TBS Petition

I found a petition online for any Braves fans who are against TBS for taking away the broadcast of the games after this season. If you wish, you can sign the petition here.

Possible Platoon at 2nd

This was shocking news to me. I would have never expected Cox to try to make a platoon here. I think Cox doesn't have enough patience with the younger guys. Kelly has exceeded expectations and he is playing way better than Marcus Giles did last season. He is in a slump right now which is common. I can understand Bobby giving him a few days to think it over and work on his swing, but to think about taking half his starts away is ridiculous.

Once again, Cox uses the argument of "having a player in to get at bats."

"He told me he wanted [Escobar] to play and get at-bats while he's up here," said Johnson, who has hit .228 with a .319 on-base percentage in June. "I don't have much to say about it, to be honest with you."

"I just can't sit Escobar," Cox said of the 24-year-old infielder, who has batted .264 (19-for-72) since joining Atlanta on June 2. "I just can't do it. It's a good problem."

Sorry, but that isn't really a good enough reason Cox. Unless you are showcasing him for a possible trade, there really isn't any real good reason why Escobar HAS to be playing. Granted, I do like Escobar and think he will be a great player, but he is a rookie and isn't exactly tearing it up right now either. If you are worried about Escobar ruining his development by not getting enough playing time, then why wouldn't that not happen to Johnson? I'm sure that this whole idea has nooo effect on Kelly.

The only real successful platoon I've seen in recent years is Adam Laroche/Julio Franco and this year Matt Diaz/Willie Harris. We all saw how Laroche did when he got to play everyday.

"It's nothing against Thorman and nothing against Kelly," Cox said. "It's just when you score one run in five days, you want to shake things up a little bit."

That's fine, I can understand that idea. Why not platoon Andruw Jones as well. Maybe stick Willie Harris in center field when Diaz plays in left. Oh wait, Andruw has "earned" the right to play everyday despite his t-ball like abilities right now.

This is all what I hope just a short term solution to get the offense going. If this carries on through the rest of the season, then wow...

Braves Beat Nationals

The Braves have won an amazing two games in a row! After the tough times during last week, this has to be a confidence booster.

-Buddy Carlyle had a nice outing tonight. He gave up 5 hits, 1 earned run in 7 innings and had 6 strikeouts to go with it.

-Yunel Escobar filled in for Kelly Johnson, going 2-5. Alright, at least this time benching Kelly makes some sense. Kelly is having a bit of a slump.

-Is Brian McCann getting things going? 2-3 with a homerun last night and 3-4 tonight. Hopefully this is the beginning of a hot streak.

-What else can I say about Salty? He continues to impress me by smacking 2 homeruns tonight. I really hope the Braves can manage to make important trades and keep this guy. I don't care what it takes, FIND A SPOT FOR HIM.

-Andruw Jones actually contributed to the team. How? A 3 run homerun in the 5th that is. Of course it was his only hit of the night.

With Smoltz on the mound tomorrow night, the Braves should end the series with a sweep.

Tigers Sweep Braves

Another pathetic loss tonight as the Detroit Tigers sweep the Braves 0-5. The Braves have scored 1 run in the last five games. That is 4 shut outs out of 5 folks.

You do have to take into consideration of the teams the Braves have played lately. Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Boston RedSox (twice) and the Detroit Tigers are certainly no cake walk. 2 of them are in 1st in their own division, and the others are very capable of playing in the playoffs.

Team Records

Redsox 48-26
Tigers 45-29
Indians 43-31
Twins 38-35

Although I didn't expect the Braves to play this poorly during interleague play, I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

The Braves play the Washington Nationals tomorrow. Maybe the Braves will be able to win a couple and get things back on track. I know that they will start playing better again, it is just a matter of when.

So instead of saying "the Braves suck!" or "we are done" just take a moment and think about it, the season isn't even halfway over and the Braves are only 4.5 games back. I am still expecting JS to make that trade to help the Braves make a serious run for the playoffs and there is no way Andruw hits .200 for the rest of the season.

Braves Continue to Lose/ Cox Ties Record

The Braves dropped another game to the Tigers today losing 1-2. One more loss and the Braves are at .500. Too bad this team couldn't take advantage of the Mets poor play recently.

Also, Bobby Cox tied John McGraw with his 131st ejection. We know Cox will pass and continue to add to that list.

At this point it is obvious that this team isn't good enough to make a run for the playoffs. If the Braves want to start winning, they need to start hitting (especially Andruw) and get a good quality pitcher via trade. If not, I feel that they should try to trade Andruw Jones and get something for him before he hits free agency. He has a no trade clause, but why not give it a try.

I also think they they should avoid trading Saltalamacchia. This team has a lot of infield talent in the minors and I think a prospect like Yunel Escobar, or Brent Lillibridge should be involved.