Max Fried looked good on extra rest last night in the Braves 10-3 win over the Washington Nationals, but since clinching the NL East on September 13th the Braves have the worst team ERA (6.94), second worst team WHIP (1.57), and has given up the most runs (56) in MLB during that span, eight games, so with the recent struggles of the Braves pitching, should the fans be concerned headed into the postseason?
The Morning Shift debated it this morning.
Beau Morgan believes Braves fans need to relax, and understand that this year isn’t years past and that these Braves aren’t the Braves of the 90’s.
“Look I think our pitching staff is a lot better than people want to give it credit for. The problem we have is we’re so spoiled with how good they’ve been offensively that I think we’ve in some ways disrespected what they’ve been.” Morgan said.
Mike Johnson is on the other side of the argument and believes the Braves have a right to be concerned. “You had this dynasty back in the 90’s and the early 2000’s and only won one world championship.” Johnson said.
Beau then argues you can’t blame what past teams did on the current teams, and explains why this Braves pitching staff is one of the best they’ve ever had.
“I think the thing I’m sick of hearing is, well the pitching staff is suspect, well what the hell were they in ‘21? They got better starting pitching now than they ever did in ‘21 in that season they won. All these pitching staffs have about one to two guys these days and then it’s everybody else. It doesn’t matter, you have to be the hot team in October to win.”
The Braves have a chance to get hot in their last eight games of the season as five out of their last eight games are against the Washington Nationals.
Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Charlie Morton, and plenty of guys in the Braves bullpen not only have postseason experience, but World Series experience as well, and they have shown time and time again that they pitch their best when it matters most, and not only should Braves fans expect them to perform at their best in those situations, but should also give those guys the benefit of the doubt that they will perform at their best in those situations.
