Should the Atlanta Braves be Buyers or Sellers at the Deadline?

I have been a Braves fan since I was little, and I have to admit the past couple of years have been disappointing to say the least.  However, I can understand how the run at 14 straight divisional titles spoils the fan base a bit. 

So when you evaluate this years ball club you feel a bit in the middle on which way to lean.  The team barely gives you reason to believe but just when you start to doubt them they begin to make you second guess that decision as well.  This is a very capable team of making a run at the Divisional Pennant once again.

So I will divide this up in a couple different categories: pitching (starters and bullpen), outfield, infield (including catchers) and the bench.

Let's start out with the pitching.

Pitchers—Starters

This has been the strength of the Braves all year long.  Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens have been the best of the staff. Jair's ERA is at 2.91 and Javier has 136 strikeouts. 

However the ace of the staff is supposed to be Derek Lowe, and he has posted a solid season as well, just not quite ace numbers. 

The addition of Tommy Hanson has been a big boost to the Braves pitching staff for many reasons—mainly the depth it adds to a staff that has been decimated over the past few years with injuries. 

Another surprise on this staff however, has been Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.  Kenshin has become a very capable fourth or fifth starter as he continues to get better every outing.

Pitchers—Relief

The bullpen also has been a huge success for the Braves this year.  Going into the offseason, the Braves knew they needed pitching, in all aspects.  However the pen had been a strength before injuries again plagued the staff. 

So returning pitchers Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez really helped to solidify a very well-built pen.  Peter Moylan, Eric O'Flaherty, and Kris Medlen have really helped keep leads late in games and help give depth behind the starting staff this year.

Outfield

This has been a big question for the team all offseason and through camp into the season and continues to be a problem for the Braves.  In the offseason the Braves tried to lure Griffey to help give the lineup a little more thump but became unsuccessful. 

Instead they added Garrett Anderson—a professional bat that hits for more consistancy than power.  However going into camp the Braves had a battle for starting center fielder between Josh Anderson and Jordan Schafer in which the Braves eventually traded Anderson and thus naming Schafer the starting center fielder. 

Then in June the Braves sent him down to the minors and made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for center fielder Nate McLouth. 

Yet, now the problem is the corner positions. 

Jeff Francoeur has not lived up to expectations leading many to believe this is his last couple of months in a Braves uniform, and Garret Anderson has just in recent weeks started to come alive. 

Anderson brings some defensive liability with his lazy defensive play and he doesn't hustle for fly balls and not rushing throws back in to keep runners from advancing or scoring.  This kind of attitude from a veteran like Anderson can be contagious and could be hurting the team but his bat seems to be coming alive so he is definitely a toss up.

Infield (including catchers)

This season Kelly Johnson has got off to a rocky start and has been replaced by Martin Prado, who is a very interesting player capable of playing multiple infield positions to help his team.

Kelly's bat seemed to be very inconsistent and the defense wasn't any better.  With that, Bobby Cox felt Prado's play warranted the change and so far it has been beneficial to the team. 

Casey Kotchman has been in somewhat of a slump as well.  He hasn't been very consistent but continues to work through it and maintains his defensive abilities while in the lineup. 

Yunel Escobar has had an attitude issue and Cox felt he needed an adjustment so he has been held out of the lineup a couple of times and even had been rumored to be on the trade block and still could be.

Yet, it seems that the rift between Cox and his shortstop has given way to better days, and good thing too, because Escobar made several great plays against the Cubs in the past series. 

Brian McCann has also seen a stint on the DL due to an eye infection but with the aid of some sports glasses, he seems to have now come around increasing his average and hitting around .300 since his return from the DL. 

Bench

The Bench has been fairly strong all year. 

However, the loss of Omar Infante really hurt the Braves.  Infante was the everything man and that had to be replaced.  Luckily Martin Prado stepped up and assumed the role and now has moved off the bench and into the starting lineup. 

Matt Diaz has been a big bat off the bench and a great sub for Francoeur and Anderson.  David Ross was a great offseason acquisition to serve as McCann's backup, and has been questioned as to taking over at first to help add some more power to the lineup. 

Now it comes down to the Trade Deadline and many people are doing everything just short of begging for the Braves to make a trade to add a big bat in the lineup and get rid of Francoeur, Johnson or Kotchman. 

First off, I don't want people to forget the 1991 Braves team that came back from 9.5 games out of first place to win the division. The way the Phillies and Mets are playing there is a  lot of opportunity to cut into the four-game deficit the Braves currently have. I don't really know If trading away a  lot of this team would help now or later.

That being said I would actually sit on this team this year.

Unless you can add a bat without giving up a lot in return. This team could break out at any moment. They won the last two games without Chipper, Frenchy hasn't been power, KJ has been anything but good, but Prado is adding a spark and McCann and McLouth are keeping this team together. If they can break out this is a very strong team. 

I have to say Frenchy has been slowly progressing and getting a little better. With that comes a little more confidence.

If the Braves were to trade for an outfielder, I would like to see them keep Frenchy the rest of the year and see if the new right fielder pressures Frenchy to be more patient. In the past he knew he would be back because the Braves didn't have anything else so why work hard to change his approach.

Now if they have someone who can replace him he might open his eyes and see he can be so much better and at the same time the Braves are showing confidence in him to get better, but allowing him to understand he is expendable. If the right package comes along (which I don't see) it could be worth trying.

So in conclusion, I would recommend that Frank Wren entertains all offers, and inquires about all possibilities, but in the end if he has to give up too much to recieve a player not to pull the string. 

This team is capable of winning a lot of ball games and they have a lot of second half players.  So we need to just wait and see, wait and see, but please don't be sellers and just keep what you got until the offseason.