By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

There is such a thing as beating a dead horse – so head’s up: I am about to do it.

I am about to talk about relief pitching, and it will not be a positive column. You have been warned.

The Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Atlanta Braves, finishing up yet another series in which the Braves proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they desperately need help in their bullpen.

Reliever AJ Minter took a loss in the series, spoiling a great start by rookie, Max Fried. Both Minter and Chad Sobotka gave up 3 earned runs a piece in the loss.

That dumpster fire was followed up by an extra innings loss after Jesse Biddle couldn’t hold the tie game in the 10^th inning.

Then Mike Soroka took a loss even though the young hurler gave up one run on six strikeouts and a walk in five innings, but Sobotka gave up another three (two earned) to let the game get away from the Braves.

I’m not sure this can be considered a silver lining, but in the first game of the doubleheader against the Indians, it was Julio Teheran who gave up the most runs in the Braves’ fourth straight loss (Wes Parsons did give up three as well; that bullpen will not be outdone!).

So back to that dead horse. Even though we haven’t brought him up in the SSE for a while: let’s talk about Craig Kimbrel.

Kimbrel is still sitting at home with a week and a half left until May. From what I’ve read, there’s an increasing chance that Kimbrel’s asking price has dropped from the reported six-year, $100 million-or-so to possibly even a much more palatable three-year contract.

Interesting note, Kimbrel’s agent is the same guy who represents Ozzie Albies, which is bonkers when you think about it: one guy is sitting at home because he’s asking for too much, the other guy took roughly 1/10^th of his value for the next decade.

But let’s throw money out of the equation for now and pretend that the Braves and Kimbrel could reach a deal that would satisfy both the flame-throwing righty as well as Liberty Media.

Would Kimbrel really be the savior of the season if the Braves actually inked him to a return deal? Well, no. Despite being one of the greatest closers of all time even this early into his career, he’s still just one guy.

He can replace Arodys Vizcaino at the back end of the bullpen (Vizcaino, possibly the most reliable piece on the relief staff, is out for the season), but he can’t set up for himself, or do damage control for three innings in the middle of a game. He’s a great pitcher, but he’s not five great pitchers.

The starting rotation, which has been very good, isn’t going to provide eight innings every night, either.

Unfortunately, that’s the only situation in which signing Craig Kimbrel solves all of the Braves’ problems. That being said, it also would be a good start. The best bullpens are built from the 9^th inning on down, and a reunion with Kimbrel would certainly be a step in the right direction.