Freaky Friday........................

Braves officially eleminated from post season

It's official...........The Atlanta Braves were eliminated from post season play with the 6-4 loss at Philly last night. This is now back to back seasons the Bravos have not been invited to the play-off party. Who's to blame? Bobby Cox? John Schuerhotz? Starting pitching? The bullpen? All of the above? Having watched, in full or in part, most of the 159 games so far..............It's hard to tell. Sure Cox makes you squirm with some his game management decisions. And Schuerhotz didn't win any favor with us when he traded away the future in the Saltalamacchia- Teixeira trade. The starting pitching was awful. Outside of Smoltz and Hudson, there was no adequate #3, #4, and forget a #5 starter. The bullpen as a team has 36 saves. There are 5 pitchers with more. This team has a lot of decisions to make. Andruw Jones is in the last year of his contract and has been horrible in clutch situations.........Sure, he has 26 homers and 94 rbi's.......but his .222 batting average raises concern. Plus......this is the first year I've seen 'Dru not make the catches in center-field that he has made his entire career. Just within inches......but missed just the same. Andruw just turned 30 in August of this year, but you have to wonder if all the pounding he's taken has taken it's toll. Remember, he started his career at age 19! Speaking of age, the Braves have a lot of good young players....ie Yunel Escobar and Matt Diaz. Both were .300+ hitters, even while being platooned. The up side for the Atl is that they are still a model organization with a great farm system. But the Braves must find a decent starting rotation and a "lights-out" bullpen to contend in '08.