Atlanta Braves

The Monday Night Baseball game on May 12 (in which the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets) reminded me of a couple things.

Derek Lowe can pitch like an ace when needed, even if he doesn’t strike people out; he can get so many grounders it is ridiculous.

Jerry Manuel is a terrible manager. Pedro Feliciano is a lefty specialist, and Matt Diaz is a platoon player who destroys lefties. The bullpen gets the blame, but this one was on Manuel.

So who is the hottest team in the NL East?

Before tonight many writers, personalities, and fans would have said the Mets.

And I might have agreed. With seven straight wins and Johan Santana going tonight, I can think of no one that would disagree with that sentiment.

That is, until those upstart Braves came into town.

The Braves have easily been the East's second hottest team, since leaving Atlanta for the road last week.

On Monday night, they became the hottest with a 8-3 win in Queens.

Futility against the Phils appears to be in the rear-view mirror.

In only about five weeks, the Atlanta Braves have matched their 2008 win total against the Phillies with their 4-2 win on Sunday.

Despite two debacles, one from Jo-Joke Reyes and another from the (at the time) "suckpen", the Braves have performed admirably against the World Champions.

Perhaps the key to these performances has been the presence of the true four and five hitters on the Braves, McCann and Anderson.

Hey Jo-Jo, how's it going?

Just thought I'd let you in on a little secret: you're not "the man."

In fact, you are far from it.

When your team loses, according to the Peachtree TV crew, 15 straight of your appearances, it's not them, it's you.

You make me utterly sick every time you step on the mound because I know what's about to happen.

Hold on, I take that back, two out of three times I know what's going to happen.

Your inconsistencies bring tears to my eyes.

But, don't worry.

One thing is certain after one month of Atlanta Braves baseball; they’re not going to set any offensive records anytime soon.

It has been a comedy of errors for this struggling offense.

The ’09 version of the Braves offense has seen injuries to key contributors, continued streaky hitting at the leadoff spot, terrible base-running mistakes, and a lineup that changes daily.

With that said, here’s my Braves-lineup Report Card:

Let's see here...

Pitching, check.

Defense, get back to me in two weeks.

Offense, ehhh.

There you go—the first month report card for the Atlanta Braves.

We all know what's happened, B-Mac and Garret Anderson are hurt, and we are relying on utility guys to spell out upper-mid-tier guys (*ahem* Kelly Johnson) when the others should be playing

What to do, what to do?

Well, the biggest question mark is with the bats, so that should be the focus as the July 31 trade deadline draws closer.

Loyalty has to take a backseat to winning.

The Braves are one of the more storied franchises in all of baseball. Certainly, it is nice to see a guy like Chipper Jones set himself up to play his whole career as a Brave.

I'd like to have seen it for Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine, too.

The fact is that the Braves have the talent to be a World Series-caliber team.

They probably sport the best bench in all of baseball, in fact:

Twenty-three games into the season, and the name we've wanted to see at the top of the order has finally gotten his shot.

Better mark this down in the history books: On May 2, 2009, Jordan Schafer first batted lead-off for the Atlanta Braves.

Many congratulations to the 22-year-old, as he has truly earned this opportunity. In the entire St. Louis series and the first game against Houston, the Braves' center fielder has drawn six walks while striking out only twice.

In the second edition of the Jordan Schafer PlayerCast, I will profile the three-game series against the St Louis Cardinals.

I will include pivitol at bats (runners on, leading off, etc.) and his statline for the series.

Statlines will be AB/H/BB/K/R/RBI/SB/pitches seen.

Game One (4/27/2009)
(batting eighth)

I found this lovely tidbit on Braves.com in the comments section of a Mark Bowman article: