Am I Going Crazy?

Written by Jonathan on July 28, 2008 – 10:16 am

I qualify myself as a die-hard Braves fan.  I’m sure most of the other staff here at BravesBlast does the same, but lately I think I’ve gone to the brink of insanity trying to root for a team that just can’t seem to do anything right.  I think I finally realized it last night when, for the second night in a row, I found myself watching the replay of the game (after having watched it live, mind you) hoping for a different result.  Something’s not quite right about that.  Am I the only one that does that?  Probably.

So the Braves are heading back to Atlanta today to kick off a 4-game series against the Cardinals and at this point, we find ourselves 7.5 back of the division-leading Mets.  I’m pretty sure that’s the farthest out that we’ve been so far this year and I don’t know if we’re really capable of turning things around.  Here’s what we have working against us right now:

• Chipper Jones thinks there’s a good chance that he’ll be returning to the disabled list with his hamstring injury.  That’s pretty much how the season has been going for the Braves.  We all know without Chipper in the lineup, the Braves just seem to struggle to put runs on the board and win.  Although, without him in Philly, we put plenty of runs on the board and still managed to lose.  I am at least impressed with Omar Infante’s play as a fill-in third baseman.
• Brian McCann is out for at least a few games after his collision at the plate with Shane Victorino in yesterday’s game.  BMac has been our one source of stable offensive power in the past month and now we don’t have him in the lineup either.  He was making good use of his time in the cleanup role.  Thankfully, it’s only a mild concussion as the results could have been much worse.
• The team morale is surely low.  I’m not on the team and my morale is low, so I’m sure they’re not feeling all that great about it either.  We finally manage to get the offense going, scoring 19 runs in the last two games.  The only problem?  Philadelphia scored 22.  With those kind of numbers, it doesn’t really matter how many runs you score, it’s going to be hard to get wins on the board.
• Our starting pitching has been mediocre at best.  I understand that it’s a rotation that has been hacked together and rehashed too many times due to countless injuries, but it’s hard to win games when your starters just aren’t having great days.  There are a few young arms out there that have great potential for the future; I just hope they have time to mature while staying in the Braves system.  We however, do need to pick up another mid-veteran arm for the rotation.  And on a side note, the bullpen has been great at helping out as much as possible.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg with what’s working against us this season.  Without sweeping all the games of the homestand, I don’t really think we stand much of a chance at even seeing third place in the division this season, but who knows, crazier things have happened.  Until then, I’ll just sit here, watching the replays of our losses, hoping for a different outcome.

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