I'm sure I'm going to jinx Tim Hudson by making this point, but to illustrate how important it is that the Braves have two bona fide #1 starters, look at how instrumental our #1 starters have been in the Braves' playoff exits over the past three years:
2002 - Glavine is shelled in games one and four and finishes with a 15.26 ERA; the Braves lose the series in five.
2003 - Ortiz pitches OK in game one, poorly in game five, and finishes with a 5.06 ERA; the Braves lose the series in five. (In fairness, their inability to hit Kerry Wood was the major factor there.)
2004 - Jaret Wright gets bombed in games one and five and finishes with a 9.31 ERA; the Braves lose in five.
If the Braves get to the playoffs this year, they will be going without the handicap that has killed them for the past three years: the absence of a true #1 starter.
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