Atlanta Braves

Never in my history of watching sports have I been as frustrated as I have been with the 2009 version of the Atlanta Braves.

I have watched as they hit great in spurts of three games, and then perform terribly in five. I've watched a dominant pitching staff throw quality innings night-in and night-out for Atlanta, only to see the pitcher rewarded with a loss in a 1-0 game.

Other games, we've watched Atlanta hold a lead for the majority of the game, only to have the relief staff blow the game to pieces.

While playing a three game series against the Washington Nationals this weekend, the Braves faced three left-handed pitchers.

In the second and third games of the series, the Braves left Jeff Francoeur on the bench while starting Matt Diaz in right field and Garret Anderson in left field.

Despite the fact that Diaz hits much better against lefties than righties, the Braves should be using Diaz as an everyday right fielder as long as the only other option is Jeff Francoeur.

Bobby Cox is a smart manager, but his old-school approach to managing a bullpen cost Tommy Hanson a win on Saturday.

A big reason why the Boston Red Sox have won two World Series in the last five years is because a bunch of arms in the bullpen are rested after they've pitched two or three days in a row.

The Braves do have that luxury—as Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez are closers. Both have been very good this year, but Cox has for years depended too heavily on his most reliable relievers.

Saturday afternoon's game in Washington was a prime example.

Today's game versus the Nats is one that just makes you sick to your stomach.

Seven innings of one-run ball from your starter, a solid performance from your offense, and your normally shut-down eighth and ninth inning guys are coming in to finish the job.

Just the recipe that had won the Braves five straight before today.

Accredit it to arm fatigue, lack of focus, the Nationals' offense, or whatever you want. It's still a heartbreaker to blow a lead late, especially when your team's 30-1 (I believe that's right), when leading after seven.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution's, David O' Brien is reporting that Atlanta may be close to making a deal. Frank Wren and Bobby Cox were holed up in an office for more than an hour on Thursday before the game, leading to rampant speculation about an imminent trade for the Braves.

According to O' Brien the Braves could get someone who is not a free agent next year for Vazquez.

Yesterday night, I turned on the TV to watch The Late Late Show, only to find that it was starting 20 minutes late.

Just for this week, I think they should've renamed it The Late Late Late Show.

Anyway, I decided to pass the time by watching Baseball Tonight, which I don't normally watch because I can't stand the analysts. But it was something to do.

After about ten minutes, the Braves-Nationals highlights came on. I wasn't really paying attention; I was checking minor league scores on my computer.

One at-bat into his Braves career, long-time minor-leaguer Brooks Conrad made lots of fans in Atlanta, as his three-run, pinch-hit blast led the Braves to a 9-8 win over Washington on Friday night.

The Braves had been pitching very well lately, but Kenshin Kawakami's first start since taking a liner off his neck was rather forgettable.

He surrendered runs in each of the first three innings, including the first hit and RBI of Washington starter Ross Detwiler's career.

The NL East has proven to be the free-for-all many thought it would be. The Atlanta Braves are in fourth place, but are only three games out of first place on July 1.

The New York Mets are injured and their roster is depleted, yet they broke out of a five-game losing streak against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday.

The Florida Marlins have shot up the standings to within a half-game of first place after a 17-11 June.

The Philadelphia Phillies hit the skids in June with an 11-15 mark, but are still at the top in the division.

I have figured out the cause behind the struggles of Jeff Francoeur and Kelly Johnson.

Surprisingly, it is a very easy problem to fix.

Kelly's and Jeff's issues lie in their poor taste in music.

That's right, their walk-up music has immersed both in dreadful slumps.

Neither "Your Love" by The Outfield and "Summertime" by Kenny Chesney hardly strike fear into opposing pitchers. And, in my opinion, both fail to energize the two struggling sluggers.

How, you ask, can I attribute walk-up songs to on-the-field performance?

When the Atlanta Braves made Jeff Francoeur their first round selection in 2002 MLB Draft, a lot of hype surrounded the kid from Parkview High School and for good reason.

A two-sport star in high school, Francoeur made headlines when he decided to turn down a football scholarship from Clemson University in order to play professional baseball.