Braves Hope to Avoid Sweep in Miami

0-7.

That is Atlanta's record so far this season in one run games. 0-7. The Braves lost another tight game last night to the Florida Marlins 5-4 after dropping the opening game of the series 4-0. The 1st place, yes 1st place, Marlins look to sweep Atlanta tonight.

The Braves' broadcasters did a terrific job of illustrating some of the offensive problems plaguing Atlanta right now.

(On a side note, am I the only person who thinks the Braves' play-by-play guy looks like the lead character from Knocked Up?).

Atlanta continues to get bad at-bats with runners in scoring position. Last night, Matt Diaz chased a ball out of the strike zone with a 1-1 count to ground into an inning-ending double play. Mark Teixeira did the same thing earlier. Only Chipper Jones and Brian McCann show any patience with guys on base.

There have also been too many empty at-bats with ducks on the pond. The Braves have struggled moving guys over or hitting flyballs with runners at third all year.

We all knew the pitching staff was suspect with its age and bullpen issues. The assumption was this line-up could produce enough runs to overcome it. The line-up just isn't producing. It is only April, but Bobby Cox must be toying with some batting order changes to spark some kind of offense. Teixeira is slugging .352 from the clean-up spot with 6 RBIs right now. Kelly Johnson has a .292 OBP from the leadoff spot. I wouldn't mind seeing Yunel Escobar moved up to the leadoff spot and Jeff Francoeur moved into the 4th spot in the order. Teixeria looks terrible at the plate right now as he continues to try to pull everything. I thought I was done watching front shoulders fly open before the pitch is released when Andruw went to L.A., but Tex has stepped right into his under-achieving cleats so far this season.

The offensive bright spots have been Escobar and Chipper. Does Jones have a shot at hitting .400 this year? It is early, but even his outs are ripped right now. He looks locked in from both sides of the plate.

Smoltz tries to fry the fish tonight before the Braves host the struggling Dodgers this weekend.