At the beginning of spring training, the Atlanta Braves thought they had the best bullpen in baseball. If the starting pitchers could go six innings with a win, then O’Ventbrel (Eric O’Flaherty, Johnny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel) would come in to finish of the win 95% of the time. This would make the Braves pay a six inning game, as those three are nearly unhittable.
Remember when these three were available to close out a game? Now the two on the ends are hurt.
Unfortunately, two of those three have landed on the disabled list, and at least one being out for the remainder of the season with Tommy John Surgery (Venters). The Braves also have Jordan Walden, another shutdown reliever, on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation, but GM Frank Wren expects him to be back within a week. Luis Ayala, who was traded from Baltimore in April, has also hit the disabled list with an anxiety disorder. Ayala is a formidable bullpen arm, who is extremely tough on lefties and was likely acquired to help make up for the loss of Venters.
With the injuries to the above, where does this leave the Braves bullpen? Cory Gearrin and Luis Avilan will be called upon to be the set-up men for the Braves leading up to Craig Kimbrel. Entering this season, they had a combined amount of 75 innings pitched in their major league career. The youngsters have proven valuable during their short stint, but are they ready to have a role as big as the 8th inning to preserve a lead? Time will tell, but the scariest part of the bullpen is the 7th inning and earlier.
Anthony Vavarro will likely be the 6th/7th inning specialist. His stat line is impressive so far, but regression is bound to happen to the 28-year-old. He also has minimal MLB experience, but he has a better track record than David Carpenter and Cary Rasmus, who was called up to replace Eric O’Flaherty.
Rasmus has always been thought of as a good bullpen arm, and his stats for Gwinnett prove that. Unfortunately, he is a rookie and shouldn’t be counted on for immediate success with the Braves. I would have never thought that he or David Carpenter would be pitching meaningful games for the braves this year, but it looks as though that may happen.
As stated earlier, Jordan Walden is expected to be back by next week and Luis Ayala has already begun a rehab assignment. The Braves bullpen has a completely new look without the likes of Venters and O’Flaherty in the fold, and it was completely unexpected. I still think the bullpen will be okay, but late-inning leads will be less protected with the new-look bullpen the Braves have for the time being. Everyone has their fingers crossed that O’Flaherty will not need Tommy John Surgery, but a visit to Dr. James Andrews looms in the future. The bullpen was a key part to the Braves planned success this year, but it could soon turn into their greatest vulnerability.
Tweet of the Night
Tonight’s tweet of the night comes from MLB’s Braves beat writer Mark Bowman, who talks about Capuano’s dominance of the Braves:
I’m convinced Capuano would throw a shutout against the ’27 Yankees if they were wearing Braves uniforms
The Braves split the series with the Nationals, after taking the first to, and then had the eyes on the Mets. Mike Minor pitched terrific in his seven innings of work and gave the lead to O’Flaherty and Kimbrel for the win, right? No. O’Flaherty gave up a solo home run to Marlon Byrd in the 8th inning that tied the game up for the Mets. Evan Gattis (El Oso Blanco) connected for a solo home run of his own in the 9th. Craig Kimbrel came in to close the door on the Mets, except he made one mistake to David Wright, which sent the game into extra innings. Jordan Walden, Luis Avilan, and Cory Gearrin gave pitched the 10th inning and allowed the Mets to score two, and eventually win the game 7-5 in 10 innings.Don’t get used to that effort from the bullpen. They are the best in baseball and rarely give away opportunities like that to seal a game. I’m more concentrated on the offense.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, Ramiro Pena, in for Juan Francisco, doubled to start the Braves off. Reed Johnson sacrificed him to third and that brought up Jordan Schafer, who had four walks in four plate appearances on the night. I couldn’t help but think that the Braves would win it there. Unfortunately, » Continue reading “Braves Losing Streak Goes to Three, But It’s Not All Bad”
Marc Ryan. Leslie Koerdt, and the Opening Drive went on a Tour of Atlanta with Atlanta Journal Constitution Braves Beat David O’Brien about a six-man rotation and what happens after, Michael Bourn’s contract, and how a person could have a splinter in their hand for six years. Listen to DOB had to say.
I am lucky enough to spend a couple mornings per on Atlanta’s Best Sports Talk, Marc Ryan’s Opening Drive on AM 1100. Last Friday I got a special treat in getting to interview Hall of Famer and former Brave Gaylord Perry. See what he had to say about Craig Kimbrel and the Cy Young.
I am really tired of being told “this time it counts” when obviously, the only thing that counts is page views on MLB’s website. If it really counted there would not be so many true All-Stars are left out of the game. No, I am not speaking of Bryce Harper’s so called snub. (I cannot look at the teenager as being snubbed when all three Braves outfielders Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, and Michael Bourn, and Chipper for that matter, have better numbers than he does.) I am speaking of the » Continue reading “MLB All-Star Game Or Homecoming Court?”
Earlier today I said that when it comes to the Braves and Phillies throw out what you think you know. My head is about to explode, so please try to follow the runaway train that resides inside my head. Here goes… » Continue reading “Braves/Phillies…What Did You Expect?”
