Jun 11 2008
Are The Braves Done?
The Braves are hurting and that is a major understatement. Players are dropping like flies, especially from the pitching staff, and the team doesn’t know what it means to win games on the road.
Here is the latest setback to the Braves 2008 season…
It was announced late yesterday that Braves starter Tom Glavine was headed for the disabled list for the second time this season (also only the second time of his career).
John Smoltz has already been, what looks to be, shut down for the season due to shoulder surgery.
The team also can’t win on the road. Entering tonight’s games the Braves were sitting at the bottom of the barrel with the worst road record (7-22). They are the only team in MLB not to reach double digits in wins on the road in 2008.
Let’s stray away from the horrendous road record for a second and take a long look at the injuries to their two best pitchers, Smoltz and Glavine.
Smoltz was placed on the DL for the third time this season on June 3rd with pain in his right shoulder. He had been activated the previous day from a stint on the DL. This is from the Braves transactions page: ”Retroactive to April 28, with a severely inflamed bicep tendon and inflammation of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.”
His first trip to the shelf was on March 29th for tightness in his shoulder (right) and he was activated on April 6th. Could this be the end for Smoltz? Three trips to the DL in the span of three months is never a good sign, especially for a pitcher.
After his return from the DL on June 2nd he pitched in one game, blowing a save in a game the Braves eventually went on to win on a two-run walk-off home run from Yunel Escobar in the 10th inning. Two days later Smoltz was shut down for the remainder of the season.
To add to the injury problems, the Braves have placed left handed starter Tom Glavine on the DL with a sore left elbow. Both he and Smoltz are on the 15-day DL for now. This is the second stint on the DL for Glavine this season and ironically only the second stint of his Major League career. 
With their two most experienced starters now on the DL the Braves could be in a heap of trouble. They were already having problems winning games on the road to begin with and now subtract your two veteran pitchers and the result can’t turn out to be a good one.
We will have to wait and see whether or not Glavine and Smoltz will decide to return to the field come next season, especially Smoltz, who is more than likely done for the year. Glavine is not done for the year yet. If his elbow doesn’t heal, the Braves might shut him down for the remainder of the season as well.
These two injuries could be the nail in the coffin for the 2008 Atlanta Braves.
3 Responses to “Are The Braves Done?”
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The Braves are in deep, deep trouble, for sure. Glavine was signed to bring stability to the middle of the rotation. He hasn’t pitched bad; just hasn’t gotten a ton of run support. Word that his elbow has been hurting since early May is indicative of a major problem, and it would not surprise me in the least if he’s out an extended period of time.
I think everybody was holding their breath on Smoltz. Since returning to the rotation, he’s been in the top 10 in the league in ERA and quality starts. You knew the shoulder would give out at some point in time, and I’m thinking he’s probably finished, given the damage they found during Tuesday’s surgery (it’ll be a few months before we know that for sure).
The biggest problem, though, is the lack of clutch hitting. While the Braves have been at or near the top of the NL in average, on-base percentage and runs scored all season, their hitting in late-and-close games has been abysmal. Losing Mark Kotsay, who stabilized the lineup by hitting in the two-hole, really has really hurt. It’s hurt Escobar in the leadoff spot, not having Kotsay’s veteran stick behind him. Kelly Johnson flourished when moved to the seventh spot, but injuries have moved him from first to second to third to fifth in the order on any given night.
Jeff Francoeur is really scuffling, slumping badly. He needs some days off, but the Braves simply don’t have the resources in the outfield to give Frenchy a break here and there.
Are they done? Not yet. Just 6 1/2 back despite losing five in a row (the sweep by the Phils last weekend really hurt). IF — and that’s a big if, given their lifeless performance last night — the Braves can salvage a .500 road trip, get Kotsay back in the lineup when they return home, and get some semblance of solid starting pitching from Tim Hudson (who’s been great since late April), Jair Jurrjens (his ankle injury isn’t serious; he’s slated to go Monday), Jo-Jo Reyes (who’s been very good for the most part) and rookie Charlie Morton (who tore up Triple-A and makes his big-league debut Saturday), I think they still have a shot.
Of course, a 2-8 road trip sinks the ship.
Bud.
http://braves.today.com
Bud,
Thanks for reading. You make so incredibly valid points. The Braves could be a really dangerous team if they could find a way to win on the road and could find some consistency with their clutch hitting (or lack there of). If the remainder of their rotation stays healthy and they improve on the road then this team will be in contention for the East crown all season long. But it also hurts big time that they lost their two most experienced starters.
Jim