After two months of the season, the Braves find themselves at 25-25. The Braves followed their 10-11 April with a 15-14 May. The team failed to take advantage of the softer schedule in May by finishing 6-7 against Houston, Arizona, and Colorado who are currently a combined 23 games under .500. If the front office fails to make a major move to acquire an outfield bat, the Braves will find themselves buried in the standings by the end of the month. The Braves face a brutal 12-game stretch at the end of June and the beginning of July against the Red Sox (6 games), Yankees (3 games), and the Phillies (3 games).

The Braves have to do something about the lack of outfield production. For the second year in a row the Braves outfielders have been taking balsa wood bats to the plate. In May Garrett Anderson, Jordan Schafer, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Diaz combined to hit .239 (79/331) with 2 HR and 35 RBIs. If you take out Diaz and Anderson, Francoeur and Schafer combined for .195 with 1 HR and 15 RBI. With Francouer, Schafer, and the pitcher’s spot taking up the 7-8-9 spots in the batting order, the Braves are just giving away innings to the opposing team.

The hot rumor du jour would have Mark DeRosa returning to Atlanta from Cleveland in exchange for some young pitching. While I like DeRosa’s intensity and ability to play multiple positions, this would not provide a big enough splash to boost the outfield production where it needs to be (though his 8 HRs and 34 RBI would lead the team by far). I think the Braves should target Matt Holliday (.275, 7 HR, 30 RBI). Holliday got off to a slow start, but rebounded to hit .291 with 5 HR and 16 RBI in May.

The Braves must also make a decision soon on what to do with their plethora of starting pitching. Tom Glavine will make his last minor league rehab start tonight and if things go well will be back in the rotation behind Lowe, Jurrjens, Vazquez, and Kawakami during the current home stand. Kris Medlen has improved in each of his starts and could be moved to the bullpen upon Glavine’s arrival. Tommy Hanson (3-3, 1.50 ERA, 90 Ks in 66.1 IP) and Charlie Morton (7-2, 2.52 ERA) have been pitching lights out at AAA Gwinnett. Don’t forget that Tim Hudson is on schedule to return by August.

The Braves need a strong June to move into contention. The Braves open the month with a ten-game home stand against the N.L. Central’s Cubs, Brewers, and Pirates. The Braves can’t afford to continue to play mediocre baseball against the average and below average teams. Go get ‘em Braves!

**UPDATE**
This afternoon the Braves sent Jordan Schafer to AAA and recalled Gregor Blanco.