It was all going so well. The Atlanta Braves had won ten games in a row and were rolling. The pitching was ranked first in nearly every statistical category and Justin Upton was doing the rest with his bat.
Than the slump started and the bats went silent. J-Up continued to hit the ball well, but almost every other bat was silenced. The questions started to arise. Is this Braves team who we thought they were? Or did they just get lucky to start the season? Finally, what is wrong with this team?
From the outside looking in, you can see that they have lost seven of nine games. What most people don’t realize is the number of games they have been playing on the road. 16 of their last 18 games have been away from Turner Field and it is beginning to weigh on them. This is obviously just one way to look at it but when you look at this team, you have to assume they will get things back on track.
One of the most glaring stats of all is the number of strikeouts this team produces. They were completely embarrassed on Friday night as they were fanned 17 times by Detroit Tigers' starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez. They also have not produced with runners in scoring position, as they have only hit four home runs with RISP.
Overall, it is very early in the year and this team is 9-6 on this long road trip. If you think about it, that is a pretty impressive record, considering. Give this team some time, let them get back to Atlanta and things will start sailing steady once again.