Atlanta Braves: the Next Coming of Chuck James

I wrote an article the other day about Kelly Johnson, and how long Bobby Cox was going to stick with him. Now I'm back with the same question about JoJo Reyes. (I would have used a picture of Reyes, but there didn't seem to be one available).

I'm not sure what the issue is, but apparently Bobby loves lefties without good stuff, who can't give you more than five innings, and put up huge ERA numbers.

JoJo Reyes has spent three years being flat out awful. I hate to write about a major league pitcher so negatively, since he clearly is a great pitcher on some level, but Reyes is turning into the starting version of Blaine Boyer.

At the Major League level you can't just give up ballgames, and this is what the Braves have done every fifth day...for two years. Given the fact that the Braves have no truly qualified fourth starter either (sorry Kenshin), this is a major problem.

I'm not one to just rant without offering a solution. I know the Braves are doing everything in their power to keep Tommy Hanson at Triple-A, and I can't say I disagree, but something has got to give.

It's time to either send Reyes down or trade him before his value becomes absolute zero. Glavine is clearly not the answer and this whole debacle about bringing him back has become long in the tooth.

It's Charlie Morton time! Morton was brought up way too early last year out of desperation, he is 3-2 with a 3.44 ERA, and he also has a not-so-bad 4-1 K to BB ratio. At the very least he can hold down the fort until Campillo (who should have never lost his starting job to begin with) gets back.

The bottom line for these Braves is that pitching is once again becoming a major issue. The offense is showing signs of life; Kotchman is becoming what we expected, Frenchy can put the ball in play, and McCann is on his way back to provide line-up protection for Chipper.

Line-up spots one through six are strong (at least when when Infante leads off), but without a decent fourth or fifith starting pitcher, the Braves are in exactly the same position as last year.