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163 comments Add your comment
Braves??
September 12th, 2012
10:29 am
It’s football season, gentlemen. Baseball season ended two weeks ago. The whisper is for baseball. The screams are for football.
Gary
September 12th, 2012
10:34 am
pITCHERS HAVE TO BE PERFECT……..NO MOVES were made at the deadline….to improve the offense other than Johnson……
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
10:36 am
The Braves have the potential to go all the way, and win the WS in 2012.
Everyone that has watched them play this season, should be able to recognize that, I would think.
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
10:40 am
I believe that it would be beneficial to the team, if some of these players would be given a couple of games off, to restore some energy to their bodies. Bourne, looks like he could use a little rest.
go braves
beachcomber
September 12th, 2012
10:43 am
cdog – Thanks for bringing up the Pirate lumber company. That, indeed, was a hitting bunch. Their Achilles heel, ironically was their pitching. Combine that line-up with our staff and you’re talking dynasty Much as I like the individuals on our current team, there needs to be some sort of shake-up of the offense in the off season. Down the stretch Bourne has been most disappointing. We need an igniter like him but he isn’t the answer. As several pointed out at the time of the trade last year, he strikes out way too much for a lead-off hitter.
Matt
September 12th, 2012
10:44 am
“These comments are ridiculous. Where are the real fans? This team has a chance at the playoffs and you have nothing positive to say??? People need to wake up and support their team. Show up to home games and packed out Turner Field. All the “negative nancys” need to go away. Go Braves!!!”
You and the rest of the folks like you must be Atlanta transplants who haven’t followed the Braves for very long, and thus, haven’t seen this kind of performance year after year after year. If you were like me, who has watched the Braves choke in the playoffs my whole life (I was too young to remember 1995), then your attitude may be a little different. I am SICK and TIRED of watching the Braves choke. No urgency, no desire, no fire, no clutch hitting, no nothing except pitiful performance after pitiful performance. Remember, 2 of those 5 consecutive wins were gifts. I cannot take much more of this. If the Braves don’t make some noise next year and win in the playoffs, I’m finding a new team to root for. Sorry, but I have just about had enough of this annual choke job.
And Chipper wonders why we aren’t selling out the stadium. Who wants to spend all the money to go to the game only to watch the Braves go 1-for-12 with RISP and get shut out by some guy they’ve never seen before? Not me.
Jasons Shrinking Waist
September 12th, 2012
10:52 am
You know, outside of the one game the braves bats woke up (against a rookie Mets pitcher) this offense is still the same. Inconsistent, a bunch of free swingers, and guys who cant play small ball at all. There is NO excuse for losing to the two righthanders we faced the last two nights.
I hate to say this , but this team is feeling tension, you can tell.
They are always thinking about the collapse from last year…”Will it happen again”?
I tell you this, if the Phils get the last playoff spot, they will have no problem coming to ATL and beating the Braves in a one game series.
They own The Ted, they always play well there, and they are very confident they can beat us in our park.
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
10:57 am
good point Matt, there are a ton of older guys on here who don’t seem to realize that there are plenty of adult Atlanta fans now who never really saw the Braves win anything of note, makes it a little tougher to cut them much slack at this point if this past decade is all you have to go on, once again, good point…
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
11:02 am
Gary, where can an improvement be made in the starting nine? Face it, Uggla’s not going to be permanently benched in the second year of a five year contract. And McCann is not going to be permanently benched after having five or six years of sustained success. There’s no where to improve the lineup other than supporting bench players. The starting players need to be playing to their career numbers though and obviously Uggla and McCann have not this year.
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
11:04 am
Matt — 10:44am…….Look at the record that the Braves had, from when they first came to ATL, until 1991.
There were not that many times that they even, finished over .500 for the year.
How would all of the folks here like that? haha
There would really be some ‘outCRY’, from all of these wonderful team supporters, here today.
go braves
doug
September 12th, 2012
11:16 am
No excuses, Braves had all last winter and the Spring to find a hitter or two. Could have even tried to work in Dvaid Ross in left field some, we know he has right handed pop that is still missing since Andrew Jones departed.
I think the team makes the Playoffs despite leaking oil this year, mainly because they can’t fold like last September….. the odds are in their favor.
Maybe this next winter with the departure of Chipper management will go find a power hitter ( right handed bat) for left field seeing Prado will probably move to Third Base. The one plus is that Simmons is going to get stronger and develope more power, he could become a nice right handed power hitter one day.
If all else fails maybe they can have 3 Wildcard teams next season just incase the leak never gets plugged by Management.
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
11:28 am
doug, again where was there an open spot in the lineup besides SS? And with Simmons and Pastornicky near ready they clearly weren’t about to go get Reyes or Rollins on some big multi year contract. Ross in LF? Simmons becoming a power hitter? You really have no clue.
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
11:31 am
Simmons will NOT be a power hitter, I hope he never tries to be one. I hope he develops into a .300/10/65-70/.400OBP type hitter who would be HUGE in any lineup for years to come…
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
11:35 am
@Rick C, go sit patiently in Fredi’s office for the rest of the day and wait for his “wisdom” to be dictated to you as you so obviously do. The rest of us would like to see a lineup something like this most days until season ends:
Constanza
Prado
Chipper
Heyward
Ross
Freeman
Bourn
Simmons
Pitcher
holes? in this lineup? where are there NOT holes? GEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
11:46 am
Due to our ridiculous excuse for a manager and his ineptitude at setting a productive lineup, I’ll repost mine including postions to avoid confusion on what I meant:
Constanza LF
Prado 2B
Chipper 3B
Heyward RF
Ross C
Freeman 1B
Bourn CF
Simmons SS
Pitcher
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
11:51 am
BravesFanSince80s, all I said was that permanently benching Uggla and McCann is just not going to happen with their salaries and history of success. I know they have struggled badly this year. The idea that guys like Constanza and Ross are going to save the lineup is just ridiculous though. Constanza is a minor league journeyman for a reason. Ross is a backup catcher for a reason.
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
12:02 pm
thanks for proving my point Rick C cough cough Fredi’s protege…
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
12:04 pm
oh and stop with the “journeyman” title with Constanza, it’s BS, the guy only won the freaking batting title at AAA this year, he’s being screwed by the Braves FO, period…
lee maye
September 12th, 2012
12:07 pm
Constanza, a minor league journeyman. Actually, he is the IL batting champ who has never been given a chance. Prado hit over .300 in the minors and wasn’t given a chance for a long time. Bourn is slumping. Constanza can definitely hit what Bourn has for the 2nd half. But, alas, he won’t get the chance. Too much possibility that it will make Wren look bad.
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
12:14 pm
Why not? I didn’t call for a benching of Bourn, he’s still one of our better hitters, just move him to the 7 hole (something we tried successfully with Grissom as I recall) and try and get something generated. It’s hardly rocket medicine…
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
12:16 pm
Apparently you still aren’t getting my point. Management is not going to permanently bench Uggla and McCann, and to expect them to is stupid for the reasons I outlined. I never said if I agreed with it or not. But I don’t think Constanza and Ross are the answer either.
I trust years of scouting on Constanza. He’s hitting 245 with a 302 OBP right now. If other teams thought he was such a great player, don’t you think the Braves would have traded him by now? Surely they would get something valuable if another team thought he was worth it. Hitting in AAA is not the same as hitting in the ML. Got to be able to hit the ML breaking ball. He had brief success last year, but the league clearly caught up to him quickly.
Ross is a lifelong back up player, and has never played more than 112 games in a season. And that year he barely hit over the mendoza line with a 203 average.
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
12:21 pm
Rick, we’re not talking a FULL SEASON HERE MAN, we’re talking the final 16 games! Answer me with something that doesn’t sound like crap filtered down from Frank Wren, PLEASE!
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
12:29 pm
as I remember it, Constaza was on fire right up until tweaking an ankle running across first base, then he took a few days to get over it, and never really got a chance to play every day again after that and for some inexplicable reason was relegated to VERY limited plate appearances the rest of the year, the league never got a chance to “catch up to him” regardless of what his numbers looked like after his injury…
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
12:32 pm
and for the record, there are STILL people on this blog who try to claim Prado isn’t an everyday player but a “super-utility” guy, whatever the hell that is…
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
12:52 pm
Matt (10:44) I feel your pain. I have been a Braves’ fan ever since 1974 as a young boy when my family moved from Texas to Atlanta. I have experienced way more disappointments as a Braves’ fan than triumphs. The Braves for the most part from 1975-1990 were terrible. Then came the succession of division titles, several World Series appearances, and one title. Since the title in 1995, I have witnessed the Braves slowly slide away from being a contender and have seen them lose in many excruciating ways in the playoffs.
Through all the years, the absolute worst experience was watching the Braves collapse last year in September. It affected me as a sports’ fan greatly and moved me tho think that this team was headed straight down the toilet. I had had it with playoff and late season disappointments. After the slow start this season, I wanted wholesale changes with the organization. I wanted heads to roll. I wanted all of this as I had come to despise my sporting lot as a braves’ fan.
But, the Braves have fought this year. They have battled not to fall of a cliff. They have sputtered at times and are in an offensive funk right now. Are wholesale changes really the answer? Even if they are THE answer, the Braves cannot make them now. Anyway, look at how Boston is faring with a larger payroll. They changed managers and went nowhere. Now they have gutted the team. Luckily for them, they have a payroll to bounce back but it will take awhile. Meanwhile, the Braves are in the playoff hunt despite all of the negativity that surrounds them, despite all of the psychological baggage from the past years.
There is still much work to be done to reach and make an impact in the playoffs. We all want that, but we all remember the playoff and late season disappointments. We have to remenber that this is the 2012 team with some different parts. If the Braves colllapse again or fall meekly in the one-game playoff, then we can and should discuss Fredi, Wren, and the players who did not rise tothe occasion. Until then, can we at least have some shred of hope in the team? There are alot of real serious things going on in people’s personal lives and the world. Do we have to be so negative and fatalistic about our favorite baseball team?
Brave New World
September 12th, 2012
1:14 pm
reckingball September 12th, 2012 10:40 am I believe that it would be beneficial to the team, if some of these players would be given a couple of games off, to restore some energy to their bodies. Bourne, looks like he could use a little rest. go braves
reckingball: Great observation regarding Bourn. He is a key catalyst for the offense, but his once .300+ average is now in the .270’s. He alone cannot carry this team but he must get on base at least once or twice per game to get things started. On the subject of Bourn, his somewhat low OBP and high strike out rates are 2 of the main reasons I won’t be crushed if the Braves cannot sign him beyond this year. Is he a good player? Absolutely. But is he worth in excess of $15 million per year? No. GO BRAVES!
Brave New World
September 12th, 2012
1:18 pm
reckingball September 12th, 2012 10:40 am I believe that it would be beneficial to the team, if some of these players would be given a couple of games off, to restore some energy to their bodies. Bourne, looks like he could use a little rest. go braves
reckingball: You may be right about Bourn. His once .300+ average is now in the .270’s. While he alone cannot cary the Braves offense, he must get on base at least once or twice per game to get things started. On the subject of Bourn, his relatively low OBP and high strike out rate are 2 of the reasons I will not be crushed if the Braves do not sign him. Is he a good player? Absolutely. But is he worth $15 million or more per season? No. GO BRAVES!
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
1:19 pm
I for one think the team, overall is a pretty good, above average team when considering the pitching as well. However, there are a couple “regular” players who have been offensive holes pretty much the entire season and should have been relegated to part-time status sime time back. If that had happened, perhaps the offense wouldn’t be in the funk it is now. I guarantee you Chipper’s average would be higher as he’s been forced to swing at a lot of pitches off the plate in the second half of the season because he freaking KNOWS he isn’t gonna move off first base if he walks!
Brave New World
September 12th, 2012
1:19 pm
Sorry for essentially the same entry – the first one did not initially post.
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
1:19 pm
We are down to the last month now, but people have been calling for Ross and Constanza in the lineup just about all season. It’s funny though because Uggla has been our hottest hitter the past week. Anyone who thinks a player with a 245 BA and 302 OBP is the answer is clearly clueless. I don’t agree with every move the Braves make, and that’s not what my posts have been about. My comments are purely based in logic and stats. But you’re just too clueless to understand.
BravesFanSince80s
September 12th, 2012
1:32 pm
Rick, what is Constanza’s .245 BA over a span of vs, Ugly Dan’s .20? BA over a span of? You want logic? Ugly Dan has sucked Dirty Donkey D I C K the entire time he’s been here and REGARDLESS of what asinine deal our inept GM signed him to, any manager worth his salt would have had him on a VERY short leash, starting in April! You say Constanza is a journeyman minor leaguer, how do you really know this since he’s never been given a chance to play a full season in the major leagues? Like a previous commenter pointed out, Prado went through pretty much the same thing because he didn’t fit any of the ridiculous “molds” the Braves and most other teams try to pound players into before they’ll allow them to play in the bigs. You wanna know the only reason the 2 retards let Prado play most days in LF? They ain’t got anybody else! I guarantee you if they had another corner outfielder, Prado would have seen about 1/2 the playing time he’s seen thus far because he doesn’t profile as a ML outfielder, once again, whatever the hell that means….Logic, geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez….
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
1:46 pm
It seems like the Braves could work Constanza in a little more as I believe, like Reckingball, some of the starters need some rest. Bourn has appeared to wear down. Let’s give Constanza a spot start or two to see if is can provide a little energy to the braves. If not, at least Bourn or some other regular can get a little rest for the late season and hopefully playoff push.
As for Ross, there is probably a reason why he succeeds more as a backup than as a regular guy. He may just wear down too much if he plays everyday. Has McCann struggled against lefties? Maybe more of a platoon will work to help both catchers this late in the season.
While I would bet against Constanza being a difference maker, you just never know. I remember back in the 90’s when Mark Lemke was the Braves’s best clutch hitter in the playoffs. He could have been the 1991 World Series MVP had the Braves won. He probably performed better in the playoffs at bat than the great Barry Bonds did for the Pirates at that time. You never know who rises to the occasion and who slinks away from it.
i agree with Rick C, however, that it is more logical for Fredi to stay with Uggla and McCann in their usual roles. I am sure if anyone of us were placed in the role of manager, we would probably act a bit more conservatively than we boost on this blog.
Fredi
September 12th, 2012
1:48 pm
Enter your comments here
caleb
September 12th, 2012
1:52 pm
Excellent comment CC, i could not agree more. Everyone go and read CC’s comment!
Fredi Gonzalez (not THAT Fredi)
September 12th, 2012
1:52 pm
FG is giving the Fredi Gonzalez’ of the world a bad name. Do something! He has the stare of a person with limited mental capacity.
ICEBURG DEAD AHEAD!!!!!!!!!
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
BFS80s @11:45……”The rest of us would like to see a lineup something like this”
Speak for yourself, not me.
Constanza is a satisfactory, 4th or 5th OF, a super-star AAA player, that’s about it. My opin.
I would perfer to see Johnson in there anytime, over Constanza.
Ross doesn’t need to be playing everyday, he was playing hurt while McCann was injured.
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
2:00 pm
I’ve acknowledged several times that Uggla has struggled this year. But I guarantee you very few managers would permanently bench a 12 million dollar player only in the second year of a five year contract. Especially not one who works for a team with such a limited payroll. You just don’t seem to be capable of understanding that. I’m not even necessarily arguing for that, but it’s the position that they are stuck in with the contract. Stop being such a crybaby and learn to deal with it or go follow the Yankees.
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
2:01 pm
CC’s comments were interesting. The one thing unique to baseball is the umpire’s domain over calling balls and strikes. The call for electronic oversight over certain plays may lead some to go even further and review the calling of balls and strikes. I think the powers that be in baseball have trouble with instigating additional replays as there will be more of a clamor to review the very important but subjective strike zone employed by umpires today. Have I made any sense?
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
2:03 pm
I forgot about Reed Johnson. If I were the manager, I too would allocate more spot starts to him rather than Constanza.
Carl Farvman
September 12th, 2012
2:13 pm
“Fredi should have argued the call at first and got thrown out, going through the dugout, ripping, cursing, and throwing everything in sight. Somebody has to wake these hitters UP. Start all backup players tomorrow. send a signal to your players. man be a manager.”
Yeah, Bobby was always getting thrown out and it bought him 1 WS championship with the best pitching staff in baseball for over a decade. Multi-Millionaire adults who’ve played this game almost all their lives shouldn’t have some guy making an idiotic scene simply to somehow motivate these guys to do their jobs. The team doesn’t have the depth of talent to play consistantly at a high level.
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
2:22 pm
I saw Bobby get thrown out of A LOT of games, for arguing with the umps.
Never, saw him go through the dugout, ripping, cursing(well maybe cursing), and throwing everything in sight. haha.
go braves
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
2:30 pm
I will say that Fredi does need to get on the field a little quicker(most of the time he doesn’t even go out of the dugout at all), when some of his players have a disagreement with a bad call made by these umpires.
Bobby was ejected many times, while trying to protect his players from being thrownout of the game.
Now it looks like the players don’t even bother to disagree with bad calls, because they know that will not get ANY backup from their manager.
It looks like a mind-set that Fredi has inflicted upon his team. IMO.
longtimefan
September 12th, 2012
3:15 pm
If someone were to read the majority of the comments above they would think we were cellar dwellers. The Braves are 5.5 games up in the WC and own the 4th best record in baseball. In NL they are 5th in hitting, 4th in pitching and 1st in fielding. This is a tough crowd. Either you guys expect perfection or are pessimists. In the dog days of september they have won 7 of 10 and put distance between them and Cards/Dodgers/Pirates.
ChipperisGod
September 12th, 2012
3:16 pm
Everybody needs to calm down. Things don’t look good offensively right now. And haven’t for a week minus that one game against the Mets.
But this team is capable of doing really good things. We’ve seen it. Those come from behind victories against the Dodgers at LA. Coming back FROM A 9-0 deficit in Washington to WIN! Down 7-1 against the Phillies and winning 8-7. We are a good hitting ball club. We got robbed on a bunch of hits last night and a blown call at first base. Yes, we haven’t hit well with RISP at all lately. But if we can just put some quality at bats together, we can break out of this funk. All this negativity is sickening.
I know it seems like a far way off because we’ve just scuffled for a while now and gotten by on the skin of our teeth. And I know September from a year ago is in our (the fan’s minds), and at times we do look similar to that team. I think Mike B needs a day off. Rest him today and he gets an offday tomorrow. If he can consistently hit again, we’ll be more dangerous. He’s gotten a few nice hits lately but seems fatigued down the stretch as he was last year.
Something does need to be done to get the troops going again. Fredi or Chipper need to call a meeting. We need to start beating quality opponents if we want a chance to even make the post season. We haven’t taken a series from quality opponent since at the end of June when we took two of three from AZ. And if you don’t want to call them a quality opponent, then when we took two of three from the Yankees in June.
This team fights harder than the team from last year I think, and puts together better at bats. I agree with everyone that we need to start hitting better, but don’t throw a hissy fit over choking. I know it’s something that’s happened too many times to too many good teams that the Braves have had. But if you all just have this negative disposition towards everything then you just shouldn’t watch anymore, nor should you consider yourselves fans.
The great thing sports is that anything can happen, and the fun of believing in your team no matter what. Do teams need to be held accountable for not getting results that they should be getting? Sure. And I think this team does need some pieces it doesn’t have right now. We aren’t hitting in the clutch. But we can, and our pitching has been stellar overall. If we can get the bats going, this team will be fine. If not, I am worried, but I’m still pulling for our team 100%.
Can’t stand the negative attitude that so many bloggers have here.
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
3:20 pm
Preach on Brother ChipperisGod!
Bob Horner
September 12th, 2012
3:37 pm
Man, Matt really nailed it with the post below. Son, you may have been too young in 95, but I was old enough to remember it all – 1991 included. I grew up watching them suck in the 80s, and have been a lifelong fan. All the Blue Sky Rah Rah folks on here haven’t dealt with the annual letdown that some of us have. There’s a reason for the negative comments. If your dog had explosive diarrhea every time he licked his balls, well by Golly, eventually you’d let him out every time you saw him lick his balls.
The Braves, my friends, are licking their balls. Again.
Matt
September 12th, 2012
10:44 am
“These comments are ridiculous. Where are the real fans? This team has a chance at the playoffs and you have nothing positive to say??? People need to wake up and support their team. Show up to home games and packed out Turner Field. All the “negative nancys” need to go away. Go Braves!!!”
You and the rest of the folks like you must be Atlanta transplants who haven’t followed the Braves for very long, and thus, haven’t seen this kind of performance year after year after year. If you were like me, who has watched the Braves choke in the playoffs my whole life (I was too young to remember 1995), then your attitude may be a little different. I am SICK and TIRED of watching the Braves choke. No urgency, no desire, no fire, no clutch hitting, no nothing except pitiful performance after pitiful performance. Remember, 2 of those 5 consecutive wins were gifts. I cannot take much more of this. If the Braves don’t make some noise next year and win in the playoffs, I’m finding a new team to root for. Sorry, but I have just about had enough of this annual choke job.
And Chipper wonders why we aren’t selling out the stadium. Who wants to spend all the money to go to the game only to watch the Braves go 1-for-12 with RISP and get shut out by some guy they’ve never seen before? Not me.
Bob Davis
September 12th, 2012
3:41 pm
I’ve always said the Braves problem is an overall lack of offense–not a lack of pitching. GM Wren needs to seriously address this issue during the off-season.
Steven
September 12th, 2012
3:48 pm
Thank you ChipperisGod
longtimefan
September 12th, 2012
3:50 pm
I have been a Braves fan since 1966. I don’t have blinders on. Most of you guys are over reacting to every 2-3 game skid. Look at other teams. You don’t think they have issues? That’s why we have the 4th best record in baseball-because it’s not a game of perfect.
longtimefan
September 12th, 2012
3:50 pm
I have been a Braves fan since 1966. I don’t have blinders on. Most of you guys are over reacting to every 2-3 game skid. Look at other teams. You don’t think they have issues? That’s why we have the 4th best record in baseball-because it’s not a game of perfect.
crm300
September 12th, 2012
3:54 pm
Braves win 7 of 8, then lose two in a row and the “sky is falling” fans are out in force. 19 games to go and Braves are 5 1/2 games up on St Louis, 6 1/2 up on LA, and 8 games up on Pittsburgh. Do you really think they can blow the wild card again? Have a little faith, boys and girls. That is what being a fan is all about. Look at all the teams in the bigs that are never in contention. The Braves are working for a post season spot every season. You think other teams don’t have the same offensive problems? You negative losers are spoiled rotten!
reckingball
September 12th, 2012
3:59 pm
By my count, there are around 21 other MLB teams and their fans, that would like to be in the same position as the Braves are, in the standings, as of today.
Sometimes, these down in the mouth, reactionaries come off, as pretty dang pathetic.
go braves
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
4:03 pm
longtimefan – Are you advocating that everyone try to gain a little perspective on the Braves by looking at the bigger picture? That is an awfully tall request from you. It is so much easier to criticise without knowing the whole picture.
Believe it or not, one can actually be a fan of the braves since the 1970’s and still retain some optimism. I do understand the angst from those who have paid their dues so to speak as a fan of the team.
Rick C
September 12th, 2012
4:04 pm
Bob Davis, the thing is though, if the players were all hitting to their career numbers, we’d be fine. This lineup should be a big consistent threat. When you look at career numbers, there really isn’t a place a pitcher can go to get an easy out. Uggla has to have the lowest career BA of the starting nine, and I know his is still around 250 (which isn’t bad at all with his power IMO). It seems like the problem is more so consistency. Mac has struggled the whole year except for July. Uggla has struggled since after the first couple months. Bourn has struggled the whole second half. In his short career, Freeman is starting to establish himself as a streaky hitter as well. It’s like they can’t get more than one or two guys clicking at any given time, so even when they get hits they are always spread out. And how do you get them to improve on hitting with RISP?
crm300
September 12th, 2012
4:14 pm
Well said, Tumbledown. As a longtime fan from the 50’s, these Braves teams are golden compared to the teams I supported before the 90’s. In those 14 straight division titles, the Braves probably had the best record in the National League for most of them. That would have automatically put them in the World Series in the 50’s and 60’s, just like those Yankee teams. It is so much harder to get to the WS now. There are so many more opportunities to get beat by a hot team in a short series. That can lead to a lot of frustration for the modern day fan. To quite being a fan of any team that is competitive in today’s game just makes no sense. The World Series teams could be decided by the first of September before divisions play and wild cards. Look how much more exciting the regular season is now!
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
4:29 pm
crm300 – Thanks. In the 90s, the Braves won their first playoff series on seven occasions (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999). A team winning seven of the “first” playoff series in the 50s would have won seven World Series. Of course, as you know, there was only one round of playoffs until 1969.
The cup is never completely full or completely empty. We can choose how optimistic or negative to be. Just remember the plight of the Chicago Cubs’ fan. When was the last time that team won the World Series? Nobody alive in Chicago can provide a first-hand account of the last Cubs’ WS win.
harry taylor
September 12th, 2012
4:41 pm
Tumbledown said: crm300 – Thanks. In the 90s, the Braves won their first playoff series on seven occasions (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999). A team winning seven of the “first” playoff series in the 50s would have won seven World Series
That is a false fallacy. Just because they won the their first playoff in THEIR league doesn’t mean they would have beaten a team in the American league.
longtimefan
September 12th, 2012
4:46 pm
false fallacy?say again. say again.
longtimefan
September 12th, 2012
4:51 pm
Harry, his point is once upon a time in baseball the NL winner met the AL winner for the whole enchilada. Win once and you are World Champion.
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
5:16 pm
My parents always warned me to never commit a false fallacy. And look what I have done! People excoriate the Braves for winning only one WS. My point, as longtimefan understands, is that it is much tougher to win a title under the current playoff format. I also wanted to point out that the braves of the 90s were a pretty good playoff team, winning more playoff series than they lost.
I also believe, as much as I despise the Yankees, that their achievement in winning four WS is five years under the current format is quite remarkable.
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
5:24 pm
Harry .- Dod you believe that American League teams in the 90s were much stronger that the Braves and their fellow NL counterparts?
Tumbledown
September 12th, 2012
5:24 pm
Do you
harry taylor
September 12th, 2012
8:27 pm
From 1996-2000 the Yankees were the best.