Braves go to the Break 6.5 out of first place

Here are a few notes on the first half of the season.

The Atlanta Braves are 45-50 on the season. They are 6.5 games back of the first place Philadelphia Phillies. They are six games behind the New York Mets and five games behind the Florida Marlins. The Braves are in seventh place in the wildcard race, 7.5 games back of the leader, the St. Louis Cardinals.

This is the third time in 18 seasons, since 1991, the Braves are below .500 at the All Star Break. In 1991 the Braves were 39-40, while in 2006 they were 40-49.

The Braves are 5-22 in one-run games this season and 0-17 on the road. The Braves have lost 24 straight one-run games on the road, dating back to last August. It’s the longest one-run road losing streak in Major League History.

Here is a breakdown of the Braves' records:
Overall: 45-50
Home: 30-18
Road: 15-32
July: 5-7
Since June 1: 16-23
With a homer: 35-24
Without a homer: 10-26

Atlanta has 67 games left in the season, 33 at home and 34 on the road.

The Braves have a .265 team batting average, 3rd best in the NL and 8th best in MLB.
The Braves have a .340 team OBP, 3rd best in the NL and 5th best in MLB.
The Braves have scored 421 runs, 8th best in the NL and 17th best in MLB.
The Braves have hit 91 home runs, 11th best in the NL and 18th best in MLB.
The Braves have stolen 31 bases, 14th best in the NL and 28th best in MLB.

Chipper Jones leads the majors in hitting with a .376 batting average.

Brian McCann was 3-3 Sunday with a home run and 3 RBI. McCann has more home runs (18) than any other catcher in baseball. He’s already matched his home run total from last year. McCann is on pace for 32 HR and 93 RBI.

Gregor Blanco was 3-24 on the road trip. His season average is now down to .257, with a .356 OBP. Blanco has nine stolen bases to lead the team. Blanco is hitting .217 (15-69) vs LHP, .200 (10-50) in July, and .240 (54-225) since May 1.

The Braves rotation has posted a 4.79 ERA in July and a 3.97 ERA for the season. That’s 3rd best in the NL and 9th best in MLB.

Games started - Smoltz (5), Glavine (12) , Hampton (0) - 17
Games started - Reyes (14), Campillo (11), Morton (6) - 31
Who would have thought that?

The Braves bullpen has posted a 2.36 ERA in July and a 3.22 ERA for the season. That’s 3rd best in the NL and 5th best in MLB.

There are ten players currently on the disabled list. Braves' players have missed a total of 768 games on the DL this season.




Bill Shanks hosts The Atlanta Baseball Show on 680 the Fan in Atlanta and The Bill Shanks Show on SportsRadio 105.5 the Fan in Macon. He is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team, a look inside the Braves‘ traditional scouting and player development philosophies. You can email Bill at .