Takeaways From the Atlanta Braves Cold Spell

To say the least, it’s been a rough week and a half for the Atlanta Braves. Since they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 7, they have won a single game and have dropped three consecutive series.

Injuries and the weather haven’t helped either as they try to get back on track.

On that note, let’s look at some takeaways from this cold spell. This is a chance to do a deep dive into the ins and outs of this time.

A Rough Patch Was Going to Come Eventually

There’s more to this, but this is a reality that needs to be faced first. Heading into last week’s road trip, they had lost two series all season.

Eventually, they were going to lose some games in a row. At some point, the lineup wasn’t going to click for a time. The state of the rotation was going to catch up to them, even if for a bit.

In the end, this team is still 19 games over .500 and has a six and a half game lead in the division. If this continues for multiple weeks, then everyone can start to smack the panic button.

Wheels Still Spinning for Ha-Seong Kim Conundrum

As the season goes on, navigating the stuggles of Ha-Seong Kim has become a bigger issue. He's played in six total games out of 13 games played in June. He's had an at-bat in five of them and has played a full game in three of them.

On Wednesday night, manager Walt Weiss shuffled everyone around the field to ensure that Kim did not have to stay in the game after appearing as a defensive substitution. He went to the lengths of putting Matt Olson in right field. It was the first time he played a position in the field other than first base for the first time since 2017. All of that to get somebody else at shortstop.

Kim has had one hit since May 24, and the Braves can't afford to leave him in the lineup to see if he can figure things out. They'll say they remain confidant that he can get going, but that turn-the-corner moment is due.

Weather Isn't Everything, But It Probably Hasn't Helped

Two teams at any given time are impacted by the same storm. However, weather across three consecutive series while having to travel through it all can be a lot. I'm willing to give them some beenfit of the doubt that it's impacted to an extent.

There has been more starting and stopping than most teams take on in this short period of time in a single season. Wednesday may have played out differently if Tuesday night had gone as planned.

Would they have had a nice run over the last week or so if not for the weather? Probably not. The weather wasn't responsible for the White Sox walking it off.

However, in the end, they're human and are being subjected to some strange conditions. Giving the weather some blame is fair game.

They Can't Rely on Getting Healthy Anymore

Acuña and Strider are on the injured list again. Michael Harris II is dealing with back tightness for the second time since the calendar turned to June. At some point, this team is going to need to get some external help.

Starting pitching needs to be the priority, but another bat would certainly help. Getting healthy needs to be a perk - not a necessity.

The moves that were made to deepen the team over the offseason have mostly proven successful. They have a chance to make those same adjustments ahead of the trade deadline.

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