June 9, 1993
TRAVEL DAY
32-28
4th Place
6 games behind
The Atlanta Braves return to Georgia for a seven-game homestand against the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. A little more than 1/3 of the way through the 1993 season, and we can make the following observations thus far:
1) Biggest surprise
Without question, the Philadelphia Phillies having the best record in baseball has to be the most stunning development of the early part of the season. This is a team that finished in last place in 1992 and only two teams, the Dodgers and Mariners, had worse records. And it's largely the same team, the same starters at virtually every position, four of the same five starters (although the pickup of Danny Jackson from Pittsburgh definitely helps as he has a habit of being with winning teams). Lenny Dykstra is healthy, but in all honesty, this is a team that probably was not as bad as last year's team and probably not as good as this year's is thus far. Whether they can maintain their excellent start remains to be seen. The Giants are also a surprise, but it was pretty well a given that adding Barry Bonds was going to lurch them forward in the standings, just not as much as we see thus far.
2) Biggest disappointment
The Cincinnati Reds have gone from World Series winners just three years ago to a season lost to injuries to a lost pennant last year to a suspended owner and fired Latino manager after a trial run of only 44 games. A contending team that failed to live up to expectations, the Reds are the biggest disappointment, but there's a close second here as well.
Remember how just two months ago the Atlanta Braves were going to run away with the division flag, win the NLCS with ease, and finally capture that elusive World Series championship? They may still do so, but the Braves, most notably their lack of offensive punch, are four games above .500 but have to be seen as the biggest disappointment. It's not that they are playing terribly, but a five-game losing streak was supposed to be impossible with their mound staff, and the Braves have had a five-game skid that followed a 1-4 record in five games earlier. The Braves have lost four games in extra innings and in 33 of their 60 games, they've been held to 3 runs or less, bailed out only by the stellar starters. And their overall run total is inflated as 38 of their 233 runs (16%) came in three games in Colorado.
3) Marked by Tragedy
The Cleveland Indians were expected to move towards the front this year, but the deaths of two of their pitchers and injuring of another in the boating accident in March have inhibited the chances of Cleveland to do much in 1993.
