Braves drop 2 of 3 to the Dodgers
The Good: Chipper Jones had another great series at the plate, going 5-for-9, scoring 2 runs and driving in 3. … Andruw Jones is making a bee line to 50 home runs. He smacked his National League-leading 38th and 39th home runs during the series. The Braves franchise record for home runs in a season appears to be well within his grasp. 
… Though he was 2-for-12 in the series (causing his average to slip to .360, poor baby) Jeff Francoeur nailed his 10th home run of the season and threw out his 9th baserunner of the season. He is now 1 assist behind the league leaders in assists while playing in roughly 1/4 of the games they have. Now that’s incredible! … Brian McCann bounced back from a mini-slump with 6-for-10 series, including a home run and 3 RBIs. … It looks like it’s going to be the John Smoltz and Tim Hudson show the rest of the way. If the Braves hold on to their division lead and go anywhere in the playoffs it will be on the backs of their 2 workhorses. Each allowed 2 runs on 7 hits in their game (Smoltz went 7 innings, Hudson 8 ). Unfortunately Smoltz was cheated out of his 13th win. … Rafael Furcal was 5-for-12 in the series, including his 10th homer and a 4-for-4 performance Saturday. He may be pushing .300 by the end of the season. It will be interesting to see if the Braves let him leave as a free agent this offseason now that he might actually fetch something on the open market. Wilson Betemit is waiting in the wings and 2005 draftee Yunel Escobar is tearing it up in the minors.
The Bad: Just when you thought he couldn’t get any worse, John Thomson was absolutely atrocious Wednesday night. 7 earned runs on 8 hits, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. We’re not going to win many games going forward if 3/5 of the rotation keeps stinking up the joint and the closer blows the other starters’ leads. … Marcus Giles was 2-for-13.
The Ugly: No one wants the closer’s role this year. Chris Reitsma is doing his best to lose the job. On Tuesday night he gave up 3 runs in the 9th inning in registering his 3rd straight blown save opportunity (all in the Braves’ last 8 games), his 7th such gaffe this season. Bobby Cox says he still has confidence in Reitsma but that doesn’t mean he might not give Kyle Farnsworth or Jorge Sosa a chance to seize the role of closer.
