The Atlanta Braves won the first two games after the all star break much the way they won the first two of the season: by hitting homers, pitching well, and playing fundamentally sound baseball.
On friday, the Braves, who have habitually played down to the level of competition this year, utterly dismantled an injury riddled N.Y. Mets team. After losing yet another outfielder–Gary Sheffield (hamstring)–the Mets are hobbling around Atlanta wrapped in gauze, 8 1/2 games behind the Phillies, and now without the services of Carlos Beltran and their home run leader. The Braves, meanwhile, are within striking distance of both the division and the return of Omar Infante and Tim Hudson.
Sure, the way they have been playing lately, the Phillies don’t look like a team who will be caught by anyone anytime soon. But before we throw in the towel, let’s bear this in mind: the Phillies, so desperate for pitching, just signed an over the hill Pedro Martinez. They say that pitching wins championships, and the Braves have a veritable cornicopia of arms both in the starting rotation and the bullpen. They arguably have two of the best five starters in the NL in Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez, the most feared rookie pitcher in Tommy Hanson, and the most dominant closer in Rafael Soriano.
And now for a history lesson in optimism: in 2004, the Atlanta Braves sputtered into the all star break barely over .500. After the break, they won 51 of 75 games taking the division decisively. If the second half turnaround isn’t remarkable enough, try this: the starting rotation that year consisted of: Russ Ortiz, John Thompson, Mike Hampton, Jared Wright, and last but not least, journeyman Paul Byrd.
Not exactly a hall of fame ballot.
Whether the 2009 Atlanta Braves, absent of an Andruw Jones or J.D. Drew, have the sufficient fire power to overtake the Phillies remains to be seen, but their pitching is markedly superior. And it was, after all, the pitching–that unique Braves niche–that garnered all those yellow flags hanging above Turner Field.