Braves Lose Series vs. Brewers

Well, that was a Debbie Downer. After taking the first game of the series, the Braves went on to lose the next three. The games were relatively close and I feel that the Braves should of won at least two. The team's pitching and hitting just haven't been in sync lately.

Tommy Hanson wasn't much better this time around. I hope he can find a way out of his funk or it's going to be a long season for him. People have high expectations of Tommy this year. It's certainly way too early to be worried yet though.

- Tommy Hanson pitched 5.1 innings allowing seven hits and three earn runs. He walked one and stuck out two.

- The bullpen did well as usual. Peter Moylan did allow a run to score however. The bullpen has been pitching a lot lately.

- Not a whole lot offensively yet again. Prado had a nice 2 RBI hit early in the game and that was it.

- Chipper Jones did have the day off. I hope he's ready for the Phillies this weekend.

- Brian McCann continues to hit well. He was 2-4 today.

- Dan Uggla was 2-3 with a walk.

- Jason Heyward and Alex Gonzalez failed to take advantage of the runners they had available. They were both hitless and left 8 runners on base combined.

- Alex Gonzalez shouldn't be hitting anywhere lower than 8th in the order. He is by far the worst hitter on the team at any given time. Not to mention he terrible at getting on base. His career on base percentage is lower than .300 which is laughable.

The Braves will finally be back at home tomorrow and the Philadelphia Phillies will be the visiting team. The Phillies are 5-1 to start the season. The have had a few breaks such as bullpen implosions from their opposing teams, not to mention their cake walk schedule so far.

* Assuming Tim Hudson is his usual self, it will most likely be another low scoring game as the Braves can't quite get anything going offensively yet. The Phillies "big acquisition" Cliff Lee, will be on the mound for the Phillies.

The Phillies supposedly have one of the best rotations ever assembled going into this season. Many wanted to call it the best of all time (mainly Phillies fans, because they weren't fans before they started winning) before they even threw a single pitch. Yeah, I've been to Philadelphia before they started winning, you could hear a pin drop during the game. Give me a break, the Braves have had a decade of greatness from their rotation. This Philly staff will never touch the likes of the 1998 Braves rotation, where all FIVE members of the staff had 16 wins or more. Here's another rotation (in 1997) with just FOUR guys since the Phillies and their fans think Joe Blanton will somehow disappear from the stat book.

Keep in mind that the Phillies have nearly double the payroll as the Braves do. Anything short of a World Series title is a major FAIL.

I'm not worried about the Braves yet. They are notorious for being slow starters. I saw someone post some good stuff on a message board. Here it is.

• The 1991 Braves started the year 39-40 and concluded with 94 wins and the first of fourteen consecutive division championships (and the first of five NL pennants in the decade).

• The 1992 Braves began the season 20-27 and finished with a major league-leading 98 wins (and a National League pennant).

• The 1993 Braves started the year 12-14 and 30-27 and finished with a major league-best 104 wins.

• The 1995 Braves began the season 11-10 before winning the most games in the NL and their division by 21 contests. Ultimately, they won the World Series.

• The 2000 Braves began the season 5-6 and then won 15 consecutive games, finishing with 95 wins and another NL East title (despite John Smoltz missing the entire year, plus season-ending injuries to Quilvio Veras, Rudy Seanez, and Eddie Perez).

• The 2001 Braves started the year 17-21 yet won their division and reached the National League Championship Series.

• The 2002 Braves began the season 19-21 and then went 60-20 (.750) in their next 80 games, finishing with a National League-best 101 wins.

• The 2003 Braves began the year 4-8 and finished with a National League-leading 101 wins.

• The 2004 Braves began the season 32-38 and then went 48-16 (.750) in their next 64 games, finishing with 96 wins (second in the NL) and winning their division by 10 games.

• The 2005 Braves started the year 7-8 and 33-32, but won 90 games and their division.

Finally, not included but I'll add myself.

• The 2010 Braves started the season 9-14 including a nine game losing streak, only to win 91 games and go to the playoffs as the wild card winner.