Atlanta Braves Tomahawk Chop Talk
If anyone knows anything about living in Georgia, it’s that we love our hometown teams. We’ve experienced some losses in the past on the grandest stages (Falcons) but, we won’t talk about that. Today we focus on the Atlanta Braves. Our boys have brought us a World Series (thank you Bobby), and it looks like they are going for it again this year. We are true sports fans in the south. You could say our fan base is a mix of irrational anger when we lose, and those who can see no wrong.
The Atlanta Braves started the season hot and haven’t cooled off. The roster is relatively stable and prospects are coming but, is it strong enough to challenge for a division title? I think so. We are the surprise team of the league so far. We’ve played the hardest schedule to date. Furthermore, the Braves have a solid core of really good players around a superstar player in Freddie Freeman. Our catching duo of Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers have work together and are performing better than I expected. Furthermore, we can all agree that Ozzie Albies has surprised us all with his power. The guy plays with his hair on fire everyday.
Young Guns
This year we entered yet another new season of rebuilding the team. Of course, right away we entered a transitional phase during which the Braves introduce some elite prospects to the Major League level. Furthermore, we are starting to see the fruits of our farm system so to speak. Most of the focus during spring training has been placed on Ronald Acuna Jr., Mike Soroka and Austin Riley. These top prospects handled themselves quite well during their first big league camp. There was a clear indication they could soon be capable of strengthening the Braves team.
Bullpen Ups and Downs
It’s been a roller coaster to say the least. The Braves bullpen will occasionally make you crazy sometimes. Some games they are on point then, other games they seem to walk in winning runs for the other team. We sit there in our seat trying to grasp what is happening. How could he walk that guy with only one strike left to get him out?
It can be unsettling, watching to see which reliever will come through the outfield fence to put out a fire. They’ve been good at times this season, especially in the first few weeks. Recently, however, it’s been a little too much drama for the soul. I think the bullpen leaves a lot to be desired but, we are hanging in there. Moves definitely need to be made to solidify our pen to the way it was in years past.
In Conclusion
It goes without saying that the Atlanta Braves 2018 ball club has not only surprised the fans who live here but, have stunned all of baseball with such a great team. We’ve had breakout players like Ozzie, Acuna Jr., and a few others who are producing better than anticipated in such a short period of time. Since the beginning of the season we have played like a team should. Where one member may be weak the other is strong. I think that is why we now sit in first place in our division.
For all our Braves fans out there leave a comment:
How do you feel about this season? How does our future look? What are you thinking?
