House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves look over-matched now which complicates off-season choices

By Alan Carpenter

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 05: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves strikes out to end the game as Yasmani Grandal #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates in Game Two of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-0. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 05: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves strikes out to end the game as Yasmani Grandal #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates in Game Two of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-0. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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This is but one series, but it may be a fair question to ask:  just how far away from the Promised Land is this Braves club?

The playoffs tend to be a place where the best teams show exactly how they are the best.  Unfortunately, while the Atlanta Braves have certainly had better days, the past couple of weeks are not among them.

Back on July 14th, Alex Burke wrote on these pages about Ender Inciarte and his last season-and-a-half.  In his review, he raised the question about whether he was really the .304 hitter that he was in 2017 or the .241 hitter from the first half of 2018.

For the record, it was right about the time that the Braves decided that platooning Inciarte would be a better option that he went off and cranked out a .302 average for the rest of the season.  But that still doesn’t fully answer the question.

That’s essentially the question that the Braves’ Front Office and entire staff will be facing… perhaps as soon as tonight.  To be more specific:

  • The Braves were 49-27 against the NL East (winning over every team in it).  Was the East simply that bad?
  • The Braves were exactly at .500 vs. the rest of the National League and 4 games under .500 vs. the American League East.  Does that describe this team better than the 49-27 mark?
  • A scrappy and never-say-die attitude is great, but so is gaining a lead and holding/expanding it.  Would that be better?  Was this season something of a fluke due to bad bullpens around the league?
  • Is this all just the Braves running into a too-hot team in the Dodgers or do they just ‘have our number’ this season?

More telling might be these season series results against the best of the NL:

  • Braves vs. Milwaukee:  3-4, though Atlanta may have gotten away with a couple of those.
  • Braves vs. Rockies:  2-5
  • Braves vs. Dodgers:  up to 2-7 at the moment

There were times in these game sets in which Atlanta just looked overwhelmed… like ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ overwhelmed.  You could also say that about the Yankees games, but then many others had that problem, too.

So What to Make of This?

A good showing vs. LA and perhaps the Braves could say ‘yeah – we can definitely hang with the big boys’.  In such an outcome, you would believe the Front Office might be thinking “Okay… we’re probably only a couple of players away from being able to do something special here.”

A sweep tonight or any outcome similar to the prior pair of games, and those thoughts might run a lot closer to the manner in which Alex Anthopoulos handled the trade deadline – by improving, but not going all in for the ‘finishing’ player… because it’s still too hard to determine who that ‘single player’ might need to be.

Atlanta still has some ‘finishing’ to do – regardless of how this season ends.  Of that, there is little doubt.  But it’s that point that will make it hard for the staff to figure out how to proceed from here.

More from Tomahawk Take

Let’s take a quick trip around the diamond:

  • Freddie Freeman – In his prime.  It’s time to finish building around him
  • Ozzie Albies – needs better plate discipline… give him time
  • Dansby Swanson – will he be a better hitter  or is .238 just his ‘thing’?
  • Johan Camargo – It’s hard to improve from 3.3 fWAR… but should we try?
  • Ronald Acuña – please don’t get hurt
  • Ender Inciarte – probably stays at least until Pache comes up
  • Right Field – the only obvious hole (and Markakis’ Summer fade likely cements that)
  • Tyler Flowers – he’s signed… but was he the right sign?
  • The rotation – I won’t even start on all the decisions that need to be made here
  • The bullpen – probably more of these pitchers depart rather than stay

So in short:  are the Braves 1-2 players away or are they more like 3-5 short with 2019 looking more like another transition year?

It is about questions like this that I don’t envy the jobs of the staff.  But we’ll continue to look for clues about how they view this club over this off-season.

Next. Still more prospects waiting to burst onto the scene.. dark

Whenever that off-season actually begins, that is.

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