A little letter

I’M A PROUD Atlanta Braves fan.

My home is in the middle of what the team markets as “Braves Country.”

I’m ready to see another World Series win as much as anybody who’s ever done the tomahawk chop.

Tonight, I thought I’d write a little letter to some other members of Atlanta’s fan base.

Some of you need some optimism.

The Braves beat Boston 6-3 tonight for their 20th win of this 60-game season.

The way some of you sad sacks moped on Twitter after the game, you’d think Atlanta has the Red Sox 12-23 record.

The Braves are 20-14 and in first place in the National League East, in case you didn’t know.

I understand the reason for your gripes, though.

The Braves need starters, and the trade deadline passed without a single move.

I guess some of you took the lack of activity on deadline day as a sign the team threw in the towel on this season.

I’d like to offer you a different perspective, if I may.

Atlanta has played 34 games, and it is six games over .500 with a three-game lead in its division.

All of those statistics are good ones.

All of those numbers belong to a team which, because of injuries and other reasons, finds itself without four of its five starting pitchers.

Max Fried, who improved to 6-0 tonight, has stepped up to lead a patchwork rotation.

Since the starters in said rotation haven’t been able to go as deep into games as we’d like, with the exceptions of Fried and rookie Ian Anderson, the bullpen has had to pick up plenty of innings.

It has risen to the challenge so far.

The relief corps has been a bright spot for the most part, which is another good thing.

The Braves have also scored a bunch of runs, and the hitters who struggled to start the season have started to heat up in recent games.

If the lineup stays hot when the normal top two batters come back from the injured list, this could be a fun stretch run.

It would have been nice to get a quick-fix arm to shore up another spot in the rotation and carry Atlanta deep into games, because I’m not sure how long the patchwork pitching will hold, but if the Braves can stitch it with no cost I’m all for it.

It remains to be seen whether they can, but the way some of y’all just find stuff to complain about is crazy.

Your team is down four pitchers, but it’s in first place with less than half the season left.

Keep in mind, this is a season we didn’t know we’d get to have.

Remember to enjoy the ride.

You never know, it could end with a championship.

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This post is a response to Sue’s “members” prompt.