Not Your Daddy's Braves

And probably not your own Braves, either. I watched them boot the ball around last night with a long-time Braves fan; three first-inning errors led to three runs, and they never recovered, losing 4-3, in a game without Chipper and a host of others.

My Braves friend got so disgusted at the quality of play that he couldn't watch anymore. Dave Bush was unhittable for the first three innings and just when they seemed to get things going again, Yuni Escobar was doubled off first when Prince Fielder snagged a liner and dove back to the bag. Even though replays showed he was pretty clearly out, Esco got tossed for arguing the call. He'd strayed too far and was beaten back to the bag by a first baseman with the physique of Grimace. 

The Braves had to finish the game without him, a tough spot as their bench is short due to nagging injuries to Chipper and Escobar, who had to miss today's game due to his hip flexor (which might have been hurt by diving back to the bag the day before). His replacement Omar Infante pulled his hammy legging out a double, leaving the shortstop duties to Brent Lillibridge, a pinch-runner with all of four games' worth of experience with this year's Braves.

"These aren't the same Braves I used to watch," my friend said, and in many ways, this is true. Atlanta's GM John Schuerholz is used to making do with whatever the farm system and free agency brings him, and Bobby Cox always seems to get the best out of whatever lineup he's offered. But this year, luck may be catching up with him. On the DL right now are: John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton, Rafael Soriano, and Peter Moylan.

And that's only the pitchers. They're also missing Matt Diaz, Martin Prado and Mark Kotsay, while Chipper, Esco and now Infante are all aching in one way or another without (yet) going to the DL.

Any manager would have trouble with this kind of lineup, and Cox is no different. It's hard to work magic without a wand or pixie dust, and he's left with Teixera and McCann to support the offense, while starting standouts Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens and Jorge Campillo try to last long enough to get the game to whichever closer is healthy enough to throw (they've had at least four different endgame stoppers this year). 

Whether this is the Braves' good luck catching up with them, or the byproduct of increased enforcement of PEDs (look at how many older players are now hurt, guys who might once have depended on HGH or other drugs to help them heal faster, or prevent injury), these certainly aren't your daddy's Braves, or even any Braves you could recognize without a program.

Even though the Mets are staggering through the season, Philly is strong, and the Marlins are surprising, so despite being four games back of first, it seems unlikely that the Braves will overcome their injuries over the long haul to take the division, nor even to contend for a wildcard spot, with the hot NL Central outpacing them easily. 

At least Braves fans outside of the South can be consoled by the fact that their new TV deal is preventing them from watching their team fall apart.

I know my friend is.