Inside the Majors

In what has been announced to be Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox’s last season in the dugout, the Atlanta Braves are certainly taking their longtime manager on a roller coaster ride through the standings.  Once dead and lifeless at the bottom of the NL East cellar, including a hitless outing against Rockies’ flame thrower Ubaldo Jimenez, the Braves have surged to a 2 game lead over the second place Philadelphia Phillies, including a 3 game sweep of the Phillies earlier this month.  In a city where the Braves’ winning ways were once customary, this revival atop the standings stands in stark contrast to recent seasons.  From 1991 to 2005, with the exception of the players’ strike in the 1994 season, the Braves won an unprecedented 14 straight pennants, with a lone World Series title in 1995. Since the 2005 season, the Braves have been sitting at home come October watching the playoffs from the other side of the television screen.

This season is seen as a changing of the guard for the Atlanta Braves team as rookie sensation Jason Heyward, along with second year pitchers Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen, comprise the young core of team that is suddenly bringing a lot of hope and optimism to fans in the Atlanta area.   The return of another young arm, Jair Jurrjens, who has missed the majority of the regular season nursing a strained left hamstring, rounds out a top of the rotation that draws comparisons to the Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz trio that led the Braves to repeated success throughout the 90’s.  As the recent winning trend has hit a hiccup on the road in L.A., we are reminded that this still has many weaknesses it will need to improve to stretch its season to October in a very competitive division.  While they sport an otherworldly 19-6 record at home in the Ted, the Braves have struggled on the road, as many young teams do, posting a 14-18 mark.

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