Braves Cubs Live Thread: Get It In Gear!

Sep 20, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Atlanta Braves infielder

bats during their game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Get It In Gear!

Ever driven with somebody trying to operate a stick, no clue how to, and they’re grinding those gears with a gut wrenching, metal grinding sound that’s just on the verge of making you open your car door and do a stuntman, belly roll across a hard pavement, strawberries and all!?  If I painted a good picture there of the pain of that kind of experience, then perhaps you’ll get the picture of the kind of pain I’ve been suffering lately watching the Atlanta Braves try and fail to get themselves in gear.

They seem eternally stuck in 1st gear, or 2nd at best, and the transmission’s about to blow!  Unfortunately, the fix isn’t a simple trip to a local mechanic, but something more tangible, something many armchair managers such as myself think we know the answer to, but most if not all of which manager Fredi Gonzalez, Frank Wren and company, seem to disagree with.

We editors, and pretty much all of the staff here at Tomahawk Take, have written extensively of late about the Braves’ woes and  what could be done to fix the problems.  Solutions have been proffered, analyzed and either discarded or argued over ad nauseum, and unfortunately we don’t have the front office’s ears, nor would they be likely to listen if we did.

I think I even heard a fan say the whole team should go a month without changing their underwear.

Proffered solutions have included everything from minor or major tweaks to the lineup (something which I remind everyone Fredi already does pretty extensively), multiple ins-and-outs to the pitching rotation, jettisoning

and

, to an odd assortment of other possible solutions.  I think I even heard a fan say the whole team should go a month without changing their underwear.  Wait a second now, I played a lot of baseball in my younger years, have been there and done that, and I

DO NOT

recommend that as a solution!

The fact is, no one knows what will get the Braves’ sticks shifted back into the proper gear, but we can have some hope even if we don’t have any sound or sure solutions.  My hope is that as the Chicago Cubs roll into Turner Field in Atlanta tonight to face our beloved  but sour Braves, the Braves can take advantage of a struggling Chicago offense!

As our own Brandon Woodworth pointed out in his Series Preview, the Cubbies are having a tough time offensively, giving little run support to a pitching staff that is pretty good (minus their bullpen), arguably as good as that of Atlanta.  It could be a question of who struggles worse during the series, but if the Braves will play like they’re capable offensively, and pitch like their able, a series win or even a sweep is not entirely impossible.  Certainly, a sweep would go a LONG way to building morale, getting this slump out of the Braves’ heads, and getting them back in gear!  That’s my hope, and my only real solution at the moment.  It could be the best solution – just this simple idea of playing hard, winning, and letting that sink in and catch on.  I know, baseball isn’t that simple, but then neither is finding a quick fix.

Game 1 Details

When? 7:35 PM EST, Friday, May 9th

Where? Fox SportSouth

Probables:  Jason Hammel (4-1, 2.43 ERA) vs Julio Teheran (2-2, 1.80 ERA)

Live Open Thread

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