Braves did it....

Some Braves facts after clinching the franchises first wild card today...

1) The Braves are 0-4 in their last 4 playoff series, including a 2002 NLDS loss to the Giants.

2) The Braves are 7-15 in their last 22 postseason games

3) The last 2 Braves to pitch in a postseason game for the franchise are Joey Devine and Jim Brower. Most recall the Chris Burke walk-off in 2005 off Devine.

4) Braves from the 2005 team that lost to Houston that will be on the 2010 roster? Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, and Kyle Farnsworth

5) This years wild card team had one more regular season win (91) than the 2005 division champs.

6) The last time the Braves won a playoff series (2001), the clinching game 3 against Houston was won by John Burkett, who was given plenty of support from Julio Franco and Paul Bako home runs.

7) Tim Hudson has 1 career playoff win in the 9 career postseason games he has appeared in.

8) Derek Lowe has recorded the win in half of his 10 career postseason starts.

9) Billy Wagner's career postseason ERA? 10.32

10) The Giants have very little postseason experience on their roster. The only pitcher likely to make an impact in the series with any innings in the postseason is Zito, and he may not see much action after his poor September.



For the record, here is how I would set up the rotation:

Game 1 - Lowe
Game 2 - Hudson
Game 3 - Hanson
Game 4 - Lowe
Game 5 - Hudson

Lowe and Hudson have done fine on short rest their last couple of starts and Hanson has the stuff to shut down SF when we get back to Atlanta. Hopefully, the vets get us a split in SF and Hanson can give us a shot to win the series with a gem in Game 3.

Prediction...Giants in 4. I am scared to death of Andres Torres and the pitching SF has. Bumgarner, Cain, Lincecum, Sanchez, and Wilson are dominant and that should be enough in a short series. The Braves best hope is that Lowe stays hot and the 5-8 spots in the order provide some run production.