Atlanta Braves

Nate McLouth's frustrating tenure with the Atlanta Braves may finally be over.

On the disabled list since July 29, McLouth underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia he had been playing through for most of the season. 

For the first half of the season, the Atlanta Braves struggled mightily to produce offense, and were carried by their amazing pitching.

In this half of the season, so far, their pitching has been declining, and their offense has been surging.

This is not necessarily a negative thing; however, it seems it is now the Braves' pitching that needs assistance.

This is now the seventh franchise I have compiled an 'All-Time' team for.  I began this endeavor in July of 2009 and have worked on many different lists and composite articles since then. At this rate perhaps I will have it done by the end of the decade, if the Lord tarries.

The Braves are a storied franchise to be sure. They began as the Boston Red Stockings in 1876 and changed their name to the Beeneaters, Doves and Rustlers before settling on the Braves in 1912.

Fresh off the All-Star break, the Braves are primed to continue their chase of the Philadelphia Phillies.

While they're bats have been cold, they're pitching has been red hot as they boast one of the best staffs in all of baseball.

Read ahead as I peer through my crystal ball and make predictions about the end of the year.

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It appears as though the pitcher's era has begun.

There have been many surprises this season, and many teams have ended up with great pitching staffs.

It is very debatable which team actually has the best pitching staff.

In this article, I will give my opinion on the matter, and rank the top five staffs in the NL, along with a few honorable mentions.

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I have recently heard talk of the Braves considering making a trade before the non-waiver deadline on July 31st.

However, I do not think a trade would be helpful to the current situation the Braves are in.

Sure, it would be nice to have a center fielder who could hit, but there are drawbacks to this.

In this article, I will address these drawbacks, and discuss the five main reasons I believe a trade would do harm to the Braves.

It is not a good time to be Derek Lowe right now.

Lowe, a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, was arrested last night after police pulled him over and smelled alcohol, according to TMZ.com.

Braves right-handed starter Derek Lowe was arrested under suspicion for driving under the influence Wednesday night. Lowe was stopped around 10p.m by State Patrol on Peachtree Road at Ronson Road in Atlanta. After smelling a strong alcoholic odor, the officer conducted a field sobriety test; Lowe however refused to take the state-administered alcohol test.

The Atlanta Braves are just under .500 going into play on April 25, playing below the expectations of the fans in Atlanta. The Braves have done some things to surprise people and not done some things that were expected of them. This is a list of what the Braves have done well, and not so well, through 23 games in the 2011 season.

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After an abysmal 2010 campaign, Nate McLouth was on the hot seat in the Atlanta Braves clubhouse.