Braves collapsing, may need another last-day miracle
Dan Uggla consoles closer Craig Kimbrel after the Braves blew a game to Florida.
As much as last season was filled with positive memories for the Braves, their preference was that this year not turn into a repeat.
They didn’t want to have to scramble again to make it in as a wild card. They didn’t want their postseason chances to come down to the final series of the regular season again. They didn’t want to be in a position of having to beat Philadelphia, the best team in baseball, in game No. 162 to make the playoffs. But it may come to that.
The Braves lost at Florida 6-5 Monday night. This time, Omar Infante hit a two-run homer off suddenly fallible closer Craig Kimbrel, as the Braves lost for the eighth time in 11 games. Their National League wild card lead is down to 2½ games lead over St. Louis and 3½ over San Francisco — neither of whom are falling apart like Atlanta (numbers below).
Much like last season, the Braves are dropping engine parts down the stretch and all of those postseason ticket ads that have been running on radio and television seem a tad premature. I’ll have more on this in a column Tuesday.
But here are your wild card essentials.
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First, the standings, showing the records of the three teams in September and since the All-Star break:
Team Record GB Sept AS break Atlanta 87-67 – 7-12 33-29 St. Louis 84-69 2.5 12-5 35-26 San Fran. 83-70 3.5 11-5 31-30•
Here are the remaining schedules:
• Braves (8): 2 at Florida, 3 at Washington, 3 vs. Philadelphia. • Cardinals (9): 3 vs. New York (N) 3 vs. Chicago (N), 3 at Houston. • Giants (9): 3 at Los Angeles (N), 3 at Arizona, 3 vs. Colorado.•
Last season, the Braves were 23 games over .500 (78-55) and held a three-game lead over Philadelphia on Sept. 1. But they lost five of their next six and nine of their next 14 and needed a final-day, 6-5 victory over the Phillies, in combination with a San Diego loss to San Francisco, to reach the postseason. (That was after losing the first two games of the Phillies series, 11-5 and 7-0.)
It’s not a great situation. But the loss of starters Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hansen, along with a dreadful decline by Derek Lowe, has wrecked the starting rotation, and one of the the ripple effects has been an overworked bullpen.
The Braves remain in a good position. But they certainly don’t look like a playoff team, and if they can’t close this thing out in the next five games against the Marlins and Nationals, then it’s going to come down to the last three against the Phillies. And that’s not what they wanted.
By Jeff Schultz
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185 comments Add your comment
BirdDawg24
September 20th, 2011
11:39 am
well i guess since the braves are done. we have nothing left to talk about.its all over, turn out the lights, the braves are cursed, its voodooo i tell you….
ab initio
September 20th, 2011
11:40 am
The Braves are not collapsing. They were put together as a mediocre team with serious holes from the past years that haven’t been addressed. They have a hitting coach who has never been a hitting coach before. They have more retreads and castoffs than any team currently competing for the wild card.
One word: Conrad. Any questions?
Again,the Braves aren’t collapsing, Mr. Schultz; they are playing the kind of ball they were built to play. Braves management wanted to aim for the wild card, which is why there shouldn’t be a wild card to begin with.
There is nothing surprising at all about where we find ourselves at this point in the season.
Brave Hokie
September 20th, 2011
11:48 am
The Braves are just “doing what they do” ~ underachive and collapse.
& it will not change until lambs like myself, refuse to believe in them and support them during the spring and summer.
The Braves are heartless, gutless, and satisfied with mediocrity.
tony
September 20th, 2011
11:48 am
Am i the only won who thinks bonafacio would have been safe anyway. the dude is the fastest guy in the league and that was a high chopper.
CardsFan
September 20th, 2011
11:48 am
This is getting real interesting. Think the Braves are a class act organization and look forward to watching the next run of 9 games with the Giants sneaking up as well. Gonna be a great finish overall, great for a baseball fan and even though I think the Braves pull it out its at least exciting to watch. And if the Braves do make it in be sure to PUNISH the Brewers…
5150 UOAD
September 20th, 2011
12:07 pm
The Wheels on the bus are coming off coming off coming off
Brave Hokie
September 20th, 2011
12:08 pm
& another thing: I WISH the Braves would let me negotiate with that punk a$$ Jurrjens next years when he shows up with Scott the pimp around asking for 15 / 20 million per…
I would bring out 2 DVDs: Jurrjens 2010 highlights Sept / Oct & Jurrjens 2011 highlights Sept / Oct ~ both of which would be dude pick’in his nose with a jacket on in the dugout ~ then tell him to get the H out of my sight…
loser.
bart
September 20th, 2011
12:09 pm
Despite how I may sound, I am a huge Braves fan. I have said they have done a massive choke and they have to this point. It is obvious to even the casual observer that the team has no confidence and they are playing games doubting their ability to win. It happens to many teams. It’s frustrating and depressing when it happens to a team you pull for so hence all the negative feedback on the team. Confidence can be a hard trait to get back when it is currently been battered to pieces. It will be interesting to see if they can get their mojo back.
Jair Jurrjens
September 20th, 2011
12:11 pm
My pimp Scott say the Braves owe me 20 million per contract for being so ‘clutch’ down the stretch… {the stretch of May that is}
Pay me my $$$$$$!
iTiSi
September 20th, 2011
12:13 pm
If the Phillies are rolling over and playing dead for the Cards, and looks like they are, then maybe they will pay for it in the end. If they all of a sudden become alive again for the last 3 games against the Braves, with Howard playing, then just maybe the Cards will knock them out in the playoffs. Think the Cards play better against the Phils than the Braves do anyway. Guess we can all see now that FG is one of those managers that “sings ‘Oh Happy Day’ while the barn is burning”.
Joey
September 20th, 2011
12:13 pm
It’s karma.
How many of you laughed at the Mets’ collapses 3 or 4 years ago.
I did . . .
G
September 20th, 2011
12:25 pm
This us a team built by a flawed GM who put together a mediocre starting staff, and manager who can’t manage a bullpen… Same old Braves
JMac2011
September 20th, 2011
12:27 pm
I will say this and I am out of here…. The Phillies played their regulars, except for Howard, who is injured and expected to be out for a couple of days. The Cardinals beat Halladay, Hamels, and won the game pitched by Worley. Manual stated that he was playing his regulars because it was only fair to the Braves. They did not roll over this weekend. If you had watched Rollins stretch a sure double into a hustling triple last night, you would have known that. The Cardinals are just a better team winning 5 of 6 from Atlanta and 6 of 9 from the Phillies. All this without the services of Adam Wainwright, out the entire season.
Bama Mike
September 20th, 2011
12:33 pm
Remember the days when the wild card birth was for the other guys.
5 Time National Champs Nebraska
September 20th, 2011
12:33 pm
This blog needs 2 words:
Mike Vick.
Dawg Trainer
September 20th, 2011
12:38 pm
This blog needs…more COWBELL!
rayraysbraves
September 20th, 2011
12:38 pm
r there any braves fans on this blog
rayraysbraves
September 20th, 2011
12:39 pm
it’s baseball and if you don’t like a good game . . .
coach13
September 20th, 2011
12:39 pm
This is not all on Freddi. The offense has uderperformed for most of the year which has completely gassed the pitching. What is on Freddi is pitching Venters and Kimbrel with multi run leads so that they can “stay fresh”.
For those that aren’t ready to panic ask yourselves this. 2 of our top 3 starters are hurt and haven’t pitched in a month or more. The offense is anemic and the best bullpen tandem in all of baseball have empty tanks from being part of the most used bullpen in all of baseball. Not to mention their last 6 games are against Washington and Philly.
Once again we limp into the playoffs (if we make it) and could very possibly lose to a team with half the talent.
Greg Mendel
September 20th, 2011
1:00 pm
I continue to maintain that the Braves need a new owner more than anything else. Despite throwing away a multitude of razor-close games in April and May, the patch-job team did pretty well for a stretch. As someone noted on this blog a while back, it’s not the team with the best league record anymore, but often a team that’s hot at the end of October.
The Braves may just let their wild card lead ooze away. Or — they may ooze into the playoffs and suddenly become the 1927 Yankees, winning the World Series. It could be our best chance in years.
Personally, I hate the whole concept of Wild Card. I hate the concept of baseball playoffs. Aside from the urgent need to produce more television profits, there was never anything wrong with the best teams of the the AL and NL playing each other for the championship. If they had the Wild Card in 1927, the Philadelphia Athletics might have played the Brooklyn Robins for the pennant.
Chris Matthews
September 20th, 2011
1:12 pm
Hope this is Chipper’s last year! His salary is too high for a part-time player!!
Mike
September 20th, 2011
1:21 pm
Braves after they won the world series never got it back. ALL these division wines etc. butttttttt never come thru in the clutch anymore. It is time for new owners, new managers, new coaches and new players. Start young again a build a team.
Lonnie Smith
September 20th, 2011
1:29 pm
GO CARDS!!
Larry
September 20th, 2011
1:58 pm
The braves would have coasted in, but their starting pitching is in shambles. This is a better braves team than last year’s team. They have played much better defense. This should be instructive to all the grumblers about adding “big bats” to the lineup. Pitching and defense carry teams to championships in the major leagues and you won’t win if you stink it up in either area. I’d also like to know how many of the braves’ homers this year have been solo shots. It seems like there is never anyone on base when they hit one out. I am preparing to return my playoff tickets next week for a refund because I believe there is high probability the cards will catch us based on the remaining schedule. The biggest game may be the one on Thursday, the day the braves are off. If the cards win that one and get to 2 games behind, I think it’s over for us. If they lose, I predict there will be a playoff for the wild card. I believe SF is out of the picture. The worst part of this whole situation? Another year of lowe at $15 mil……unbelievable.
Larry30
September 20th, 2011
2:08 pm
Bama Mike, I do remember when the wild card was for the other guys and I knew this team was in trouble when they proclaimed they were no longer playing for the division and counting on the wild card with over 6 weeks to go in the season. That is the mindset of losers.
Chris Goltermann
September 20th, 2011
2:12 pm
Well, thank goodness ESPN only cares about the Red Sox.. we won’t be the No. 1 flop on SportsCenter.
DawgDad
September 20th, 2011
2:13 pm
The Braves haven’t just been losing games, they’ve been run through the heart in some of these losses. You could see the look of locked-in determination on Omar’s face after he was dusted last night; that was a mistake by Kimbrel to wake a sleeping dog and he paid the price for it.
I see the team playing hard but they are a team built in the Weaver mold to live or die on the three-run homer. There have been some positive signs: Bourn is solid, Chipper is on fire offensively, AGon is hot, and Heyward is showing signs of life. Prado may be coming around after a terrible slump, but McCann is in the can and you have to wonder what’s going on with him.
You’ve got the team with the best player in the league and the comeback player of the year chasing down your tail. I want the Braves to win REAL bad (I’ve already bought playoff tickets), but frankly I don’t see where the wins will come from. The offense is going to have to step up big for them to make the playoffs. If I were managing the Marlins, Nats, and Phils there’s no way I’d run a right-handed starter out there against the Braves.
brad
September 20th, 2011
2:15 pm
I will enjoy watching most of you people eat crow when the Braves are in the playoffs and the Cards and Giants are sitting at home watching.
Charles
September 20th, 2011
2:18 pm
We’re likely to know well before the last game. The Cardinals are playing well and have a cakewalk schedule the rest of the way – Mets, Cubs, Astros. Figure they will go at least 7-2. That means the Braves must go 5-3 to win the wild card. Figure they will be lucky to take 1 of 3 from Philly in the final series with their current injury-ridden rotation and bullpen woes. That means they must win the next 2 against the Marlins and win the series against the Nationals. They face the heart of the Marlin’s rotation and the recent Nat-Brave history as well as the Nats playing reasonably well does not bode well. If they don’t take the next 2 from the Marlins, you can put a fork in the Braves’ postseason.
daxxed
September 20th, 2011
2:42 pm
Biggest problem the Braves have had it the past few years is that when there were a man on third and less than 2 outs, Chipper would not or could not bunt in a run. The majority of the time he would hit into a double play or an un productive out…6 games could have been won if he would have only bunted in the run instead of make an out….ARod bunts, Jetter Bunts, but does Chipper even know how???
Blame it all on Chipper for his premadonnaism…if he would only had bunted in those runs, there would not be an issue now…
Robert
September 20th, 2011
2:56 pm
“The Braves will always find a way to lose in October”
Correction – Bobby Cox will always find a way to lose in October
Mitchell – did you see the picture of Cox at a Braves game that was at the top of one of Bradley’s recent columns?
Allowing Bobby Cox to set foot in the stadium during a playoff drive is like throwing a lit match onto a leaking can of gasoline.
Don't Give Up on This Team.
September 20th, 2011
3:46 pm
I’d still rather be in the Braves’ position than in the Cardinals or Giants. Those two clubs can’t afford to make any mistakes. As bad as the Braves have played this month, they still have room for error. My prediction: They go 4-4 the rest of the way, and nip the Cardinals by one game.
chipper!
September 20th, 2011
3:52 pm
chipper said he’s coming back in 2012! 2012 will be the year of the braves!!!
REGGIE
September 20th, 2011
8:19 pm
Freddi has done a good job this year with the young braves and has installed alot confidence in Venters and Kimball.These two will be good for a long time if Freddi does not overwork them as it appears to be the case now. Also, McCann needs to do a better job calling pitchers.I was watching Delgado pitch tonite. He threw 3 consecutive fastballs to a batters that was pulling his fastball hard and foul.Instead of an off speed pitch he called for another fastball and the batter pulled it for a hit
Braves need at least 2 wins (and don't expect Phillies to fold) | Jeff Schultz
September 26th, 2011
12:14 pm
[...] Don’t forget a year ago. When the Phillies closed last season at Turner Field, they had no clear motivation to win other than to spread misery in Atlanta. But they won the first two games anyway by lopsided scores of 11-5 and 7-0, before the Braves took the finale 8-7 to reach the postseason. [...]