R.A. on Duty

I think we all eventually figured out that R.A. Dickey was never going to replicate the success of his astonishingly good 2013 season. HOWEVER...I didn't use that as a reason to stop collecting the guy. He's a fun player, one of the few knuckleballers left in the game, and he's still getting starting gigs into his 40s. Any player who's still pitching into his 40s...whose name isn't Bartolo Colon, you know, deserves some attention.

The Braves may have gambled a bit in picking up Dickey, but they needed strong pitching, and with Dickey on the rotation they're a little better off. I mean, to be honest, the entire Braves rotation is a bit  waterlogged this year, with a lot of inflated ERAs and a ton of allowed home runs. Dickey does have one of the lower ERAs on the squad, and even if he's not having a perfect season, it's still admirable.

The Braves, by the way, are somehow in 2nd place in the NL East. I don't know how. I don't know why. But the Mets dropped down for long enough that the Braves were able to sneak in for a bit. It's kind of a no-prize at this point, as the Nationals are so far in first that they're beginning to lap the rest of the goddamned division, but the Braves are still doing their best to LOOK like a first place team...despite having a shaky rotation and an injured star power (good luck, Matt Adams!)

The team's a dire situation, but as long as Dickey and Colon are there, I'll have reasons to watch Braves games.

Coming Tonight: Top starter for a first place team...man, it's gonna be weird when you realize how odd it is that that statement describes this player.