Can the Atlanta Braves Hang on to the NL East?
The Atlanta Braves have been the surprise leaders of the National League. Heading into the second half of the season, they own the National League's best record at 52-36 and they are attempting to give Manager Bobby Cox a fitting sendoff with a trip to the World Series.
The Braves have not won the division since 2005, hard to imagine, considering they had won a record 14 straight from 1991 to 2005. The last few years, however, the power shifted in the NL East to the Philadelphia Phillies, who have won the last three titles and even won the World Series in 2008.
Braves catcher Brian McCann gave Braves fans more reason to cheer in this year’s All-Star Game. With the bases loaded, McCann cleared them with a three-run double which helped the National League to its first win in 14 years at the mid-summer classic. More importantly, it secured home-field advantage for the National League representative in the Fall Classic. Should the Braves make it there, McCann did himself and his teammates a huge favor.
Atlanta have also added additional power to their lineup as they just traded for shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who is leading all shortstops in HRs so far this season, and should give this new team a boost on the offensive side. The Braves' success though has not been based on their hitting as they average just .260 as a team.
No, the main reason for the Braves leading the division has been their pitching. Through the first half of the season, the pitching staff has a 3.79 ERA good for the fourth best mark in the national league. They have given up just 313 runs, and have struck out 557 batters while issuing 264 walks.
Tim Hudson has been their leading ace as he is 9-4 with a 2.30 ERA and has pitched 121.1 innings.
Outside of Hudson, the staff has not dominated individually, but they have collectively turned in some good performances and have helped the Braves to their success through July.
The Braves have also gotten some help from their bullpen. Billy Wagner has pitched lights out as the closer and has earned 15 saves and holds a 5-0 record with a 1.19 ERA.
On offense, the Braves deadliest weapon has been Martin Prado who leads the NL in batting average (.325) and in hits with 121. He is an efficient, consistent threat for the Atlanta Braves.
Now the Braves head into the interesting part of the season and many wonder whether the Braves simply overachieved in the first half of the season. They are also anticipating the Phillies to pick it up and overtake the Braves and win their fourth straight NL East crown.
That may prove to be difficult as the Phillies have struggled without Chase Utley and will be without him until late August. That may open the door for the Braves to run away with the division.
You also can’t forget about the New York Mets, who are actually the ones in second behind the Braves. The Braves lead the Mets by four games and cannot afford to slip up and let them back into the race.
This season is all about giving Bobby Cox the dream retirement as the Braves are attempting to send the future hall-of-famer off on a high. Cox has stated that this will be his last season managing the team. He has done a tremendous job managing the Braves during a long career in which he has won 14 division titles, five NL Pennants and won the 1995 World Series.
The new crop Braves are the current favorites to represent the National League in the World Series, a situation most of them haven't been in before, so let’s see how the team is able to cope, now that they are expected to win it all.
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