Braves make two moves, gear up for postseason

With the Philadelphia Phillies solidifying their postseason three-man rotation with the acquistion of Roy Oswalt (and thus giving the Braves NL East rivals a better postseason rotation than Atlanta has with Huddy, Medlen and Jurrjens) the Braves pulled the trigger on a move that will hopefully spark the team to hold onto its ever-shrinking 2.5 games lead over the Phillies in the division.
The team sent Gregor Blanco, Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez to the KC Royals in exchange for Kyle Farnsworth, Rick Ankiel and cash. The Braves upgraded with Ankiel over Blanco and Farnsworth (now in his second stint with the team) over Chavez but gave up Collins (which had to be done, otherwise, why would KC do the deal?).

I like how the Braves upgraded, but I am not certain that it will be enough. Ankiel hit 25 HRs two years ago but had just 11 last season and has hit only four thus far this season (he was 0-3 with one walk yesterday). He is a good fielder though, when he stays on the field and isn't injured. Ankiel is an improvement over McLouth, but another lefty in the lineup isn't helping, though it likely means Henske will play more first base as Melky can shift back to left to split time with Diaz.

As far as Farnsworth, it is his second tour with the Braves, after serving as a closer down the stretch in 2005. This go-around he won't need to close, just serve as the seventh inning man while Jonny Venters and Saito split the eighth inning. Having Farnsworth is a luxury and he is far better than Chavez has been this season. You can never have too many arms in the bullpen. I am not complaining.

But the bottom line is that, yes this team got better with Ankiel and Farnsworth, but I still am extremely worried about the postseason chances. The pitching staff hasn't looked dominating like it did earlier in the season and Lowe has pitched himself out of my suggested postseason rotation. Can Hanson get back? He's looked pretty strong in his last two starts, though both went for losses. I expect this team to make the postseason (likely in the Wild Card as it looks like Philly is hitting its stride), but once postseason baseball gets here, I think the Braves get taken out in the first round against the Cards (The Wainwright/Carpenter/Westbrook 1-2-3 is better than Atlanta's, plus they have that guy.....PUJOLS, that's his name). If the Braves are "lucky" enough to draw the Padres, then you have to face the Phillies or Cards in the NLCS (if you can get past the Fathers, who added two bats at the deadline).

I want this to be a magical season, but I think the magic may be running out in early August. I hope I am wrong and Atlanta runs off a huge winning streak at home, but yeouch, the Phillies still have Doc, Roy and Cole. That is going to be tough.

Let's just hope Prado's hand heals quickly!