Braves off to rough start in season-defining stretch

When looking at the season schedule for the Atlanta Braves back in February, there was a stretch of games that stuck out to me.

It wasn't the amount of away games or who the opponents were, but how many games the Bravos would be playing over a period of time.

The answer: 43 games in 45 days.

With as much as people complain about how long baseball season is and all their off days, the Braves stretches of 13, 17, and 14 games all in a row was surprising to me.

About half the majors has a stretch like this over the season, the worst this year being the Tampa Bay Rays string of 53 games in 55 days.

But what makes this stretch so important for Atlanta?

As it currently stands, Atlanta is still on the outside looking in as far as the National League East race is concerned, especially with quite possibly the toughest division in baseball standing in their way. If the Braves want any chance in the division, they must be able to respond during this stretch.

Second, 27 of the games are at home, meaning Atlanta will have fewer games at home down the stretch. Most of the games aren't against divisional opponents, but any wins at this point are important for a playoff push. Yes, even in May.

Third, the disabled list. Garrett Anderson, who will be returning to the lineup tonight against the Mets, has been on the 15-day DL suffering from a calf and quad injury. This has prevented him from platooning in left field with Matt Diaz as originally planned. On Friday, Brian McCann is expected to return from his eye troubles. Both of these players have been replaced by good minor league players in Brandon Jones and David Ross (Ross has been quite impressive), but nothing can take the place of All-Star talent.

If McCann and Anderson can contribute over the next five weeks, the Braves will likely be in great shape heading into the last four weeks before everyone converges on St. Louis for All-Star 2009. Most of the games between now and July 13th are non-divisional, making it a great chance for Atlanta to gain some ground in this stretch.

If the Braves cannot come out of this stretch with a better than .500 record, the season could be shot. The NL East looks tougher than last season, as the Florida Marlins are now serious contenders in the division, adding to the severity as mentioned in point one. If the Braves are still struggling at the end of this streak, they could be done by the break.

The Braves only have nine home games out of their final 31 before the All-Star Break, and those games include the Red Sox, Yankees, and defending champion Phillies. Easy enough to say, they won't be easy.

For Atlanta, the stretch has begun with a 1-3 record. If there is any hope for baseball past October 4th, 11-32 over this string of games is not the way to do it.