Atlanta Braves: So Far It Is Home Sweet Home

The Atlanta Braves (12-9) coughed one up to the lowly Reds in Cincinnati yesterday. That is a reflection of a somewhat positive trend for the Braves.

Ok. So, that is kind of misleading. It’s never a positive thing to blow a lead to an awful team like the Cincinnati Reds. The bullpen still stinks it up every other day. Folty still gets behind in the count nearly every at bat. And losing that game sucks. Buried in all of that is something that is somewhat positive for the Atlanta Braves. The ability to win at home.

Aside from the sclerotic and supine Bullpen, the biggest question mark for the Braves heading into the season was SunTrust Park. Is it pretty? Sure. Can Atlanta win there? Based on last year’s performance? Probably, not.

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So, in the face of an embarrassing loss to the Reds, one looks at the standings and the Braves are 2.5 games back with a (12-9) record. The surprise there? Atlanta is (8-4) at home.

This is encouraging for a couple of reasons. I don’t care what sport you play, at what level you play it, it is really, really difficult to go on the road and win. Successful programs or franchises, meaning with winning records, almost always win at home. It starts there. If you can’t win in your own house, you’re screwed. It’s almost an algorithmic certainty. It is definitely a historical norm.

Last year our beloved Braves finished with a home record of (37-44). Is that still possible this year? Sure. It’s early, and when it heats up in Atlanta, and those wind tunnels start whipping, fortunes can change. But even Julio Teheran has looked good there. Surprisingly, good.

And that gets to the really exciting thing. Most of last year, it looked like the Atlanta Braves, and ownership, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build a park that the pitching staff can’t pitch in and win. It was a source of bafflement, consternation, and damnation. Why would you do that? How could you do that?

If, in fact, Teheran and company have figured it out, settled in, and are more comfortable now, and wins at home become a normal thing, it is a great sign for future win totals.

Last night’s loss put them 1 game below .500 for the year on the road (4-5). They can even that out tonight with a win. Heck, they can even get a couple of games above water on the road if they can win the rest in Cincy. and they very well could.

Then again, there’s that Bullpen thing that is broken. Maybe, McCarthy can go nine.

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