The pitching isn't that bad

The Braves are 5th in the league in ERA, so the pitching is not the reason that we are 2 games under .500. Every pitcher in the starting rotation has made an overall positive contribution to the win probabilities for the season.

Starting Rotation

Jair Jurrjens
Derek Lowe
Javier Vasquez
Kenshin Kawakami
Tommy Hanson
Tim Hudson (Rehab start on July 19th)

These 6 guys are a solid group of pitchers and if Hudson comes back in August we could have a 6 man rotation that would give the older guys (Lowe, Vasquez, Kawakami) and extra day of rest towards the end of the season.

The bullpen is another story. It seems that Bobby Cox picks three relievers each year and uses them until their arms fall off. This year, those three are Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, and Peter Moylan. Soriano has pitched well with a 1.48 ERA and 12 saves. However, his career high in innings is 72 and he is on pace for 79 this year. But, his career splits show that he pitches better in the second half of the season, so he may be OK for this year. Mike Gonzalez was the closer until he had some ineffective outings that opened the door for Soriano to take the role. Gonzalez is on a pace for 77 innings pitched when his career high is 54 innings. This extended usage, coupled with his normal decline in the second half, could cause problems with him in the set-up role for the rest of the season. Peter Moylan has been inconsistent this year, but he should pull it together in the second half. He is on a pace to throw 68 innings, which is way below his career high of 90. However, after he threw those 90 innings in 2007, he only threw 5 innings the next year due to injury. Jeff Bennett, Eric O'Flaherty, Manny Acosta, and Kris Medlen round out the bullpen. Those four have pitched pretty well in spot starts and low-leverage relief appearances.

The Braves start a 4 game series with the Mets on Thursday. Derek Lowe will get the start.