Monday, May 28, 2007

Will Braves' win get them out of their funk?

The Braves edged Milwaukee today 2-1 in what I hope will be the first step in forgetting about getting swept by the Phillies over the weekend. Atlanta looked out of sync in losing three straight to the Phillies. However, today's game showed glimmers of hope in some areas where the Braves need improvement.

Starting pitcher Chuck James looked sharp today. As I wrote on May 23, James is one of the Braves pitchers that need to step up and he did so today. He pitched six innings and only gave up one run to earn the win

Also, Andruw Jones hit a home run today and has now hit homers in two consecutive games. Today's bomb was important because it was to the opposite field. It just made it over the right field wall, and if he starts hitting with power to the opposite field, he should begin leaving some of his hitting woes behind him. Still, his batting average remains a frosty .219.

The Braves have won only seven of their last 17 games. Until Andruw hits more consistently and Chipper Jones gets back in the line up, the struggles could continue. Fortunately, John Smoltz and Tim Hudson are the starting pitchers in the next two games.

2 comments:

Joltin' Django said...

Braves couldn't a asked for a better slump-busting team than the Brewers.

That said, how 'bout them Dores!

Chris Martin said...

"That said, how 'bout them Dores!"

As a Tennessee graduate, it pains me to give Vanderbilt credit for anything. However, they clearly had the best baseball team in the SEC this year and deserve congratulations for their conference championship (both regular season and tournament titles).

They got a great draw for the NCAA tourney. If they don't make the college world series, it has to be considered a tremendous disappointment.