A Braves stretch run is a stretch
On July 16, the Braves won (behind pitcher Jamie Garcia), bringing their record to .500 at 45-45. Over their next 45 games, they went 15-30.
That dismal spell has also seen the hastened departure of Jaime Garcia, Sean Rodriguez – and just last week, Brandon Phillips – each “traded” for little to no return, just dumping salary (although in BP’s case, precious little salary was saved).
Throw in the Curious Case of Andrew Albers, who was “traded” to Seattle for cash considerations (magic beans?) a few weeks ago. Never heard of him? He was at Gwinnett all summer and held a 12-3 record when he was mailed off to Seattle. Why? Is starting pitching not a need for these Braves?
All these things make one wonder of the direction if the rebuild. Just like in construction, the demolition is the easy part. But consider that if the Braves were still at .500, they’d be only a few games out of wild card status. Could management have had their cake and eaten it too? Could they have crept into the playoffs, all while proceeding with a rebuild?
We will never know. The white flag was raised, quietly, a few weeks back.
The whole episode brings to mind the “lose at any cost” mindset of Cleveland management in Major League, the movie. Only, this episode ain’t funny.
What’s next, manager Buttermaker?