| Douglas Benton. 26th August, 2005 - 1:46 pm
 While the Braves are atop the National League East and look like they are ready to capture their 14th straight division title, not everything is peachy in the Peach State. Sure, the bats are heating up and are putting up runs at a more consistent rate, and their starting rotation is rounding back into form, but their bullpen might ruin it all.
Now, the Braves have plenty of quality arms in the pen in Kyle Farnsworth, Chris Reitsma, Dan Kolb, and Blain Boyer, but no one has been able to step up and take the role of closer. While some might argue that closer is an overvalued position, but you don?t go anywhere in the playoffs without one. Just look at the Boston Red Sox from a year ago and you will see that they lose in five games to the Yankees without Keith Foulke.
So far this season, the Braves have tried Kolb and Reitsma in this role, but neither took this title by the horns, so now the Braves will go with plan C. The newly acquired Kyle Farnsworth had his first opportunity in Chicago recently, so maybe he will get to take a crack at the riddle. However, it looks like the Braves are content to go with a roll of the dice and hope it comes up seven.
On paper, this might work out fine, but it has no chance of working come October. What the Braves should do is stick with Chris Reitsma as the closer, and position Kolb and Farnsworth for the seventh and eighth inning respectively, there in by creating so stability at the end of games.
Maybe the confusion in this situation comes from being spoiled over the last few years with John Smoltz, but the Braves need to move on from the past and start looking at the present. Reitsma was throwing very well up to a few weeks ago, so the Braves should let this slump play its way out. If they don?t, they risk not only a championship run, but a 14th division title. |
