Reasons why Atlanta Braves will earn Wild-card playoff spot if not the Division Championship-Part 2
At the start of the season, Atlanta hosted such starters on their rotation that can be bullied, roughed up and snatched victories from.
It was more so in light of the fact that Tim Hudson missed out on great number of games in the beginning, shortening the options for the team. On the other hand, the pitcher who assumed his place on the rotation made the Braves deal with an unwanted reality.
Similarly, Jair Jurrjens, who was supposed to build on his tremendous performance last year, was hopelessly poor from day one in the season. As a result, he reinforced the notion that Atlanta is not going to draw support from their starters regardless of
how stronger they can get in other areas of the game.
To make matters worse, Brandon Beachy, who proved a sole consistent performer during the initial few months for Atlanta, could not last long as an injury inhibited his quest in the season.
Hence, the start by the Braves, as far as the rotation was concerned, was not appreciable.
However, as the season progressed, one witnessed gradual emergence of stars. Tim Hudson stepped in and did exactly what he is known for, which is winning games. Similarly, Tommy Hanson became more adept at protecting the contribution of the offence.
Day-by-day, the rotation turned more responsive to the requirements of the offence, even while it remained far behind in many ways from most of the other teams in the Division. At-least, a kind of combination started to develop from where the offence will
not see its effort belittled and dwarfed by the complete surrender from a starting pitcher.
All this has taken the Braves to a present fairly stable position. Unlike during September last year, their hurlers have proven credentials for throwing quality pitches under pressure now.
More than anything else, their bullpen is arguably the strongest in the National League. Even during a situation when their starter crumbles and lets the opposition post a defendable lead, the manager can afford to scratch him. He can expect relievers to
perform the role that the former was supposed to carry out in the first place.
In some occasions, one has witnessed Atlanta’s starter yanked after a few innings. The monumental task of completing the remaining innings was handed down to relief pitchers, which they finished successfully.
Therefore, if the trend thus far is to be believed, Braves are going to grow better as the critical stage of the season sets in.
Besides the pitchers, their offence sounds as prolific as ever. Indeed, its dominance is constant throughout the season. More or less their hitters are generating runs at the same pace which they began the season with. Given the fact that Chipper Jones and
Jason Heyward are unrelenting in their passion to succeed this year can be seen from the recent performances by them, this is going to continue.
While their catcher Brian McCann is a bit irregular in terms of finding appropriate connections, his ability to turn things around with grand slams remains unquestionable. Therefore, watching him stepping up during crucial moments of the games is not an
unlikely reality to expect ahead in the season.
Therefore, the stage is set for Atlanta to repel the bitter memories of last year. The odds are in their favour. Only making the most of them is required. How far they can go from now onward will be determined by the way they stay focused and keep the pressure
from affecting their momentum.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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