Not again.
Not another year of worrying about the Atlanta Braves bullpen.
Not another possible World Series crown done in by relievers offering more relief to the opposition than their employer.
It happened again on Thursday afternoon at Truist Park. Ahead 4-0 in the top of the ninth against the Florida Marlins and Braves closer A.J. Minter on the mound, Atlanta somehow lost 5-4, wasting eight shutout innings from starter Kyle Wright and a handful of relievers.
So shaky has Minter been of late as Atlanta waits at least a week longer for the return of right-handed reliever Raisel Iglesias _ the expected closer coming out of spring training before a shoulder injury sidelined him _ that the lefty has surrendered a total of 10 runs and 10 hits over his last four appearances.
“I’m not locating the ball where I want to,” said Minter.
“But this one hurts. This one, we deserved to win that game.”
Braves Country will tell you its baseball heroes have deserved to win a lot of games _ and at least one or two more World Series than the two captured since 1995 _ that became “What If” losses due to brittle bullpens.
And Iglesias is no sure-fire cure for these concerns. But a quick glance at the past week will swiftly explain why any Atlanta fan might cringe anytime manager Brian Snitker signals for a pitching change from the bullpen.
Not counting Minter’s meltdown on Thursday afternoon, the last four Braves losses have included 14 earned runs allowed by relievers. Minter’s ERA alone has jumped from a 2.00 to 8.53 in roughly one week.
It’s a small sample size to be sure, and Snitker, at least in public, is playing the Bobby Cox “Power of Positive Thinking” approach.
“Players go through a little funk, like everybody does in this game,” the manager said. “He’s been really good. He’s third in the (National League) in saves. It happens, and he’ll flush it like he always has and be fine.”
It’s true that Minter has been more good than bad the last couple of seasons. Way more good. When he’s on, when the ball’s popping and moving, he’s about as strong as anyone the Braves have had coming out of the pen the last 20 years other than Hall of Famer John Smoltz.
And the Braves still have the second best record in the National League (17-9) to Pittsburgh’s (18-8) heading into this weekend’s early-season four-game showdown against the Mets in New York City.
With Iglesias scheduled to return to the bullpen soon, it’s fair to believe better days are ahead and soon. But it’s also fair for Braves Country to fret about the future. This sad tale of opportunity squandered has been witnessed more times than TBS reruns of “Caddyshack.”
Yet Atlanta also heads to the Big Apple tonight with the second-best positive run differential in the NL, trailing only the Chicago Cubs (+46 to +39) and the fourth best in the major leagues. Moreover, the team is 10-2 away from Truist Park, and road records are often the best measuring stick of a team’s playoff potential.
After being swept by Houston last weekend, Snitker looked back at the eight-game winning streak that came before that four-game losing skid and said, “We played three weeks without any hiccups. They’re going to happen.”
True, but hiccups come and go. Usually quickly. The Braves’ bullpen woes seem as much a part of summer in the Big Peach as the Tomahawk Chant and Chop. And to a much more icy reception.
It’s almost enough to make the unhittable starter Spencer “Stache” Strider a closer.
Almost.