For the first four weeks, the Braves were arguably the best team in baseball, with our blistering 19-7 start. The past 73 games have been a slog, as the team has gone 35-39.

Comparing the numbers through April 28, after our 4-3 victory against Cleveland clinched a victory in that series, with our numbers since then:

Thru 4/28: .277/.348/.454, 5.7 R/G, 8.8 K/G 3.4 BB/G, 7.5 LOB/G
Post 4/29: .227/.286/.384, 3.7 R/G, 9.0 K/G, 2.6 BB/G, 6.3 LOB/G

Our runs per game have fallen by one-third and our walks have dropped precipitously as the whole team is clearly trying to swing for the fences, but selling out for power has availed us nought as the team’s ISO has dropped along with every other offensive measure. Nothing is working.

Speaking of which, the Braves played one of their two scheduled games yesterday; Allan Winans, making his seventh major league start, got knocked out in the third inning. It was the shortest start of his career, but it was still his third out of seven career starts in which he gave up seven runs. Concerning!

Obviously, in general, over the past three months the team’s pitching has not been the issue. Grant Holmes somewhat redeemed himself with 3 1/3 innings of allowing just two runs, but while the Braves offense managed ten hits and three walks through the first five innings against Reds starter Frankie Montas, they plated only four runs, as nine of the hits were singles, and they left 11 men on base.

The first inning deserves a paragraph of its own. Jarred Kelenic worked a leadoff walk, and second-place hitter Nacho Alvarez followed with his first major-league hit, while an error by the center fielder allowed Kelenic to get to third, and he scored on a groundout by Ozuna. Matt Olson would have followed with a groundout, but another Reds error allowed him to reach safely. But Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario immediately obliged with strikeouts to end the threat. It was that kind of game. It’s been that kind of summer.

One week ago today, I asked whether the team should consider selling Max Fried to punt on the season and reload for next year. Since then, both Max and Ozzie have gone onto the IL, and the players held a closed-door meeting, and there’s a Hives song that I’m not going to link to because it gives me no pleasure but I don’t think I was wrong.

Time to trade a couple of your best relievers and restock the pantry, AA.