| Power Rankings |
| Date | Ranking | Previous |
| 09/30/2008 | 25 | 25 |
| The 2008 Braves, in nine words: injuries bad luck injuries injuries injuries bad luck injuries ... Remember when the Braves used to trot out a functional outfield? Boy, that sure takes me back ... Tim Hudson won't be back until August at the very earliest, so the Braves are at least two starting pitchers short of a marginal rotation. Veterans like Derek Lowe or Brad Penny could be a nice fit. |
| 09/23/2008 | 25 | 23 |
| Kudos to the Braves for making the Mets and Phillies work for it ... There's nothing about John Smoltz I don't admire, but I've never thought, 'Gee, his volcanic charisma would sure play well in the broadcast booth.' And so it is that he'll debut on TBS next week. Oh well. |
| 09/16/2008 | 23 | 27 |
| You'll know that the Braves are on the cusp of turning things around -- and that they're immune to the sentimentality that resulted in Tom Glavine's abortive return to town -- if they turn down John Smoltz's $12 million option for 2009. He has been a wonderful pitcher for a very long time, one of the three best in franchise history, but a team on a limited budget can't afford to pay eight figures to make its fans feel warm and fuzzy. |
| 09/09/2008 | 27 | 25 |
| What the Braves could use for 2009: a starter or three who pitch consistently into the seventh inning. ... They lost another one-run game on the road, giving them an 0-22 mark in such contests this season. We're way beyond "bad luck" as a reason for this; I'm planning to investigate possible supernatural explanations. |
| 09/02/2008 | 25 | 25 |
| Debate all you want about David Wright, Pujols, Sabathia and the other anointed NL MVP candidates. I'm focusing my attention on the Least Valuable Player race, in which Jeff Francoeur (540 plate appearances, .637 OPS) has been installed as the mother of prohibitive favorites ... As cliché as it sounds, you have to respect the Braves for continuing to play hard. There's a level of effort here you don't see from the other low-performing teams. |
| 08/26/2008 | 25 | 24 |
| The contempt that Atlanta lifers like Chipper Jones have for the team's pitchers can only be matched by the unhidden disgust with which John Smoltz and Co. view the team's hitters: The team is 2-12 in the last 14, during which the staff has notched a 7.11 ERA and the lineup has scored more than three runs only four times. Anyone for a mercy killing? |
| 08/19/2008 | 24 | 21 |
| It's looking like we've seen the last of Tom Glavine, courtesy of an achy elbow. Bummer. Maybe the Braves need to wean themselves off the Glavines and Smoltzes of the world before they can rise anew, I dunno. ... At this point, I'm beginning to feel outright pity for Jeff Francoeur. He simply can't make solid contact with a pitched ball -– a moderately severe problem, given how doing so is a substantial part of his job description. |
| 08/12/2008 | 21 | 23 |
| Congratulations to Mike Hampton on his first win since leaving Shea for Colorado's fresh mountain air and fine public schools. ... Tom Glavine returns Thursday to face the Cubs. ... Uh, Chipper and McCann are healthy again. ... I got nuthin' here. Sorry. |
| 08/05/2008 | 23 | 23 |
| R.I.P., Skip Carey. He wasn't the most factually plugged-in of b'casters, but he had a great baseball voice and was Letterman-quick with a quip. ... With Chipper on the shelf and Brian McCann just now back after getting his bell rung, this lineup might be the game's easiest to navigate, excepting the similarly gutted Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington ones. |
| 07/29/2008 | 23 | 19 |
| Chipper to the DL for two weeks, Hudson to the DL for months. Abandon ship! ... This makes two straight trade deadlines that poor Mark Teixeira will be packing a suitcase. He's late-July's very own Little Orphan Annie. ... When Brian McCann's noggin became the mystery meat in a Shane Victorino/home plate sandwich, hell, even my neck hurt. Now that the Braves have raised the white flag, maybe they stash him on the DL for awhile to avoid a Ryan Church-like recurrence. |
