Pot Meet Kettle: Matt Olson calls out Braves for problem he’s at center of

For a team that entered this weekend at 35-26 with a stronghold on an NL Wild Card spot, the vibes are not great with the Atlanta Braves right now. Of course, that's somewhat justifiable for a club that has arguably its two biggest stars -- Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider -- on the IL for the rest of the season.

The frustrations in Atlanta, particularly an offense that has underperformed in relation to expectations this year, seemed to come to a head on Friday night. Chris Sale pitched another gem, giving up just two runs and six baserunners while striking out 10 over 7.0 innings against the Nationals. And yet, the Braves managed just one run on an RBI single from first baseman Matt Olson in an eventual 2-1 loss.

After that showing, though, Olson took to the media to send a message to his Braves teammate. Speaking with MLB.com's Braves insider Mark Bowman, the first baseman essentially admitted the team's offensive performance has been unacceptable.

"We’re not playing like we can and we should," Olson said. "There’s little things, like second and third with nobody out and we don’t get a run in. I’ve got to do a better job with the infield back. That should be a run every time."

Olson was referring to a situation on Friday night wherein he popped out with two runners in scoring position in the sixth inning in what became two of seven runners left on base in the loss. At the same time, though, it's a bit rich for Olson to be calling out the team when the offensive struggles can quite largely be put on his own underperformance.

Matt Olson calls out Braves offense, should be talking to himself

While Acuña had not been enjoying an encore performance to his MVP 2023 campaign prior to his injury, Olson's struggles have been just as painful this season thus far. His OPS to this point in the season is 249 points lower than it was in 2023 while his batting average has dropped 48 points as well. Furthermore, after slugging a team-record 54 home runs a year ago, he has just nine through 61 games this season.

To be abundantly clear, Olson is not the only part of the Braves lineup who's still healthy and has not been living up to their billing. After a hot start, Michael Harris II is hitting just .247 with a .646 OPS. Ozzie Albies has been good but not great with a .732 OPS. Austin Riley has been in the same boat as Olson with a shockingly low .661 OPS. Marcell Ozuna is just about the only everyday player who hasn't been an abject disappointment with about 100 games left in the season.

At the same time, though, the veteran Olson should not just be calling out the Braves but should also be leading by example. It's one thing to demand more from the team, but that message is probably better received if the player sending it isn't a part of the struggles being addressed.

When it comes to the Braves, the belief all season has been that players like Olson, Riley and Albies, among others, will find their groove eventually. But even as a wild card lock it seems, Atlanta is still eight games back in the division. And for that to even have a chance of changing, Olson is right that the offense needs to step up more consistently. The key, however, is that he needs to be a big part of that turnaround himself.