Aside from the fact that former Virginia quarterback and 2004 3rd Round draft pick, Matt Schaub, stood poised to leave the Atlanta Falcons as an un-restricted free agent after the 2007 NFL season without yielding anything in return for the franchise; by pulling the trigger on this deal now the Falcons have potentially secured themselves a position to do one of two things with their new first round draft selection and additional second round pick this season acquired from Houston in the trade.

It goes without saying that the Atlanta Falcons would be interested in acquiring the services of LSU safety Laron Landry to immediately help shore up a porous pass defense that aside from rapidly aging veteran Lawyer Milloy, is especially weak and devoid of quality starting talent at the safety position. Many early NFL Mock Drafts had projected the talented defender to fall into Atlanta's lap at their previous draft position, which was 10th.

However after a strong showing at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis a few weeks ago where he ran an astounding 4.35, Landry has steadily been creeping up draft boards, and is a far cry from a guarantee to still be around after the first nine players are drafted come April. By moving up two spots in the first round, the Falcons have moved themself well within the range of where Landry is most recently projected to go and increased the likelihood that the former Tiger will trade in his old purple n' gold for Falcons red and black.

There is also the remote possibilty that the Falcons are entertaining the notion of sending their newly acquired 8th overall pick and additional second round picks to a team in the top 3 with wide-spread needs, such as Detroit or Cleveland, in hopes of acquiring the opportunity to draft Atlanta native and Georgia Tech receiving star, Calvin Johnson and address the other glaring weakness on their team, a lack of a quality wide-receiver. The 2006 Fred Biletnikoff Award recipient possesses elite size, speed, hands, and maturity at the wide-receiver position and has an impressive track record of excellence despite relying upon a scrambling and mistake prone QB in Reggie Ball  to get him the ball while at Georgia Tech.

For those who are familiar with Ball's statistics and game performance this past collegiate season, even those who are critics of Michael Vick would have to declare that he looks as poised and talented as Steve Young when compared to the Yellow Jackets signal caller. It would therefore be more than safe to assume that Johnson could at least immediately replicate similar success for the Falcons with a far more superior QB at the helm.

At the end of the day however, the 8th overall pick and additional second round picks may not entice a team with a top 3 pick enough to part ways with it, nor may the Falcons be all that interested in sacraficing so much to get Johnson despite his obvious talent and instant fan appeal as a homegrown star.

The Falcons did just lose Pro-Bowl defensive end, Patrick Kerney, to Seattle and did go out and sign former Saints Pro-Bowl wide-receiver, Joe Horn to a lucrative four year deal. They will also be getting back a healthy Brian Finneran and still have two former first round picks in Michael Jenkins and Roddy White, so it would be understandable if they feel as though the franchise has invested enough at the wide-receiver position and really wants to address defensive issues first on draft day and look for another wide-receiver later in the draft despite the fact that Johnson is the most gifted and NFL ready receiver to come out of college since Larry Fitzgerald. Some scouts say he has the potential to be, "the best ever."

Although it would be a dream come true for many Falcons fans to finally have a can't miss young superstar at wide-receiver for the first time since Andre Rison, and one who lacks any signs of the attitude and character problems which led Falcons management to twice pass on opportunities to bring in problematic elite wide-receivers such as Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, odds are that Landry's name will be the one that is called when it comes time for the Atlanta Falcons to take their first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

No matter what Atlanta ends up doing with their new draft position and extra second round picks acquired from Houston, making the deal in the first place was absolutely the right move for the franchise. Schaub was anything but a proven commodity. Rather he impressed enough during pre-season play and for brief stretches at a time during games while filling in for an injured Michael Vick, that when coupled with the scarcity of quality starting quarterbacks in today's NFL, it stood to reason that at least a few teams were going to be desperate enough to overpay for him. The Houston Texans just so happened to end up being the team that did.

In the end, the Falcons get extra draft picks both this season and next to further assist in righting the ship and getting the team back on track and into position to compete for a Super Bowl. It's also far better to get something rather than nothing for an unproven player who may one day turn out to be pretty good, but one who currently is yet to register a single win for any professional football team.

Chalk this one up as a "W" for Rich McKay and the Falcons.

  1st    COLTS +  Peyton and the boys reclaim the top spot after rediscovering their offensive magic in the second half against Washington and looking much more like their usual selves. Rookie Joseph Addai is averaging over 5 yards per carry and looking better and better every week. The LSU product should continue to further work his way into becoming the primary ball carrier as Indy's season progresses. Big test for the rookie and the Colts to prove their worth this week as the team travels to Denver to face the league's top defense.

 2nd    BEARS -   "The Bears showed us they are exactly who we thought they were." Well yes, a playoff team a year ago and still every bit as good. However, as impressive and as unlikely their comeback in the desert was two weeks ago, this team struggled much too hard against a weak Cardinals team who just afforded Oakland their first win of the season.  The Bears are still the cream of the NFC until proven otherwise, but can't hold onto the top spot after taking this past week off and having the offense look so pathetic while on a national stage. They will immediately look to get back to flat out abusing their opponents as they come out of their bye, for the 49'ers pay a visit to the Windy City this week.

 3rd     BRONCOS +   Hard to believe that a division leading 5-1 football team has a growing quarterback controversy on its hands, but the deafening whispers for Jay Cutler to take the helm just are not going away. The defense has been superb and Tatum Bell has finally begun to produce the way that Broncos fans and fantasy owners alike have been predicting for quite some time. However, Plummer has still failed to find his groove.  The AFC's top offense comes to town this week and if the Broncos find themselves in a position where they trail big early and have to put the ball into Plummer's hands, things could get ugly in the Mile High city mighty fast.

 4th    PATRIOTS +   Tom Brady's team hasn't grabbed nearly the same amount of attention in the press as in years past despite sporting a 5-1 record of their own.  Perhaps the reason behind it is the Patriots passing attack has struggled to moderately resemble the force it has been in years past.  Regardless, this team keeps finding ways to win games behind the strength of its running game and defense. Is anybody seriously ready at this point to rule out the possibility of Brady turning the passing game around and making this already formidable opponent even more dangerous? Didn't think so.

5th   GIANTS +   Well what do we have here? After being humilated in Seattle a few weeks ago and promptly being dismissed soon thereafter by the entire Fox Sports game coverage crew for being too undisciplined and inconsistent to be even be considered playoff contenders, let alone Super Bowl contenders, the G-Men sport a perfect 3-0 record against their division and currently reside in first place in the NFC East. They also have the second ranked offense in the NFL. The loss of LaVar Arrington for the season after tearing his Achille's tendon is unfortunate, but the Giants defense has really turned it on the last three games, and Tiki Barber has been running extremely well as he leads the NFL in rushing yards in what he has declared will be his final NFL season. The schedule is still tough down the stretch, but Tampa Bay and Houston should be a nice little break before drawing Chicago in week 10.

6th     SAINTS -    As the season creeps towards the half way point the thought on everyone's mind has to be whether or not New Orleans can avoid one of its well rehearsed second half collapses. How many times has, "Cha-Ching" gone to "Ker-Plink" over the past two decades? More times than anyone can remember I am sure.  It is the moment of truth for the division leading New Orleans. They host Baltimore this week before going on the road to face the Steelers and divisional rival Tampa Bay. After that it is a home date with Cincinnatti before traveling to the ATL where Falcons fans will be all to eager to return the "Dome Field Advantage."

7th    CHARGERS -   The pending four game suspension of last year's defensive rookie of the year, Shawne Merriman, is going to hurt this team greatly when it strikes.  San Diego fans can find some solace in the fact that at least the passing offense has taken off since Phillip Rivers impressive win against Pittsburgh three weeks ago. The key was finally getting the ball to all-world tight end Antonio Gates. So long as he stays heavily involved and the Chargers have the NFL's best running back, LaDanian Tomlinson, in their backfield they have more than a shot every week. LT's yards per carry are his lowest since his rookie season, but he has had no problems finding the endzone in usual LT fashion; rushing, receiving, and throwing the football.

 8th    BENGALS +  The team's make-shift offensive line is still struggling at times to open running lanes for Rudi Johnson to exploit and to bide enough time for Carson Palmer to find Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh deep, but the unit made great progess in the second half against Carolina this past week after doing a pretty shoddy job out of the gate.  You know Chad Johnson has to be licking his chops after seeing what Hines Ward did against the Falcons secondary this past week, but no more TD celebrations or showing off of any kind as a result of Coach Marvin Lewis's new rule. Guess he won't be able to use that ESPN "disappearing ball trick" he took the time to learn.

9th     RAMS +   With Seattle riddled by injuries, St. Louis has to be at least slightly favored to claim the role of "top dog" in the NFC West.  Torry Holt has officially broken out of his early season slump (if you could even call it that) and has undeniably been playing like the NFL's best wide receiver as of late. Old dog Issac Bruce has helped by keeping opposing secondaries at least moderately honest, and Steven Jackson has been finding plenty of room to run.  The solid play of the defense has deteriorated over the past few weeks, and the unit will need to rediscover some of its early season swagger for St. Louis to be able to seriously compete amongst the NFC's elite come January, but the Rams look solid enough as of now to at least make it there.

10th    FALCONS +  Who dares say Michael Vick can only lead his team to victory with his legs after his strong passing day that netted four TD passes? Plenty because Atlanta still has the league's worst pass offense. Yes, sadly even worse than Oakland's.  The team's rushing defense resorted back to resembling the solid unit that ranked second in the league before getting shredded by Tiki Barber in week 6 as they shut down Willie Parker and the Pittsburgh running game. But what happened to the pass defense? Steelers WR Hines Ward more than matched his previous season production in one game all while only wearing one shoe. The Dirty Birds better figure out the problem quick because they face Palmer and the Bengals this week. The loss of John Abraham for 3 to 4 weeks does not help matters either. However, if Vick can lead the Falcons to victory on the road in Cincinnatti, the MVP consideration will continue to gain serious merit. The Falcons still have the league's best rush offense and the Bengals still rank near the bottom against the run, so it is very possible.

 11th    RAVENS +   It is a very good thing that the defense has been playing so well this year because it isn't too reassuring when your offense gets significantly better after Kyle Boller steps under center.  Baltimore ranks 28th in total offense and 26th in both running and passing the fooball. McNair's health and availability are still a big question mark, but maybe Boller should stay at the controls at least another week to see how things go even if the former Titans QB is ready to go. Afterall, things can't be much worse than they were under McNair.

12th    PANTHERS -  Why is it that everytime the networks show some positve graphic regarding player performance fate has to go and mess it up shortly afterwards? Delhomme still takes the blame though. Forcing the ball into the endzone on third down when you are already well within position for a game tying field goal is just plain reckless. What happened to that fierce defensive line? After doing a pretty darn good impression of what the New York Giants were able to do to Drew Bledsoe in the first half of the Monday Night Game, the Panthers D-line suddenly went soft in the second half and allowed Palmer to repeatedly hook up deep with his receivers.  Marvin Lewis is a good coach and all and can inspire his players to step up big, but so is John Fox. What happened?

 13th    SEAHAWKS -   Super Bowl curses, Madden curses, Chunky Soup curses, take your pick. The number of key Seattle players that are going to be out for an extended period of time has begun to border on the absurd.  Running back Shaun Alexander is rumored to still be two weeks away from a return, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is supposed to be out for at least three. Seattle had their bye already so it will be to Seneca Wallace and Matt Morris to lead the team to victory until then.  The team's receiving corps is still solid despite the loss of Bobby Engram to injury as well as Jackson and Branch are the top two options on the team, but it will be up to the defense to step it up big in the coming weeks because you can only ask Wallace to do so much for you. 2-2 or better until Hasselbeck and Alexander are both back would be ideal, but 1-3 could easily happen even with games against Oakland and San Francisco during that span.

14th    EAGLES -   Unbelievable 62 yard kick robs McNabb and the Eagles of a hard fought road victory, but even though McNabb still mangaed to register his fourth 300 yard game of the season and toss 3 TD passes, the loss goes back to his three interceptions in the first half. Two of those were returned by Tiki's twin brother for touchdowns. The poor clock management at the end of the first half didn't help matters either. Think the Eagles would have liked to have a field goal at the end of the second quarter instead of a pass to L.J. Smith that was stopped short of the endzone now? The Eagles lead the league in offense and McNabb and Westbrook have been unbelievable for Philly this year, but they need to take better care of the football and find a way to close out games to live up to their immense potential.

 15th    STEELERS -   Just when Roethlisberger was back to performing nicely and apparently over all of his off-season and early season misfortunes he gets hurt again this past Sunday in the thriller in Atlanta.  Good news is that it was only a minor concussion and he should be able to go this week. Even if he can't, Charlie Batch has looked great in relief whenever called upon this season and should be more than up to the task again. If the boys from the Steel City could have avoided that false start at the end of regulation against Atlanta they would have probably won that game. Hines Ward looked like the pro-bowl WR from years past as he embarrassed the Falcons secondary. Fans in the Steel City hope to see more of that and less of the Rod Smith impression he had been doing previously.

16th    JAGUARS -   The loss of Mike Peterson has obviously hurt the strength of this defense if the Texans can move the football at will and drop 27 points on the Jaguars. There is a mild QB controversy growing in Jacksonville, and David Garrard could start this week against Philadelphia.  Maurice Jones-Drew continues to impress in his limited role and is demanding to be given the ball even more as long as he continues to produce so effectively. Jacksonville better discover the remedy real soon or they could get embarrassed again on the road against a Philly team that is none too happy about the end result of their road game against Tampa Bay and will be looking to take it out on the next team they face and register a convincing win before heading into their bye week.

 17th    VIKINGS + Chester Taylor has been one of the most important free agent acquisitions of this past off-season, as the Viking offense seems to begin and end with him.  After his impressive day against Seattle this past Sunday, Taylor trails only Tiki Barber in rushing yards this season.  Minnesota's passing game is still struggling, as trick plays and defensive TD's have outnumbered passing TD's by Brad Johnson, but having the best run defense in the league and the seventh best overall defense to accompany a strong running game sure can make up for a lot.

 18th    COWBOYS -  The Tony Romo era offically began in Dallas this past week, and the results were largely the same in terms of turnovers and sacks. It is futile to argue that the Cowboys offense didn't look more diverse however with Romo behind the center with his scrambling ability. It allowed to get one of the better receiving tight ends in the league, Jason Witten, to stop blocking all of the time and get down field and make some big plays. Romo must learn better decision making as he flat out gave the ball away a couple of times in that loss, but a change had to be made at QB. The Cowboys do have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball and their season is still far from being over.

19th    CHIEFS +  Speaking of elite tight ends who are finally able to stop blocking and start making some big catches, Chiefs starting tight end Tony Gonzalez easily had his best game since week 1. Like the Chargers, the key to success in the passing game runs through their tight end. Kansas City simply has to find some alternative to using Tony Gonzalez to block so much, as it is clear they are a different team when he is out catching the ball.  Larry Johnson looked a whole heck of a lot more like the Larry Johnson we saw in the second half of the past two NFL seasons against a strong San Diego defense. Could this be the start of something special for the Chiefs who are two to three weeks away from having Trent Green return?

 20th     JETS + Curtis who? Rookie running back Leon Washington looked absolutely brilliant against Detroit this past weekend as he topped 100 yards rushing for the second time in his last three games played. Kevin Barlow will still factor into the equation, but the Jets have to be happy about their running game for the first time since Martin was injured.

 21st    BUCCANEERS  +   The Bucs came within one outstanding Reggie Bush punt return from knocking off New Orleans, and then beat Cincinnatti and Philadelphia in consecutive weeks.  The Caddy has finally got up and running again after continually stalling out early in the year.  However, there is still a ways for this team to go before they can climb out of their early season hole. A game against Rhonde's brother and the second best offense in the league will not make matters easier for them.

22nd   REDSKINS -  This team is falling fast and better come up with something nasty when they come out of their bye week, as they have division rival Dallas and Philadelphia in consecutive weeks.  We could see Jason Campbell get his shot under center sooner than many out there thought, most of all Joe Gibbs, who still refuses to bench Brunell for him...for now.

 23rd    PACKERS +  Hold your breath football fans. If Green Bay can take care of a struggling Cardinals team at home this week, the Packers will only be one game under .500 and just one win away from matching last year's win total after just seven games played!  Now hold your breath again. Brett Favre nearly has twice as many TD passes as INT. Before you turn blue and pass out, realize that if rookie wide receiver Greg Jennings misses considerable time, all of that can change in a hurry.

 24th    BILLS -   Not the same Bills defense that started the year looking so impressive.  Willis McGahee has found less running room the past few weeks after initially leading the NFL in rushing the first few weeks into the season.  Not the worst team in their division, but being better than Miami is nothing to brag about. Turnovers and inconsistency rob this team even the hope of becoming anything better than below average this year. Only the Browns and Raiders have a worse takeaway/turnover ratio.

25th     49'ERS +  San Francisco has the most potent offense it has had since T.O., Jeff Garcia, and Garrison Hearst were all in town.  Second year QB Alex Smith has made some huge improvements and running back Frank Gore looked unbelievable at the beginning of the year. The injury to Vernon Davis was less than helpful and the offense has still been inconsistent. Obviously not a contender this year, but for the first time in quite some time, there is promise in San Francisco.

Who says middle-aged veteran pitchers are supposed to slow down in the second half of the season as the wear and tear of a full MLB season takes its toll on their aging bodies? Whoever does needs to go ask Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz what he thinks about that philosophy.  Since July 3rd the Braves ace has been nothing short of spectacular.

Including today's eight inning masterpiece where he struck out seven while only allowing one run to earn his twelfth victory of the season, Smoltz has gone 8-1 with a 2.84 ERA since July 3.  He has also tallied an 83 to 13 strikout to walk ratio during that same period. 

His 176 strikeouts this season currently rank second in the National League.  When one recalls that six of Atlanta's 24 blown saves this season came in games that Smoltz started, MLB's winningest post-season pitcher could have easily been on his way to another 20 win season during a season in which it appears that no one will achieve that mark in the National League.

At age 39, the 15 year Atlanta veteran has shown no signs of slowing down this season.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, the rest of the rotation has been nowhere near as spectacular.  Riddled by injuries and mired by inconsistency, the Braves rotation currently ranks eighth in the N.L. (Smoltz's strong numbers saves them from an even less impressive ranking).

Those 24 blown saves are worst in the league, and could easily be worse if not for what has clearly turned out to be another one of John Schuerholz's brilliant moves this year; bringing in veteran closer Bob Wickman.

Easily one of the pre-deadline deals that has paid off the most for any club, Wickman has completed ceased the 9th inning woes for Atlanta by successfully converting all nine of his save opportunities since coming to the Braves in late July.  He has pitched 13 innings while appearing in 13 games, has not allowed a single earned run in that time, and has struck out 13 batters while walking none. 

With results like that, its too bad Atlanta did not acquire his services much earlier; like this past off-season when the veteran reliever was one of Schuerholz's several targets but the Braves G.M. was unsuccessful in his efforts to lure him to the ATL.  

Assuming that he converted even just 17 of those 24 blown Atlanta saves prior to the All-Star Break and Atlanta is in a completely different situation right now.  Instead of hoping for a late season miracle while sitting 6.5 games back in the Wild Card race with just a little more than a month to go in the regular season, the Braves would be neck and neck with the New York Mets while battling for their 15th straight division title.

Pitching never used to be Atlanta's problem, it was a lack of offense. That has certainly not been the case this year.

Despite missing several chunks of the regular season due to ankle problems, Braves veteran third baseman Chipper Jones currently ranks 4th in the N.L. in batting average with a .325 mark. After belting his 20th homerun of the season, Jones became the fourth Brave to reach the benchmark this year.  With Braves catcher Brian McCann currently sitting pretty with a .334 average and 16 homeruns, it is very plausible the Braves will have five players with over 20 homeruns and two players in the top 5 in N.L. batting average (McCann currently stands several games worth of at bats below the qualifying number for the batting crown)

Nevertheless, it is highly probable that for the first time since the 1990 post-season the MLB playoffs will begin without the Braves in them.  With gems like these on the roster its a shame Atlanta will most likely be unable to showcase such talent this October.  For the first time in what must seem like an eternity, come the end of this September, Braves fans may have to utter the timeless adage "Wait til next year!" just like the majority of the baseball world.

DO NOT LET THIS MAN PITCH PAST THE 5th INNING...EVER!!!

That's right Bobby Cox, this one-time ace and current underachieving Oakland Athletics cast off can never be allowed to approach the mound again after the 5th inning until you have the N.L. Wild Card mathematically locked up.  Even if Hudson has a no-hitter or perfect game going you should still greatly consider removing him.  Otherwise you may soon be completely out of the postseason hunt altogether.

Case in point? Today's Mets game.

After allowing three runs through five innings and with the scored tied at 3, Hudson strolled out to the mound in the top of the sixth.  I clinched my fist and held my breath for I knew disaster loomed right around the corner.  How was he going to blow it again?  Sure enough, soon thereafter Hudson came unglued in the sixth and gave up 6 more earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning.  New York has blown another must win game for Atlanta wide open.

This has become a menancing trend for Hudson.

Including today's game, over his past three starts, Hudson has managed a solid ERA of 3.00 through the first 5 innings of each game.  He has either had the lead or been tied in all three of those games, and still miraculously managed two wins in two of the games despite the disturbing fact I am about to unleash upon Braves fans.

For once Hudson takes to the mound in the 6th, that solid ERA of 3.00 through 5 jumps all the way to 49.50 after the 5th.

In each of his past three games Hudson has pitched just 2/3 of an inning after the 5th in each game.  During that span he has given up 11 runs.  The guy simply melts down after 5, no doubt about it.  You can not afford to leave him in there longer than that, unless you don't care about things like actually winning the game and going to the post-season.

While the Atlanta Braves had a remote chance of still catching the New York Mets for the division title just a few days ago, this weekend series against New York at Turner Field has sealed the deal. 

Taking every remaining Mets/Braves series was imperative and mandatory if Atlanta and Braves fans wanted to even entertain the notion of possibly catching New York in the standings.  Now Atlanta is faced with just trying to avoid the sweep tommorrow.

Then to add insult to injury...

Despite Chipper getting hurt yet again yesterday, the Braves shipped Betemit to the Dodgers for a washed up middle reliever (Danys Baez) and a talented but raw infielder (Willy Aybar).  Forget being the Braves best bench player, Betemit was the Braves only decent bench player.  He is going to be a .300, 25 HR, 90 RBI guy in the very near future and is currently the only decent backup plan for an injured Chipper. Or should I say was?

The month of June was one the Atlanta Braves would care to forget rather quickly.  July on the other hand? Well now, that is an entirely different matter. 

After compiling an abysmal 6-21 record this past June, the Braves found themselves in quite the calamitous predicament.  Immediately before the Braves began their horrid month long march to kick off the summer, the club stood just 3.5 games back in the N.L. East and only one game out of the National League Wild Card lead.  By the time July finally rolled around, Atlanta was buried 15 games back behind the New York Mets and were 10 games behind the Cincinatti Reds for the N.L. Wild Card.  It is the worst record the Braves have registered in a single month since the 1935 season, back when the club still played in Boston.  What a difference just one month can make!

However, Atlanta's prospects for success have looked much more promising in the month of July thus far.  The struggling club opened the month by winning six of their first nine games, and seven out of its last ten played.  That mark was good enough to tie San Diego for the best record compiled in the N.L. during the final ten games before the All-Star break.  It goes to reason that if one terrible month can nearly derail a season, one spectacular month can get a season right back on track. 

Which is exactly why it is so puzzling that Fox Sports contributing writer Dayn Perry has already dismissed them and ranked them as one of the worst three teams in the N.L.  By giving them an "F" grade he put them on the same level as Chicago and Pittsburgh.  He awarded higher grades to the Marlins and Nationals despite being lower than Atlanta in the standings.  He also gave a "B' to a Cincinnatti club that only had 5 more wins than the Braves at the break and had just dropped 3 of 4 while visiting the Chop Shop immediately before the All-Star festivities began this week.  I could see such a disappointing grade being accurate two or three weeks ago, but did Perry bother to pay any attention whatsoever during the team's last ten game homestand?

Atlanta has already managed to match its win total for the month of June and stands ready to embark upon a key road trip against two first place teams before returning home to face three division rivals.  If the club can continue to win two games for every one it loses over that stretch (just as Atlanta has done ever since July 1st), then the team will surely be right in the thick of the playoff picture and quite possibly within striking distance of the Mets by the trading deadline.  Those expecting Atlanta to cut loose a player like John Smoltz or Andruw Jones by the end of the month have another thing coming.  With over two months to play and only being six games back of a playoff berth, Atlanta has no intention of calling it quits just yet.

The Braves are no strangers to July turnarounds.  Just last year the Braves trailed the Washington Nationals for first place by 4.5 games on June 31st.  The Braves would later reemerge and held a five game lead in the division a month later after going 17-8 (.680 winning percentage) last July.  It is a rite of passage that the Braves embark upon year after year. The team's late seasons efforts always yield the same result; one divisional title after another.

However, no team has ever done what the Braves did while still back in Boston in 1914. 

After trailing the New York Giants by 15 games on July 4th while sitting in dead last in their division, the Braves went on to win 41 of the club's next 53 games and would finish with a second half record of 68-19.  They ended up winning the division by 10.5 games, and are still the only team in the history of MLB to win their division after being in last place on July 4th.  The Braves would match that achievement this year if they do indeed manage to win their 15th straight title. For on this past July 4th, the Braves were in last place in the N.L. East.

Providing some much needed inspiration, Marcus Giles and Edgar Renteria have been on a tear recently.  Giles is currently on a 11 game hitting streak and is batting .333 for the month. Meanwhile, Renteria has hit safely in 13 straight games and is batting a remarkable .447 this month.  The Braves major offseason acquisition has to have Red Sox fans livid.  Renteria has already surpassed his homerun mark of 8 homers last year (9) and matched his stolen base total for all of last season (9).  More importantly, his .318 season average is up 42 points from last year, while his on-base percentage of .397 is up 62 points from a year ago. 

The real show stopper as of late however has been Chipper Jones.  Mets fans know him affectionately as "Larry." They are also well aware of just how hot the Braves third baseman can get in the second half of a season (1999).  After a brief injury scare caused him to miss a few games, Chipper is ready to stick it to teams in the second half once again.  He is 20 for his last 40 and is batting .538 in his last ten games played.  He has hit 3 homeruns and batted in 13 runs in that same span.  His current 11 game streak with an extra base hit is a franchise record, and has also hit safely in 12 straight.  He has a 1.000 SLG% (tied 1st in MLB), .625 OBP% (1st), and .550 avg. (2nd) thus far on the month. The guy has simply been next to unstoppable. 

As the fortunes of your top three hitters go, usually goes the fortune of your team.

Add to that the fact that Smoltz is pitching brillianly as of late (2-0, 2.14 ERA, 22 K's, 3 BB's over last three starts), rookie hurler Chuck James has been perfect in his three starts, and Horacio Ramirez has been solid with exception to last Friday's brief outing. The Braves rotation has suddenly begun to greatly resemble one capable of sustaining a winning streak.

Now if Tim Hudson, John Thomson, and the bullpen could just come around; another New York franchise could be in grave danger of squandering a huge mid-season lead by season's end. 

In all seriousness, I have every bit of faith the Braves will make the postseason once again. Whether its as a wild card or improbable division winner, Atlanta will play this October. It is a sight I eagerly await, if for no other reason than to make Dayn Perry look clueless yet again when it comes to covering our national past time.  Shame on him for not knowing that a six game deficit in early July means absolutely nothing.  Doesn't he know that two and a half months is an eternity in baseball?