Braves Starting to Look Like Contenders

After putting the ailing Mets out of their collective misery, the Braves set their sights on Jonathan Sanchez and the wild card leading Giants.  They made quick work of them, too.  At least in game one.  The Braves offense has awakened–at least for now–and they are finally showing some mojo at the plate.  The home run has reemerged as a weapon, and like the reliably politically incorrect Chipper Jones said, they no longer have any “automatic outs.”

I doubt Jeff Francoeur or Kelly Johnson will be sending Hoss a christmas card this year.

Unfortunately for the Braves, the only NL team hotter than they are right now is the one they are chasing.  The Phillies look like they now mean business and in no way resemble the squad that the Braves have manhandled so far this year.  The law of averages would tell us that the Phils are due to exact some revenge on the Braves and things will even out over the remaining 7 head to head games.  Or, maybe, hopefully, the Braves just have their number, like they do the Mets.  The Nationals are bottom feeders, yet they have somehow managed to humiliate the Braves on a regular basis this year.  When asked which hitter gave Greg Maddux the most trouble in his hall of fame career, his answer was not Barry Bonds, Craig Biggio, or even Moises Alou.  No, Mad Dog’s bete noir was none other than…former Philly, Micky Morandini?

Baseball is a funny sport.

But the Braves need to focus on the cart before the Philly, and first deal with Tim Lincecum and the Giants.  Knowing the Braves notorious troubles with 95 mph plus throwing lefties, winning three out of four against a tough wild card team sounds just fine to me.