws in the upper-90s but hasn't really put it together until now (5-1-1.84 ERA). That's still a run higher than Tommy Hanson's ERA. Speaking of Myrtle Beach pitchers, former College World Series star Kevin Gunderson has been dominant closing games. The Oregon State alum has 10 saves and a 1.04 ERA for the Pelicans.

Comments

Well, we got our wish, and Chuckie's again safely off the roster. But the Braves apparently don't want to bring Morton up this quickly. Stockman replaced Chuckie, and a different reliever, probably Bennett or Campillo, will likely join the rotation.

[clete boyer fan]

Here's your hat Chuckie, here's your coat... What's your hurry? The flight to Richmond doesn't leave for 3 hours...

[rankin' rob]

Exchanging Charlie for Chuckie please. Here's my receipt.

[Tokyokie]

After seeing Chuckie give up 5 earned runs in 4 innings and put what, 11 men on base, I'm ready to see anybody replace him in the rotation. Heck, I'd settle for CARL Morton at this point.

[The Dude]

To tell you the truth, the Braves believed Morton would emerge as a legitimate pitching prospect more often and way before the masses even knew his name

[torippu]

Is it possible to have only 2 pitches and still be "sneaky quick" as Bobby used to describe Chuckie?

[Willie Montanez]

What's wrong with Chuckie?

Wasn't that an ABC afterschool special back in the 70's?

[atlpaddy]

I don't understand what's wrong with Chuckie. Why can't he piece it together again? It seems as if he's morphing into the Mableton version of Horacio Ramirez.

[Willie Montanez]

Before we fall too much in love with what Morton is doing down in Richmond, remember that Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and Avery (like many rookie starting pitchers) were all knocked around hard when they first came up to the majors. Millwood (and now JJ) were/are exceptions.

Though, after a little more time in Richmond, I would rather see Morton come up here and get knocked around a little bit while developing into a quality starter, as opposed to having to watch Chuckie struggling to get through 6 innings.