Are the Braves Making A Run?

this was supposed to be the point of the season that killed Atlanta. series vs the Yankees, The Red Sox (twice), and The Phillies were gonna bury any chance the Braves had at the division and turn them into sellers at the trade deadline...and somehow someway they find themselves just 2 games behind Philadelphia after sweeping them in 3 straight. WTF? Atlanta is 6-4 in their last 10 and has a 4 game win streak and is heading into a weekend series with the worst team in baseball, The Washington Nationals.

The Phils on the other hand start a series against the Mets who aren't exactly on a hot streak lately. and to be honest neither of those teams looks built to win shit, their pitching staffs are both weaker than Atlanta's (esp with rookie superstar Tommy Hanson exceeding every one's expectations so far). The Marlins look like the Braves' real competition by virtue of having a young team with some good pitching and some solid bats in the order. and that's Atlanta's real problem...they may have the top pitching staff in the NL East right now, but hitting wise they are 4th and some nights 5th in the division. McClouth, McCann, and Chipper are the only guys you can really trust in that order and Garrett Anderson has decided to finally show up to a few games now and again and Matt Diaz does what he can. Escobar continues to show flashed that he might someday be a great players mixed in with moments where you wish that raft he came to on from Cuba might have been eaten by sharks instead.

i don't really know what to think about Atlanta's recent climb in the standings...mostly it just tells me that the NL East is a fucking joke and the only way the Braves are making the playoffs is to win this shitty division outright. but honestly, can you tell me that they don't have a chance? i don't think so.