121: Will The Real Braves Team Please Show Up….

by Gil Elliott

So, a little more than a month has passed and we have seen two very different Braves teams. The first was a world beater, rolling off a 12 win/2 loss record before running into a buzz saw of a road trip. Perhaps it was the idea of playing in an environment more suited to ice hockey than baseball that was the killer but since that stellar start, the Braves have looked very average. Perhaps we expected too much before the Atlanta team came back to earth in the heady first two weeks of the season.  Routing the Nationals to open their home stand gave credence to the fact the Braves liked home cooking but suddenly the Nats bounced back and took the last two games of the series to earn a split. Then the Mets piled it on, snatching away an almost certain victory for the Braves by doing something no one else has ever done: hitting home runs off both O’Flarerty and Kimbrel in the same game to tie before scoring the go ahead runs in the tenth.

Perhaps we should all take a step back and realize the old adage of “It ain’t over til it’s over” is more true in baseball than any other sport. Rookie sensation Evan Gattis is perhaps human after all and Justin Upton will not hit 72 home runs this season. At least there appears to be some rays of hope with Dan Uggla heating up and BJ Upton at least playing a great centerfield. Now, if only his bat can speed up to get wood on those fast balls he has been futilely waving at for the first month of the season, that big contract won’t look so bad. Chris Johnson may have cooled a little but Freddi Freeman is showing signs of heating up.

The return of Brian McCann should provide a spiritual lift for the Braves. It is not just that he can hit but it is when he hits that has made him such a valued player in the Braves lineup. Nothing should be taken away from the surprising performance turned in so far by Evan Gattis but BMac is still one of the best catchers in the majors. A perennial All-Star until his balky shoulder diminished his production last season, Brian by all accounts appears to have returned to form. The combination of this being a contract year and the fact he should get a little more rest at the back stop position should translate to a Brian McCann we have not seen since his arrival in the Big A. That being a guy who is able to maintain his bat speed into the months of September.

All that said, the Bravos have a pretty tough road trip ahead. Then again, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. GO BRAVES!!

~ Gil ~

In Memoriam

Rick Camp
1953 – 2013