Don't look now, but Brooks Conrad is just 1-for-his-last-17. Meanwhile, Joe Thurston is 7-for-his-last-16 with two homeruns. Conrad has watched his batting average go from .381 ten days ago to .237, while Thurston has watched his average go from .278 to .353 over that same span of time.
It certainly seemed like Conrad had the inside track on the job, with his hot start this spring, his good defense, and the fact that he was already on the 40-man roster, but Thurston has been around the block as a pinch hitter much more than Conrad and has more Major League experience than Brooks. The 0-for-22 that Conrad took upon his recall last September may also still be fresh in the minds of the Braves. This latest 1-for-17 smacks of that kind of streakiness.
There's still a week and half to turn it around, but the Braves player who is struggling the most right now may have gone from being Nate McLouth to Brooks Conrad.
By the way, we may have to do another full Making the Team Meter tomorrow, because Jesse Chavez just coughed up five runs in a third of an inning. Battles are being won or more accurately lost with every outing.