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I said during spring training the Atlanta Braves would win the National League pennant. Coming out of the all star break I have every reason to believe the Braves will be in the World Series. Yes Philadelphia is still very good but so is Atlanta. I will share  a couple of reasons I think the Atlanta Braves can win it all.

The Braves are only 3 1/2 games behind the Phillies coming out of the all star break. That’s with a lot of first half injuries. Martin Prada is back at 3rd base tonight and Chipper Jones is already taking balls on the infield after his knee surgery. He should be back in a couple of weeks and the Braves will be at 100%.

Second baseman Dan Uggla who has been in a terrible slump all season now has a 7 game hitting streak . If he keeps it going and hits with the power he can the Braves will have powerful offensive lineup. Chipper was hitting well before the surgery and McCann has been tearing the cover off the ball especially in critical situations.

RHP Peter Moylan has been on the disabled list since April with a bulging disc in his lower back. Peter had surgery in May and is expected to return by mid August.

Rookie 1B Freddie Freeman is batting .274 with 13 home runs. He is getting better everyday and will be an all star 1B in a year or two.  RF Jason Heyward is only batting .226 but he has 9 home runs and I think he will hit the ball better the second half of the season. He is an outstanding defensive outfielder.

The Braves have the best catcher in baseball in Brian McCann and also have the best backup catcher in the league in David Ross. McCann is batting .31o with 15 HR and 50 RBI. Ross coming off the bench is batting .297 with 4 HR. A lot of teams would love to have Ross as their starting catcher.

But the main reason the Atlanta Braves will be in the World Series is because of their pitching staff. They had 3 pitchers on the National League all star team and most people felt Jair Jurrgens should have been the National League starter. He has a league leading 12 wins and the lowest ERA 1.87 in the major leagues. Tommy Hanson has 10 wins and  Tim Hudson has 8.

The bullpen has simply been outstanding with rookie Craig Kimbrel being a lights out closer. Kimbrel set a half-season rookie record with 28 saves. Jonny Venters has been one of the best setup men in the league with a 1.46 ERA and a .171 opponent batting average. They have 7 pitchers under the age of 27 on the staff. A lot of people are saying this staff is better than the staff with Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine. I really don’t think they are there yet. This is only one season. Time will tell.

But I do think they are good enough that you will see the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. You better get your Braves tickets while you can and go take in a few games now. Tickets will be hard to come by in a few months.

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