We’ve been here before. Last year, our team didn’t even hit the .500 mark until August. This year, the team was hanging around .500 all season until a scorching hot month of June propelled us to within a half game of catching the Mets in the NL East division race at one point. Those days seem like such a long time ago though, as the Braves looked lifeless in a must-win, lengthy series against the Mets at Citi-Field. They dropped four out of five of those games, including both games of a doubleheader on Saturday. Our team is now 64-46 & 6 ½ games back of the Mets in the NL East division race. Thank goodness we have an off day to regroup today…
Impressive streak snapped
Yesterday, the Braves suffered a 3-game losing streak for the first time since September 2021. This was an impressive stretch in which the team played solid baseball, highlighted by a 14-game winning streak in June. We’ve lost all momentum as the Mets snapped our hot streak. In terms of this streak, there’s literally nowhere to go but up as we’ll have to start a new streak. Compounding this issue is the fact that we just lost to a division rival who controls our division. Speaking of which, the Mets lead in the division is another reason why we’ve hit rock bottom.
Mets strengthen division lead
We’re still within striking distance, but the Mets 6 ½ game lead in the division seems daunting. This is especially true when you consider that we play them again next week at home, which is not nearly enough time to lick our wounds & rebound after last weekend’s tough losses. Also, we play them only 7 more times the rest of the season, which means it’s absolutely critical that we take care of business & win most (if not all) of those home matchups going forward. I was of the opinion that the Mets would eventually slip up & we would catch them in the East. Of course, that opinion was based on my observations of the team before their recent struggles…
Injuries & underperformance
Ronald Acuna, Jr. revealed that he still doesn’t have full confidence in his knee after tearing his ACL in a game against the Marlins last year. Travis d’Arnaud was spotted in a walking boot after taking a hit on a bang-bang play at the plate in Saturday’s game. It’s very well possible that Max Fried has a concussion after slamming his head on the turf while attempting to make a throw to home plate on Saturday. Trade deadline acquisition Jake Odorizzi had to get an IV after making an abbreviated start in Saturday’s doubleheader. None of this bodes well for the Braves playoff chances in terms of playing the Mets again next week. But wait, there’s more…
None of our starters were effective against the Mets, as they were shelled hard & often. Ian Anderson’s been pitching so badly that the team optioned him to AAA in hopes of a rebound. Odorizzi, who will temporarily replace Anderson, didn’t fare much better in his Braves debut. Spencer Strider made some noise with his comments about the Mets today, but his play on the field yesterday didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence. Meanwhile, the offense has been maddeningly inconsistent. Marcell Ozuna’s hitting .215 with a .659 OPS & terrible defensive chops. Matt Olson’s batting average has cooled to .248 with too many strikeouts to speak of. Orlando Arcia just hasn’t done enough offensively in terms of replacing Albies in the lineup. Even the bullpen has shown some chinks in the armor by allowing some runs to score lately.
The bottom line
Our team needs to show a sense of urgency by playing better baseball & catching fire. Otherwise, there could be trouble on the horizon as they approach the second week of August. It should be noted that we’ve certainly been here before, and things have definitely looked worse. That said, we can’t sit idly by & keep letting these opportunities to win the division pass us by. We desperately need a quick turnaround in order to try & win our fifth consecutive division title.
The Sports Beacon 