When is winning a series a disappointment?

Well, obviously, when you miss the opportunity to sweep the Nats, that's when. The first two games went the way they all should have gone, but someone lost the script for Thursday's game.

There are some worrying signs, too. I think at this point John Smoltz needs to be considered to be a 100-pitch maximum pitcher. He really doesn't seem to have enough to go longer than that. Last night, there was no way that he should have pitched the 8th inning, and indeed, it came back to bite the team. Even worse, that inning pushed him not only past 100 pitches, but past 120. We've seen this the past two seasons: the Braves insist that they're going to lighten John's workload earlier in the season so that he's strong at the end, and then the season starts, at which point Smoltz starts throwing 120 pitches every fifth day.

On top of that, Langerhans is making it looks like 2006 is his real performance level. And 2006 was not a particularly good season for Ryan. And Thorman and Wilson aren't exactly lighting things up, either.

On the other hand, so far Jeff Francoeur is showing real signs of progress. He's already got two walks, and even better, seems to be just generally recognizing pitches better. There may be a non-zero chance that he lives up to the hype after all.