I had a delightful time last night.  We’re on vacation, in a cabin by a New Hampshire lake. Went to dinner at a waterfront restaurant, and ate yet more lobster and clams.  Another pleasant thing about my evening is that I did not watch our Braves lose yet another game in desultory fashion.  This time to the hated (to me, at least) Cardinals, by a score of 5-3. 

Although I did not see the game, my duty, from which I have not shirked, nor will I ever shirk, is to recap the Tuesday games, even when that task is difficult.  So here goes: Martin Perez went five innings and gave up four runs, all of them in the 4th inning on a solo homer and a 3-run shot.  His K/BB ratio was 1/3, so it could have been worse, I suppose.  But since the June version of the 2026 Braves never scores 5 runs in a game (as Roger correctly reminds us), the odds of a Braves victory weren’t good at that point.  Karinchak surrendered a single run in the 6th, and Dodd, Hamilton, and Iggy shut them out the rest of the way. 

Still, nothing a couple of three run homers couldn’t overcome.  And the opportunities for those Earl Weaver game changers came.  Cardinal pitchers walked seven Braves and our guys had six hits on the evening.  But no homers; the hits consisted of five singles and a double, and the Braves were 1 for 12 w/RISP.  So the end result was just three total runs, single runs in the 3rd, 7th, and 8th.  I said above that I missed the game.  Actually, I got home from dinner just in time for the bottom of the 8th.  Trailing 5-2, our guys sent seven to the plate, and at one point had the go ahead runs on base, but only scored one (and that on a wild pitch). 

In other words, last night was eerily similar to most games in June.  Here’s the good news: All things must pass.  June is over!  Time to turn the page on the misery of last month, and start anew with some better baseball. 

Last weekend, JonathanF got all Roger Angell-y on us, waxing philosophical about baseball and life.  I’m not going to apologize for doing the same.  The long baseball season teaches perspective–All things do indeed pass.  Bad times don’t linger forever, and there is always promise of renewal. The 2026 Braves are almost certainly not as bad as the June version.  Ronald is coming back, Baldwin will start hitting again, and I even believe Riley will start to figure it out at some point.  Can’t get no worse!  At the same time, we know that this team is not as good as they played in April and May.  It’s important to be present in the moment during the good times, enjoying them while they last.  Predictions are difficult, especially about the future, but if forced to forecast, I predict that the Braves final record this season will be better than the June record but not as good as the winning percentage in April and May.  Doh.

By the way, the Division lead over the Phillies is 2.5 games.  It looks like we could have a great pennant race in the second half.  That’s fun, right?  Leading by double digits is boring.  The other thing to keep us on the edge of our seats, for the next month, is speculation about what AA will do by the trade deadline.  Feel free to offer advice on that subject in the comments.

We all know that just because the calendar has turned over to July, the team’s fortunes won’t necessarily turn around right away.  But they will at some point, so I choose to believe that will start tonight.  Reyno takes the hill against Michael McGreevy.