After the 8-3 homestand, I had high hopes the Braves could overcome their road woes in Milwaukee and Cincinnati, but instead they come home losing five of six, six of their last eight. The bats cooled off, the pitcher's fingers blistered and the defense bungled outs in a miserable weekend.
The Reds, to their credit, are playing excellent, inspired baseball right now. Jay Bruce, the former Chattanooga Lookout, has given a shot in the rear to the struggling Reds. I cannot remember a debut as impressive as Bruce's this weekend. If Cincinnati can hit, they have pretty good starting pitching (ERA leader Volquez, stud Harang, solid Arroyo, sometimes brilliant Cueto). They are stuck in the tough N.L. Central, but there is no reason the Reds shouldn't be better than they have been.
But who cares about the Reds?
The Braves have been awful this week because of a line-up that is not producing runs. Yunel Escobar has been a disaster as a lead-off hitter (take a pitch!). It is time to change things up with the line-up, specifically moving Gregor Blanco to the lead-off spot. Other than that, the Braves just need to get some hits. This line-up is too good not to be scoring runs.
The injuries continue to pile up as Tim Hudson and Blaine Boyer both left yesterday's game in the 7th inning with hamstring and knee issues, respectively. The Braves have had more causalities this year than the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan.
In better injury news, John Smoltz returns to the team today likely in a bullpen role. The Braves host the Florida Marlins in a big series for Atlanta. The team has to keep winning at home until it can figure out how to do it on the road.
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