Atlanta Braves Review from the 1st Half: From The Early Struggles to MLB Contenders

All-Star Catcher Brian Mccann

  

Now, we hit the All-Star Break and the Braves are sitting in a good position in the NL East with a 54-38 record and they only trail the MLB's best team by record, the Philadelphia Phillies by 3 1/2 games. This Braves team heads into the 2nd half of the MLB season with hopes of returning to the playoffs and winning the NL Eastern Division Title for the 1st time since 2005. The Braves began this season with a new manager, Fredi Gonzalez, who became the 1st Braves manager since 1989 because Bobby Cox have been in the Atlanta dugout since 1990 and also an All-Star second baseman in Dan Uggla, acquired from the Florida Marlins. There were high expectations from the beginning of the 2011 season on the future of this franchise.

 

Chipper Jones after his 2,500th career hit

      In April, the Braves began their season in Washington, where they took two out of three on the road. However, after winning their 1st game in Milwaukee, the Braves would drop their next three games and then they headed to Atlanta to play the Phillies in their 1st home series of the season. In front of three sellout crowds of 50,000+ each night, the Bravos won the 1st game and then they dropped the final two at home. The same results would happen against the Marlins. After a bad homestand, the Braves returned on the road where they would take 2 of 3 from the Mets and struggled again against the Dodgers dropping 3 out of 4. One of the highlights in April was sweeping the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants and after finishing a tough April by losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Braves found themselves with a 13-14 record. Early in the season, they were battling injuries from Nate McLouth, Jason Heyward, and Jair Jurrjens.

     



All-Star pitcher and NL leader in wins Jair Jurrjens



          In May, the Braves started cooking by opening the month with a 6 game winning streak by beating the Cardinals, sweeping the Brewers in 4 straight at home, and a road win against the Phillies. The 1st weekend of May saw the Braves take 2 out of 3 in Philadelphia and the road began to look brighter for this young team. However, the Braves returned home and continued to struggle when they lost 2 out of 3 to the Washington Nationals. At the end of the week between May 8-15, the Bravos got a series win versus the Phillies and began the following week by sweeping the Astros at home. When the Braves went on a 9-game road trip, they suffered a rare sweep vs the Arizona Diamondbacks and dropped 2 of 3 to the Anaheim Angels. But, they summed up their road trip with a sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the end of May, Atlanta returned home for a series with the Reds. The Braves took care of the Cincinnati Reds by taking 2 out of 3 but would drop the following series to the San Diego Padres. The Braves ended the month of May with a 30-26 record.




Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla

 

 After having two inconsistent months, then came the month of June for the Atlanta Braves. The Braves posted the most wins in the majors (21-11) and came storming from behind to draw within striking distance of the Phillies. The Braves began their month by dropping 2 of 3 to the New York Mets on the road. The road trip continued to Florida for these Braves as they would sweep the Florida Marlins and took 3 out of 4 games against the Houston Astros on the road. After a successful road trip, the Braves returned back to Atlanta to take on the Mets, Rangers, and Blue Jays. The first two series didn't go in the Braves favor as they would drop 2 of 3 to the New York Mets, winning their lone game by a balk in a 9-8 win on June 16th. After the Mets series, the Braves would take on the defending American League champion Texas Rangers, After losing a bad game on Friday and a close game in extras that Saturday, the Braves would beat the Rangers 4-2 on Fathers Day. Then, the Braves finished their homestand by sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays. After a sweep of the Jays, Atlanta returned on the road to face the San Diego Padres, where they would lose 2 out of 3 and they would sweep the Seattle Mariners before coming back for another homestand.

Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel

          In July, as the Braves were coming out of a great month of June, they would take 2 out of 3 from the Baltimore Orioles. After facing the Orioles, the Braves pulled off a four game sweep of the Colorado Rockies and ended their first half with dropping 2 of 3 to the Phillies. The Braves and their national fanbase have huge expectations as the 2nd half begins against the Washington Nationals. One of the major highlights of the 1st half of the season was the Braves overall pitching staff. Atlanta ranks #2 in the MLB with a (3.11) ERA, #2 in saves with (32), 2nd with Opposing Batters Average with (.233), 2nd in strikeouts with (736), and has given up the 3rd fewest amount of HRs. The Braves pitching staff is lead by 25 year old Jair Jurrjens, who began the season on the DL but made a great turnaround and was named to his 1st career All-Star Game. Jurrjens currently have the most wins in the majors (12), is 2nd in the MLB with a ERA of (1.87), his opposing batters have an average of (.228) against him and he also threw a 1-hit shoutout vs the Baltimore Orioles. He will enter the 2nd half as a strong candidate for the NL Cy Young Award. Another success story out of this Braves pitching staff is the emergence of rookie closer Craig Kimbrel and relief pitcher Jonny Venters. Craig Kimbrel, the rookie closer, struggled at first trying to fill the void that closer  Billy Wagner left have turned his campaign into a strong one and will be in heavy considerations for Reliever of the Year. Kimbrel set the rookie record for most saves before the All-Star Break with 28, he is pitching a (2.35) ERA, his batters are averaging (.183) against him and he is also headed to his 1st All-Star Game. Jonny Venters, the relief pitcher who emerged onto the scene last season has continued his dominance as a relief pitcher. Venters have a (1.46) ERA, his batters average an oustanding (.171) against this 2nd year reliever and will also head to his 1st career All Star Game.

Rookie Freedie Freeman

        The Braves offense lead by All-Star catcher Brian Mccann have seen their good and bad days, however, this team is getting healthier as Martin Prado and Chipper Jones will be returning to the Braves in the 2nd half in time for the run to the postseason. Brian Mccann, is by far the best catcher in the MLB today and many can consider him as the 1st half MVP in all of baseball. Mccann is #1 among catchers with (15) HRs, (50) RBIs, and (91) hits. Brian Mccann is 2nd in the majors among catchers with a (.310) batting average  and have been a clutch man for the Braves. The surprise story of the Braves offense is rookie 1st baseman Freddie Freeman. Freeman is 2nd in the NL among rookies in homeruns (13), 2nd in RBI's (43), 2nd in hits (86), and also 2nd in batting averages (.274). Freddie Freeman is emerging as one of the Braves offensive threats of the future and will enter the 2nd half of the season with strong Rookie of the Year implications. As the season progresses, once Martin Prado returns, and Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla starts hitting consistently, this Atlanta Braves squad will be one of the most competitive teams to watch for in the MLB. Atlanta has a bright future ahead of them and their fans are highly anticipating the return to the playoffs for these Braves. LET'S GO BRAVES!!!!!!!!!