The Atlanta Braves will have to rely on clutch hitting, solid pitching and airtight defense if they plan to outlast a crowded field and make the postseason as one of the National League's two wild card teams.

A little selective amnesia also might come in handy.

A year ago today, the Braves sported the fifth-best record in the majors at 82-57 and led St. Louis by 8.5 games in the NL wild-card race. It appeared the Braves had survived injuries to the pitching staff, a lack of production from injured regulars Martin Prado and Brian McCann and a disruptive three-day hiatus caused by Hurricane Irene and were playoff-bound for only the second time since 2005.

Then the levee broke. The Braves dropped 16 of their last 23 games and were overtaken by the Cardinals on the final day of the season. Freddie Freeman, who hit into a 13th-inning double play to end Game No. 162 against Philadelphia, embodied the sense of despair in Atlanta when he slammed his helmet to the ground, then dropped to his haunches with a vacant stare. The word "frustration'' didn't do justice to the sense of shock and emptiness that pervaded the Atlanta clubhouse.

"It was unreal,'' said reliever Jonny Venters. "That whole last few weeks, it was tough because we knew we had a good team. I felt like, 'We're going to turn this thing around. We're gonna be OK.' But we just kept struggling. To have to pack your bags and go home like that, it was such a crappy way to end a season.''

In contrast to the Boston Red Sox, whose season ended with a soap opera montage of fried chicken and finger-pointing, the Braves maintained their sense of togetherness and their dignity. To this day, the Atlanta players refuse to blame injuries to starters Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens for the team's demise. They also discount the impact of Hurricane Irene, even though they went 10-19 while cramming 29 games into a 30-day span down the stretch.

"You can take anything and try to make an excuse out of it,'' said outfielder Michael Bourn. "To me, we just lost, man. The Cardinals played good baseball and we lost. We remember the taste it left in our mouths. Everyone in here last year remembers it.''

If recent events are any indication, the Braves and their true believers might be in for an action-packed sequel. In the opener of a three-game series with the Phillies on Friday, Atlanta carried a 5-4 lead into the ninth inning. After throwing two unhittable sliders to Erik Kratz for strikes, closer Craig Kimbrel caught too much of the plate with a 99-mph fastball. Kratz crushed it for a solo homer, and John Mayberry followed with a three-run shot in the 10th to give Philadelphia an 8-5 victory. Considering that opponents are hitting .073 (9-for-124) with two strikes against Kimbrel this season, it would be an understatement to call the turns of events "stunning.''

Two days later, as the Phillies were on the verge of a sweep, the amazing Chipper Jones drove a Jonathan Papelbon fastball into the right-field seats to complete a five-run ninth inning rally and give Atlanta an 8-7 victory.

Braves down. Braves up. It's a day-to-day proposition.

Amid the inevitable palpitations, Atlanta general manager Frank Wren remains convinced that the decision to keep the 2011 team intact was the right one. Even in his lowest days, Wren refused to let a bad September completely obscure the good things the Braves achieved from April through August.

"We felt strongly that we had a good team,'' Wren said. "We had a bad month. In our view, there wasn't a reason to overreact and blow it up and say, 'This team can't do it.' We felt it could.''

Because of attrition, starting pitching could be a concern for Atlanta in September. The Braves lost Brandon Beachy and his 2.00 ERA to Tommy John surgery in June. Jurrjens has been a washout, and prospects Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado are still navigating the learning curve in the minors, so the rotation isn't turning out quite as the Braves envisioned. At the moment it consists of warhorse Tim Hudson, the underrated Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, Hanson and Paul Maholm, who came over from the Cubs by trade after a deadline deal for Ryan Dempster fell through. Ben Sheets, who gave the team a huge lift after signing as a free agent in July, recently hit the wall and is on the disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder.

“ To me, we just lost, man. The Cardinals played good baseball and we lost. We remember the taste it left in our mouths. Everyone in here last year remembers it.

” -- Braves outfielder Michael Bourn

Atlanta's modest in-season acquisitions -- Sheets, Maholm, Reed Johnson, Paul Janish and Jeff Baker -- tell you everything you need to know about the constraints on the front office. Even the Pirates, in acquiring Wandy Rodriguez, Gaby Sanchez and Travis Snider, made a bigger splash at the deadline.

"Let me tell you something -- Frank Wren has done a hell of a job there,'' said an AL scout. "He's had to take some chances, because it's not like he can go out and acquire a big-time guy or a real difference maker. He has no money to work with.''

Is the Atlanta roster, as currently assembled, good enough to prevent another meltdown? As a pick-me-up for Atlanta fans who fear their team could become deja unglued this month, here are six reasons why the Braves might have the requisite staying power to survive:

1. Experience is the best teacher

The great September fade of 2011 taught Atlanta's young players something about holding up down the stretch. Pitchers learned that it might be in their best interests to lighten their workouts to stay fresh, and hitters discovered that more hours in the cage aren't necessarily a cure-all for a slump. The veterans and kids also are conditioned to understand that every missed opportunity today could come back to haunt them later.

"You have to keep nitting-and-gritting it right down to the end,'' Bourn said. "Don't take nothing for granted.''

Manager Fredi Gonzalez's biggest challenge will be injecting the clubhouse with the requisite sense of urgency without making the players tight. Last year he was criticized for sticking too long with Derek Lowe during the veteran's awful September. This year, Gonzalez has served notice that he will make whatever moves are necessary to help the Braves win on a given day.

Case in point: Dan Uggla, who leads major league second basemen with 207 homers since 2006 and is signed to a five-year, $62 million contract, has played himself out of his starting job with an extended slump at the plate. Gonzalez officially benched Uggla on Monday and plans to go with Martin Prado at second base and a combination of Johnson and Jose Constanza in left feld.

Johnson, who has a .313 career batting average and an .834 OPS against...