Early last week, Braves general manager responded to an emailed question by writing: "We're searching for catching every day." By week's end, we were reminded why. The Braves lost their first two games after the All-Star break on nights that saw them deliver eight wild pitches (with a passed ball interspersed) and Saturday's winning run arrive via a bounced Erick Aybar throw that A.J. Pierzynski, yet again, couldn't handle.
Which, you’ll recall, is how this forlorn season began: Aybar being awful, Pierzynski being awful, too. Difference is, the Braves have a shortstop replacement en route. For Pierzynski, there’s nada.
We stipulate that Pierzynski was never viewed as anything more than a stopgap in case Christian Bethancourt didn't pan out, about which more later. The Braves got an acceptable season from the retread in 2015 (1.6 WAR value); they've gotten an abomination (minus-1.8 WAR) this time. When Tyler Flowers was lost for a month to a broken hand, it became A.J. or bust. Bust it is.
