June 19, 200620 yr .....and the Braves are done By Scott Miller CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer It takes a brave man to be a Braves fan: This spring, I wrote a column stating that after 14 consecutive division titles, I'm not picking against the Braves -- they'll let us know when their NL East run is finished. Chris Reitsma's 9.11 ERA ended up costing him the closer's role. (Getty Images) I'd like to thank the Braves for acting with the courtesy I predicted all along and ... letting us know. Reading tea leaves can be difficult -- especially if you're a coffee drinker -- but the Braves couldn't make it more obvious if they suited up Dale Murphy, Zane Smith and held a reunion tribute to the 1988 club that went 54-106. It's all over now except general manager John Schuerholz's concession phone call to his counterparts, the New York Mets' Omar Minaya and Philadelphia's Pat Gillick, and that might come as we move closer to the July 31 trade deadline. Sinking in the muck of what could produce their worst month since moving to Atlanta in 1966, the Braves are 2-15 after a loss to Boston and have lost 12 of their past 14 home games. Their bullpen is in the intensive care unit, the starting pitching is in the emergency room and the situational hitting is en route to the morgue. And call all-everything John Smoltz the soothsayer. "I'm not patronizing anybody," he told me this spring. "I just feel like the Mets are the team to beat, and the Phillies are right there with us." Of course, we now know Smoltz wasn't 100 percent on the money, and all those who have accused the Braves of institutional arrogance over the years now have another point: It's the Washington Nationals and the Florida Freaking Marlins who are right there with the Braves -- the Phillies are ahead of them. It has been a classic case of whatever could go wrong has gone wrong for Bobby Cox's club. The 14-year run was predicated on pitching, but Atlanta's staff ranks 15th in the 16-team National League with a 4.75 ERA. Only Milwaukee's pitchers, at 5.07, have been worse. Broken down -- both figuratively and literally -- the rotation ranks 11th at 4.61 (its overall record is a woeful 17-31) and the bullpen ranks 15th at 5.01. Only Milwaukee's bullpen -- 5.14 -- has had a more difficult time. Where the Braves were able to massage through the difficulties of closer Dan Kolb a year ago -- they demoted him quickly and used Kyle Farnsworth and Chris Reitsma -- they have not been able to solve the ninth inning in 2006. Reitsma, who has blown four saves in 12 opportunities, landed on the disabled list Tuesday with nerve irritation in his right arm. It's his 9.11 ERA that has given irritation to others. So Kenny Ray supplanted him as closer late last month, Mike Remlinger has gotten a crack, and it has all added up to an excruciating 13 blown saves overall. Meantime, Schuerholz was forced to add starter John Thomson (blister on his finger) to the DL, and Horacio Ramirez narrowly averted serious injury when he was drilled in the head by a Lance Berkman line drive last Sunday. Still, Ramirez wasn't able to start Saturday, and journeyman Lance Cormier immediately dug a hole in his place, surrendering four runs in the first four innings to help send Atlanta to its 16th loss in 19 games. Then there's Jorge Sosa, 1-9. The virus hasn't just slammed Cox's pitching staff. Atlanta hitters recently rode a stretch in which they were batting .135 (10-for-74) with runners in scoring position. Part of the problem is this club's frequency of fanning -- heading into Sunday night's game, Atlanta hitters ranked 15th in the NL with 526 strikeouts. Only Milwaukee batters, at 533, had whiffed more. Oh, and there's this: Defensively, the Braves have yielded 36 unearned runs, the third-highest total in the majors behind the Los Angeles Angels (49) and Cincinnati (39). At 14 games behind the New York Mets, the Braves are the furthest they have been out of first place since the last day of the 1990 season, when they were 26 games behind Lou Piniella's Cincinnati Reds in the NL West. Until now, the Braves' worst overall month since moving to Atlanta in '66 came in July 1986, when they went 7-19. The way things look now, their 15-5 run in early May of this season might have marked the last gasps of the glory days. Och that hurts....
June 19, 200620 yr Their bullpen is in the intensive care unit, the starting pitching is in the emergency room and the situational hitting is en route to the morgue. :lol :lol :lol They won't win the division this year.
June 19, 200620 yr '91, '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05 missed one :plain There was no '94 season.
June 19, 200620 yr '91, '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05 missed one :plain There was no '94 season. oh yea forgot about that :mischief2
June 19, 200620 yr '91, '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05 missed one :plain There was no '94 season. oh yea forgot about that :mischief2 :lol
June 20, 200620 yr I won't believe the Braves are dead until they're officially out of the race. If they're 40 GB with 41 games to play, I'll still believe they have a shot.
June 20, 200620 yr It has been a classic case of whatever could go wrong has gone wrong for Bobby Cox's club. The 14-year run was predicated on pitching, but Atlanta's staff ranks 15th in the 16-team National League with a 4.75 ERA. Only Milwaukee's pitchers, at 5.07, have been worse. Broken down -- both figuratively and literally -- the rotation ranks 11th at 4.61 (its overall record is a woeful 17-31) and the bullpen ranks 15th at 5.01. Only Milwaukee's bullpen -- 5.14 -- has had a more difficult time. Part of the problem is this club's frequency of fanning -- heading into Sunday night's game, Atlanta hitters ranked 15th in the NL with 526 strikeouts. Only Milwaukee batters, at 533, had whiffed more. Oh, and there's this: Defensively, the Braves have yielded 36 unearned runs, the third-highest total in the majors behind the Los Angeles Angels (49) and Cincinnati (39). I guess while we have been hot, the Brewers have been slowely erasing all our negative stats we lead in :lol Still, it's not even half way through the season, I agree with Fritz. Remember last year's astros? Sure they fixed themselves by June but remember who was sharing the basement with us in June last year too. The Braves are like that spider you keep try to kill that runs away. Right now I consider that spider lost maybe 2 or 3 legs and is hiding. It will come back to piss you off. Also the Braves have a lot of talented releivers in the minors that will be popping up soon to save the day. Don't count the Braves out yet.
June 20, 200620 yr Their pitching staff sucks. Yeah, Leo Mazzone wasn't a huge loss :whistle :plain yea cuz he is working miricles with the Orioles pitching staff. :plain :whistle
June 20, 200620 yr Their pitching staff sucks. Yeah, Leo Mazzone wasn't a huge loss :whistle :plain yea cuz he is working miricles with the Orioles pitching staff. :plain :whistle :lol
June 20, 200620 yr Their pitching staff sucks. Yeah, Leo Mazzone wasn't a huge loss :whistle :plain yea cuz he is working miricles with the Orioles pitching staff. :plain :whistle Thats not fair, announcers during a Yankees game on YES even said Leo had no one to work with during the offseason + Spring Training because of the Hype for the WBC, next year you will see Leo's magic
June 20, 200620 yr I won't believe the Braves are dead until they're officially out of the race. If they're 40 GB with 41 games to play, I'll still believe they have a shot. You believe in the Braves more than us,do I hear Braves fan :shifty j/k
June 20, 200620 yr '91, '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05 missed one :plain There was no '94 season. Some random people in Montreal are actually still living life like it is summer 1994.
June 20, 200620 yr I think the past few season I wrote off the braves only to have them come back and win the division. If they can get 20 games under .500 then I will announce them dead
June 20, 200620 yr Calling the Braves out of it and its still June? :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :blink:
June 20, 200620 yr Their pitching staff sucks. Yeah, Leo Mazzone wasn't a huge loss :whistle :plain yea cuz he is working miricles with the Orioles pitching staff. :plain :whistle You can't shine sh*t.
June 20, 200620 yr Author Calling the Braves out of it and its still June? :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :blink: I agree its weird to write them off in June.. Im not counting them out but the Fat Lady is starting to whistle... :whistle
June 20, 200620 yr Calling the Braves out of it and its still June? :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :blink: I agree its weird to write them off in June.. Im not counting them out but the Fat Lady is starting to whistle... :whistle Oh yeah no doubt she is beginning her warm up vocal exercises but were talkin about the Braves here folks. They are notorious slow starters and the Mets are one or two injuries away from finishing 3rd in the division.
June 20, 200620 yr Their pitching staff sucks. Yeah, Leo Mazzone wasn't a huge loss :whistle :plain yea cuz he is working miricles with the Orioles pitching staff. :plain :whistle You can't shine sh*t. Leo is one of the best pitching coaches in baseball but someone said that if leo were still in Atlanta, the braves would be better, but like you said leo doesnt have anything to work with in baltimore and he would have even less to work with in Atlanta....agin leo is the best but he isnt changing water into wine and walking on water... *waits for Jesus to enter*
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