Talking Chop

Chuck James is on the mound for the Braves as they make their first trip of the year to the GAB. James will try to rebound from his very forgettable last start against the Mets in which he lasted all of one inning and allowed a whopping seven runs, including a granny to Beltran. He will also try to keep the ball in the park at one of the most notorious ballparks for surrendering homers.

Today's Starting Pitchers

C. James Braves vs.  A. Harang Reds 4-2 W-L 11-7 4.87 ERA 3.62 29 SO 144 16 BB 40 11 HR 14 vs. Reds -- vs. Braves

Hopefully Adam LaRoche will be back in the lineup as he has hit Harang ably in the past. Look for Brian McCann to have a big game with his past success against Harang. Andruw Jones and Marcus Giles have had their struggles against him, but maybe the good games they've had recently can carry over to today.

This is another critical series for the Braves - just get used to everyone saying that for every series the rest of the year, because with where we are in the standings, every series is critical. We do have an opportunity to make a statement here in Cincinnati by beating up on the wild card co-leader. But we must not set our sights on the wild card just yet. The goal of the next 10 days is to get back to .500. We are 10-8 since the break, and it's going to be a tall order for us to fulfill Jeff Francoeur's goal of going 20-11 after the break. We would have to go 10-3 over the next two weeks to achieve that, and to reach a .500 record. Yikes! Can this team be that consistent? I just don't know. They made me believe when they went on their tear right after the break, but that series against the Mets last weekend put a lot of doubts in a lot of people's minds.