Atlanta Braves Lose 1-0 to the Boston Red Sox

Earlier in the week, I begged for this team to be more consistent, and they have been. The problem is that their consistency has garnered four losses in a row, which means they have lost 12 of their last 17 games and are losing proximity to that .500 line.

Now, I know .500 means a team is just treading water, but, in the NL East this year, treading water seems good enough to keep a team in the race. Philadelphia leads the division, and they're pretty much dog paddling through the season; they've also lost 12 of their last 17 games. The Mets have lost 10 of their last 17. The Marlins are actually the only team in the division playing well right now, having won 11 of their last 17 games, and they trail the Phillies by 1.5 games, which is a testament to how poorly Florida was playing earlier in the season. The NL East is like a swimming pool full of kids learning how to swim, but, instead of focusing on the butterfly or the backstroke, these teams are treading water.

Treading water for long periods of time is one of the most mentally tedious and physically tiring experiences one can have. The only objective is to keep one's head above water. One just pedals their legs over and over as if they were on a stationary bike. It wears on one mentally. At swim practice, we used to do this, and it became one of those 24 dance offs, with kids just staying in the place, hands in the air, not going anywhere; it became a war of attrition, a practice in being stubborn, which is exactly what this NL East race has become.

In most races, one moves forward, and one judges their progress based on how far in front or behind their opponent they are, so what happens when everyone just stays in one place? The team that wins the NL East may not be the most talented team, but the team with the strongest will.

I thought the Braves' struggles to win consistently were because of the ever changing weather patterns, the sudden thunderstorms that sneak up and devour blue skies. I thought that with a little less rain there would be a few more wins. Well, it's been sunny and in the 90s the last few days, and the Braves still lost. Maybe it's too hot to stay poolside, and the reason for packing up the towels, goggles, and cooler are because of the sun and not the storm clouds. Maybe this team can't take the heat, which is why Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur's bats are as cold as pool side beers.

Some guys are not meant to endure the pressures of an entire season, and it makes me sad to say so. I like Kelly and Jeff, but their hitting .219 and .246 isn't going to cut it. It's time to start asking are they legitimate everyday players because the Braves can't win the division without these two guys hitting like they belong in the lineup.

The Braves have given up the least amount of runs in the NL East, but they've only outscored four other teams in the National League, San Diego, San Francisco, Houston and Chicago. This team can't afford to keep wasting pitching performances like the one Javier Vazquez threw today, giving up one run and six hits in 7 and two thirds innings.

Earlier in the week, I called for sunshine, but now I wish it would rain "cause rain drops will hide my tear drops and no one will ever know that I'm crying when I go outside." This team's performance is coming dangerously close to making this a long, unbearable summer, rain or shine.

So here's a song never fails to make me feel better. It's a song I associate with going swimming in the summer because my Mom would always play Fox 97, an Oldies station, on the way to the Green Hills Country Club pool in Athens. I give you The Temptations: