The Atlanta Braves are now 8-14 following their current 9 game losing streak. This streak, though alarming, shouldn't cause too much panic amongst the Atlanta fans as the opponents they faced(2 losses to Philly, 3 game sweep to Mets, 4 game sweep to Cardinals) are all contenders. Still if you are going to be a contender, you are going to have to perform well against them.
So what is going on with these Braves. Well Jair Jurrjens, a pitcher many believed would be the ace of the rotation is now 0-3 and Kenshin Kawakami has been worse, suffering an 0-4 record. Joining the struggling staff is Derek Lowe with a 5.79 ERA. Somehow he has 3 wins.
Even worse than the pitching staff has been the hitting. Besides Jason Heyward with 5 home runs, no one else has more than 2 homers. Heyward is batting a low .239, despite his clutch hits, and former All Stars Brian McCann and Chipper Jones are batting .250 and .241 respectively. Many thought this would be the year Yunel Escobar emerged alongside Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, and Hanley Ramirez in the elite shortstop division of the NL East, but Escobar has 0 homers and is batting .215 this season. Yikes!Still the season is early, but in the NL East with teams like the Marlins, the recently surging Mets, and the powerhouse Phillies, you don't want to fall too behind early. The Braves have what it takes to get things going in the right direction, just don't wait too long. Trust in Bobby Braves fans.
Their offense is awful. There's simply no punch, no one to fear in their lineup. Heyward is going to be a big star but to ask him to carry the lineup at age 20 is unfair.
ReplyDeleteEven worse is to look at their offseason. Javy Vasquez was great last year but all they could get was Melky Cabrera and prospects. That's not enough. They should have kept him. Even worse, how's Martin Prado looking at 2B when Kelly Johnson leads the NL in homers!!
I picked the Braves to win the wild card. I'll stick with them a while longer but it could get late early for them. Not a good way for Bobby Cox to go into retirement.