Atlanta Braves swept by Texas Rangers in hopeless fashion

On September 3rd, we openly declared that the Atlanta Braves had reached “rock bottom”, albeit from a simple perspective of the offensive side of the game.

On Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas, “rock bottom” didn’t even begin to describe the disaster.

The Atlanta Braves entered the weekend series against the Texas Rangers in decent position with regard to the National League Wild Card race, but after back-to-back losses to the worst team in Major League Baseball on Friday and Saturday, the floor was removed on Sunday. The Rangers exploded for 10 runs, including a six spot in the bottom of the fifth inning, before the Braves could even scratch, and when the dust settled, it was a 7-run defeat that dropped Atlanta four games out of the final Wild Card slot in the National League while riding on a broom stick out of the state of Texas.

The details are virtually meaningless at this point, as Fredi Gonzalez continues to trot out nearly comical lineups while the bullpen implodes and the stars align in the worst way, and because of that, there is no need to take a “deep dive” into Sunday’s performance. All that needs to be relayed is that the Atlanta Braves just suffered a sweep against the league’s worst team in a must-win spot.

Is the season “over”? Technically not, as the Braves will square off with both the Wild Card-leading Pittsburgh Pirates in a four-game series next week, but on Sunday, it certainly feels as if the 2014 campaign should be ending quite soon.