Atlanta Braves Going Wild

Well it only took 90-plus games and over three months, but the Atlanta Braves are H-O-T! Unfortunately, so are the Philadelphia Phillies—which I expected to happen, by the way.

What seemed like an outside shot at best just a month ago, the Atlanta Braves now find themselves right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race.

The Braves are currently three and a half games back of Colorado in a three-way tie for fourth place. And face it, the Phillies are just too good to catch in the East. Well I shouldn't say that quite yet, because their pitching is still somewhat suspect in my opinion. But if your offense is scoring a ton of runs every night does pitching matter as much?

Braves fans should be able to answer that one. The Braves have scored 43 runs in the six games since the All-Star Break. They've only lost once. This is the type of baseball that front office personnel envisioned at the season's outset. Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, Garret Anderson, and Yunel Escobar all hitting at the same time can compete with any team in either league.

Throw in midseason lineup additions, Nate McLouth and Martin Prado, and it is a nice recipe for success. You can't forget Casey Kotchman, Matt Diaz, and Ryan Church either.

I know that scoring at this rate will not be sustained day-in-day-out for the rest of the season, but getting these hitters hot for an extended period should increase their consistency longterm.

The Braves do have a tough schedule in the coming weeks, but if you've been a Braves fan for any length of time you know that these guys normally play better against better opponents. Trust me, with their luck against the Nationals and Pirates this season, I'm glad to see the Brewers, Marlins, and Dodgers coming up.

Getting back to the Wild Card, the Braves can do some short-term damage in Milwaukee this weekend as they are currently tied with the Brew Crew for fourth place in those standings.

Yes, I know there are two more games to go in this series against the Giants, one of which is against Cy Lincecum, but no Braves fan can, in good conscience, tell me that Atlanta does not have a great chance to sweep this four-game set.

The way they are hitting right now, anything is possible. Oh yeah, and don't forget we have Jair Jurrjens going tomorrow night against Cy. I'll take my chances with the pitcher from Curacao.

Notes: In other random Braves news, isn't it amazing how a few great at-bats from a red-hot Yunel Escobar can change someone's mind about the young shortstop? This guy is as hot as they come right now and I, for one, am not about to badmouth the kid again.

Mark Bradley's AJC column detailing Escobar's problems shed tons of light on the subject of a misunderstood foreign kid playing American baseball.

* Chipper Jones is hot! The veteran is hitting .348 with two HR, two doubles and six RBI since the break. You all know a hot Chipper usually equals a hot Braves team.

* Martin Prado's move to the starting lineup and the two-hole in particular was the spark Atlanta needed. So says Bobby Cox anyway. The numbers back that up. The Braves are hitting a major league best .296 in July.

* In the same breath it must be mentioned that the move to the fifth spot in the lineup has made Yunel Escobar a different type of hitter and has completely eradicated a need for the Braves to trade for a right-handed power bat. Garret Anderson's .529 mark since the break has helped tremendously as well.

* Which brings me to my next random point. The Braves will not make a trade of huge significance in the week or so preceding the trade deadline. I see Greg Norton possibly being let go soon, though. Omar Infante will be back soon. Kelly Johnson, who is eligible to return Saturday, may also figure into that bench mix as well. He could also be traded soon.

* The only deal Atlanta might make is for a veteran reliever—and even that is doubtful at this point. However, I would not mind seeing a David Weathers or Latroy Hawkins in the 'pen to help alleviate some of the load on Moylan, Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano.

* Nate McLouth left tonight's game with a mild, lower back strain. He is currently listed as day-to-day. And with Bobby Cox as his manager that means he'll probably miss at least the next three games.

So how excited are you about the Braves right now? A few more wins over the next week or so and one could probably argue that this is the best baseball the Braves have played since 2005.

But let's not count our chickens before they hatch, as this team has baffled our minds with decent ball followed by sickening losses many times this season.