Bleacher Report - Articles by Jordan Starling

Crunch Time For Atlanta Braves: Fate of Season Awaits Them in June

Jordan Starling — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:04:29 -0400

As the series finale against the Brewers came to a close on Sunday, there were some promising signs that Atlanta was making some small strides in the right direction.

Braves fans can only hope that this will spark the struggling offense into creating more positive situations and scenarios to manufacture runs. With the Pirates coming to town for a four-game home stand, the Braves really need to sweep Pittsburgh in order to put themselves in a good position to take on the powerhouses of the American League.

Starting next Friday, June 19, the Braves will endure arguably the toughest level of competition that any one baseball club will see this season.

For a stretch of 13 games, the Braves will travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox for a three-game series. The Braves will then travel back to Atlanta to start a 10-game home stand.

One make-up game with the Chicago Cubs (June 22)
Three-game series—New York Yankees (June 23-25)
Three-game series—Boston Red Sox (June 26-28)
Three-game series—Philadelphia Phillies (June 30 - July 2)

With Atlanta already 5.5 games back in the NL East, these games are sure to test their grit.

While the schedule seems intimidating, the Braves have fared well against tough opponents this year, sweeping the Blue Jays as well as taking four of six from the division-leading Phillies.

Look for the Braves bats to start generating some much-needed offense in the coming weeks. While the Braves rotation has done extremely well, they have had no run support.

When the Braves score four or more runs, their record is an astonishing 27-6.

Now would be a great time to get the bats going for Atlanta to boost confidence and hold steady in the East. If the club fails to do so, Atlanta might want to start wheeling and dealing for the 2010 season.

Minor League Phenom Tommy Hanson Set to Make Debut Sunday vs. Brewers

Jordan Starling — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:42:46 -0400

Finally, the moment all Braves fans have been waiting for. The long anticipated arrival of Minor League Phenom Tommy Hanson will square off with the Brewers Manny Parra (3-7) in the series finale.

While hopes are high that Hanson will do just fine in his debut, the eyes are focused directly on the Braves offense who has failed to score a single run in the first two match-ups with the Brew Crew.

Hanson has basically dominated the start of the season at Gwinnett, recording 90 strikeouts in just 66 innings while only allowing 40 hits.

While the chances for the Braves overall success looks bright, the offensive struggles have toppled the Braves in their last two games at Turner Field. Saturday they were delivered their second straight shutout while stranding an exceptionally high number of runners on base.

With the addition of Tommy Hanson to the already exceptional pitching staff of the Braves, the offense will have to play its roll if they stand a chance to even contend in the NL East. While the Phillies have stumbled the past two days on blown saves from closer Brad Lidge, the Atlanta Braves cannot afford to drop games.

If the offense does not get going as soon as tomorrow, look for the Braves to be out of contention for the NL East and even Wild card by as early as the All-Star Break.

The only question Braves fans need to ask themselves is whether or not the Braves will be buyers or sellers by the time July rolls around. With the continued poor performance by the line-up, Tommy Hanson might not be around as long as we might hope.

Chipper Jones And the Atlanta Braves: The End of an Era

Jordan Starling — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:40:51 -0400

Chipper Jones has been the Backbone of the Braves organization for well over a decade. Coming off of one of his arguably better seasons, Chipper Jones has struggled to stay healthy to date, and we're only 1/3 of the way through the season.

In tonight's game against the Brewers, Chipper left the game in the sixth inning due to dizziness. After being evaluated by the team doctors, he was cleared and released. This is good news, but Jones' performance so far this season has been all but refreshing.

Coming into tonight's game, Chipper Jones had appeared in 44 of Atlanta's 53 games. This seems average for a seasoned veteran, but the problem lies in fact that Jones remains the Braves standout player.

With an above average line-up, the Braves cannot seem to find any rhythm at all. Any type of chemistry sparked by the team is derailed by a costly injury. To date the Braves have lost Brian McCann, Omar Infante, Chipper Jones, Casey Kotchman, and Yunel Escobar all to injuries that kept them out of the line-up for more than a series.

While the Atlanta pitching continues to hang in there and do a good job, the run support provided by the line-up is absolutely terrible. The Braves made a good move by adding standout CF Nate McLouth from Pittsburgh after Jordan Schafer continued his strikeout woes for almost the entire duration of his Major League tenure.

In order for the Atlanta Braves to be competitive in the NL East, they will have to do more than this. It is time the Atlanta Braves start looking for the next big name to drive Atlanta back to the postseason. Chipper Jones has done remarkably well, but his durability continues to fail more and more with age.

Look for the Braves to make a big acquisition before the trade deadline. I believe GM Frank Wren is taking an active approach to make this ball club competitive again, and in order to do so, it's time for Atlanta to start making a move to put Chipper in the back seat and work towards attaining the next big name and face for the Atlanta Braves franchise.

2008 MLB Preview: NL East Predictions

Jordan Starling — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:34:44 -0400

I'm sure there have been all kinds of predictions floating around, but here are mine:

1. New York Mets

2. Atlanta Braves

3. Philadelphia Phillies

4. Washington Nationals

5. Florida Marlins

I'm thinking the Braves and Phillies will both be Wild Card possibilities out of this division. Watch out for the Braves to win the division, however.

The reason I don't have the Phillies higher up on this list is because I still believe they are facing pitching trouble. They need to get that squared away before possible contention.