Atlanta Braves: Recent losing streak signals season is over
Recent losses may have dashed any remote playoff hopes for the Atlanta Braves, but there is still plenty to look forward to in the future.
Well, there you have it, Braves Country. After sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks two weeks ago, and reaching .500 for the first time since April, the Braves have finally hit a brick wall. Is there plenty of baseball left to play, and the chance something miraculous could happen for Atlanta? Absolutely, but it’s also time to come back down to earth and applaud a ferocious effort by this team.
If you have followed my previous articles regarding the Braves, then you know that Atlanta’s 2016 season was arguably the worst in franchise history. I mean, the Braves didn’t even put a competitive squad out on the field until September and that was to send Turner Field off with a sense of pride.
The Braves as of late had a golden opportunity after splitting the series with the National League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, but faltered in Phoenix, losing the series to the Diamondbacks. If you want any kind of positive out of this recent road trip, look no further than the fact that the Braves took two of four against a potential World Series contender, and then also went into Phoenix and came close to winning yet another series against the Diamondbacks.
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Guys, the future is here, and my lord is it bright for Atlanta. As I have said to anyone who has a pair of ears, 2018 is going to be one heck of a year for Braves Country. Rewind to one year ago and the Braves, not the Phillies, had the worst record in not only the NL East, but one of the worst in the league at 36-67.
This recent losing streak Atlanta is currently riding is one the front office should use as a testing ground for the remainder of the season. The Braves gave Aaron Blair hopefully his final start at the major league level this past week in Arizona, and after his abysmal 2016 campaign pitching in 17 games with a 7.59 ERA, the kid has hit his ceiling.
The biggest upside to this recent downward spiral is not only a great thing for guys like Matt Wisler, but a resurgent Kris Medlen. The remainder of the season can and should serve as a proving ground for some of the pitchers of the future for Atlanta.
The 2017 season has not been kind to Julio Teheran who seems to be more cold than hot, but then again the Braves may have found their ace in Mike Foltynewicz. In his last nine starts the Braves have won, and let’s not forget about the no-hitter the guy took into the ninth inning.
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As we head into the month of August, the Braves will have one final hope, and that is playing the Colorado Rockies six times before the end of the season. But even that’s too far-fetched for my hopeful self. At the end of the day, this Braves team put on one heck of a showing, and did something they haven’t done in a long time in contending for the postseason. As the front office has told us for years, the future is bright, but I’ll be one of the first to say the sun will rise in 2018.