Historically Bad

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Every year folks like myself make projections as to how we feel that teams will do in their upcoming season. And no matter how hard that we try, teams don’t always pan out to their projections. But this year’s version of the Atlanta Braves are living up to the bad expectations that were thrust on them at the start of the 2016 Major League Baseball season and then some. Through 28 games the Braves find themselves with a record of 7-21 which is the worst in Major League Baseball. After the Braves lost their first nine games in 2016, they found themselves fighting an uphill battle as they are on pace for their worst season since 1988.

John Hart

When John Hart became the Braves president of baseball operations in October 2014, he wanted to put his personal stamp on the organization. Hart was overseeing a Braves team that had underachieved mightily in 2014 after winning the National League East in 2013. And as Hart didn’t want many of the big contracts that he had inherited in Atlanta, he decided to do a little house cleaning.

In December 2014, Hart had traded outfielder Justin Upton to the San Diego Padres, while he allowed catcher Brian McCann to leave as a free agent and sign with the New York Yankees. Fearing the chance of not being able to sign outfielder Jason Heyward to a long-term deal, Hart traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals. And just prior to the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season, Hart would send All-Star relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel and outfielder B.J. Upton to the Padres. In a matter of months, the Braves had gone from a contender in the National League East to the status of being an “also-ran”.

Last year the Braves would lose 95 games for the first time since 1990, and all signs point to them surpassing that loss total here in 2016.

This is a bitter pill to swallow for Braves fans who saw their team become one of the pinnacles of success in Major League Baseball for nearly 25 years. From 1991-2013, the Braves only had two losing seasons while they claimed 15 division titles, 17 playoff appearances, five National League Pennants, and one World Series Title over that stretch. The success of the Braves that began in 1991 saw Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium as the place to be, and that was also the case when Turner Field opened in 1997 until the folks in Atlanta began taking the team’s success for granted.

But Hart’s rebuilding process couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Braves organization as they are not putting a quality product on the field while they are also about to relocate.

Once Liberty Media who currently owns the Braves were unable to get what they wanted from the City of Atlanta or Fulton County which was upgrades to Turner Field, or a new stadium altogether, they decided to move their team Cobb County which is nearly 30 minutes away from Atlanta. The move to Cobb County has been met with plenty of scrutiny being that Turner Field is only 20 years old while many professional sports franchises are attempting to bring their teams to downtown areas instead of moving to the suburbs like the Braves are. And once you see these issues it is no wonder why the Braves are currently a calamity of miscues.

Nick Markakis

Through 28 games, the Braves have already committed 24 errors which is the second most in the National League, they are 11th in team earned run average (4.81), while they are last in both runs scored (85), and team batting average (.226). And the Braves are well on their way to getting beat up as the other four teams in the National League East currently have winning records.

Fredi Gonzalez

Fredi Gonzalez has been the Braves manager since 2011 and after recording a winning record in each of his first three years in Atlanta, he has had the unfortunate job of trying to turn this team in 2016 into a group of overachievers which is a far-fetched idea. And for some bizarre reason, there are rumors that Gonzalez could soon be out of a job in spite of the fact that he is doing the best with what he has to work with.

The current Braves are a slap in the face to all of the hard work that was done by former owner Ted Turner, general manager John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox who were all integral in the success in Atlanta as with the exception of first baseman Freddie Freeman, this is a team that is comprised of over the hill Major League Baseball players and youngsters who are trying to make it. And once you put all of that together it makes for a very long summer down in Dixie.

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By | 2016-05-07T11:02:44+00:00 May 7th, 2016|Categories: Major League Baseball|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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