What’s cooler than being cool? ICE COLD! Famed Atlanta-based musician Andre 3000 would be spot-on to use the term ice cold to describe the Atlanta Braves 2025 offense.
After another abysmal performance from the offense to spoil the return of Spencer Strider, the Braves fell to 5-13 on the season.
Frustration is boiling to new heights in both the Atlanta Braves organization and fanbase. The same mysterious offensive struggles that plagued the team frequently in 2024 has unfortunately been the early theme of the 2025 season as well.
Sadly, this afternoon we saw what was perhaps one of the worst offensive performances across the last 200 games of misery.
The Braves struck out 19 times in a nine-inning baseball game today; that mark helped Toronto set a nine-inning franchise record after Chris Bassit carved up the Braves to begin the game and the bullpen followed suit in dominating fashion.
As expected, the clubhouse vibes are nearly in the toilet as of right now. Atlanta Braves ironman first baseman Matt Olson offered some very straightforward thoughts on the recent offensive struggles. His statements are ones that fans would likely label as exactly what we’re all thinking in these tough times.
Matt Olson: “We gotta play better. There’s no secret to that. Sure, we got a lot of games left, but we can’t do this shit forever. We gotta find a way to start playing better baseball all the way around.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) April 16, 2025
Matt Olson doesn’t hide how he feels about Braves’ struggles
“We can’t do this [expletive] forever,” was the headlining quote Olson gave Justin Toscano of the AJC this afternoon. The veteran first baseman was asked what needed to change with the Braves’ offense, and his response was again exactly what fans are thinking.
“We can’t play games like that. It’s terrible. Just nothing all day. What was it, 19, 20 strikeouts? Can’t happen.” said Olson. We all share the same sentiment. Today was about as ugly as it gets for an offense. Michael Harris II and Austin Riley each went 0-4 with four strikeouts at the top of the order.
Rookie Drake Baldwin’s first career home run, which came in the ninth, was the only thing that kept this game from being a shutout.
The strikeout problem is an unfortunate replica of what we saw in 2024. Last season the Braves finished seventh most strikeouts in baseball. This season the Braves currently have the third most strikeouts (177 Ks in 18 games) throughout MLB. When the offense was at it’s peak in 2023, the team finished with the sixth fewest strikeouts in the league.
Something we’ll continue to preach is the hope that offense looks somewhat reasonable once again when Ronald Acuna Jr. returns to the lineup. Again let’s hold out hope that actually is the case.
However, until that return happens the same old “it’s only a matter of time” in reference to the potential for an offensive turnaround bit is growing old on fans very fast. It’s getting to the point where fans simply want results now. Thankfully, it seems the same feelings are shared with Matt Olson and the rest of the clubhouse.