0-2: Duda, Where’s My Offense?

There are not a lot of positives in yesterday’s game for the Atlanta Braves. In fact, the only one could probably be Martin Prado’s two-run homerun to tie the game momentarily. Then, the New York Mets scored one run off of Jair Jurrjens (on a hit off of Livan Hernandez) and one off of Chad Durbin.

I’m not going to go on and on about the questionable managing decisions. That happens (and to be frank, Fredi Gonzalez may be on borrowed time if the team struggles continue) but what needs to happen is for everybody to settle into their roles and for everyone, especially early in the season to get some playing time.

Many people will go on about how this is still early in the season, and it is. There is no difference between two straight losses to the Mets in April and two straight losses to the Mets in August. Everything is magnified in April for good and for bad because you have nothing to compare it to. You’d rather Matt Diaz show he can’t hit major league pitching in April so those at bats go to someone else in the days of summer. You’d rather Durbin pitch in a one-run game in the second game of the season so by the 80th, someone else pitches in that situation.

They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We already see that Fredi is trying to avoid over-using his bullpen Big Three early in the season. That’s one change. Hopefully he wont prove to be insane when he keeps putting Diaz against a right-handed pitcher there are two outs in the ninth inning. For his sake as well as Braves fans.

It’s still early. That’s the mantra at this time of the year. The Tampa Bay Rays started 0-6 last year. Things happen and I think the Braves would take an 0-6 start to make the playoffs like the Rays did last year. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. So why don’t you conserve some energy for the 160 games that remain.