Sure you hear it every year: this year is our year. But this year should be the year it finally comes back together for the Atlanta Braves.
Following their incredible streak of post-season appearances in the 1990s, the team has hit somewhat of a skid when it comes to their play in October.
The fight for the right to play in October begins long before the end of the regular season. Now is the time for the Atlanta Braves to make a stand in the competitive National League East.
Baseball is a team sport. Every player needs to pull their weight in order for the entire team to succeed. Granted everyone has slumps and bad days, but the Braves can’t rely on Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones to drive in all of the runs.
The Braves have a relatively young lineup with many youngsters who show great potential.
The usual lead-off man Kelly Johnson has done well for himself at the top of the lineup. He has produced good numbers for the team early this year.
Just this month, Johnson is posting a cool .359 batting average and a slugging percentage of .615. Although he only has 4 RBI this month, Johnson strategically gets himself in a position where he can be driven in by the players batting behind him.
Another young player in the Braves' lineup that needs to step up and show the league what he is capable of is Yunel Escobar. This strong-armed shortstop shows a lot of promise both on the field and in the batter's box.
Although he has only played in a third of the games that he did last year, he is one home run shy of his total from last year and already has 16 out of the 28 RBI he hit last season.
The Braves made up for losing the great centerfielder Andruw Jones by acquiring Mark Kotsay from the Oakland Athletics. Kotsay has been a good answer for the lack of batting in the lower part of the team's lineup recently.
He is a run-producing hitter who has posted 18 RBI this season. Along with driving in runs, he is helping the team by getting on base so the pitcher can bunt him into scoring position and, in turn, allow the contact hitters to drive him in.
Although the Braves' lineup consists of some seasoned veterans in Jones and Teixeira, they also have plenty of unseen talent that has yet to rise to their full potential.
With the incredible talent that fills the Braves' roster, they should have no problem rising to the top of the National League East and making huge strides toward the post-season.
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about 1 month ago
The Braves have been absent from the postseason in the past few years. NO doubt about it, the Braves have lost their edge in the NL East. For years, we have had teams where all of the players contributed: bats, gloves, relievers, closers, coaches, etc. Hats off to Bobby Cox, who has put players where they could deliver the most for the team.
The division title streak came from good solid pitching and timely hitting. We haven't had that dependable pitching through and through. Pitchers tend to overthrow when they feel they have to be perfect; hitters tend to press at the plate when they are behind in a game. The quiet confidence of past Braves teams is simply gone. I think the sticks are in place: Andruw the rally-killer is gone, Chipper is tearing it up, and the others are pulling their averages up. Escobar and others give some speed at the top of the lineup. It is the pitching thathas been the Achilles tendon in all of this.
Glavine and Smoltz being on the DL did not help, but it allowed us to see what Reyes is capable of. I think Smoltz moving to the bullpen will help tremendously; Soriano can set up when he returns. Huddy has looked spectacular, Jurrjens has shown incredible poise for a youngster, Glavine will eat up innings (if he stays healthy), and Reyes can be a reliable starter.
Is this enough to win the NL East? Possibly. This is not the same division it was several years ago. Ryan Howard, Johann Santana and a host of other have made it far more competitive.
If the Braves can start firing on all cylinders, they can put together another win streak and make their move to the top of the division. I think sooner or later Florida will slump. It will take a minor collapse of the Phils and Mets for us to make it up the standings.
Let's see where we are at the All-Star break.
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