Former Braves legends reveal a terrifying reality for rest of baseball

Somehow, despite all that has gone wrong for them, the Atlanta Braves have been playing some good baseball lately, winning nine of their last 12 and going 4-1 since learning of Austin Riley's frustrating injury diagnosis.

Their offense is still very hit-or-miss (understandably with the injuries), but their rotation has continued to be unbelievable. Even Charlie Morton, the elder statesman of the staff, just pitched very well in Saturday's win over the Washington Nationals.

Morton allowed just two runs in 5.2 innings of work, fighting his way through several jams in the process. He didn't allow a run until the sixth inning, and struck out six. His impressive performance even opened the eyes of some Braves legends who were in attendance for Alumni Weekend.

Former Braves legends know how scary Braves rotation can be

Some of Morton's former teammates from his rookie year back in 2008 with the Braves including Tim Hudson and Chuck James were in attendance, and they were impressed by what they saw from the now 40-year-old.

“It’s pretty incredible to see him do what [Morton] does at his advanced age,” Hudson said. “I tried to do it when I was 40, and it wasn’t nearly as good as what he’s doing out there. So, I tip my hat to him. I think it’s awesome.”

Tim Hudson was better than he gives himself credit for, as in his final season he wound up posting a 4.44 ERA in 24 appearances (22 starts) for the San Francisco Giants. He wasn't as great as he was when he was younger, obviously, but he was a solid back-end guy. What Hudson is right about, though, is that Morton has been better than Hudson was when he was in his final season. Morton has had a mostly solid year, particularly of late.

His 4.24 ERA in 24 starts isn't eye-popping, but the right-hander has a 2.65 ERA in his last three starts (all Braves wins) and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last seven starts. He's had his share of clunkers this season, including five starts in which he's allowed five or more earned runs, but he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 24 starts. More often than not, he's been brilliant despite his advanced age. The slightly inflated ERA is mostly due to those five brutal outings.

With a rotation consisting of Chris Sale, Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach in front of him, the sky is the limit, even without Spencer Strider. Whether they can hit enough or not is a major concern, but their pitching will always keep them in games. We've seen the pitching carry them to a strong 12-game stretch, and when the pressure is on, it wouldn't be shocking to see them continue this dominance into October. Having Morton as a No. 5 starter is a tremendous luxury that not many, if any, other teams have.

“Not many of us get to pick when we’re done playing,” James said. “He’s done awesome.”

Morton is on a one-year deal. He has flirted with retirement several times, but continues to take the ball and pitch well for the Braves. As James said, it feels as if he's going to be able to pick when he's done playing, as he can very clearly still pitch at a high level. Will it be after this season? We'll just have to wait and see.