Long-time no see Braves fans. As the 2009 season unfolds I wanted to take the opportunity to address the State of the Atlanta Braves pitching staff.

Some might say the pitching has been the biggest disappointment for the ‘09 version of the Braves. I would agree to some extent. This most recent sweep by the Florida Marlins and the Pirates taking 2 0f 3 had as much to do with the hitting or lack there of.  So let’s look into the pitching and see what’s going on there.

If the Braves hope to be better than last year the starting pitching has to pitch more than 5 innings a night. Derek Lowe and Javy Vazquez have been as good as we thought. Along with Jair Jurrjens pitching out of his mind. But everyone, including myself, wonders if this bullpen will hold up. But there are also some guys that may be healthy towards the middle of the season.

Tom Glavine:As much as it is going to pain me to say this, I think the wonderful career of Tommy Glavine has come to an end. I have loved this guy since I was a boy growing up in Atlanta. I’m glad this situation did not get dirty like the Smoltz episode. I’m also glad Frank Wren made Mr. Glavine’s contract heavy on incentives for this season. But overall I hope Glavine and the Braves work out something in the future to keep Tommy in the organization.

This brings me to Tommy Hanson. We all figured Glavine was keeping the seat warm for the kid. But are we really going to have a rotation with all right-handers? I mean I don’t put too much stock in this but what about that Phillies lineup with all those lefties? I guess if you can get hitters out it doesn’t matter huh? I’m tired of waiting….Let’s see what the kid can do!

Tim Hudson:Did we all forget about Tim Hidson? I sure didn’t. What about when his rehab is over in the middle of the season? What do we do? Depending on when Hudson is ready I think the Braves have a serious situation on their hands. Not a bad situation to have plenty of healthy arms. But I guess you never know how healthy your rotation will be at that time. We will wait and see. I’m sure we will be in the hunt and Hudson could add some much needed depth and freshness to our rotation.

Bullpen: Now on to the bullpen. This has been pretty touchy subject for Braves fans this year. I feel this can be a strength but needs some work. Blaine Boyer was sent down to AAA Gwinnett on Saturday. Boyer can throw hard and I think he still has something left for the bigs, but maybe needs to get his mind right and start throwing strikes. Peter Moylan, Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano are all coming off of elbow surgeries. Bobby Cox and Roger McDowell are still trying to figure out how to use each one and how often. I have mentioned in the past that each guy can close and I expect all of them to continue to get regular work in late inning situations.

Overall I feel the Braves are in a good position after 12 games. There is so much baseball left to be played. The Braves have to continue to get consistent hits to support the great starting pitching. If the bullpen does not straighten out I expect Bobby and Wren to make some moves or bring up some young arms.

In case you missed it:

After going 22 innings without scoring a run the Braves scored 11 on Sunday on 15 hits. The Braves seemed to look like an entirely different team and welcomed Chipper Jones back from battling a sore thumb.

Brian McCann and Yunel Escobar were out of the lineup on Sunday. McCann has been battling blurriness in his eyes and Escobar strained an abdominal muscle. McCann to see a specialist today and Escobar is expected to return in the next couple of games.

Braves backups and youngsters come up big!

Martin Prado, David Ross, and Jordan Scahfer were combined 7-13 6 RBIs, 2HRs, and 4 Runs in the Braves 11-1 win vs. the Pirates.