The baseball season is long, but after two games of the Braves season, I think we can safely say that this is exactly what Frank Wren had in mind when he put this team together.
Through two games the Braves have beaten the Phillies twice. The Braves have hit 6 home runs, scored 16 runs, and have struck out a whopping 24 times. That means strike outs account for half of all the Braves outs recorded in the first two games. So all of the pundit were right, the Braves are going to strike out a lot, but right now, it looks like they are going to win a lot as well.
The Braves have had all of this offensive success against Cole Hamels, who the Phillies just signed to be their ace for years to come, and Roy Halladay who was the Phillies ace in years gone by.
Obviously Halladay isn't the same pitcher that he was a few years ago, but that just makes my point even more. The thought going into the season was that the Nationals were the clear favorite to win the division, while the Braves and Phillies would battle for second. I'm not ringing the bell on the Phillies, but I think its obvious that Halladay is going to be a major concern for them going forward, and their offense doesn't seem to have the top to bottom danger that they have had in the past.
One thing the Phillies do have is money. If they are in the race at the All Star Break, they will make a move to improve their team, the Braves don't always have that flexibility.
Maholm was good last night, and Hudson was good on Monday even though he had to be pulled in the 5th. This pitching staff will be plenty good enough with the offense scoring runs. Freddie Freeman has started out blazing hot. The only two concerns through the first two games has been BJ Upton and Anderlton Simmons. But that is the luxury this team has over past Braves teams. Its not taking 3 or 4 hits in a row to score a run, so if a guy or two is struggling, it doesn't completely cripple your offense.
As the season progresses, I think the fact that the Braves have such a good offense will actually help guys struggle a lot less at the plate. No one player is ever going to be put in a position that he has to produce for the Braves to win, thus, guys can go up to the plate and just do what they know they can do, without the added pressure of having to do it all by themselves.
Last night on the broadcast, Joe and Chip were saying that Brian McCann is hitting the ball to all fields and plans are for him to return in about two weeks. Not that Laird and Gattis are filling in nicely so far, but can you imagine putting Brian McCann in this lineup if he at 100%? The groan you just heard was the sound of starting pitchers all across the National League. My only question is who is going to hit 8th?
Its early, very early, but this team is exactly what I hoped it would be. And they are fun to watch.
I hope this rain gets out of here before first pitch tonight, because, oh yeah, the Braves best starting pitcher, Kris Medlen, takes the hill for the first time this season tonight as the Braves go for a sweep of the Phillies against the third "ace" of the Phillies staff, Cliff Lee.
Get out your rain jackets and your brooms!
GO BRAVES!!!
