This is a picture of Julio Franco. He's a New York Met. He'll be a Met next year. He was an Atlanta Brave from 2001-2005.

Last year, the Atlanta Braves led the NL East. This year, it's the New York Mets. The Braves just lost it's tenth game in a row tonight. They lost the entire homestand. The Braves haven't been this bad since I lived in Augusta, playing My Little Pony in my Grandmother's/spare bedroom on a TV with a dial knob on it. It's been a while. My little sister, Beth, was a baby when they were this bad. Beth will turn 19 in November. That how long it's been.

How bad has June been? The last three series the Braves have played have been against the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Tomorrow, the team goes to St. Petersburg, FL, to play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Devils Rays, best known as the butt of most baseball jokes, has a better record than the Braves.

And which teams have a worse record than the Braves at the moment? Believe it or not, only 3 other teams in baseball have a worse record! They are the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Kansas City Royals.

It's starting to look bleak for the Braves this year. I don't think they can recover. I don't think the team has recovered since "White Flag" Chris Reitsma gave up 7 hits and 5 earned runs in .2 innings pitched against the Houston Astros in Houston on the 11^th. Yes, that's correct. He only recorded 2 outs! After that fiasco, Reitsma admitted that he has numbness in his right pitching hand. He's been the sparkplug to the meltdown, in my eyes.

But back to the picture in this post. I think losing Julio Franco on the team has hurt the Braves. He was a force we are lacking this year. He's a wise man that gave plenty of advice to all the young players on the team. Looks like the Braves' loss are the Mets' gain.

Hopefully, the Braves will bounce back in 2007.

[♪ Listening to: "The Game Is Over" - *NSYNC]

Posted by Shawn at June 22, 2006 11:39 PM in Baseball.