Where to begin a recap for a team that does not deserve one?

(Image: Yahoo! Sports)

(Image: Yahoo! Sports)

June is over. Interleague play has ended. Chipper and Kotsay are back. Yet, despite this, the Braves are still running into trouble, particularly against the Phillies, who are now 6 - 1 against them on the season. Something needs to be done or this team will have more and more trouble regaining their footing.

(Image: Yahoo! Sports)

This was one heck of a game. Jurrjens had the game of his career. Blanco did some good work in the lead off spot. Tex finally is swinging a hot bat. All and all this equaled a easy win for the Braves and the hurting Braves need every one they can get till (at least until a few of) their players get healthy.

(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)

(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)

We’re almost halfway through the season, and we’re piddling around .500 with just 38 wins. We’ve had good stretches and bad stretches, but it’s sent us to no destination good or bad, just to .500 and sort of an afterthought in the race. The team has been inconsistent, at times looking like there’s real potential lying underneath, and looking like a AAA team at others. It’s time to give up on the Braves for the year, and I’m about to tell you why.

(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)

Well, this was depressing. We get up by two. Then down by two. Then we tie it only to lose in the bottom of the ninth inning.

These are the type of games where having Kostay and Diaz on the DL really hurt. We just never could generate any offense, which generally leads to a loss. I can’t even complain about the number of runners we left on base, since very few got on in the first place.

The game seemed to be lost before it started when Chipper Jones had to be scratched from the line-up after taking a ball off the eye during batting practice.

It’s not all your fault. Unlike the flabbergasted Bill Bavasi in Seattle, you actually built a pretty good team this offseason. Many pieces were in place, but you had to know that while strong, the team was built on a shaky, 40 year old foundation. Surely you have a backup plan in place, right? If so, I think now’s the time to enact said plan.

After an impressive 2007 that saw much improvement in plate discipline, it seemed that Jeff Francoeur was poised to take the logical next step forward in 2008.  As of June 9, he is batting .253/.303/.415.  Atlanta fans are clearly still waiting for that step forward.  So what happened?  There’s a fine line between a flawed player and an unlucky player, and we have to look a little deeper to see which area Francoeur falls into.

Well, does that make 3 games in a row the pen and the bats ruined a great outing by a starter? I don’t think you can ask much more from Huddy, Jojo and Campy than what they did the last three outings. Huddy gave up one run, Jojo two through seven and Campy only three. With only that information, how many game would you have thought the Braves won? Of course, in a lot less innings, the pen gave up just as many runs. This is something that needs to get fixed, or we don’t have a prayer.

Is the law of averages starting to kick in? We couldn’t stay as hot at home as we had been forever. Does that mean we are going to start doing better on the road? Let’s hope. This game didn’t really have a lot of positives, other than some good base stealing and Chipper finding his power stroke. Oh, Jojo did pitch a great game, he just threw one too many pitches.

Sorry for the delayed recap, but sometimes real life interferes. I know, its not fair, but that’s just the way it is.