Atlanta Braves: Rebuilding a Dynasty

[IXI DECAY IXI]

Well I never thought the day would come where I had to start a Braves franchise with the words rebuild. With me being born in 88, by time I was old enough to watch baseball, I have endured nothing but good Braves teams. Times have changed as I find myself in unfamiliar territory. The 2016 roster looks very bleak.

I'm basically a month into the season in which I have played every single pitch of every single game.

My following posts will pick up in the season and basically just be a blog style. I will also stream franchise games as well as ask for opinions on making moves.

[IXI DECAY IXI]

April got off to a rough start for the Braves as they got off to a 2-7 start that included a 5 game losing streak. They were able to take 2 out of 3 games in Miami against the Marlins but then quickly dropped 2 out of 3 to the Dodgers on their return to Atlanta. The Braves had a surprising sweep against the Mets. They followed up that by splitting the 4 game home and away series against the Red Sox and have currently split two of the 3 games against the Cubs with the rubber match being played during the first day of May.

So far, the sweep in New York is what has kept this Braves team alive. Currently sitting at 11-13 heading into May, it's still hard to think this team has any chance of competing. The pitching has been strong and has kept the Braves in many games. The Braves have one of the worst offenses in the league with a .228 average that puts them 28th in the league. They have trouble putting runs across the board and only tallied up 57 runs in the month of April with puts them tied for last in the league. That's an average of 2.3 runs per game, so that alone can tell you how reliable our pitching has been to be sitting at 11-13.

The Braves currently sit 7th in the league in ERA with a team ERA of 3.03. Bud Norris is off to a hot start which we don't think will last long. He is currently sporting a 2.76 ERA through 29.1 innings pitched with a 2-1 record.

Rookie Spotlight

Aaron Blair (SP) :: Blair has been with the big league club since the beginning of the season. He has a 3.33 ERA through 24.1 innings of work. His whip is currently 0.82 and he has 22 strikeouts.

Mallex Smith (CF) :: Mallex is currently batting .319 through 69 at bats with 4 RBI's and 7 stolen bases. A big reason for Mallex's high average is his ability to get on base via the bunt. He also has 2 triples on the young season.

Hunter Cervenka (RP) :: Cervenka has been one of the most consistent arms out of the bullpen. His performance so far and the fact that he is a left handed pitcher have provided the Braves with the ability to possibly shop Eric O'Flaherty around. Cervenka has a 1.04 ERA through 8.2 innings of work.

The Braves currently sit 5 games outside of first place which obviously doesn't put them in a sell out mode but management still thinks this roster is not going to be able to compete with the tougher competition, so we made see a couple minor moves made in the upcoming days specifically at the catcher position. Tyler Flowers has been on fire for the Braves and has earned a spot to be the everyday catcher. So the Braves will look to move Pierzynski to a playoff potential team.

What are your thoughts? Where should we ship Pierzynksi and what should we look for in return?