While the news of Dansby leaving the Braves was disappointing, it wasn’t all that surprising. The longer the question of “Will Dansby re-sign?” was up in the air, the more it seemed that the answer would inevitably be no. Now that the issue is settled and Dansby has signed with the Cubs, Braves Country must move on. We survived losing Freddie, and we’ll survive losing Dansby.
So…who will be the Braves’ new shortstop?
I think, as of where the Atlanta Braves are at right now, Vaughn Grissom is the most logical choice for our new SS. Grissom showed potential while filling in at second base for Ozzie Albies while he was hurt last season, and his position in the minors was shortstop so that will definitely help him in this position for the 2023 season. He has also been working with third base coach Ron Washington this offseason which tells me that the Braves are planning on making him their shortstop.
It will definitely be different to see someone else at shortstop who isn’t Dansby Swanson, but at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, this is how the game of baseball works. Dansby made the decision that makes the most sense for him and where he’s at in life — and Atlanta fans must move on.
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Regardless of who’s at shortstop, I believe in the Atlanta Braves team. I’m looking forward to the 2023 season for the Braves, and I can’t wait to see what kind of excitement is in store for them!
With each passing day, this becomes a more pressing question. No one wants to see Swanson go, and I don’t think Swanson wants to leave either. Honestly, it just comes down to money and the length of the contract. I don’t see Dansby Swanson as a greedy person, but after what happened with Freddie, and everyone saying that he wasn’t a greedy person, makes me a little more apprehensive regarding Dansby. Not to mention he and Freddie have, or had, the same agent. (Freeman fired his agent in the middle of the 2022 season.)
There hasn’t been a lot of talk regarding Dansby Swanson, but one thing that the Braves organization does well is keeping their movements out of the public eye until something is finalized. They don’t ride (or start) the rumor train.
Coming into the 2022-2023 offseason, there were four big-name FA shortstops on the market: Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts. Turner and Bogaerts have both signed long term deals with the Phillies and the Padres, respectively. That leaves Swanson and Correa as the only big-name shortstops on the market, and there are multiple teams in need of one. That just makes the situation with Dansby more nerve-wracking because some teams (like the Dodgers) could pay big money for him. He will have the ultimate decision of remaining a Brave or seeking out a fat paycheck.
The Winter Meetings are now over, and while there were some big deals made… none of them were made by Braves GM, Alex Anthopoulos. This came as a little bit of a surprise. While Anthopoulos is never big into the rumors or openly discussed deals, he has been known to make some jaw-dropping deals at the Trade Deadline and the Winter Meetings. However, that did not happen this year.
One of my hypotheses as to why they haven’t made Dansby an offer is because he is getting married this Saturday, and Anthopoulos, being one of Dansby’s good friends, is invited to the wedding. They might not want any tensions regarding him hypothetically not being signed during that time. Yes, I know, this idea may seem far-fetched…however, I’m not really sure what else it could be. Unless they really just haven’t made him an offer, OR they did make Swanson an offer that he refused and they’re keeping it under wraps.
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This is a tough situation to navigate. All I know is I wouldn’t want to be in Alex Anthopoulos’ shoes. No one wants to see Georgia-grown, Dansby Swanson leave Braves Country. But at the end of the day, it typically comes down to money. How much are the Atlanta Braves are willing to spend, and how much is Swanson potentially willing to give up when push comes to shove? I guess we will just have to wait and see how things play out- hopefully in the Braves’ favor.
So far, the offseason has been a slow one for the Atlanta Braves. One thing I like about the Atlanta organization is that they don’t get involved with all of the offseason rumors. When they make a deal, then they release the information regarding that deal. It just makes everything less stressful. Regarding Dansby Swanson, however, I think all Braves fans are anxiously awaiting news about him.
But today, I want to take the time and talk about left field for the Braves. This has been a position that hasn’t really seemed secure over the past couple years. The Braves signed Marcell Ozuna in February of 2021 to a four-year contract, and it has not proven to be a good signing. Throughout a lot of his contract he has either been injured or in and out of jail and facing the consequences of that. Also, he does not have a good arm, which makes him a sub-par outfielder; he also gets into major slumps at the plate which makes him not so good offensively. Overall he isn’t a good fit for the Braves in left field — but, unfortunately, we seem to be stuck with him on the roster.
The other options the Braves have for left field are:
1) Using Vaughn Grissom as a left fielder – while his position is naturally a shortstop, the Braves had him do left field drills with outfield coach Eric Young during the 2021 season. Grissom is young and could easily tackle a new position. This would be the cheapest move the Atlanta organization could make to solve their left field problem. However, if things were to go south with Dansby Swanson and he were to go elsewhere, Grissom would assumably fill in the shortstop role.
2) Resigning Adam Duvall – Duvall missed most of the 2022 season with a torn ligament in his thumb, but he has proven to be a key player for the Atlanta team. He is currently a free agent, and could honestly be scooped up for pretty cheap. Although he is known to get into his slumps at the plate, he is a good defender and has made game-saving plays a time or two for the Braves team. He is also a decent home-run hitter in moments that count.
3) Finding a good left fielder on the Free Agent Market – this is also a logical choice, but it could potentially cost a pretty penny. There’s a long list of free agent outfielders – a lot of those being left fielders. However, if Anthopoulos is working to grant Dansby a big contract, the Braves organization probably won’t have much more money to throw towards a big name left fielder.
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In the end, only time will tell what the Atlanta Braves are going to do. If it was me, I would sign Adam Duvall because we know he can be a very good player and he fits in with the Braves club well. But right now, this isn’t really the Braves biggest concern. That, obviously, is the signing of All-Star shortstop, Dansby Swanson. But, left field is a problem that can’t, and won’t, be ignored.
Now that the offseason has officially begun, it’s time to start looking ahead to the 2023 season. The Atlanta Braves locked in three players this season: Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Spencer Strider. They Braves have almost all of their everyday players locked up. In fact, only shortstop and whoever is going to play left field are not locked up for the Braves. Obviously, The Atlanta Braves’ front office, the Braves team, and ALL of Braves country want to see Dansby Swanson at shortstop for the Braves for many years to come. He is a Georgia native and all things Atlanta sports. He has made such an impact for the Braves and over the last two seasons. We have really gotten to see the power he has and the top-quality defense he gives every single day. No one wants to see him go, but it’s all a matter of if he really wants to stay in Atlanta like he says he does, or if he wants to go where the money is. Hopefully Dansby won’t be another Freddie, but they had the same agent (Freeman fired his earlier this year). Dansby is obviously the biggest goal this offseason, and it’s my hope that the Braves would go after him first.
Along with Dansby Swanson, Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, Kenley Jansen, Luke Jackson, Darren O’Day, Jesse Chavez, and Ehire Adrianza are Free Agents. I would be surprised if the Braves re-signed Grossman, O’Day, or Adrianza. O’Day did not have a great year on the mound, Adrianza didn’t play much other than a couple games when both Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia were hurt before they called Grissom up, and although Robbie Grossman came through in quite a few situations in the 2022 season, I don’t see him coming back over Adam Duvall.
The Braves need a closer, but they need a reliable one. Jansen had his ups and downs this year, but he came though when the Braves needed him the most. I think the Braves will make him an offer, but I don’t know if he’ll take it or not. Luke Jackson did not play this season due to Tommy John surgery. However, in 2020-2021 he showed skill off the pitching mound. With his slider and his fastball, he was able to get batters out and get out of troublesome innings. I can possibly see the Braves using him as a closer, but I think Atlanta will try and find someone who has more closer credentials. The Braves could sign him to add more depth to the bullpen, but there’s no guarantee what he’s going to be like after surgery. Jesse Chavez has become a fan-favorite. He has been traded ten times in his career, and has been a Brave off and on for 2 1/2 seasons. Chavez has come through for the Braves, and like Jackson, I could see the Braves signing him to a 1-2 year deal to add depth to the bullpen.
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In the end, we will have to wait and see what moves the Braves make. I think I speak on behalf of all Braves country when I say that we don’t want to see Dansby Swanson in another uniform. He has become the face of the Braves this year and has proven just how good of a player he is, and everyone wants him to be a Brave for a long long time.
To quote Brian Snitker, “It’s never over til it’s over.” And now, it’s over.
Honestly, it heartbreaking. I can’t imagine the feelings that the Atlanta Braves players and coaching staff are going through. They gave this 162-game season their all, and you could see that in every game. But, when Postseason baseball comes around, things change. It doesn’t matter how many wins you have, or how good you’ve been all year…what matters is how well you can play in a best-of-five series against a red-hot team. This year, the Braves had to face the Philadelphia Phillies, and quite frankly, they outplayed Atlanta.
The Atlanta Braves are a really good team, there is no doubt about that, and they were very capable of winning. However, the Phillies came into this series against the Braves with a major spark and it carried them through. They were able to get hits when they needed to and had good strong pitching throughout the entire series.
The Braves never really had that spark. You could easily see that they wanted to win, and they had multiple chances to score and make that happen, they just couldn’t get the big hit. One of the moments that I think had a big impact on this series was in Game One when they left the bases loaded three times without scoring. You just cant let that happen – especially in a Postseason game.
Another issue was starting pitching. The starting rotation was never really 100% for the Braves in the NLDS. From Max Fried giving up 8 hits and 6 runs (only 4 of them were earned) in 3.1 innings, things didn’t look good. Add on Spencer Strider not being completely healthy and yet he pitched anyway and got into trouble, and then finally for poor Charlie Morton. Morton was pitching very well for the Braves in game four, but then he got a comebacker back to the mound that drilled him on his pitching elbow. He finished the inning and came back out for the inning after, but they had to pull him because things just weren’t looking right. This was hard to watch, not only because he was doing so well and has come up clutch in the Postseason, but because it brought back flashbacks from what happened down in Houston in game one of the World Series when a comebacker hit his lower leg and broke his fibula.
All in all, this Atlanta Braves team never truly seemed 100% healthy coming into the Postseason. With Ozzie Albies not being able to play, Ronald Acuña Jr. having some remaining knee problems, to Tyler Matzek having Tommy John Surgery the day of the NLDS, and other key components — it just wasn’t there for Atlanta.
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Even though the Braves got eliminated much too soon, I have full confidence in this Atlanta’s Braves team. Next year they will come back and fight just like they did this year and years past. However, there are two looming questions facing the Braves… Will Dansby Swanson and Max Fried return? Obviously no one wants to see these two go. Fried has proven to be a stud in the starting rotation, and Swanson is a native Georgia-boy who has captivated the hearts of Braves country. No one wants to see either of these two go. Regarding Dansby, however, fans are a little more worried.
After Freddie Freeman signed with the Dodgers, it was made known that Freeman and Swanson had the same agent. Freeman fired his agent earlier this year but Swanson still has him. This automatically brings more concern regarding Dansby remaining a Brave, but I believe if he really truly wants to stay a Brave like he says, then he will accept the offer that the Atlanta Braves office gives him.
Only time will tell what’s going to happen, but right now the Braves are taking this one day at a time. Coming into the offseason they are going to rest, spend time with families, and then start preparing for the 2023 season to come. Only 4 months until Spring Training!
Postseason baseball has officially begun! The Wild Card series’ were full of much excitement and a lot of surprises. The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Saint Louis Cardinals and are now about to face off against the reigning World Series Champions: the Atlanta Braves.
This isn’t going to be an easy series for the Braves. The Phillies have shown to be a better team than most thought they were this year, and they have good hitters and some good starting pitchers. With all this to be said, I still believe the Braves are the better team. Atlanta has had almost a week of rest, and while some people think too much rest is a bad thing and can put them off their game, I think rest was just what the Braves have needed. The series that Atlanta played with the Mets was crucial, and I am sure it was both physically and mentally exhausting for the Braves players…they gave that series their all. And giving it their all is what they’re going to have to do throughout the Postseason.
Starting pitching wise, the Braves have a solid rotation. Max Fried has been announced to start game one, and I think they’ll start Kyle Wright in game two and most likely Charlie Morton for game three. Spencer Strider could have the possibility of starting in the NLDS, but I don’t think the Braves will rush him into pitching. They will want him completely healed and without risk of injuring himself worse.
The Braves have a good bullpen. We have seen them be lights-out countless times this season. Those pitchers have A+ stuff. We have seen them pitch in high leverage situations and come out on the winning side…we especially saw this in the decisive Braves vs. Mets series. The one thing that is going to bring some concern is the closing role in the bullpen. That role belongs to Kenley Jansen. Kenley has had his ups and downs this season, but he has come through when the games have mattered the most. We can only hope to see him bring those same results as we enter the Postseason.
Offensively, we known the Braves have a LOT of power. They can hit the home run ball left and right. However, they are going to need more than home runs to carry them through the Postseason. Small ball is important in any baseball game, but it is even bigger in Postseason games. Getting on base, moving runners over, and scoring is what matters most. Yes, you can score with a home run, and they are loud and exciting, but you have to be able to score runs without a home run. You have to be able to take advantage of pitchers “slip-ups” such as walks. There are only so many runners you can leave on base without it coming back to bite you in a huge way. This will be something for the Braves to start to do more of as we begin Postseason baseball.
The Atlanta Braves have superb defense. The infield especially is quite impressive. This is something that has helped Atlanta throughout the entire season. Having a good defense behind your pitchers is something you can’t take for granted. The Braves defense always seems to come through in huge situations. We saw this in last year’s Postseason and time and time again this season.
Everything is set at a higher standard in the Postseason. It’s the best of the best battling against one another to avoid elimination and come out on top as Champions. We saw the Atlanta Braves do this last year, and they are just as capable to do it again this year. It will be an exciting Postseason run this year and the Braves won’t go down without a fight!
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One more thing to add. Ozzie Albies, who fractured his right pinky ringer in mid-September against the Phillies, just two days after returning from a foot injury, is now out of his cast. This is a huge step for Albies who has the potential of making a Postseason return. This is another aspect of that extra week of rest from clinching the Division that has played so well in the Braves favor. Ozzie Albies will have to regain some strength in his hand after being in a cast, and the Braves coaching staff will be cautious with him, not wanting to risk another injury to their young superstar. On another note regarding Albies, it was announced today that he will be traveling with the Braves for the NLDS and will participate in on-the-field activities and workouts with the team. All of these are huge steps in the right direction, and I know that the team and all of Braves country would be over the moon to see Albies come back in the Postseason!
What a series! If you like high-intensity, every-pitch-counts-baseball, then this was your series. Coming into this series against the Mets, all of Braves country was nervous. I mean, it’s not every day that you have to sweep your biggest Division rivals in order to have a good shot at clinching the division and having possession of a winning record against them in case there were to be a tiebreaker. It was a tall order for the Braves – especially against a good team like the Mets – but our Bravos did not disappoint!
GAME ONE: Max Fried vs. Jacob DeGrom; Braves win 5-2
I was so sure this game was going to be a pitching duel. A low scoring, old fashioned pitchers duel…I was wrong. While both Fried and DeGrom had their shutdown innings and pitched like aces, Atlanta’s offense ended up scoring five runs — three of them off of DeGrom. The Mets scored two runs in total and only one off of Max Fried. Fried pitched very well, but he had to leave after the 5th inning with only 71 pitches because he began to throw up in the dugout and it was later announced that he had the stomach bug. For Max to have pitched the five top-notch innings that he did while being sick is just amazing. Talk about putting your team above yourself.
Offensively for the Braves, they were home run driven. Austin Riley and Matt Olson had back-to-back solo shots in the bottom of the second inning which put the Braves up 2-1. And then, in the bottom of the 6th, Dansby Swanson hit a solo home run to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. All three of those home runs came off of Jacob DeGrom, but Dansby’s was much more meaningful. It was his 100th home run of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The bullpen for Atlanta, like we have grown so accustomed to, got the job done. A.J. Minter allowed a nerve-wrecking solo home run to Tomas Nido in the top of the 8th, but that was it. In the top of the 9th inning, Kenley Jansen gave ALL of Braves Country a huge scare. Being there in person was unlike any stress I’ve ever known. The crowd was groaning, cheering, sighing, and cheering again. Kenley loaded the bases with only one out. But somehow, someway, Kenley got out of it without a single run scoring and gave the Braves game one of the series with a 5-2 win.
GAME TWO: Kyle Wright vs. Max Scherzer; Braves win4-2
Kyle Wright got off to a rocky start but was able to come back and secure the win for Atlanta. When he’s on his A-game, Wright gets a lot of groundouts, and after the first inning, that is what he got. He went 5 innings, allowed 7 hits, 2 runs, one walk, and had three strikeouts. So overall, it wasn’t a bad outing. The bullpen was able to keep the Mets at bay and prevent any further damage for the rest of the game. And, Kenley Jansen pitched a stress-free 1-2-3 inning.
Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson once again brought the power for the Braves. Swanson hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 5th inning, and in the bottom of the 6th inning, Olson went yard to give the braves a 4-2 lead.
This game showed what the Atlanta Braves bullpen can do. There were SO many chances for the Mets to score, yet they could not make contact with anything the Braves relievers were throwing. And when they did make contact, Atlanta’s superb defense was there to make the play — hello, Michael Harris II!! This was an overall good game for Atlanta that started out scary and ended with a Braves’ victory.
GAME THREE: Charlie Morton vs. Chris Bassitt; Braves win 5-3
Talk about a great way to end the series. Dansby Swanson led off the game with a bang: an opposite field solo shot in the bottom of the first to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. This was his third home run in as many games. He hit a home run off of all three Mets starters: Jacob DeGrom, Max Scherzer, and Chris Bassitt.
The Mets beat up on Charlie Morton a little bit, scoring three runs off of him in 4.1 innings. But they couldn’t come up with anymore run support.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Braves’ bats came to life once again, except this time it wasn’t via the home run ball. With the bases loaded and two outs, Matt Olson walked to score a run, and then Travis d’Arnaud had a two-run single to give the Braves a 4-3 lead. Then as if Dansby hitting a home run in all three games wasn’t cool enough, Matt Olson decided to do it, too. He hit a towering solo home run in the bottom of the 6th inning to give the Braves a 5-3 lead.
And that 5-3 lead was all the Atlanta bullpen needed. Kenley Jansen came in for the third straight game and was lights out! This awesome showing allowed the Braves to win their 100th game, sweep the Mets, win the head-to-head series with the Mets, and give the Braves a 2.0 game lead in the division. Talk about a productive win. 🙂
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The Atlanta Braves magic number to win the division is now one, and they are set to play a three game series against the Marlins in Miami starting tonight to finish out the regular season. I have all confidence in what the Braves are capable of and are excited to see them play in the postseason!
Coming off a long road trip to the West Coast, you could tell that the Atlanta Braves were ready to be back home in front of their home crowd. Counting last night’s win against the Nationals, Atlanta has won nine home games in a row.
The Braves played some of their best baseball in this past series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Part of that was due to the LONG awaited return of second baseman and fan-favorite, Ozzie Albies. He had been out for three months with a fractured foot, and he returned to the lineup on Friday, September 16th. He was received very happily by his teammates and the fans at Truist Park gave him a standing ovation. And when he had his two out, two-run double the fans went crazy. It was great to have Ozzie back. He truly makes the team complete. He provides the energy they need to win ballgames.
However, ill fate was awaiting Ozzie. On Saturday, September 17, in just his second game back, Ozzie Albies was advancing to second base on a fly-out by Eddie Rosario. He slid into second base hands first, and after he slid he stayed hunched over the base. Then and there, all of Braves Country felt a pit form in their stomach, and after watching the replay, things didn’t look good. Ozzie stayed in that inning and ran the bases, but once he got into the dugout he immediately went into the clubhouse to get his hand checked out. Ozzie Albies will miss the rest of the regular season with a fractured right pinky finger. This news is devastating. After all that hard work he did recovering from a fractured foot, he fractured his finger less than two days after returning to send him back to the IL. I’m not entirely sure how his finger got fractured. To me, it looked like Phillies second baseman, Jean Segura might have stepped on Ozzie’s finger by accident, or Ozzie slid into his foot. Either way, it’s a heartbreaking situation. But hopefully, Ozzie will remain in the dugout and cheer on his teammates from there, although he would much rather be on the field playing the game he loves.
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Atlanta’s offense has hit a spark since they came home. 1-9 each batter was coming through in one situation or another. Even Matt Olson broke out of his hitless streak and recorded two hits last night. And Ronald Acuña Jr. looked like his old self against the Phillies. He hit a home run in back to back games and played superb defense.
Pitching for the Braves has looked much better, too. The starting rotation did well, making the pitches they need to and kept the Phillies scoreless most of the time. Even relief pitching was lights-out. Collin McHugh pitched well – even pitching two innings in the same game. And Kenley Jansen, who we have seen struggle of late, has come in as closer and been lights-out. He hasn’t gotten into any trouble and hasn’t walked anyone. Hopefully he’s figured out what his problem was and made the necessary changes.
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The Atlanta braves are a very fun team to watch. They are currently 1.0 game out of first place in the National League East, and are playing fantastic baseball. If they can keep this up, they have a real shot at beating the Mets in the Eastern division. And when the Mets come to town next week, Truist park is going to be rocking. It is going to be some serious competition and hopefully the Braves will come out on top!
The month of August has been a very good one for the Braves. They have played all-around very good baseball, and have gained significant ground in the NL East.
At the beginning of August, the Braves lost four out of five against the Mets, bringing them 7.5 games out of first place, which caused some concern. However, the Braves did not let that bring them down, and they had a huge bounce back when they played the Mets at home the following week.
Atlanta pitching has been great this month. Charlie Morton has found his groove, Max Fried is continuing to be his superstar self, Kyle Wright has been very good, and Spencer Strider has been downright impressive. Even Jake Odorizzi has had a bounce back…he won his first game as a Brave Monday night against the Pittsburg Pirates.
The bullpen has been lights-out. How the bullpen is pitching right now, is how I have expected it to be since the beginning of the season. Everyone has been able to come in during high-leverage situations and manage to get out of them, while also maintaining close leads late in the games — which is super important especially as we near the postseason.
Offensively for the Braves, they have been extremely impressive. It seems that every game 1-9 in the lineup is contributing some way. Whether it’s a sac-fly to score a run, a groundout to move the runner over, a home run, or a pinch-hit walk-off single – the Braves hitters are getting it done. It’s very fun to watch them come through in ways you’d never expect and get the big hits we need with runners in scoring position.
Also, defensively, Atlanta has been outstanding. When you hear the word “error” and “Atlanta Braves” in the same sentence, it does not sound right. As a team, the Braves had made 56. I know that sounds like a large number, but compared to the Pittsburg Pirates who have made 85 errors in the same amount of games, it’s really not that high. The Atlanta infield is quite impressive. Even Grissom has proved to be quite a good fielder, although he is not near as good as their normal second baseman, Ozzie Albies. And let me just say…if Dansby Swanson does not win the Gold Glove this year, or finish in the top three of Gold Glove voting, he will have been robbed. His defense has been superb all year long!
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The Atlanta braves are just a fun, exciting team to watch! They always put up a fight and don’t give up easily. Coming into today’s game, the Atlanta Braves are 3.0 games out of first place. That is very manageable, as long as the Braves keep winning the majority of games they play, and the Mets lose some, too. 😉
It will be very exciting to see what happens down the stretch come September.
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!
Braves Chop Chat 