Ian anderson – Braves Chop Chat

My 2023 Starting Rotation Predictions:

It’s finally here! The Atlanta Braves’ pitchers, catchers, and some other eager players have reported to North Port, FL to begin Spring Training.

Pitchers and catchers are set to arrive first because pitcher-catcher bonding is important. If your pitcher and catcher aren’t comfortable with each other or don’t have a good understanding of what pitch is being thrown and the location of it, that is going to cause some serious trouble in a game. Communication for catchers and pitchers is why Spring Training is so important and why they arrive a week early.

Spring Training will be especially important for catcher Sean Murphy. He is who Atlanta got out of their three-way trade with the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers. Just a few days after this trade, the Braves signed Murphy to a 6-year $73 million deal. He will join Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate for the Braves. He could also be used as a Designated Hitter if Marcell Ozuna does not start to perform better than he has the past couple of seasons. It’s safe to say there’s multiple roles Murphy can fill for the Braves.

With d’Arnaud and Murphy behind the plate, it’s time to take a look at the Braves’ starting rotation. Atlanta has a solid starting rotation, that is, if everyone can pitch the way we know they are capable of pitching. Charlie Morton had a down year last season. He still got a good amount of wins, but they were a struggle. The same goes for Ian Anderson. He was sent down to triple A twice last year because he had a hard time commanding any of his pitches. We know that Ian can be a very good pitcher – we saw this first hand in the 2021 Postseason – he just has a tendency to throw WAY too many pitches. Max Fried wasn’t a sharp as we’re accustomed to seeing last season either, but he still came through when the Braves needed it the most.

The two most surprising Braves pitchers in the 2022 season were Kyle Wright and rookie Spencer Strider. Wright had 21 wins last season. That’s crazy! He was Mr. Consistent for Atlanta, and when he was pitching we knew he was going to give a quality start. He seemed so comfortable on the mound, had such a dominating presence, and maintained control of his pitches. These things helped make him such a good pitcher.

Spencer Strider started out in the bullpen last season. But then, after the Braves coaching staff saw the velocity he had on his pitches and the command he had while throwing so fast, not to mention his strike-out-rate, they moved him into the starting rotation and there was no looking back. In just 131.2 innings he struck out 202 batters! He definitely belongs in the starting rotation and has proven how good he can be.

Last but not least, Mike Soroka. Soroka hasn’t pitched since the 2020 season when he tore his ACL during a game in August. It was heartbreaking to see a young pitcher like him, who had such good potential, go down with an injury like that. Then, he tore his ACL again in 2021 walking into the dugout. So, he hasn’t pitched in a major league game in 2 1/2 years. It will be exciting to see if he has the same command on the mound as he did before he was injured.

With all this to consider about these pitchers, it’s time to talk about how the rotation will be stacked. I think the Braves should start with a 6-man rotation at the beginning of the season so they have more guys available and can work their way into the season, eventually moving to a 5-man rotation.

Here’s how I think it would look:

Max Fried LHP
Kyle Wright RHP
Charlie Morton RHP
Spencer Strider RHP
Ian Anderson RHP
Mike Soroka RHP

Ian Anderson and Mike Soroka can easily be switched in their rotation spots. If the Braves start with a 5-man rotation these two will “compete” for that fifth spot. It will all depend on how comfortable Soroka feels on the mound and how Anderson’s command is.

One thing to note about Anderson is the pitch clock. He can take a LOT of time in between pitches. He will shake off a lot of signs and go through his windup multiple times just to throw one pitch. I’m sure the Braves coaching staff will be working with him during Spring Training to get adjusted to the pitch clock and it will be interesting to see how he does.

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It’s so exciting to have baseball back, and I can’t wait to see what goes on in Spring Training for the Atlanta Braves and into the 2023 season!

GO BRAVES!!

My Thoughts on the Braves vs. Mets Series:

I think it’s safe to say this series was disappointing, somewhat maddening, and even embarrassing. The Mets beat up on us in the four out of five games we lost, and even in the game we won, it got too close for comfort. Not to mention, when we would score, our bullpen couldn’t maintain that smaller run differential, and we would end up losing. These five games had a very tense, postseason-like atmosphere. Coming into this series we were 2.5 games out of first, now we are 6.5 games out of first. That is terrible. Let’s just hope, when we play the Mets next, August 15th-18th (at home) the Braves will do much better than this unfortunate series in New York.

STARTING PITCHING:

Our starters got pummeled in this series. NONE of them got a win in these 5 games. Out of Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Jake Odorizzi, Max Fried, and Spencer Strider, Ian Anderson was the only one who could have qualified for a win, but he couldn’t get through five innings. What was the most frustrating was that our pitchers would make good pitches, then the Mets hitters would make measly contact with them and get rewarded with an infield hit. The New York Mets get the most infield grounders for hits than any other team I have ever seen. Another thing that plagued our starters was the fact that they gave up too many walks. We were basically giving the Mets opportunities to score and they came through almost every single time.

RELIEF PITCHING:

Our bullpen was said to be the best bullpen in the MLB. But in this series, it definitely did not look the part. Even our bullpen’s best, A.J. Minter, Dylan Lee, and Tyler Matzek, struggled against the Mets. The bullpen struggled with inherited runners, they allowed WAY too many of those to score, they struggled with walks, and they failed to get the third out of an inning. Our relievers could come in and get the first two outs just fine, but then they got into trouble while trying to secure the third out. That was very frustrating to watch, and I’m sure it was even more frustrating for the Braves players and staff.

OFFENSIVELY:

Atlanta gave up too many situations in which they could have scored. They had first and third or second and third or even the bases loaded with one out in different situations, but almost every single time they could not come through and score. In game four, we had no problem scoring. Finally, the Braves hitters looked liked themselves in the batters box. But aside from that single game, we were swinging at pitches in the dirt and taking wimpy swings. Then we would get a burst of energy in the 9th inning, but we were either too far out of the game to make a comeback or we couldn’t get enough run support through.

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The Mets are the Braves biggest competitor. We have seven games, all at home, left to play against them. These games are going to make or break us. This time last year our record was 55-55. We are currently at 64-46, so anything is possible. We cannot give up hope yet!

For the Braves, RHP Kirby Yates has been doing rehab games and is expected to return soon. And Ozzie Albies, Atlanta’s sparkplug, has been doing light baseball activity and his return is said to be around late August to mid September. So hopefully, with these two coming back soon for the Atlanta Braves, it will give us the boost we need with 52 games left to play!

GO BRAVES!!

My Thoughts on Braves vs Dodgers Series:

Coming into this series, I knew it was going to be an emotional one for Braves country and for Freddie Freeman. Freddie made his first appearance to Truist Park this year… but in a Dodgers uniform. He was presented with a very touching video to express Atlanta’s appreciation for him, and then he was given his World Series ring. I’ve always known Freddie was an emotional person, but I wasn’t truly aware how emotional he was. During his pre-game interviews he couldn’t contain the sobs, and walking onto the field to get his ring he was red and shaking from emotion.

Although the Braves did not win the series, it was honestly nice to get it over with. And the atmosphere of the games were very much like the postseason. It was definitely a glimpse into the 2022 Postseason if you ask me. 😉

The Atlanta Braves played good ballgames throughout this entire series, but in their losses, leaving runners on base was ultimately their downfall.

In game one, the L.A. Dodgers started off with a bang, scoring two runs in the first against Ian Anderson, and then scoring two more in the fifth. The Braves were unable to score more than one run in a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth. Looking back on this loss, the sixth inning was where the Braves should have scored. They had a great opportunity but were just unable to take advantage of it.

Game two was exciting! The Braves started out scoring early, giving Max Fried a 3-0 lead after five innings. However, Fried got into trouble in the seventh allowing two Dodger runners to score making it a 3-2 game. And then, in the eighth inning, A.J. Minter gave up the tying run on a homer by L.A.’s catcher Will Smith making it a 3-3 game. That tied game didn’t last long though! In the bottom of the eighth inning, Travis d’Arnaud led off the inning with a double, and then Marcell Ozuna followed him with a gigantic home run, making it a 5-3 game. That was all the Braves needed to hold onto the lead and win game two.

It was really nice to see Ozuna get the big home run in game two. He has been seriously slumping at the plate…but hopefully he is coming out of this slump and will provide some pop in the Atlanta lineup.

Game three was frustrating and honestly disappointing. The Braves should have won. Atlanta faced the Dodger’s best pitcher; Tony Gonsolin who came into this game 9-0 on the year. He left the series without a blemish on his record. The Braves were able to score one run on Gonsolin in the sixth and another against Alex Vesia in the seventh. Then, in the ninth inning, the Dodgers tied the game 2-2 against former Dodger, Kenley Jansen. The game went into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Freddie Freeman had an RBI double down the right field line to give L.A. a 3-2 lead. But, in the bottom of that inning, Matt Olson had an RBI single down the right field line to tie the game back up at 3 apiece.

Darren O’Day pitched the eleventh for Atlanta and he did not do well. He gave up two runs and was not able to finish the inning. The Braves lost that game with final score of Dodgers 5, Braves 3.

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Not only were there some rollercoaster type games in this series, but it was an emotional rollercoaster for Freddie Freeman and Braves Country. Freddie Freeman may no longer be an Atlanta Brave, but he will never be forgotten. Now, the Braves have a new (and very good) first baseman in Matt Olson. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angelas Dodgers, but I think it’s safe for both teams to say, “See you in October!”

GO BRAVES!

Eleven in a Row! And Three Sweeps!!

Wow! This has been an amazing run for the Atlanta Braves. Yes, they got off to a slow start this season, and it seemed like they couldn’t get things going on a consistent basis, but now, they are untouchable. Everything is clicking on all cylinders where and when it needs too! With these eleven wins in a row, they have moved from 10 games out of first to now only 5.5 games out of first, behind the New York Mets.

Some may scoff and say that they have swept three teams who aren’t considered the best, but sometimes it has been hard for Atlanta to win against the “easier” teams. They proved in this series that they are still the World Series-caliber team that they were last year.

There were SO MANY positives that came from these eleven games, here are some that stood out to me:

SOLID STARTING PITCHING:

In order to win ballgames, your starting pitchers need to go deep into them. Some of the Braves starters have struggled with pitching deep into games earlier in the season. However, over the past week and a half, they were looking very sharp. Even Charlie Morton, who still has not gotten back to the Charlie Morton we saw last season, pitched 6 innings on Saturday. He did not get the win, but it was nice to see him pitch deeper than four or five innings; plus he had 12 strikeouts over those 6 innings.

The three starting performances that stood out were:

Max Fried’s 8 scoreless innings pitched on June 3 against the Colorado Rockies. Everything was going for Fried that night. He was untouchable! In those eight scoreless innings, he only allowed two hits, one walk, and he only had four strikeouts. He was dominant on the mound and got those ground ball outs that he’s known for getting. It was a shame he didn’t get the win. (In this game the Braves and Rockies went into extras with a scoreless tie.)

Kyle Wright’s 8 innings against the Oakland Athletics on June seventh. In those eight innings, Wright only allowed five hits, two runs, zero walks, and had seven strikeouts. He showed a lot of dominance on the mound and proved that he can pitch late into ballgames and have the same amount of sharpness (if not more) than he started the game with. Kyle Wright is a good young pitcher, and the Braves are lucky to have him.

Spencer Striders scoreless performance on June tenth against the Pittsburg Pirates. For Spencer Strider to have started the season in the bullpen, he is a great starter. He can throw 101 MPH and make it look easy as can be. He has a great slider and a really good fastball. He has come through huge for the Braves and has made a good impact in the starting rotation. In this start against the Pirates, he pitched 5.2 innings, allowed four hits, zero runs, one walk, and he had eight strikeouts. Overall it was a very good performance.

RELIEF PITCHING:

Alongside the Braves starting pitching, the relief core has been lights-out as well. They have kept us in close ball games and preserved late inning leads when they mattered most. Kenley Jansen, who at first made us all nervous every time he came out to pitch, has finally found his groove and is closing games like we saw him close for the Dodgers. No drama, he just comes in and gets the job done.

Will Smith is the same way. He started off the season very similarly to how he did last year where he got into a lot of high-stress situations. But Today (June 12th), he came into the game against the Pirates in the seventh inning and shut down the side while only throwing nine pitches. Hopefully he, along with everyone else in the bullpen, can keep up the good work.

CONSISTANT HITTING:

Getting hits, timely ones at that, was often time hard to come by for the Braves’ hitters early on in the season. But in these past eleven games, it’s been hard to get them out!! Lately, Atlanta has found all kinds of ways to get on base — hit, walk, hit-by-pitch, error, etc. But all that matters is they are getting on base and scoring!

In these eleven games, the Atlanta offense hit 22 home runs. Two of which were grand slams…one was by Braves’ catcher Travis d’Arnaud and the other by second baseman Ozzie Albies. d’Arnaud’s came on Thursday, June 2nd in Colorado when the Braves won 13-6, and Ozzie’s came against the Pirates on Saturday when they won 10-4. In the final game of the series against the Pittsburg Pirates, Adam Duvall, who had been struggling a little at the plate, hit two home runs. One he pulled, and the other he smoked to opposite field in the Chop House. Both were huge, and it was so good to see him hit the ball out of the ballpark again…he definitely needed it!

This Atlanta Braves hitting core has been SO fun to watch! They have been so active on the base-pads, and you can see it in how they play. Their faces show that they are enjoying playing ball just as much- if not more- than us fans who are watching them!

MICHAEL HARRIS JR.:

This kid!!! He has impressed me and the Braves organization on so many levels. For him to have skipped Triple-A and come straight from Double-A to the Majors is remarkable. But, you can see why the Braves brought him up when they did. He is HOT right now. Not to mention Harris Jr. is a very good outfielder! He has made multiple plays in center field that have left me in awe of how he even got to the baseball, let alone make the catch. Harris has definitely bolstered the outfield and the bottom of the lineup. All in all, he has been a great addition to this red-hot Atlanta Braves team.

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It has been so enjoyable to finally see all of the Braves’ handwork pay off and for them to start playing like we know they are very capable of doing. Hopefully they can keep it up as they head to Washington D.C. to play the Nationals tomorrow!

Always and forever, GO BRAVES!

My Takeaways From Braves vs Rockies Series:

A sweep! This was Atlanta’s first sweep of the season, and boy did the Braves need it! Not only did this series give them their first sweep, it allowed them to have a five game win streak (the Braves won their last game in Arizona before heading to Colorado), and the Atlanta Braves now have an over .500 record of 28-27. This series has proven that the Braves are capable of being the good, strong team we know them to be. Hopefully, it will prove to be a good turnaround to get them going in the right direction.

MY TAKEAWAYS:

IMPROVEMENT IN THE ROTATION AND BULLPEN

All of the Atlanta starters in this series pitched very well. Max Fried especially had an outstanding performance. He pitched eight scoreless innings, allowed only two hits, one walk, he had four strikeouts, and ended his night with 102 pitches. Fried never seemed like he was uncomfortable on the mound and he showed much dominance throughout his performance.

The Braves bullpen has been questionable, to say the least, throughout the start of the season. However, in this series they were quite good. The Atlanta Braves won two games in extra innings… TWO! One of those games was scoreless until they scored in the 10th inning. And in another one of the games, the Braves didn’t capture the lead until the 11th inning. With Matzek on the IL, it was a known fact that people were going to have to start stepping up in the bullpen…and they have finally started to come through! Although he still has a flare for the dramatic, Will Smith has pitched pretty well, and Kenley Jansen is showing he can be that super-star closer that he was with the Dodgers.

CONSISTENCY IN THE LINEUP

At the start of the season, the Braves had a hard time getting runners on base. And when they got runners on base, they had an even harder time scoring them. It also seemed that they relied on a couple guys in the lineup to get on base, score, etc. However, all that has started to change. 1-9 in the Braves lineup came through in this series. Every player contributed in one way or another. They took their walks when they needed to, moved runners over, scored multiple times throughout an inning, and scored in multiple innings.

It was also nice to see Travis d’Arnaud and Adam Duvall get some good hits. Travis hit two home runs in the first game of the series, one of which was a Grand Slam!! He also continued to get hits of any kind. Duvall hit a home run in this series but he also had some doubles, singles, and a triple! It was nice to see Adam Duvall reduce his amount of strikeouts over these four games. Yes, everyone is bound to strike out, but he seemed to do it an awful lot. But in this series he showed much improvement in his pitch selection and how deep he allowed his counts.

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The Atlanta Braves are currently 8.5 games behind the first place Mets, but with how the Braves have been playing lately, hopefully they will move closer in the standings and continue to win ball games at their full capacity.

GO BRAVES!

Takeaways From Braves vs Mets Series:

The Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets split their four game series. Although this is not the best outcome, it certainly isn’t the worst. Atlanta came into this series six games back and in fourth place. They left the series six games back and in third place. So, although they moved up a place in the standings, they didn’t gain any significant ground on the first place Mets. The Braves showed some improvement, and some struggles in the same areas.

THE POSITIVE:

When the Braves won, their offense was clicking. All throughout the lineup in games one and four (the games they won), the Braves players were getting on base and scoring. In game four, everyone in Atlanta’s lineup reached base, and they scored seven of their nine runs without hitting a home run. That was huge for this Atlanta offense who can rely so heavily on the home run ball. It was also good to see the Braves score runs with two outs. That is something they have struggled with this season. If they can come up clutch in those moments more often…it is going to get them a lot farther this early in the season.

Max Fried and Ian Anderson pitched so well in their starts. In game one, Fried pitched six innings, allowed four hits, two runs, zero walks, and he had six strikeouts. It was very good to see him come off of two good back-to-back starts. Hopefully, he has found his groove and is once again becoming the dominant ace we know him to be. In game four, Anderson pitched 5.1 innings, allowed five hits, one run, four walks, and one strikeout. He also ended the day with 84 pitches, which for Ian, is very good. It was very nice to see these two show some dominance on the mound and come through when they need it.

Ronald Acuña Jr. — He is back for the Braves, and looks healthy! He is not playing every day as they are trying to ease him back in…but he has shown that he isn’t afraid to slide into second base, third base, or home plate. He already has two stolen bases! It has been good to see him back in the lineup and on the field.

THE NEGATIVE:

Charlie Morton. I don’t know what his problem is, but Morton has had his fair share of struggles on the mound. To me, he just doesn’t look comfortable. We know the pitches he is capable of making and the numbers he can produce, but right now, he just can seem to get his pitches how he wants them. He is hanging his off-speed pitches, and the opposing batters aren’t missing them. Hopefully, Charlie Morton will get everything under control (and soon) because the Braves need him in their starting rotation! They need dominant Charlie Morton so they can win more than two games in a row!!

The Braves have shown what they are capable of…they just can’t seem to keep it up multiple games in a row. It seems like when they win, they win by a lot and everything is clicking. And when they lose, they lose by a lot, and things don’t seem like they are working. It is safe to say they look like two different teams sometimes. Consistency is what I believe they need to work on the most

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Hopefully our World Series Champion Atlanta Braves will figure things out within this next home stand and play like we know they can!!

GO BRAVES!

Takeaways From Braves’ First Road Trip:

After all the World Series celebrations came to a close, the Braves took their first road trip of the season. It was against two very good teams: the San Diego Padres and the Los Angelas Dodgers. Obviously, the most anxiously awaited series was the Braves and Dodgers because Atlanta would see Freddie Freeman for the first time in a different jersey. Watching the games, you could definitely tell there were emotions from both sides, but at the end of the day it’s baseball and things like this happen. Freddie Freeman hit two home runs against the Braves, and we got to feel the impact of having him on another team… he is definitely one tough batter to get out!

Atlanta split the series with the Padres 2-2 and lost the series 2-1 against the Dodgers. The Braves showed some improvement in areas, but they still need to figure out consistent hitting and get the starting rotation completely under control.

MY TAKEAWAYS:

Ian Anderson and Max Fried both showed significant improvement in their second starts. Ian pitched 5.2 innings, only allowed 2 hits, one run, had one walk, seven strikeouts, and he threw 89 pitches. This was an amazing bounce-back from his first outing. He was dominate on the mound and seemed much more comfortable out there.

Same goes for Max Fried. He looked completely different on the mound compared to his previous starts. He pitched seven SCORELESS innings, allowed only two hits, zero walks, and had seven strikeouts! His command of all his pitches was so much better and he looked more comfortable on the mound and was in control of the baseball, being able make his pitches and get the ball on the ground. It was very nice to see him AND Ian Anderson pitch like we know they are capable of doing!

Charle Morton. He did SO well in his first start of the season, but he got beat up big time on this road trip. Once by the Padres and by the Dodgers. It looks like he doesn’t have command of his pitches right now, and he’s trying to re-figure them out. Last season we got so used to the ace Charlie Morton, but if you remember… at the start of the last season he didn’t pitch fantastic. So maybe it just takes him some time to fully regain his mound presence and pitches.

The Atlanta Braves are a very powerful team and we know for a FACT that they can hit…they just can’t seem to get consecutive hits right now!!! Matt Olson is the only Braves player who can seem to get on base multiple at-bats in a row. Ozzie Albies has started to break through, he hit four home runs on the road trip and had multiple base hits, but other than him and Olson, everyone else is hit-or-miss (literally). The Braves can’t seem to get more than two wins in a row either, and now that pitching is starting to come together more…it’s going to be up to the offense to come through.

You might be saying to yourself, “The Braves have hit a lot of home runs this year…so why don’t they have a better record than 6-8?” Well, that’s because 15 out of the 16 home runs the Atlanta hitters have hit have been solo shots. The only home run hit with baserunners was a 2-run shot on opening day by Austin Riley. Other than that, the Braves are having a hard time hitting these home runs with people on base. And trust me, they have had plenty of times to score more runners, but in those moments, we seem to either strike out or hit into a double play.

I’d say the Braves biggest priority is hitting with runners on base. You can’t win ballgames without scoring, and it’s going to take more than a couple solo home runs to win a baseball game. All the teams in and out of the National League East have gotten better this year, and it is going to be a long ride if Atlanta can’t figure their hitting situation out.

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Although they still have some things to work out, I’m sure it won’t be too too long until they start being the Atlanta Braves team we are so used to seeing!

GO BRAVES!!

My Takeaways From Opening Day Weekend:

This was a great Opening Day Weekend, especially for the Atlanta Braves! They got to start the season at home, which included even more World Series events: the pennant unveiling, the award ceremony, and of course, the World Series Ring presentation. The Braves and the Cincinnati Reds split the four-game series 2-2. Overall it was a good weekend, but like anything, there are still a few questions to be answered and things to be worked on.

THE POSITIVES:

Charlie Morton pitched very well in his return from fracturing his leg last year in Game One of the World Series. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowed only two hits, two runs, one walk, and he had five strikeouts. He also threw a total of 78 pitches. It was very good to see Morton come back the way he did. It was as if he didn’t miss a beat. He was still the same old calm, cool, and collective Charlie Morton out there on the mound. Him being in the rotation is something the Braves are going to need.

Kyle Wright had an impressive start. There have been a lot of questions regarding the Braves starting rotation, but I believe Wright showed that he is capable of being the fourth man in the rotation. He threw six scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and one walk. He also struck out six Reds batters. Overall he had a very impressive start, and proved he can be something that the Braves can use.

Matt Olson really came into his role as a Brave in this series. With it being Opening Day Weekend, I’m sure he had some nerves coming into the first game. Not only with him being the first new first baseman that the Braves fanbase had seen in over 10 years, but also that he was playing in his hometown – FOR his hometown. It’s safe to say he is fitting in very well. In 14 at-bats, Olson has had eight hits, one of which was a home run, and he walked three times. He has also made some very nice plays at first base.

THE NEGATIVES:

Although Charlie Morton and Kyle Wright pitched well in their appearances, Max Fried and Ian Anderson didn’t do so well. On Opening Day, Fried was the starter. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowed eight hits, five runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. These are not the figures we are used to seeing from Max Fried. He pitched a good first inning, but after that, it was like he lost control of the baseball and couldn’t find his release point. And then, when he finally found it, the Cincinnati hitter were all over that baseball.

Ian Anderson was a similar story. He threw only 2.2 innings, allowed three hits, five runs, five walks, had only one strikeout, and he threw 74 pitches. 74 pitches in 2.2 innings is NOT what you want from a starting pitcher. For his first outing, he had no command of the strike zone, he couldn’t hit his spots, and ended up with more walks than hits. Anderson has good stuff, he just throws too many balls, and that is what gets him in trouble. To me, what he needs to work on this season is having a better command of the strike zone, and limiting the amount of pitches he throws.

Hitting. Something we know the Atlanta Braves can do very well. But, for whatever reason, they cannot seem to get many hits together so far this season. Yes, they’ll get multiple hits a game, but they are never with runners on base. Last season, the Braves were SO good at scoring with two outs. So far this season that has not been the case. Maybe they are just on an all-time high right now with all the World Series festivities, but sooner or later they are going to have to start coming through in run-scoring opportunities.

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With all this to be said, the Atlanta Braves are still a very good team with very good potential this season. Once they get everything going, they are going to be very hard to stop!

GO BRAVES!

THE ATLANTA BRAVES: WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!

Ahh. This is really happening!!! The Atlanta Braves, despite all the doubters, injuries, and rough times they went through, are the 2021 World Series Champions. It definitely did not come easily for the Braves, but the fight they went through every single game, to get to where they were and to be World Champs, makes this end result even sweeter.

Think about it. The Atlanta Braves were under .500 until after the All-Star Break. They learned they weren’t getting Soroka back, they lost Acuña to a torn ACL, lost Marcell Ozuna due to legal matters, and had Travis d’Arnaud and Huascar Ynoa on the injured list for who knew how long. Did the Braves take that punch in the gut as a defeat? Absolutely not.

Atlanta played even better, stronger, more determined baseball than they had in a long time. Not to mention, the Braves front office went and gained Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, and Eddie Rosario to rebuild their outfield and their offense. I cannot say it enough: EVERY SINGLE ONE of those guys came through in a HUGE way for the Braves. Not only during the second half of the regular season, but into and throughout the postseason. From Joc Pederson coming up clutch in the NLDS, Eddie Rosario being the NLCS MVP, Adam Duvall’s great defense and grand slam, to Jorge Soler’s power – earning him the World Series MVP – they all provided exactly what the Braves needed and so much more.

Two Key Factors From the World Series For the Braves:

Relief Pitching:

This Braves relief staff played a HUGE role in this postseason, and, especially, in the World Series. The only Atlanta starter to go more than five innings, was Max Fried in game six. That was the last game they played! That means the bullpen had to cover a lot of middle innings. And those bullpen arms did a fantastic job. Tyler Matzek most notably was very impressive. In the World Series he pitched over five innings, only allowed one run, six hits and ZERO walks. Those are some impressive numbers! Will Smith was also great for the Braves in the World Series. Smith pitched eleven innings, and had an ERA of ZERO. ZERO!! He was lights out for the Braves and that is exactly what Brian Snitker needed out of him. Overall the whole bullpen was good for Atlanta, but these two really stepped up and it played a huge role for the Braves.

Offensive Rallies:

Throughout the 2021 regular season, we would see over and over again the struggles the Atlanta Braves would have trying to get runners in scoring position and actually scoring them. But, as it came October and into the postseason things started clicking for the Braves’ offense. Yes, in the NLDS and into the NLCS, and even some in the World Series, they still had some trouble scoring. However, it was no where near like the troubles they had back in the regular season. The Atlanta Braves scored a total of 25 runs in the World Series. Not to mention, they hit eleven home runs. So yes, we can say that offensively they were quite put together.

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In the end, all of that bullpen pitching and offensive spark led the Braves to a World Series title. But what helped the most to get them there was determination. Knowing how good of a team they are and feeding off of that energy. They chose not to let all of the bad that had happened and the discouraging stats get into their head. They played every game like it was their last, and it paid off tremendously.

Can’t wait for next season!

Atlanta Braves forever and ever!

Go Ozzie! #1

BRAVES ARE NL CHAMPIONS!!

Wow. This is really happening!!!! The Atlanta Braves are in the World Series!! Words cannot begin to describe how exciting this is, and I can’t even imagine how pumped the entire Braves team and coaching staff is. The staff has every reason to be this excited because this is Atlanta’s first World Series appearance since 1999. That was 22 years ago! It was HUGE for the Braves to make it to the World Series, but now that they have made it…they have a bigger goal on their minds. 🙂

Where in the world would this team be without Eddie Rosario?!? It’s safe to say that Atlanta would not have had the success in the NLCS that they had without Rosario. He had a total of 14 hits, three home runs, a walk off, and nine RBI’s. That is insane! Rosario came to the Braves as an injured player…he was unable to play. However, this acquisition for the Atlanta Braves came through big time, even if they had to wait a little while before Eddie could actually play. But when he could play for this Braves team, we quickly realized he was worth the wait. Not only could he make some good plays in left field, but man…he can hit! His bat provided some series pop for Atlanta’s offense.

This entire NLCS was huge for the Braves. They were playing the LA Dodgers, who beat them in last year’s NLCS with a disappointing game seven. LA went on to win the World Series in 2020. Brian Snitker’s Braves wanted NONE of that this year. Yes, the Dodgers had gotten Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals, and arguably they had one of the best pitching staffs in all of MLB. BUT that did not scare Atlanta. In fact, the Braves’ hitters beat up on all three of LA’s aces –Max Scherzer, Julio Urías, and Walker Buehler. That is very impressive because usually those guys are un-hittable. *Clayton Kershaw was not on the postseason roster due to injury.

The Atlanta Braves had two walk-offs; one in game one by Austin Riley, and the other in game two, by Eddie Rosario. Both walk-off singles came in the bottom of the ninth inning and sent Truist Park into a frenzy! Those were just two of the incredible hits the Braves had in moments where they needed them most.

Starting pitching wasn’t as great as expected, but the bullpen was beyond impressive. Except for the one home run that Luke Jackson gave up to Cody Bellinger in game three, Atlanta’s bullpen was, pretty much lights-out. We have to give SO much credit to Tyler Matzek. Every single time he came out of that bullpen for the Braves, he was on point. You could tell from his expression on the mound and the accuracy of his pitches that he was zoned in. Another pitcher who was great from the bullpen was closer Will Smith. Smith had a rollercoaster regular season as the Braves closer. It seemed that every time he was on the mound, he got himself into a situation that did not look good. He was TOTALLY different in the postseaon. In almost every appearance he was three up, three down. He did give up an occasional walk or single, but nothing too serious or nerve-wracking. Bullpen pitching was crucial to the Atlanta Braves in this series, and the pitchers coming out of our bullpen, did not disappoint.

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It is still hard to grasp that after everything that this Braves team has gone through in 2021 (losing Acuña not getting Soroka back, staying at .500 for the longest time) they did not give up for one second. And now, all that hard work and perseverance has paid off. Atlanta is the National League Champs! They beat the Los Angelas Dodgers in six games, at home in Truist Park, and are now headed to the World Series where they will face the Houston Astros to see who will win the title of World Series Champs.

GO BRAVES!