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The Atlanta Braves are the franchise that once had one of the most famous catchphrases in baseball:
Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.
Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain were great pitchers for the Braves in the mid-20th century. They didn't have anyone trustworthy behind them.
This year's team might need a new slogan, centered around Chris Sale and then what feels like a fail.
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Injuries have absolutely decimated Atlanta's rotation. The Braves want this to be a major bounceback season. Instead, it's already looking dismal before Opening Day is even here.
"The Braves lost Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow surgery) at the start of camp and Spencer Strider (oblique) at the end of camp," MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote in a new article on Wednesday. "In between, they lost depth courtesy of injuries suffered by Joey Wentz (torn ACL) and Hurston Waldrep (elbow surgery). The top three starters are 37-year-old Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes. The latter two members of this trio suffered season-ending injuries last year. How this rotation will survive over 162 games is definitely a great unknown."
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The Braves have had so many injuries that Bowman doesn't even reference AJ Smith-Shawver's injury absence.
And then there's the fact that Lopez's fastball was down to 89 miles per hour in his final spring start. Is he hurt, too?
The Braves should put Sale in some bubble wrap at all times except when he's on the mound. This is getting hard to believe, and given the frequency of pitcher injuries, it could even get worse before it gets better.
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