Series Review: Washington and Pittsburgh (3/30 - 4/3)

This was not the start to the season that Braves fans were hoping for or even expecting. The two losses in extra innings to the Pirates and a walk-off loss to the Nationals in the opener were heartbreaking, to say the least. Nevertheless, there are plenty of positive notes to take away from the otherwise slow start.

It looks as though Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar picked up right where they left off last season; they are tearing the cover off the ball! Unlike last year, however, the bench has held its own in the early stages. Chief among them has been Martin Prado, who has filled in admirably for Kelly Johnson at 2B and in the leadoff slot. Of the regulars, only notorious slow-starter Mark Teixeira has produced at below acceptable levels. Watching them hit, however, I am concerned about Jeff Francouer's unrestrained approach at the plate. The line-up has to do a better job of converting base runners into runs, but they've looked good enough so far.

The pitching has been more of a mixed bag. Tim Hudson looked great in the opener and was only taken out in favor of a pinch hitter because of the close score late in the game. Both Tom Glavine and Jair Jurrjens turned in solid outings, but neither could make it out of the 6th inning. Mike Hampton was scratched before his start, forcing Jeff Bennett to take his place in a pinch and he pitched a tough four innings himself. Their performance has been good enough, but they need to extend their starts further or risk torching the bullpen early.

The relievers have had their ups and downs as well. Quite unexpectedly, the lefties have led the way. Royce Ring and Will Ohman, when used properly, have shown that they can be extremely effective. At the back-end of the bullpen, Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano have looked every bit as dominant as they did last year, with the exception of the game ending pitch to Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman. The three righties that fill out the 'pen after them - Manny Acosta, Blaine Boyer and Chris Resop - have each had disastrous outings coupled with decent to good ones, so only time will tell which is the ultimate outcome from them. They each have good stuff, so we can remain optimistic about them.

The little things or often overlooked aspects of the game that are big in baseball, have not gone our way early this season. The defense has been sloppy at times and its cost us. We have good gloves and arms almost all the way around, so I expect that difficulty to fade as time goes on.

Atlanta has played all of 2.5% of their season thus far, so it's definitely to early to panic. Mark Teixeira won't be our worst hitter this year, we'll have more than one starter crack into the 7th inning and beyond, our young guys in the bullpen will settle into some semblance of consistency and the Braves will start winning more games. For now, we should just sit back, relax and enjoy the fact that baseball is finally back!