Braves Should Be Able To Bounce Back From Their Most Recent Losses

It is no secret that the Atlanta Braves have one of the most talented baseball teams in all of the league.  Despite that, the Braves have gone 3-8 since the All-Star Break and aren’t really showing major signs of bouncing back.

After winning the first game out of the break against the Nationals, the Braves just could not right the ship.  They would show flashes of being back to their old self by scoring first in most of the games or putting up 12 runs against the Marlins.  However, they could not follow any of it up and would end up losing the next few in a row.

Nonetheless, the Braves were a strike away from a No-Hitter against the Dodgers in the last game of the series and ended up winning 4-1.  So things are pointing in the right direction for these next couple of games.  The next seven games are against the Marlins (3-game series) and Mets (4-game series), and I am predicting that they will win at least four out of those seven games.

The only thing that can get in the way of the Braves accomplishing that is: 1) Julio Teheran starts off the series tonight against the Marlins, and 2) we play the Mets in New York and they have one of the most talented Starting Pitchers in the MLB.

If the Teheran can get through the first game and the Braves can muscle through some tough pitching in New York, then I think these next seven games should be easy.

Also, the Marlins and the Mets are tied for last in the NL East at the moment, giving the Braves, even more, hope over the next seven games.

With all that being said, the bullpen needs to improve.  I do not care how it is done, it just needs to get better in every way.  The majority of the Braves’ losses are all due to the bullpen.  It isn’t fun to watch as a fan when you are up by a couple of runs and see the lead easily slip away because the bullpen is carelessly pitching when they are called upon.  I am sure it isn’t fun to play on a team that easily blows leads thanks to the entire bullpen.

Baseball is a team sport and that requires everyone to do their job.  If the bullpen can’t do their job then this team cannot excel to its full potential.

In conclusion, the Braves should be able to bounce back in these next seven games and should be able to get on a little bit of a hot streak after this seven-game stretch.  If the Braves cannot win the majority of these next seven games, then it will be a bad sign that the Braves are regressing and may not be looking at a postseason run.