Atlanta Braves need to take advantage of breaks they already have

Despite a lackluster start, the Atlanta Braves are in a great position.

No, that’s a “for-real” statement –the Atlanta Braves are actually still in good shape to take the NL East even though they can’t consistently hit and can’t fill out the pitching rotation.

Yes, the Braves are leading the majors in strikeouts – though it’s not a huge lead – and many of their stars are having trouble getting into sync at the plate.

That will happen against good pitching, and it is very likely to continue as opponents will play copy-cat:  they have found something that works against this lineup, and others will strive to use the same ploys that the Mets and Rays have mastered.

Hopefully there will be some new tactics/approaches from the Atlanta hitters, particularly since the Mets and Rays are still on the upcoming schedule.

However, the woes of the NL East are such that Atlanta really doesn’t have a lot to be concerned about… so long as they remember how to pitch and hit within the next couple of weeks.

About that pitching.  Sure, the Braves’ starting pitching is looking fragile right now: one player (Hernandez) opted out, the hired gun (Hamels) may never pitch, Newcomb and Wright had up-and-down results, and the team effectively fired a starter (Foltynewicz).

Yep – that’s bad… but given what we’re seeing elsewhere, nobody is going to send the Braves any sympathy cards.

Let’s look at the problems others are having:

MIAMI (2-1). This is beyond obvious, but the chances this club can maintain its current lead in the division are zero. They will be lucky to:  (a) field a viable team, and (b) find opponents willing to play them within the next week or two (Atlanta doesn’t have them on the schedule until August 14).

PHILADELPHIA (1-2). There will undoubtedly be some positive tests for this club over the next couple of days. How big an impact that makes is unclear, but any lost games on the schedule won’t help the Phillies: a game not played is essentially a tie mathematically.

If the Phils end up canceling (for example) 4-6 games of their scheduled 60, they will be graded on 54-56 games played. There won’t be any opportunity to turn those unplayed games into wins. Maybe a .500 record ends up winning the East, but it’s not likely.

Oh, and they still have their own problems with pitching.

WASHINGTON (1-4): they obviously need Juan Soto, but they also need Stephen Strasburg, and neither has played for them yet. Strasburg, in fact, seemed to be hinting around that the effort to get back on the field might not be worth it.

NEW YORK (3-2): Their pitching woes are arguably worse than those of the Braves. After deGrom and Matz, they will struggle mightily without Thor or Stroman. They did get a win out of David Peterson in his major league debut, but they were also playing the equally shaky Red Sox.

As for the Atlanta Braves, they will have to solve their pitching issues from within… and that’s going to be true throughout major-league baseball.

That’s because virtually every club needs at least one more starter right now, and there aren’t any available at any price (unless somebody decides to do a strategic ‘tanking’ to secure high draft picks).  Even at the trade deadline, the competition for the few resources will be fierce.

The schedule does no favors to Atlanta (as already noted), but if they can start getting any kind of traction at all through their games with the Yankees (ending August 26), then the summit assault can begin.

So what’s most likely to happen? Every able-bodied Braves starter is likely to get a chance on the mound over the next month, whether in “piggybacked” starting/relieving roles or straight-up audition starts.  The revolving mound will stop only when some success is found.

Do this and the Braves should be able to slog their way to the NL East title… even if it isn’t a particularly pretty sight.