Bravos in Trouble

It seems like just yesterday, the baseball world had tabbed the Atlanta Braves the National League East champions after acquiring first base stud, Mark Teixeira from the Texas Rangers. While I was in no means certain of that result, I was rather optimistic of the Braves at least garnering the Wild Card spot in the National League.

But, it's amazing how things change in any arena, and that includes the world of baseball. Just as I've been saying all year in regard to the Detroit Tigers and their struggles in the bullpen, I'm now saying in regard to the Atlanta Braves and their (gulp) starting pitching. For most of the season, the Tigers have put up staggering offensive numbers, especially when slugger Gary Sheffield has been in the line-up and healthy. But, I kept commenting that unless their bullpen improves some down the stretch, it'll be very difficult for them to win consistently come playoff time without a reliable pen. Rarely do I see the World Series Champ consistently win 10-7 games in the playoffs. They're typically lower scoring, because usually, the teams who do make the playoffs were exceptional in their pitching and on defense. Now, unfortunately, I have to make the same remark with the Atlanta Braves and their starting rotation. Their top two guys are outstanding, in John Smoltz and Tim Hudson. Hudson is a Cy Young Award contender and Smoltz isn't too far back. But, they're 3-5 guys have been struggling as of late and to make matters worse, their #3, Chuck James, was just placed on the disabled list earlier in the week. So, Buddy Carlyle, Lance Cormier and JoJo Reyes are their 3-5 starters. Quite a drastic change in experience and quality from Smoltz and Hudson, their 1 and 2 starters.

If the Braves want to even have a chance at making the playoffs, let alone the World Series, they need their 3-5's to step up down the stretch. Hudson and Smoltz have been lights out this season, but even they will have a start where their stuff just isn't there. They may only pitch 5-6 innings and force the pen to come in for 3-4. This is what has hurt the Braves a great deal, is the fact their 3-5's typically only go 5-6 innings, so their relief pitchers are consistently giving 3-4 innings of work three out of five days. They're going to be worn out before long (some may already be at that point). The Braves' bats are doing fine. The left field platoon of Willie Harris and Matt Diaz has worked splendidly this year. Harris is hitting around .310 and Diaz is up around .340. Jeff Francouer in right field is hitting above .300. Chipper Jones over at third is hitting around .340. Edgar Renteria at short was hitting near .330 before he went down to an injury and youngster Yunel Escobar hasn't slowed down much since taking over, hitting close to .320. Kelly Johnson is hitting above .290 at second. Mark Teixeira is hitting above .290 at first. Brian McCann is climbing his way back to the .280 mark at catcher. The only down spot in the order, average wise, has been Andruw Jones in centerfield, where he's currently hitting around .220, yet leads the team in home runs with 24 and RBI's with 82 and is well on his way to another 30 home run and 100 RBI season, even despite his horrendous average. Up and down the line-up, the Braves have decent speed, especially with Willie Harris in left. They're very solid defensively. Francouer has arguably the best arm of any outfielder. Willie Harris can cover a lot of ground in left. Andruw Jones is arguably the best outfielder in the history of the game. Chipper, Edgar/Yunell, Teixeira, and McCann make for a very solid infield. But, like I mentioned with the Tigers, the Braves can't expect to make the playoffs, let alone win in the playoffs based on scoring a lot of runs. They lost last night 9-7 against the Reds. This has happened a few times in the past month. If a team scores a touchdown and an extra point...in baseball...they should be pretty certain of a victory. But, the Braves 3-5 men will have to step up down the stretch for that to happen and for their dream of another playoff run to have any chance whatsoever. After the Teixeira acquisition, I was fairly confident of at least a Wild Card berth for the Bravos, but as of right now, with Renteria going back on the DL, along with Chuck James, my optimism has decreased tremendously. Carlyle, Cormier, and Reyes will really have to step up for me to think otherwise.