Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sports The Series Cynic: Braves hit the 50-win mark
Posted by Ben Bussard on Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 11:47 AM
Cynicism Lineup:
1. What's the rush to 50 W's?
2. Eric Hinske
3. Matt Diaz
—The Braves took two out of three from the three-time defending N.L. East Champion Philadelphia Phillies and, in the process, gave themselves a Chino Cadahia F.U.P.A.-sized cushion of three games over the New York Mets.
This is the fastest that Atlanta has reached the 50-win plateau since 2003—finishing with a record of 101-61 en route to the franchise's 12th consecutive Division Title.
That may be fine and dandy, but what's the rush?
In 2003, the Braves ended up losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Cubs despite their 56-31 record on July 7 of that year.
Pump the brakes, Bravos...these wins will mean more in October.
—Hinske's two-run home run on Tuesday night sealed the victory for Atlanta, but might have silenced the critics of the Braves outfield.
It's been rumored that GM Frank Wren is shopping for another outfield bat with the trade deadline approaching at the end of the month and Hinske's return to earth—batting just 7-for-46 before his 11th inning bomb—since being inserted into the everyday lineup made Wren's shopping list a little shorter.
Instead of acquiring a player like Corey Hart—.284 BA, 19 HR, 61 RBI—who is really the filet mignon on every GM's shopping list, it looks like the Braves will have to clip a coupon for David DeJesus—.329 BA, 5 HR, 35 RBI—who's more like that two-liter bottle of diet caffeine free soda.
—"Matty Dice"—as he is known around my apartment—came off the DL a few days ago and has done nothing but hurt the Braves' chances of acquiring a legitimate everyday outfielder before the July 31st trade deadline (a la Mr. Hinske).
In his two starts against the Phils, Diaz went 4-for-9 with a HR, two doubles and 3 RBI, all but assuring that the Braves are stuck with two bench players platooning in left field for the rest of the season.
Atlanta needs a consistent outfield lineup if they want to contend come playoff time and the combination of Hinske, Diaz and first-time "All-Star" Omar Infante isn't going to cut it.
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