The Atlanta Braves Way—It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

It has been said many times that you cant win a division in April, but you can go a long way towards losing it.

It’s no secret that the Atlanta Braves have played quite inconsistently so far, but the only team that has lost the NL East thus far is the Washington Nationals. And they were never in the running for it anyway.

Through the season's first month we've seen some schizophrenic baseball within this division.

The Florida Marlins lit the fuse quickly by winning 11 of their first 12, only to lose their next seven after that hot start.

The defending world champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, have had problems with injuries, inconsistent starting pitching, and off field issues; yet they sit in second place having won 11 of 20.

The New York Mets have been just plain awful. Most of us knew that this Mets rotation was less than stellar, and that's probably putting it lightly.

Even the vaunted end-of-the-game duo, Putz and K-Rod, have had some difficult times.

I know what you Mets fans are going to say, "How is our start so awful when we've only lost one more than the Braves have?"

At least Atlanta has lost games with lack of offense. That's fixable. Lack of starting pitching depth is a bad problem to deal with in May, June, and July and through the rest of the season. 

This Atlanta Braves team is right where they want to be. They will begin May with a 10-11 record, only three games off the pace in the East.

As bad as the Braves have looked at times during this first month, don't judge by one, two, or even three series in April.

The bullpen, Atlanta's most glaring weakness, has started to come around in the last week or so.

Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, and Mike Gonzalez have been shutting batters down from the seventh inning on for well over a week now.

The obvious weak-link in the starting rotation is newcomer Kenshin Kawakami. He seems to hit a wall after the fifth-inning every time out.

He should come around. But if he doesn't, then uber-prospect Tommy Hanson is waiting in the wings—or more likely chomping at the bit to get to Atlanta.

Derek Lowe and Jair Jurrjens have emerged as dual aces. Especially Lowe, who has proven to be worth every penny of his contract so far.

Javier Vazquez has continued being Vazquez-like. He has been dominant at times and very hittable at other times. He's still a great veteran to have in the rotation.

JoJo Reyes has pitched well after losing eight straight decisions last year. He pitched an absolute gem of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals this past week, and he may finally be reaching that enormous potential that was forecast for him only a few years ago.

However, one area of concern is the lineup.

Of course when you are without the best offensive catcher in the game for close to two weeks that is bound to be a problem.

Hopefully Brian McCann will get his eye problem fixed soon and get back to being the dominant force that he is.

Matt Diaz has filled in admirably for Garret Anderson in left field. Anderson has been good at times, but he's spent most of his time on the bench due to injury.

Chipper is healthy again, but one never knows how long that will last.

Jordan Schafer has played great for a rookie in his first Major League month. I have no reason to think that will change. The kid looks like the real deal.

Casey Kotchman has calmed my fears that he would not be a good fit at first base. He's had a great first month and has made up for months of inconsistent play following the Mark Teixeira trade last season.

Kelly Johnson will come around. He's streaky anyway. He always has been that way.

Martin Prado and Omar Infante are two of the best, most versatile, role players in the big leagues. They are both clutch hitters and reliable substitutes of the bench.

Yunel Escobar still needs some refining at the plate. He's too impatient and inconsistent to be a No. 2 hitter. His defense and arm are as close to perfect as can be though.

The real surprise of the first month has been Jeff Francouer. He's only hitting .277, but has only struck-out seven times in 83 at-bats. That's a definite improvement over his entire career.

If the Braves can count on clutch hits from his spot in the order, once everyone is healthy, this lineup will be a force to be reckoned with.

The Braves have always started slow. It's a franchise staple in Atlanta.

You cannot win the NL East in April. The regular season is six months long, not one.

The Braves are pacing themselves, and when they have looked good, they've looked really good. When they've been bad they were still close.

Based on April's performance alone I expect Atlanta's record to improve month-by-month.

I fully expect the Marlins, Phillies, and Braves to be neck and neck most of this season.

You can add the Mets to that equation if they make a trade for a quality starter soon. Mets fans, you know I am right. You can't last all season with this shoddy rotation.

Braves fans have to be optimistic about where the team is after one month. Especially when you consider that inconsistency has been the name of the game division-wide in April.

Just keep in mind that it's not college football, where an early season loss can spell doom for your team's championship hopes.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.