Roger McDowell had a very unenviable job in 2006.  He had to come take over the pitching coach duties from arguably one of the most successful pitching coaches in the game, Leo Mazzone.  It’s never easy to follow a legend, and McDowell had lofty expectations from day one.  But, he knew that coming into the job.  This is the Braves.  This is where young pitchers come out of the minor leagues and turn into the best pitchers in the majors.  This is where the best pitchers want to play because they know they’ll be in the mix for the playoffs.  The problem with that is, the last time the Braves won the division was 2005 – Leo Mazzone’s last year as pitching coach.

This isn’t to say that pitching was the only issue that has kept the Braves from continuing their streak of division championships, but the fact is that the Braves relied heavily on pitching to keep them in games and to win games.  When that part of the equation began to fail, so did the Braves.

In looking at the career of Derek Lowe, it would seem that Atlanta was his only less than stellar stop.  Here are the numbers:

• Boston Red Sox: 8 seasons, 3.72 ERA, 70-55 – .560 win %
• Los Angeles Dodgers: 4 seasons, 3.59 ERA, 54-48 – .539 win%
• Atlanta Braves: 3 seasons, 4.57 ERA, 40-39 – .506 win %

Derek Lowe’s performance thus far this season, as compared to his work in Atlanta, is just a small sampling of the greater issues in whole with Braves pitching.

Under Mazzone, the Braves pitching staff had an ERA of 3.65, and the team averaged 19 pitchers per season used in games.  Under McDowell, the Braves ERA has risen to 4.10, and Atlanta is using an average of 24 pitchers per season.  Mazzone’s pitching staffs were a part of 14 consecutive division championships, 5 World Series appearances, and one World Championship.  Thus far, in six-plus seasons, McDowell’s staffs have been to the post-season just once, as a wild card team.

Now some would argue that Mazzone had pitchers like John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and others to work with.  But the truth is – with the exception of maybe Maddux – Mazzone developed most of those pitchers from a young age, and helped make them into the Hall of Fame arms that they became.  He also took a lot of pitchers from other team’s scrap heaps, – such as Denny Neagle, John Burkett, Russ Ortiz and Jaret Wright – and coached them to some of the most successful years in their careers, only to see them falter when leaving Atlanta.  It would now seem that the opposite is beginning to happen.

McDowell has certainly had both some great young prospects, as well as seasoned veterans, to work with just as Mazzone did.  So what is the difference? Is it McDowell’s approach?  His personality?  Is he just too nice? (Mazzone had a reputation has a hard-nosed coach)

Obviously not all of McDowell’s work can be considered a failure or even bad, but the futures of some of the brightest young pitchers in the game are now in his hands.  The faults and cracks in the games of youngsters like Jonny Venters, Eric O’Flaherty and reigning Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel are going to have to be spotted and fixed by McDowell, or we could see them end up like other highly touted prospects that came up to Atlanta under McDowell such as Chuck James, Kyle Davies, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Blaine Boyer.

McDowell’s staff is going to have to tighten up as this season progresses, as the Braves hitting is probably not going to continue at the torrent pace that it’s on for the entire season.  Sitting at 13th in the National League in pitching is not where the Braves want to be should the hitting begin to slump even a little bit.  But should the Braves miss the playoffs again this season, perhaps it’s time to say that another coaching change is due.

The Braves have become the consummate road warriors this season with a 14-8 record away from Turner Field – including 7-2 on the most recent road trip – tops in the National League.  The series sweep in St. Louis was a huge confidence boost for Atlanta, as they had lost their last seven games at Busch Stadium.

The Braves also managed to spoil one celebration – the retiring of former manager Tony LaRussa‘s number 10 – and, took part in another one, as the Cardinals honored Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones prior to his final regular season game in St. Louis, giving him a framed photograph of himself and a Cardinals jersey signed by Hall of Famer Stan Musial.  The Cardinals fans also honored Jones with standing ovations during his first at-bat of each game in the series.  The Braves were honored to be a part of LaRussa’s night, in particular Chipper Jones.  “Who wouldn’t want to be a part of something special like that?” Jones said. “I try to never miss occasions such as this.”

During his speech prior to Friday’s game, LaRussa paid tribute to the Braves organization saying he hoped to see the two teams meeting in the playoffs this season.  Based on what we’ve seen of the two teams so far, LaRussa may very well get his wish.  The Braves and Cardinals rank first and second in the National League in runs scored respectively, and both of them feature strong pitching rotations and bullpens.

The Braves now return home for a quick four-game home stand – two against the Cincinnati Reds (17-16) and two against the Miami Marlins (18-16) – before hitting the road again to take on the Tampa Bay Rays (21-14)

The Cardinals are winners of four straight games. They come into the game with a swagger that dates back to last year. They were the team that got hot in September and overcame the Braves’ seemingly insurmountable lead in the NL Wild Card. They clinched on the final day of the season when they won and the Braves lost their final game.

Their swagger also comes from their success against the Braves as well. They have a 11-3 record against the Braves since 2010. Last season, they went 5-1 against the Braves last year. They have not lost a game to the Braves in St. Louis since September 13, 2009.

The Cardinals come into the game 2nd in the NL in runs scored, trailing the Braves. They also come into the game with the NL’s 2nd best rotation ERA at 2.82.

Needless to say, the Braves are hoping to send a message to the Cardinals and around the NL that they are here to stay. Moreover, they are hoping to exorcise the demons of the success that the Cardinals have had over them the past few years. The Braves have a tall order, but they have a team that matches up well against the Cardinals. A series win would help give them confidence against the Cardinals. It would also send a message to the Cardinals that they do not own the Braves. Regardless, the Braves need a good showing against one of the best teams in the NL.

The Braves have lost seven straight games in St. Louis, and are 3-11 against the Cardinals since 2010.  The Cardinals enter the series on a hot streak, having won four straight games.  The obstacle for the Braves will be getting the offense back on track against some tough pitching in this series.

The probable pitching matchups are:

Friday: Braves LHP Mike Minor (2-2, 5.97) vs. Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia (2-2, 3.76) – Minor has been tagged for 15 runs and 18 hits in his last two starts.  Garcia got hit hard in his last outing against the Houston Astros, but he has a career record of 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA against Atlanta.

Saturday: Braves RHP Brandon Beachy (3-1, 1.62) vs. Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (2-3, 5.61) – Beachy has won his last three starts, and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his starts all season.  Wainwright is coming back from surgery after missing all of 2011, but has pitched well recently, winning his last two starts.

Sunday: Braves RHP Tommy Hanson (3-3, 3.63) vs. Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (6-0, 1.40) – Hanson has been the Braves hard luck pitcher so far this season, with very little run support in his starts.  He’s pitched well enough to be 5-1.  Lynn – a former reliever – is your Cy Young frontrunner in the National League right now.  He’s won every decision in his six starts, and his sub-two ERA is third in the league for starting pitching.

The Braves offense came to a screeching halt when they hit the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, and manager Fredi Gonzalez needs to find the elixir to get the bats thumping again.  After scoring runs in bunches against the Colorado Rockies, they weren’t able to move runners across the plate against Chicago, leaving 45 men on base during the 3-game series.

Lance Berkman (Cardinals) is expected to be activated from the disabled list.  This will give St. Louis another potential big bat off the bench, as Berkman isn’t expected to play every day yet.  He’s been on the DL for 22 days.

Look at the comparison’s between Kemp and Bourn through the first 31 games of the season so far:

There has not been a hitter to rival Kemp offensively last season or so far this year. Kemp leads the NL in home runs, runs scored, batting average, slugging, OPS, OPS+ and total bases through May 10th. Likewise, there has not been a leadoff hitter to rival Michael Bourn either. Bourn has been the catalyst behind the Braves’ offense that has boomed since the first four games of the year. Kemp’s value is tied solely to offense. Bourn is valuable offensively and defensively, which is where he overtakes Kemp.

Overall, Bourn has been the most valuable player in the National League at this point. He has been worth 2.2 WAR through the first 32 games of the year. If he held up this pace, he would be worth a WAR of more than 11. To put this in perspective, Kemp was worth 7.8 WAR last year. The last player to eclipse 11 WAR in a year was Barry Bonds in 2001 and 2002. I’ll admit that the likelihood of this happening is not high.

It would be nice for Bourn to get some praise and appreciation from people around baseball. While Kemp is the “sexy” player in the media, Bourn has quietly been more impressive. I am not predicting that Bourn will be worth more than Kemp throughout the year. But, for now, Bourn has been the most valuable player in the National League at this point. The Braves know how valuable he is. Hopefully other will realize how valuable he is too. He deserves the accolades.

The Braves have played 9 games against the NL East. Six of those games came at the hands of the Mets. The Braves lost the first four games to the Mets. The other three games that the Braves lost were to the Philadelphia Phillies. In these nine games, the Braves have a 3-6 record. They have a 16-6 record against the rest of the National League.

The Braves have been outscored by their NL East foes 48-47. The 48 runs allowed to the Mets and Phillies are more than one-third of what they have allowed in the other 22 games they have played. The Braves have outscored the rest of the NL 119-93 in those 22 games. They have scored two or fewer runs nine times this year and four of those have come against the NL East. Their only two shutouts have been at the hands of the Phillies and Mets.

Moving forward, the Braves need to win more games against the NL East. This will not be an easy thing to accomplish. The NL East has the NL’s best pitching. The Nationals, Mets and Phillies are tough teams. The Miami Marlins are a talented club as well. These teams figure to give the Braves all they want throughout the year. However, the Braves need to figure out ways to be successful against the teams that know them best. This will only help their chances of making the playoffs and winning their division.

He pitched 8 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 BB and striking out 3. He was very efficient as he made it that deep while only throwing 95 pitches. He was not as wild as he was in his first outing. This is the type of pitching performance the Braves got from him before the All Star break last season. This is the type of pitching that they will need to be convinced that he can offer the team moving forward.

In his two starts, he has pitched 15 innings and allowed 3 ER, 4 BB and striking out 7. He has a 1.80 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP.

Let’s hope he continues to make progress and gain confidence. The Braves could use his veteran presence in the rotation, as long as he is pitching like he has shown he is capable in the past.

However, his display in the Braves’ win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday is nothing short of paranoia and possibly signs of his age. He accused Braves’ third baseman, Chipper Jones, of stealing signs and relaying them to the Braves’ hitters. Here is a link which he and Chipper have a verbal altercation:

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120506&content_id=30554100&vkey=news_atl&c_id=atl

The incident came with the Braves trailing the Rockies 6-2 in the fifth inning. Chipper had hit an RBI double and was at second base talking with Rockies’ shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki. Here is what Tulowitzki said:

“All I can tell you is that me and Chipper was just talking,” Tulowitzki said. “I didn’t get the sense that he was relaying anything. No one knows the truth. You can look at it from both sides. From Moyer’s side, he’s going to say, ‘Yeah, he was giving location.’ But for me, he wasn’t doing anything.”

Moyer went on to allow three more runs before being taken out of the game. Moyer’s accusation against Chipper not only got him angry, but it also jump-started the Braves’ offense. They scored 11 runs after the altercation. Chipper said the Braves used it as motivation:

“That was all on Jamie Moyer,” Jones said. “He woke a sleeping giant tonight. He started chirping and it went all downhill from there. He accused me of relaying a sign down 6-2 with a 3-0 count to Brian McCann. I have never relayed a sign to anyone while I’m on second base.”

Chipper also questioned whether the Braves needed to steal signs against Moyer in the first place, via David O’Brien:

More #Braves Chipper on Moyer “I mean, dude, we don’t need signs, especially for him. I mean, my goodness, every pitch is 78. Come on.”

Chipper is very candid with the media. He will not back down against Moyer or anyone else. Truthfully, for Moyer to accuse Chipper is nothing more than classless on his part. To be honest, you can add this as another reason why I don’t like him.

Chipper was right: he did awaken a sleeping giant. Chipper was 2-3 with 4 RBIs for the rest of the game, following the accusation from Moyer. Maybe Moyer will learn his lesson before throwing around accusations next time.

Chipper responded by going 6 for 11 with a stat line of .545/.583/.909 for an OPS of 1.492. He hit his 5th home run and drove in seven runs to up his total to 21 for the year. Overall, he is hitting .318/.370/.576 for an OPS of .946 on the year. Chipper has been the second most valuable offensive player on the Braves’ team this year with a WAR of 1.0.

Meanwhile, Prado is hitting .273/.350/.408 for an OPS of .758. He has hit 2 home runs and driven in 16 runs on the year. Prado has a WAR of 0.6 on the season.

It would be difficult to predict what Chipper Jones would do in the 2 hole of the lineup every game he is available to play. However, the impact that he has consistently had this season would be a huge lift to the Atlanta Braves’ already stout offense.

Michael Bourn is the real reason why Gonzalez should consider making this move. He is on a tear right now. He is hitting .331/.394/.403 atop the Braves’ lineup. He is getting on base in almost 2 out of every 5 at bats. The scoring opportunities that this brings the Braves’ offense is immense. Chipper leads the team, among starters, in OPS. His value with the bat in the two hole with Bourn’s speed and high OBP would only increase the offense’s production. There is no guarantee that he will continue to notch an OBP of almost .400. He has a career OBP of .339, though he has not had an OBP lower than .341 in the past three full seasons. With this being his contract year, there is a good chance he could best his career best OBP of .354.

Prado’s flu may have been a gift for Gonzalez as he witnessed Chipper’s greatness and potential in the two hole for the rest of the year. If he wants what is best for the lineup, then he should make this change moving forward.

The Braves rallied from that 5-0 deficit to win Game 1. They followed that impressive feat by rallying from a 6-0 deficit and another 5 run deficit to defeat the Rockies in Game 2. They did not need a rally to finish off the sweep as they knocked around the Rockies again.

The Braves’ offense was impressive in the series. They scored 29 runs in the series as they hit .347/.416/.603 against the Rockies. The Braves’ starting pitching for the first two games was shaky at best. Mike Minor and Tim Hudson gave up 15 runs in the first two games combined. The Braves’ bullpen only allowed 2 earned runs in 11.2 IP in the series. Brandon Beachy pitched outstanding in the final game of the series allowing 2 runs in 6.1 IP while striking out 5.

The Braves are headed to Chicago to take on the Chicago Cubs for three games starting tomorrow. They will hope to continue their success with their bats against the Cubs, while get more consistency out of their starters.