Today’s Big Winners — The Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves won their 13th game in a row last night. That’s not a typo. Thirteen straight. They have the most wins in the majors. And if you aren’t a Braves fan, odds are you had no idea.

With all the A-Rod and Ryan Braun and Biogenesis talk you can be excused, of course. But it’s time you knew: Atlanta has the best baseball team in the majors right now.

The Braves win again for 13th consecutive win,and their staggering 15.5 game lead is more than combined total of every other division leader — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 8, 2013

The Braves are winning the NL East, which was supposed to be one of the tightest divisions in baseball, by 15.5 games. They’ve made the Nationals, who many picked as World Series favorites heading into the season, look completely irrelevant. (The Nationals have their own problems, of course. But the Nationals problems don’t explain the Braves having 70 wins in the first week of August.)

The Braves are doing it all, too. They’re hitting at a crazy clip, scoring the second most runs per game in the NL (4.51), trailing only St. Louis.

Chris Johnson, formerly of the Diamondbacks and the Astros, was brought in to try and fill the impossibly large shoes of Chipper Jones. How did he handle the pressure? He’s batting .338. Yeah, stat heads, I know his BABIP is high. Even if he regresses, he’s still been a huge surprise for a team that lost their franchise third baseman to retirement.

Justin Upton is mashing. Jason Heyward is staying (more or less) healthy. Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann are having the seasons fantasy owners have been expecting for years. It’s all coming together.

Their pitching staff gives up the second fewest runs per game in the NL (3.47), trailing only Pittsburgh. Their team ERA is a paltry 3.25, and they have exactly one pitcher who has pitched over 15 innings who has an ERA above four. All but two of their relievers have an ERA below three.

For starters, Mike Minor is the best pitcher in baseball that no one is talking about. He’s 11-5 with a 2.76 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 150 innings pitched. His WHIP is a hair over one. Julio Teheran, he of the Bryce-Harper plunking, has been nearly as dominant, posting a 2.96 ERA and striking out 121 in 137 innings pitched.

Closer Craig Kimbrel has been a force, with 35 saves, posting a 1.22 ERA and 0.902 WHIP. Top to bottom, this is a scary team.

For those of you, like me, who have been sleeping on this team this year, well, it’s time for the old proverbial wake up. These guys are for real. Get to know them.

(Oh, and the second best team in the majors is the Pittsburgh Pirates. All the same stuff applies to them, too.)

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Today’s other big winners….

Kobe Bryant — Brought a grown man to tears. As only he can.

Are you surprised at my tears, sir? Strong men also cry.

Johnny Football – Our own Dan Shanoff says its time for Manziel to drop out and go pro. What are you waiting for, Johnny?

Kyle Juszczyk – Ravens rookie had to make the biggest Chick-Fil-A run you’ve ever seen.

Mike Trout – Ted Berg says he could be the best player ever. He turned 22 yesterday.

Cristiano Ronaldo – When a fan stormed the pitch, the Madrid star handled it with grace.

Jason Witten’s kids – They have the best jerseys in the world.

You can read The Morning Win every weekday.