Four The Hard Way

What looked to be a promising road trip for the Screwers in their early defense of the NL Comedy Central tile, ended with an inglorious thud at Turner Field Sunday, as the suddenly red Hotlanta Braves dispensed of the Screwers, 7-4, sweeping the three game series.

It was the fourth straight loss, and the first four game losing streak in this young, ten game season for skippper Ron of the Good Ship Roenicke. With all five starting pitchers returning, weren’t four game losing streaks supposed to be few and far between? I guess Mr. Melvin and Mr. Attanasio conveniently decided to erase the memories of this same staff’s performance in last year’s NLCS, believing instead that Manny Parra, Kameron Loe, Marco Estrada and Matt Dillard would be just fine, obviously, since you had Veras, Rodriguez and Axford to mop up after the sixth inning. Just one small detail boys, you have to be AHEAD going into those innings, or at least IN THE GAME, for that strategy to work.

Right now the Fab Five is dead last in the major league in team ERA. To add insult to injury, your clean up guy, some guy named Ramirez, is hitting .114 and Rickie 4-6 Weeks is back to his old whiffing tricks again. I know it’s early, but it’s also the 9-1 Dodgers coming into $8 Miller Park for a three game set, certainly no gimmee there, especially when last year’s Clean MVP, Matt Kemp, is hitting .486 with 6 home runs and 16 RBI.

Bottom line, even a 5-4 record on this home stand puts them at 9-10, right in the thick of the pathetic Comedy Central chase. Milwaukee, Houston, and Cincinatti are all 4-6, three games behind the 7-3 Cardinals. I am not making this up.

As much as I want to pile on the let’s-get-rid-of-Matt Gamel bandwagon and John Axford’s 10.12 ERA, it is simply way too early to brag that I said these guys would finish 83-79, and make the playoffs as Bud Seligs’ Wild Card. Oops, just did.

Dodgers take at least two.

And For What