What a difference a week makes

Oh, how everything looked like a bowl of cherries and roses just a short time ago. The Braves were red hot and hosting the division leading Marlins. If they took two of three and then did the same against Pittsburgh and Washington, the crown was ready to be placed on the Braves heads once again.

O.K., that might have been getting a little ahead of ourselves, but the optimism was palpable.

Well, optimism is sleeping again and it may be awhile before he wakes up.

The Braves didn't play well in the last week. They got swept by the Marlins, got shutout twice by Pittsburgh before exploding for a ton of runs on Sunday and then the bats went silent as they went 1-for-3 against the lowly Nats and their win was by a walked in run.

The offense is banged up. Chipper's got a sore thumb, McCann has a blurry eye, Garrett Anderson is...well, Garrett Anderson (it feels like he hasn't been healthy since signing his contract) and Yunel has been banged up too. Aside from Anderson, the 2-4 hitters have been missing in action (even if they were playing).

But that's not the real problem. The real problem is the stinky bullpen, mainly the pitchers that get you from starter to Soriano/Gonzalez. Blaine Boyer was shipped out, but I can't think of anyone that has been brought in.

It seems like the bridge bullpen - your (hopefully) 7th inning guy - is one of the most important players on the roster. Yes, you need a starter to get you to the 7th or (if you're extremely lucky) 8th inning, and you better have a reliable closer to finish it out, but that bridge guy (or guys) can really sink you if they aren't doing their job. The Braves know this, they've seen a couple of meltdowns that probably will keep them up at night all year long. When they haven't melted down, they haven't been dazzling either.

Just like it wasn't over when they were hot in the first week, it isn't over now that they are ice cold either, but there needs to be a solution for the bullpen. If Tommy Hansen is going to be a starter, maybe he joins the rotation sooner rather than later and someone like Reyes is converted into a reliever. Or vice versa. If Hansen is unlikely to start this year, let him be a bridge guy. The Red Sox have had a lot of success with Justin Masterson in that role and they keep saying that he will be a starter eventually.

Right now, the Braves can probably only solve this problem from within. It will be interesting to see how they do it.