It seems that not long ago the Atlanta Braves were up 10 games on the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card spot. The Braves had it locked up, right? As they've proven, that definitely wasn't the case. That lead has shrunk to 2.5 games with a little over a week left in the season. With the Braves struggling and the Cardinals playing well, that 2.5 game lead looks like anything but a guarantee.
The big thing for the Braves this year has been pitching, starters and especially the bullpen. With Eric O' Flaherty in the 7th, Johnny Venters in the 8th and Craig Kimbrel in the 9th, if the Braves had a lead through 6, they were about guaranteed a victory. That hasn't been the case in the past week, where the youngsters have appeared vulnerable. Starting pitching has been a problem as well. When healthy, Atlanta has one of the better rotations in baseball, featuring: Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe and Brandon Beachy. Hudson has been the rock of the rotation this year, as he has stayed healthy and been very effective. Jurrjens was outstanding for the first half of the season, but has been hampered by injuries in the second half of the year and even if the Braves do make the playoffs, it's uncertain if Jurrjens will be able to pitch. Hanson has been solid when healthy, but like with Jurrjens, he's questionable to return in time for the playoffs. Trainers do appear to be more optimistic with regard to him than Jurrjens, though. Derek Lowe has been a bit bipolar this year. He's great for 3-4 starts and then struggles over the following 2-3 weeks. Beachy has been a pleasant surprise, but at this point in his career, is more suited for the 4 or 5 spot in the rotation, not the 2 or 3 that he's been situated in due to injuries. Due to these very injuries, the Braves have had to rely on rookies, with the likes of Beachy, Mike Minor, Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran. They've all had their moments this year where they've showcased their potential, but being rookies and all, have had their lapses as well and it's a difficult load to carry facing such pressure in making the playoffs.
In addition to these pitching woes, the offense hasn't been explosive all season. They've relied largely on pitching to keep the games low-scoring and afford them the opportunity of pulling out a tightly knit game in the end. Without that consistent pitching, it's been exceedingly difficult for the Braves' offense to muster enough run support to come through with many victories. Martin Prado hasn't been as effective this season as he has been. Chipper Jones has played better in the second half of the season, but as usual, has been prone to the nagging injuries. Jason Heyward has had a season he'd like to forget. Brian McCann has struggled some in the second half of the season. Alex Gonzalez hasn't hit for average this year. The bright spots have been rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman and newly-acquired centerfielder Michael Bourne. However, not a whole lot can be accomplished with just those two hitting the ball well.
At this point, it's difficult to predict how the Braves will finish the season. The way they're playing right now, even if they were to make the playoffs, I'd have a tough time seeing them winning the first round series, regardless of who their opponent is. If they can get healthy with at least Hanson, if not both Hanson and Jurrjens, I like their chances much more, but the bullpen will have to settle down as well. Pitching is what carried the Braves through most of the season. They'll need that component to step up the rest of the way if they want to make the playoffs and potentially advance past the first round. I'm growing more pessimistic by the day for how awful they've played the past couple weeks, but they do have a very solid team and I hope they can pull through to at least give themselves a chance in the wild-card round.
The big thing for the Braves this year has been pitching, starters and especially the bullpen. With Eric O' Flaherty in the 7th, Johnny Venters in the 8th and Craig Kimbrel in the 9th, if the Braves had a lead through 6, they were about guaranteed a victory. That hasn't been the case in the past week, where the youngsters have appeared vulnerable. Starting pitching has been a problem as well. When healthy, Atlanta has one of the better rotations in baseball, featuring: Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe and Brandon Beachy. Hudson has been the rock of the rotation this year, as he has stayed healthy and been very effective. Jurrjens was outstanding for the first half of the season, but has been hampered by injuries in the second half of the year and even if the Braves do make the playoffs, it's uncertain if Jurrjens will be able to pitch. Hanson has been solid when healthy, but like with Jurrjens, he's questionable to return in time for the playoffs. Trainers do appear to be more optimistic with regard to him than Jurrjens, though. Derek Lowe has been a bit bipolar this year. He's great for 3-4 starts and then struggles over the following 2-3 weeks. Beachy has been a pleasant surprise, but at this point in his career, is more suited for the 4 or 5 spot in the rotation, not the 2 or 3 that he's been situated in due to injuries. Due to these very injuries, the Braves have had to rely on rookies, with the likes of Beachy, Mike Minor, Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran. They've all had their moments this year where they've showcased their potential, but being rookies and all, have had their lapses as well and it's a difficult load to carry facing such pressure in making the playoffs.
In addition to these pitching woes, the offense hasn't been explosive all season. They've relied largely on pitching to keep the games low-scoring and afford them the opportunity of pulling out a tightly knit game in the end. Without that consistent pitching, it's been exceedingly difficult for the Braves' offense to muster enough run support to come through with many victories. Martin Prado hasn't been as effective this season as he has been. Chipper Jones has played better in the second half of the season, but as usual, has been prone to the nagging injuries. Jason Heyward has had a season he'd like to forget. Brian McCann has struggled some in the second half of the season. Alex Gonzalez hasn't hit for average this year. The bright spots have been rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman and newly-acquired centerfielder Michael Bourne. However, not a whole lot can be accomplished with just those two hitting the ball well.
At this point, it's difficult to predict how the Braves will finish the season. The way they're playing right now, even if they were to make the playoffs, I'd have a tough time seeing them winning the first round series, regardless of who their opponent is. If they can get healthy with at least Hanson, if not both Hanson and Jurrjens, I like their chances much more, but the bullpen will have to settle down as well. Pitching is what carried the Braves through most of the season. They'll need that component to step up the rest of the way if they want to make the playoffs and potentially advance past the first round. I'm growing more pessimistic by the day for how awful they've played the past couple weeks, but they do have a very solid team and I hope they can pull through to at least give themselves a chance in the wild-card round.
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