The Braves took a strange route to the MLB playoffs in 2010. They started off cold, and were 6.5 games out of the division lead in the middle of May. Then they won two-thirds of their next 57 contests to take a seven-game NL East lead. Then they started playing .500 baseball while the Phillies played like the best team in the world and it took a desperate effort at the end of the year to sew up the Wild Card. This past season, the Braves covered pretty much the entire spectrum, and they couldn't be sure of their fate until the final day of the year.
2010 MLB Playoffs: How The Atlanta Braves Got To The NLDS
In the end, despite all the ups and downs, preseason projections came true - the Braves ended up a playoff team with terrific run prevention and a decent but by no means terrific offense. Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson were good out of the rotation, but the real strength might've been the bullpen, where Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, and Jonny Venters - among others - shut everybody down. The Padres and Giants have drawn raves for their relief work, but the Braves' was just as good, if not better.
Now that it's October, the Braves are unfortunately dealing with a number of injuries. Martin Prado is done. Chipper Jones is done. Saito is out for at least the Division Series. Jair Jurrjens is out for at least the Division Series as well. The big question is how well the Braves will be able to overcome their missing players, because they might now be the weakest they've been all season.
Record
91-71
Key Players
Jason Heyward (RF; .277 BA, .393 OBP, .456 SLG)
Brian McCann (C; .269 BA, .375 OBP, .453 SLG)
Omar Infante (Inf; .321 BA, .359 OBP, .416 SLG)
Tim Hudson (SP; 2.83 ERA, 1.9 K/BB)
Tommy Hanson (SP; 3.33 ERA, 3.1 K/BB)
Billy Wagner (RP; 1.43 ERA, 4.7 K/BB)
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