Braves-Nation.com

What a crazy season it has been. The Braves have had career years from Tim Hudson, Martin Prado, and Omar Infante. They've had breakout performances by newcomers Jason Heyward and Jonny Venters. Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, Troy Glaus, Billy Wagner, Kris Medlen, Jair Jurrjens, and Tommy Hanson also have made solid contributions. Add in the magic of Brooks F. Conrad and 23 last at bat wins and you get a team that's been in 1st Place since May 31st. Has it really been that long? It certainly doesn't feel like it. Remember when this team was stumbling through a 9 game losing streak? The Braves were left for dead more times than a lawyer with a broken down car in the desert. That seems like 3-4 years ago now. ...

Latest poll closed at 77.03%, and it's actually being posted on a Monday like it's supposed to be. The Braves were winners of 5 of 7 last week as the Phillies continue to chase hot on their tails. To help fill the void of losing Chipper Jones, Frank Wren went out and acquired Derrek Lee from the Cubs to provide a middle of the order bat the rest of the way. Lee had a strange debut for the Braves, as they actually went to him and he played his first three games from the opposite side of his former home ballpark.

The Braves will play 3 more games on their current road trip as they visit Colorado, before coming home to play 14 of their next 20 games at home. ...

What a week. This week we closed at 74.33%. We lost Chipper Jones for the season, but have gone (including that game) 5-1 since the injury occurred. The Braves are 7-3 in their last 10 games, having withstood a period with Martin Prado on the disabled list. Prado went 1-4 in a minor league rehab assignment last night and should join the team later this week to help fill the void of Chipper Jones.

With the Phillies making a valiant effort to catch the Braves, they have been unable to close within more than 2 games since catching up to them. There were 2 days that the Phillies cut the lead to 1.5 and 1 game, but the lead has been steady at 2 and 2.5 games since the start of the month.

Down in the minors, Freddie Freeman and Julio Teheran have been the story. Freeman has continued his pace at Triple-A Gwinnett and has put himself in position to get a September call up. Freeman has rebounded from a slow start and is now hitting over .300 with an .883 OPS. Teheran has pitched at 3 different levels in 2010 and has a 144 to 33 strike out to walk ratio for the season. ...

The confidence is back up after a week of panic. This week we closed at 74.80%. Baseball is a funny game. On Friday night, I was expecting to prepare for the vote to plummet this week, then Saturday and Sunday came along and I think the vote may go up again. After hitting what was perceived as a low point by giving away a game on Friday, the Braves came back to take 3 of 4 against the Giants, a team that had been 15-5 since the all-star break before this series.

Mike Minor will make his Major League debut tonight when the Braves open a series with the Astros. They will face the Dodgers to close the week. ...