The Braves lost 1-0 last night to the Milwaukee Brewers. With the loss, the Braves fell to 6-18 on the road, compared to 22-7 at home. Moreover, they are now 2-14 in one-run games his season, including 0-11 on the road.

This is not a case of Atlanta’s patchwork bullpen blowing leads late in games. Crazily, Atlanta’s strength this season has been it’s pitching. And that’s pretty inexplicable, considering the team’s best starter (John Smoltz) and two best relievers (Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano) have spent most of the season on the DL and the guy who was penciled in as the fourth starter, Mike Hampton, continues to find new ways to get hurt.

The Braves problem is, quite simply, a total and complete lack of clutchness.

So what do the Braves need?

Two words: Derek. Jeter. After all, who is more clutch than the Captain? Nooooooobody.

Of course, it’s unlikely that Jeter will bring his unique brand of situational hitting and machismo to Hotlanta, since he’s under contract through 2010 and he’s got a full no-trade clause. So, Atlanta will probably need a plan B.

That backup plan could take the form of a deadline deal for a power hitting left fielder like Adam Dunn or Jason Bay, either of whom could replace Atlanta’s Matt Diaz/Gregor Blanco platoon, bumping Diaz and Blanco to the bench and making Atlanta a deeper team. But I think a trade for either Dunn or Bay is unlikely. Atlanta traded for Mark Teixeira at the deadline last year and that cost them several top prospects. Another late season trade would further depleat the team’s system and I don’t think GM Frank Wren wants to go there.

There has been talk that Atlanta will trade for Greg Maddux, allowing the future Hall of Famer to reunite with Smoltz and Tom Glavine. Stranger things have happened. I don’t think Maddux would agree to go anywhere other than Atlanta and I don’t think the Padres would ask for much in return, since they wouldn’t have any leverage. This seems like a possibly low risk/high reward move and I think the Braves might just make it happen.

-What They Need Index-

Is John Smoltz the greatest pitcher of all time?

I only ask because that is apparently what Mr. Mark Bowman of mlb.com thinks. Or his editor. Or whoever it was that picked the headline for this article, entitled “Smoltz latest, greatest to reach 3,000 Ks.”

Do they even have editors over there? Because if whoever it was actually believes that John Smoltz is the greatest pitcher to ever reach 3,000 strikeouts, then they are the only one in the world who thinks that.

Even Smoltz’s own mother wouldn’t suggest that he is the greatest pitcher on this list:

Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Greg Maddux, Ferguson Jenkins, Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz.

In fact, it may even be possible to argue that John Smoltz is actually the worst pitcher on that list, but he certainly isn’t the best one, because that is basically a list of the greatest pitchers of all time. So in no way whatsoever is Smoltz the “greatest” pitcher to join the list.

So what really is going on with that title? I think what has happened here is another example of how these people get so up to their neck in sports clichés that they forget that what they are writing is actually English words that actually mean things, and simply apply these catchphrases where ever they please, much the same way Jackson Pollock applied paint to canvas, although probably with even less forethought.

I’m sure the person who came up with that headline probably just thought it had a nice “ring” to it, without even considering that it was actually words which would be making the insane claim that Smoltz was the greatest pitcher on the list above. But still, my gods. Learn to speak English - it’s your own native language (I hope).

Also, the subtitle of that article is pretty funny too - “Veteran no longer walking in shadows of Maddux, Glavine.” Um, okaaaay. Greg Maddux: - 349 wins, 4 Cy Youngs, 2 20-win seasons, so good he can be caught with your eyes closed. Tom Glavine: 303 wins, 2 Cy Youngs, 5 20-win seasons, hot baseball wife.

John Smoltz? 210 wins, 1 20-win season, 1 Cy Young. I think it is fair to say he is still chilling pretty deep in the shade of Maddux and Glavine. I mean Glavine has ninety-three more wins than Smoltz does. Even if you give him back the three years he was a closer, was he really going to average 31 wins per season?

Also, everyone is talking like Smoltz is a surefire Hall of Famer now, and he probably is, but if Smoltz makes the Hall for getting 3,000 strikeouts, than Bert Blyleven, who is number 5 on the list above, needs to have been inducted several years ago.

Greg Maddux will take the mount for the first time as a Los Angeles Dodger tonight.

This is an exciting event for some people, like Dodgers 3B coach Rich Donnelly, who told the L.A. Times, “I still can’t believe we have him, it’s like a miracle.”

For fans, this is a chance to see if Maddux can summon some of the magic that he used on his way to four Cy Young awards. Maddux got off to a good start this season, winning his first five games. But he’s gone 4-11 since.

For Dodgers’ catcher Russell Martin, tonight is his first chance to catch Maddux. And, apparently, the future Hall of Fame pitcher has let Martin know who’s in charge.

“He wants me to set up early and not move,” Martin said. “He told me not to tell him to throw one in the dirt or climb the ladder with a high pitch. He said, ‘I know when to do that.’ “

Martin thought for a moment and shrugged.

“Of course he does,” he said. “He’s so prepared. This guy knows exactly what he wants to do. I just hope he likes me.”

Maddux also told Martin that he won’t shake off many signs. Instead, he’ll throw the pitch he wants to throw, even if it isn’t what the catcher called.

“He said that as long as the location is the same, it doesn’t matter,” Martin said. “He’ll throw it and I’ll catch it.”

Maddux is amazing. I don’t know why Martin is even going to bother calling pitches. It’s quite clear who’s in charge.

I have a former colleague who got the chance to hang out with Maddux one spring training and he told me that before every start Maddux goes to Burger King (or McDonalds, I can’t remember which) and gets a burger and fries. The pitcher also rents a car to use during spring training. And by the end of spring training, he turns the car in, the back seat filled with discarded fast food bags.

That’s kind of a random story, I know, but it’s just a roundabout way of stating the obvious: Greg Maddox — he of the 87 mph fastball and (at least) 45 percent body fat — is a total badass.