Braves trade deadline was a serious letdown

The Atlanta Braves blew it by not making a deal on the MLB trade deadline.

The Atlanta Braves‘ starting pitching woes were not addressed at the MLB trade deadline.

All Braves Country wanted for an early Christmas present was some help for Max Fried in the starting rotation. Instead, they got Tommy Milone from the Baltimore Orioles, and he pitched horribly in his debut on Sunday Night Baseball. This is what happens when a media conglomerate owns your baseball team. You end up watching the trade deadline pass you by from the sidelines.

Braves Country isn’t thrilled with Liberty Media or Alex Anthopoulos.

Not since the Second Bush Administration have the Braves advanced in the postseason. They have dropped nine straight NLDS or NL Wild Card Games. 2001 was the last time the Braves played for the right to go to the World Series. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling mowed down befuddled hitters that October en route to winning their only championship in franchise history.

It is a weird season, but one where the Braves were certainly good enough to get to the NLCS. Sure, they could lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in a best-of-seven and Braves Country would find away to cope with the losing yet again. However, to not get the starting rotation help this 2020 team is freaking starved for is so beyond cruel it hurts all of our souls.

Fried should not only get Cy Young votes, but NL MVP votes for carrying this loathsome burden of a Braves starting rotation on his back. Fate would have it on the day of his next start, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos couldn’t put together a package for Mike Clevinger, Lance Lynn or Mike Minor. Drew Waters won’t even play for the Braves this season. What are we doing?

Thankfully, we’re no longer be subjected to the same, old Braves Way nonsense of any John Schuerholz disciple. Anthopoulos has been a bit of fresh air because he didn’t come up through the Braves’ front office system. He rebuilt the Braves’ lackluster bullpen on the fly last season, and it’s been great to watch Shane Greene, Chris Martin and Mark Melancon do their thing this season.

While we understand Sunday was Milone’s worst start of the year, he needs to redeem himself in his next outing. Though the Braves did promote Ian Anderson from the alternate training site, he is not going to pitch better than he did in his big league debut. He could be excellent, but he did set the bar absurdly high. For now, it is Fried, Anderson, Milone, Robbie Erlin, and…it is not so great.

It would not have been as painfully obvious for what the Braves should have done if Mike Soroka‘s Achilles’ tendon didn’t explode coming off the mound vs. the New York Mets. While we fully understand a starting rotation trio of Soroka, Fried and Anderson gives off, dare I say it, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz vibes, we won’t see this realized until next year at least.

Sure, trading Clevinger might have been adding oil to water with team leaders like Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis who take the coronavirus seriously. Minor did get his big league start in Atlanta and was arguably the team’s best starter back in 2013. Familiarity aside, why didn’t the Braves actively pursue either Texas Rangers pitcher who was firmly on the trading block Monday?

This is what happens when a corporation owns your baseball team and the fans pay a price for it.