Standings

The Braves are currently 3.5 games back from the NL East leading Phillies, while the rest of the division struggles to keep up. The Mets are 11 games back, the Nationals are 11.5 games behind, and Marlins bring up the rear standing 13.5 games behind the lead. There’s still a lot of ball to be played, but the Braves and Phillies are definitely the two teams to beat.

The Positives

Pitching has by far been the best positive for the Braves this year. Atlanta has the 2nd best team ERA in the MLB at 3.11–right behind the Phillies with a 3.02, and the #2 overall opponent batting average of .233. Everyone expected the Phillies to be at the top with their juggernaut of a starting rotation, but thanks to tremendous first halves by Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Johnny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel, the Braves are keeping pace.

Jurrjens, coming off his first All-Star appearance, sits at the top of the NL with a 12-3 record, while Hanson, who got snubbed from the mid-summer classic, has a 10-4 record. Venters is controlling the setup slot and paving the way for the record-setting, live-armed rookie Kimbrel to close ‘em out. Atlanta’s bullpen, which is arguably the best in the majors so far, also leans heavily on Eric O’Flaherty, Scott Linebrink, George Sherrill, and Scott Proctor.

Defensively, the Braves are backing up their pitchers very well this year. The memories of untimely errors during last year’s playoffs luckily haven’t stuck with the team. Alex Gonzalez has been an absolute vacuum at short this year, and because of injuries, Jordan Schafer and Nate McLouth have been able use their speed in the outfield to make some awesome grabs.

While the Braves have definitely under-performed at the plate like many teams this year, the leadership and presence of catcher Brian McCann has been extremely important. McCann, who in my opinion has been the best catcher in the game for a number of years, continues to work deep into counts and step up in the clutch. His All-Star selection was not only deserved but an obvious and easy choice for fans. Freddie Freeman, the rookie first-basemen, has done nothing but impress me so far. His ability to drive the ball to the opposite field with power shows his maturity. Freeman is only going to get better, and that’s great news for a team that has gone through many changes at the position over the last 10 plus years.

The Negatives

The good examples of batting bring me to batting itself, which has been pretty poor for the Braves as well as around the rest of the league. No longer are we in the steroid era, but we have entered back into what most consider “normal” baseball. The obvious player to pick on is Dan Uggla, coming into today’s game batting a horrific .185; however, he has filled his role as the power bat when he does connect with the ball in his 15 home-runs. That’s roughly 30 homers by the end of the year, which definitely helps.  While he’s definitely swinging the bat better recently, his major problems during the season have been concerned with his approach at the plate in my opinion. When players are in slumps like Uggla is, they often try to do too much. This results in a player trying to pull a ball that’s low and away, when it’s much easier to slap that ball the opposite way. His head was coming off the ball, and he was opening up way to soon. Jason Heyward also has been lackluster as compared to his start last year–which is understandably hard to reproduce. Heyward’s also been affected by injury, a theme that’s run through the club already. Chipper Jones and Martin Prado have missed noticeable time, as well as Peter Moylan and Kris Medlen in the bullpen. Prado makes his return tonight, filling in at 3rd base for Jones while McLouth handles the left field job.

What to Watch for in the 2nd Half

All eyes are on Uggla to get back on track. If he swings the bat well the rest of the season and everyone else holds on, there’s a playoff spot eminent–at least the Wild Card. When Moylan, Chipper, and Medlen return, barring everyone else stays healthy, this team could definitely give the Phillies a run for their money. Pitching has to stay on fire like it has been. After all, it’s been proven recently with the Giants, pitching and defense wins championships.  Offense will eventually follow. Think of the lineup possibilities with a healthy team. It might mean making some moves before the trade deadline. Having McLouth and Prado available for left field might be a little unnecessary. I’d like to see the Braves keep Schafer for his speed on the base-paths, an area where Atlanta is currently last in the league. But then again, I wanted them to keep Jermaine Dye back in the day. We saw how he turned out didn’t we? World-Series MVP to be exact.

Since I’ve my word count is approaching 4 digits, I’ll cut it short here. Give me some feedback. Did I miss something you think is important? Tell me about it.  Until next time folks.

1. Keep Updated – You’ve got to get into the habit of updating your blog.  If you don’t, it’ll be obvious.  I personally struggle with this almost more than anything.  I’ve got habits when it comes to the internet.  I visit the same websites, and I check the same websites on a more than daily basis.  If I could somehow just start to add my blog into the mix, I’m sure I could get a lot more traffic.
2. Check your spelling – Even though the internet is less formal, you should still practice proper grammar and spelling.  It’ll make you look more believable.
3. Paragraph Length – When blogging, try to keep your paragraphs short and concise.  Whenever you think you could break paragraphs up, do it.  One to three sentences should be a good length for a paragraph.
4. Insert graphics and video – Don’t go overboard to the point where people get easily lost on your page, but try and throw in some pictures and videos to break it up a bit.  It’s much more entertaining to look or watching something rather than read line after line of text.
5. Hyperlinks – Hyperlinks also add credibility to your posts.  Don’t type out the complete URL, but hyperlink it.  This allows readers to easily go to other pages that you linked from your post.  Don’t go crazy with this either.  Too many links and your post will look cramped, and that’s not good.
6. Use Lists – Much like this one actually.  Lists with bullets and numbers are easy to read and process.
7. Write Conversationally – If it’s too mechanical, it can be off-putting.  So keep it light and sensible.  It helps show your personality.
8. Show your personality – Anyone can start up blog about almost anything, but what separates good blogs from bad blogs–in m opinion at least–is being able to inject your own personality into your posts and blog overall.  Hopefully, other viewers will notice this and actually enjoy reading your blog.  No matter what the subject is about.
9. Be respectful – Just like commenting on blogs, you should always be respectful of others views.  When I think of “bloggers” I think of people spouting out opinions.  That’s fine.  Just don’t act like a hot shot.  No one likes that.
10. Follow other bloggers – This is the easy way to get hopefully regular visitors to your page.  It also gives you great ideas on how to keep updated on your blog.  Hopefully, if you comment on another person’s blog, they’ll return the favor!

1. No one is available to speak with you – This is a pretty common excuse that a PR professional may give to a journalist.  While at some times, it may be true, if this problem keeps recurring then it will need to be fixed.  Instead of turning the journalist away, maybe the PR person should actually study up on current events.  That way, when the journalists actually does call, the appropriate response can be given.
2. Excessive hype – Journalists, by nature, are supposed to be objective in their writing.  They want to present the facts and both sides of a story.  They often become discouraged by PR professionals when the PR person uses unnecessary hype or buzz words.  Sure, as a PR professional, we want to make our client sound the best we can.  But there’s a thin line that a PR professional must walk.  Strive to be informative and creative in your writing, but don’t flood the story with an over-the-top amount of opinion.
3. Being unaware of publication deadlines – Imagine you are the reporter, and you need this information by a certain day.  Your life is run by deadlines.  As a PR professional, be respectful of a reporter’s need for information in a timely fashion.
4. Sending news releases to the wrong person – As a PR pro, it’s important that you send your pitches and news releases to the right person.  Say your client is in the financial business.  Send it to the editor or reporter in charge of that beat.  Don’t send it to the sports reporter.  You’re only wasting your time… as well as theirs.
5. No Comment – Avoid using this as an “answer” whenever possible.  It seems as though you’re hiding something when you say this.  Instead, say the same thing, but in a different way.  One could simply say, “That’s not my area of expertise,” or “I’m sorry.  I cannot discuss that at this time.”
6. Setting up a News Conference – There are a lot of factors that go into having a successful news conference.  Send invitations to reporters so that they have enough time to plan to attend if possible.  And again, be aware of publication deadlines when selecting a time and date for the news conference.
7. Setting up a Photo opportunity – Make sure to provide everything a photographer may need–outside of the photo equipment of course.  Have the photo shoot in a central location that is easy to find and relatively quick to get to.  Have some props set up if needed, and have names of all the participants just to make it easier for everyone.
8. Gifts – PR professionals have a bad habit of throwing in “freebies” with press kits and news releases.  A journalist isn’t necessarily more likely to use your news release just because you gave him a fancy new pen or something.  In fact, he might look at your work even more harshly because it seems as though you HAVE to give him something to attract attention to your otherwise boring story.
9. Irritating Phone Calls – Don’t call reporters asking, “Hey.  Did you get that news release?”  If they’re doing their job, then they got it.  Don’t expect them to always follow up with you on a news release–even if they use it or not.  It’s fine to give a follow-up phone call to see if the reporter needs more information, but one call is enough.  Don’t hassle them.
10. Useless lunch dates – If you’re taking a reporter to lunch, it should be business related–unless of course you’re both old friends and are simply catching up.  Anyways, a reporter’s time is priceless.  They live by deadlines.  If you schedule a lunch date, come prepared with information about your client’s product or service.

This information came from my textbook Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques.