The saddest story in Atlanta these days is the decline of the Braves. After winning a series in Tampa Bay a little over a week ago, the Braves appeared one of baseball's best, but since then have lost eight straight games marked by a series of mysterious maladies, from Brian McCann's "flulike symptoms" that turned out to be the true flu to Freddy Freeman's scratchy eyes.
With Freeman slumping, and now out of the lineup, glimpsed on the bench with huge Clark Kent black-framed glasses he doesn't want to wear on the field, the Braves have lost their offensive punch. Their starters and relievers have been awful, except for Craig Kimbrell, who never has a game to close these days. Tommy Hanson, whose long-awaited breakthrough to pitching stardom keeps getting derailed by horrible outings, has a curious motion, in which he freezes for a moment just before releasing the ball, as if he's trying to guide his pitches.
Outside of Michael Bourn and Martin Prado, and occasionally Dan Uggla, the Braves lineup looks anemic when compared with juggernauts like the Cardinals, now in town. Heralded "can't miss" prospect Justin Heyward displays signs of the Jeff Francoeur syndrome. With his height and long arms, his swing must travel too far to reach the plate, making it tough for him to reach outside pitches.
If the Braves don't rebound, they might turn into one of those clubs that start trading off ballplayers in the heat of summer. It might be a good idea, if they can get a good pitcher.