the atlanta braves have won 14 straight division championships. they’re going to have to step it up if they want to make that 15.

this season has started out rough, more rough than it seemed to last year. the braves are 13 and 18, eight games back from the mets, who are leading the division. they’ve been surpassed by the phillies and now are in third place in the division.

it’s going to be a long road. they won the last of a three-game series against the mets. they needed to win at least two. last year’s power hitter jeff francouer has the worst average in baseball. at least now it’s in the triple digits. i guess that’s a plus.

chipper jones and edgar renteria were out at the same time with injuries. between their absences and francouer’s inability to distinguish the strike zone, the fielders have been struggling.

last year, the starting pitchers seemed to carry the team. this year is turning out to be about the same. the first few games were rough for atlanta’s starters, but they’ve been picking up their game only to have their leads lost by the braves’ bullpen (and i use the term bullpen losely) and fielders. besides closer chris reitsma, the bullpen is useless. something is going to have to be done to turn this team around fast.

otherwise, their streak will be over.