| Douglas Benton. 5th June, 2006 - 2:22 pm
 The Atlanta Braves were supposed to have righted the ship with a 6-3 road trip and an upcoming 10-game home stand to fatten their record in their pursuit of the New York Mets. Well, before the Braves could be handed their 15th consecutive division title, they started the home stand 1-6, capped off by a disheartening sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. So, is the season over, or do the Braves still have a shot at keeping their streak alive? The answer lies in the back end of the rotation.
For the better part of the year, the Braves have sent co-aces Tim Hudson and John Smoltz out to the mound and the team has had success for the most part. Both Smoltz and Hudson have an oppenents? batting average in the top 20 in the National League at .253 and .251 respectively. They also rank in the top 20 in ERA in the National League with Smoltz at 3.72 and Hudson at 3.99. Smoltz has been the gamer of the staff by logging the third most innings in the National League at a little over 82 innings, while Hudson might prove to be the most valuable arm down the stretch as he has shown a better comfort level under Roger McDowell this season.
Still, this leaves three open days that have big question marks whenever they appear on the schedule. Through the work of Kyle Davies, Jorge Sosa, John Thomson, and Horacio Ramirez, they are a combined 6-16 with each of their ERA over 4.50. The lone exception is Ramirez, who has only pitched in three games this season. Still, it might be Ramirez who can lead a backend revolt down the stretch.
Since coming back, Ramirez has given up 1 earned run in 14 innings, and looks like the primed candidate to step up in the number 3 spot. Sosa had shown some light in his previous three starts before Saturday, but a lack of control and consistency has hindered his development. Thomson has the most experience of the bottom three pitchers, but has struggled to go deep into games with any regularity or success.
The success of everyone on the staff is important because it will ease the pressure off of an overused and under talented bullpen and not force the offense to win in slugfest. The Offense is probably one of the top five in the National League, but they aren?t good enough to carry a team for a period of time.
Since we haven?t even hit summer yet, the Braves have plenty of games to make up for some early-season blunders. To do so, they will have to rely on the lesser known starters to complement the two aces, and help the Braves raise banner number 15. |
