This Reynaldo Lopez replacement has the Locomotive Breath to keep the Braves rolling

It's been a while, but the Atlanta Braves might have to summon one Ian Anderson to make the trek up from Triple-A Gwinnett. A phone call, text message or even an email may suffice, but you and I and everyone else would love to see if Brian Snitker can play the flute as good as Ron Burgundy or Anderson's Jethro Tull namesake. We are not getting Baxter the Dog, but Anderson the Pitcher!

Admittedly, I did not see what happened live. I had to procure items at the local drug store when Lopez was pulled from Tuesday night's game vs. the Washington Nationals. I turned on the TV and saw Jesse Chavez toeing the rubber, causing me to in turn to look like that Tom DeLonge meme from blink-182's one-of-one music video for "First Date". Let's make this last forever?! I am not so sure...

Well, the Braves went on to shut out Washington to the tune of 12-0. Meanwhile down in Gwinnett, Anderson has been looking absolutely more fire than Pookie! Anderson was a first-round pick by the Braves out of high school. He was a huge part of the 2020 COVID team, as well as the 2021 World Series team. Injuries and on-field struggles have prevented him from pitching in Atlanta since 2022.

Blessed with the power of an aqualung, we need Anderson to show off his locomotive breath stat!

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Ian Anderson could be the Atlanta Braves' Locomotive Breath of fresh air

For as much as I want to believe that Anderson is going to make an impact for this team down the stretch, especially if Lopez is down for the count, I cannot say that I trust him to be as good as he once was. Anderson struggled with velocity, and particularly control in the latter part of his most recent run with the big-league club. When he is at his best, he has that change-up working big time.

Truth be told, I don't know if this MASH unit the Braves are assembling is going to have enough gas to get to October. They are currently in a donnybrook with the hated New York Mets for the last NL Wild Card spot in. New York has been ascending over the last several weeks, while the Braves have continued to stagnate. While the Atlanta pitching has been spectacular, the bats have absolutely not.

Ultimately, if Atlanta is going to qualify for the postseason for the seventh year in a row, it is going to need more guys like Anderson to be major contributors to this team down the stretch. We have seen cast-offs from other teams help this woebegone ballclub stay afloat. I don't know what curse has been placed on this team from an injury bug perspective, but they have been snakebitten to hell.

If there is one thing the Braves have gotten right this season, it has been their elite starting pitching.