Braves: 3 reasons fans should panic, 3 reasons they shouldn’t
By John Buhler
Freak out: Why put the ball in play when you can strike out 15 times a night?
The most frustrating part of this team is knowing what the offense is capable of. The big bats in the Braves’ lineup is a huge reason why Atlanta won the World Series a season ago. It was too much for the Milwaukee Brewers to overcome in the NLDS, too relentless for the Los Angeles Dodgers to put away in the NLCS and way too powerful for the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.
But when these big bats are striking out at the rate of Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton from yesteryear, it makes Braves Country Battery-throwing mad. It may be the era of the launch angle, but there is no reason for this team to strike out 15 times a night. If you live and die by the long ball, you reap what you so. Chicks may dig the long ball, but nobody wants to hang out with losers, only winners.
Atlanta’s offense is far too dangerous to not put the ball in play this infrequently in key ballgames.
Chill out: The Braves are about to play an incredibly easy part of their schedule
There was going to come a time where the Braves would get to an easy part of their schedule. Not to say these teams coming up are cannon fodder, but they are not playing a team with a winning record for a month. Though the Colorado Rockies are within striking distance of it, this next big stretch of games is a lot of Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals.
No, Atlanta does not have to assert its dominance over teams that will probably not make the NL postseason by sweeping them repeatedly, but taking two of three will go a long way towards getting over .500 and creep up the division standings to approach those hated Mets. This is a month’s worth of games where the Braves can find their footing and finally play with confidence.
Atlanta has not played its best baseball yet, so this team getting red hot is not out of the question.