Last year the Atlanta Braves finished with 94 wins. Most years that would have been plenty to win the NL East. Not last year. The Washington Nationals announced their arrival with a 98-win season and they’re not going away.
Neither are the Braves, though. Atlanta made a blockbuster trade for Justin Upton and teamed him up with his brother, B.J., who was brought to Atlanta in free agency. So far, so good for the Braves offense. Even though they have had some injuries to start the season (Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann), Atlanta is off to an 8-1 start.
Craig Kimbrel joined 680 the Fan in Atlanta with Buck and Kincade to talk about whether he plays with the same mindset in April as he does late in the year, what the feel is in the clubhouse, how the Uptons have been fitting in, if they are looking forward to playing the Nationals this weekend and how important it would be to make an early statement against Washington.
Do you play with the same mindset in April as you do late in the season?
“Yeah. Once I got into trouble I told myself I had to buckle down and focus a little more, make sure I made the right pitches. Every outing is important. It’s still early. Me, myself, I’m still trying to figure a few things out and, late in the season, just go out there and try to get the job done, do whatever I have to in order to get the last three outs. Right now I’m still out there trying to get the feel for some pitches and see what is working on certain days. That’s a little different than at the end of the year. It is still going out there and doing my job.”
On the feel in the clubhouse:
“It’s a blast. We’re a young group of guys. Our core is pretty young. I think someone said we’re the youngest team in baseball the other day and we may be in age, but I don’t feel like we play that way. We are having fun and I feel like we’re going to have fun all year. If we keep playing baseball like we have been playing the first seven games of the year then there is going to be no reason not to have fun.”
How are the Uptons fitting in?
“They’re not fitting in very hard at all. They’re a big part of our team. We’ve seen what Justin has done to start the year and I’m sure B.J. will come along before too long, and they’re fun and they’re great to be around, but when it’s time to put the cleats on and get on the field, it’s business. They do that better than anybody.”
Are you looking forward to the series against Washington early:
“I think so. Like you said, one game at a time, but I am looking forward to it. They have become one of our biggest division rivals in the division. It’s going to be fun. They’ve always had good crowds come out the last year and a half and it should be a fun series. We are going to be the top two teams in the division so we have to get the job done when we go up there this weekend.”
How important is it to make an early statement?
“You definitely don’t want to go into it as a must-win or anything like that because it’s a long season, but they are important. Any time you play a team within your division, especially a team like the Nationals, who won the division last year and is a great team, those are the games you need to win when you go head-to-head. From what we’re expecting, it’s going to be between us, them and the Phillies, so we need to get the job done when we play them or we’re not going to be where we need to be at the end of the year. It’s definitely a big series. It’s not as big of a series as it would be if it were in September but it’s still a big series for us and we need to go in there and try to win two out of three.”
