INJURIES OF 2010 SEASON

Iam defiently dissappointed with how the braves season ended in 2010 but I mostly feel it was due to the  injuries. We lost Chipper Jones and Kris Medlin in the same week. In August when you lose your #3 hitter and #4 starter things arent going to be easy. Iam very proud of the Braves for making the playoffs- because they limped into it. I honestly believe if  the Braves were healthy heading into the playoffs  we would have went to the world series- Jair Jurrjens  got injuried early on and never got into a rhythm. Jason Heyward battled thru thumb  injury from June on. Chipper went down in August- but to me the injury no one talks about is Kris Medlen. He did a great job filling in for Jurrjens while he was injured. He showed signs of being a big part of the Braves rotation for many years to come. I really dont understand why Braves fans underscore the importance of his injury.

Medlen is not expected back this year until the latter part of the season and Im sure he will be rusty but he will be a big  help to this team- Hudson, Lowe, Hanson, Jurrjens, and Beachy/ Minor until Medlen comes back. The Braves Pitching will be loaded again this year. I Think back to last season and  see when Chipper went down with his acl tear this team truly missed  his leadership down the stretch. Hes not a guy thats going to produce great numbers anymore but the leadership he brings everyday is priceless and with alot of young guys in the lineup during the crucial stretch of the season it would have been huge to have Chipper playing everyday. I  was at the game Prado got hurt and honestly the day he got hurt the Braves playoff chances for success went out the window. Martin Prado is a gamer who was awesome last season for the Braves. It was tough to lose Chipper-  but when you lose Prado with it- its even worse. I knew things was going to be tough once Prado got injured. Lets remember the reason Brooks Conrad was playing in the playoffs was because of the injury to Prado. If Prados healthy you can forget about Conrad being in the lineup to make 3 errors in that heartbreaking game 3.

Things got worse in the playoffs- game 2 Billy Wagner went out with injury. I almost could have cried when he went down because I knew we were a wrap after his injury. No team in baseball can overcome  season ending injuries to both #3 hitters ( Chipper and Prado) and then lose there closer to injury in the playoffs- you will never win. I believe 100% if Billy Wagner doesnt get injured in playoffs   the braves win that series against the Giants. Him going down with injury forced Bobby Cox to go closer by committe after game 2 and you all know how I feel about Bobby Cox managing pitching changes in the playoffs.. Instead of  Wagner shutting things down in the 9th inning of game 3 it was Kimbrel, and Dunn - no disrespect to those two young guys but they dont compare to the level Billy Wagner pitched last year.

Looking back 2010 was a very special year for the braves- 1st playoffs in 5 years- most home wins in baseball, most comeback wins, most wins in last at bat. Heywards 1st at bat home run, Bobby Cox last season- but injuries were the name of the game for 2010. If we were healthy I think you would have seen the Braves make an extended run in the playoffs- but injuries happen- the braves did the best they could with what they had- and it wasnt enough. It sucks but thats how it is sometimes. I hope we can stay healthy in 2011 and build from the success of 2010.. Im ready.. are you?