The Atlanta Braves are off to a blisteringly hot start. Never in franchise history have they won 20 games before May 1st, but this year, they accomplished that on April 26th. Despite a tough bullpen meltdown on the final day of the month, the Braves managed to jump out to a league leading 22 wins after the first full month of action came to a close.
For starters, the Braves are yet to lose a series. That is pretty incredible in it of itself, but for their body of work to include a sweep over the defending NL East champions is even better. Philadelphia might be having a down year this year, or maybe it just seems that way because they have had to go toe-to-toe with the almighty Braves six times already in this young season.
The offense is currently ranked first or second in every statistically significant category. Pair that sort of production with a pitching staff that refuses to give up any runs, and you have the recipe for a dominant team. Not only have the starting pitchers been fantastic (even with some lingering injuries preventing the best rotation from even taking the stage yet), but the bullpen has been lights-out.
A huge contributing factor to their early season pitching success has been the proper and adequate management of the bullpen. In years past, starting pitchers would have been asked to go one inning further than makes sense and their relief would not even start getting warm until after the lead was surrendered or the sacks were full. Making moves earlier, getting backup options lined up, and being proactive with the pitching staff has benefitted the braves greatly this season. Kudos to Walt Weiss.
In the end, the MLB season is a long one. Nobody has their division locked up by the end of April. There is still plenty of time for the Braves to hit a cold spell or for the Mets or Phillies to heat up. With that being said, I would certainly rather be in a franchise record-setting position after the first month than any other situation. The Braves are back to their dominant ways, and the rest of the National League should be afraid.
