Ok, Phils, don't disappoint again.
I wish that were the case, but it isn't. Their pitching isn't consistent enough to make up for their offensive inconsistencies. Hanson will only win between 10-15 games, Hudson is old enough that every season is going to be a crapshoot and he's already injured, Beachy is largely an unknown quantity over a full season, and Jurrjens had a great year last year but his 2010 season was quite bad. Kimbrel is obviously one of the best relievers in the game but that can only dig you out of so many holes. When half your lineup is batting .250 and even those guys can't stay healthy, it doesn't bode well.
However I will say this. The Braves are extremely consistent in that over the last 4 or so seasons they've gone on an unbelievable hot-streak at some point in the year. Last year it was in the middle of the season, in 2010 at the end until they got into the playoffs and bombed, and 2009 it was coming down the stretch until the last two weeks and they blew it. If they can get hot right before the playoffs as opposed to a month out, then we'll talk.
I don't know how anyone who has been a Braves fan for any length of time can be optimistic. I mean this was the team that absolutely dominated the NL for a decade, had one of the top 5 pitchers of all time (alongside two other HOFers), and only got one ring out of it....
