We’re almost halfway through the season, and we’re piddling around .500 with just 38 wins. We’ve had good stretches and bad stretches, but it’s sent us to no destination good or bad, just to .500 and sort of an afterthought in the race. The team has been inconsistent, at times looking like there’s real potential lying underneath, and looking like a AAA team at others. It’s time to give up on the Braves for the year, and I’m about to tell you why.
Players don’t make the playoffs; teams make the playoffs. Right now, Atlanta is being carried by its third baseman. When your 3B is not just your MVP but the guy who is single handedly keeping you in the race, you’re going to find yourself in trouble down the road.
Why can’t we develop a young power hitter with some selectivity at the plate? Instead, the kid with worlds of talent just winds up swinging at too many bad pitches and just concentrates on hitting homers. It’s frustrating to watch a potential MVP out there hacking like that, making enough contact to stay in the lineup but not enough to really make himself the great player he’s capable of becoming.
The bullpen still hasn’t really come together. Our primary lefty for the year has been very good, and our long reliever/spot starter has been a great go-to guy, but what else is there? Our closer was fine until he got hurt. The guy we thought would be our primary set-up man wound up unable to contribute like we’d hoped. Our main righty out of the pen has been solid overall, but he’s blown some big games. We’ve got an inexperienced flamethrower with plenty of potential, but a lack of true command.
The rotation right now has only one veteran, and he’s played well. We’ve also seen a pretty solid young pitcher really turn the corner and become a starter we can rely on. We’ve got a young lefty in the rotation that has an ERA hovering around 4.00, and while you’d like to think he could improve and be a big pitcher for us in the postseason, you can’t help but remember the horrible season he had as a rookie the year before. Elsewhere in the rotation, we’ve got a very promising youngster who has been plagued with wild inconsistency throughout his minor league and major league career. The 24 year old righty has a ton of potential, but will he ever be able to be the pitcher to match his pure stuff?
More than just the internal team problems are the problems within the division. We’re looking up at a team in 1st place with two of the best sluggers in baseball. Their rotation features one of the best pitchers in the game under the age of 25, and a nice mix of veterans and pitchers still in their prime. To make matters worse, we’re not even their biggest worry right now because we’re not even the team sitting in second place.
Let’s face it, folks. This isn’t happening. This just isn’t gonna be our year.
- July 4, 1991