Could the Braves actually be... bad?
Probably not, but things haven't been going well. Only one team in the majors, the perpetually hapless Colorado Rockies, has a worse record.
Those of you who hang on my every word might recollect that last September I advanced the proposition that the Braves might be cursed.
You will recall that after their unexpected championship (they went 88-73!) in 2021, the Braves chose not to re-sign their long time first baseman, the immensely popular and talented Freddie Freeman. Who very much wanted to come back to Atlanta. But he also wanted to get paid. Instead the Braves said "see ya," pivoted to Matt Olson, and paid him instead. Olson is five years younger, and not quite as expensive. He's not quite as good, either, although he's put together some very big years, with Oakland in 2021 and Atlanta in 2023. But if you have a great player who likes your organization and wants to stay - you make it happen. The Braves are saving five million a year with a younger, albeit slightly lesser, player. But they've opened the window and let the Bad Karma inside. The Blue Jays did the same thing to Tom Henke, and I still haven't forgiven them.
Hey, it's a theory!
The Braves can't score runs, and wow, but that happened fast. As you may recall, the 2023 Braves scored 947 times, 5.85 Runs per Game, comfortably more than any other team in the majors. That slipped drastically to 4.35 per game, a little below the NL average, a year ago. And so far in 2025, they're down to a rather pathetic 3.25 Runs per game. And this is, for the most part, the same lineup that terrorized NL pitchers just two years ago. Eddie Rosario and Marcell Ozuna were the only regulars on the wrong side of 30 on that team. These days, Rosario is playing for the Dodgers AAA team and Ozuna is, by far, the Braves' best hitter this year. (Their real best hitter, both then and now, is Ronald Acuna Jr, currently out with another serious knee injury.) But that's all. The rest of them - Sean Murphy, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley, Michael Harris, Marcell Ozuna - are still in the batting order. It's the same bunch. They're just making it pretty clear that 2023 was something of a Fluke.
The absence of Acuna is obviously a Very Big Deal, and getting him back will help. He's still a few weeks away. And the starting rotation doesn't fill one with confidence. Spencer Schwellenbach has been unhittable, but Reynaldo Lopez is on the IL for at least three months, Max Fried is in New York, and Chris Sale is 36 years old and has had one healthy (and awesome) season in the last five. Spencer Strider should be back this week, which should help.
Matchups!
Mon 14 Apr - Holmes (0-1, 4.00) vs Lucas
Tue 15 Apr - Schwellenbach (1-0, 0.45) vs Gausman
Wed 16 Apr - Strider (---, -.--) vs Bassitt
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20250414143537974