A special Braves’ season is unfolding before our very eyes
Win, win, win: It's not exactly boring this time around. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
You felt it first on Opening Day, and again in the back-from-the-dead rally against the Phillies in April, and again and again in the last-at-bat victories since. And you felt it Monday night, when a big crowd showed up to behold Stephen Strasburg and saw the home side win again. You felt, for want of a better word, electricity.
Electricity at Turner Field. Electricity at a Braves’ game. Electricity not felt at this venue this millennium. Electricity for a Braves’ club unlike the Braves we’d come to know and take pretty much for granted.
Larger gatherings. Tougher-minded players. And — oh, yeah; this, too — more victories.
It began with Jason Heyward hitting a three-run homer on his first big-league swing, but it has become a roster-wide thing. From Martin Prado hitting everything to Troy Glaus crushing everything to Tim Hudson re-inventing himself to Derek Lowe finding himself to Eric Hinske becoming more than just a pinch-hitter. From Kris Medlen to Brooks Conrad to Johnny Venters. From a team that had fallen on mediocrity to a club that keeps clinging to first place.
For 15 seasons the Braves won so much we got bored with the winning, but there’s no tedium to this bunch. This feels closer to the worst-to-first crew of 1991 than its more lordly successors. This team feels like an underdog, which it was when the season commenced and surely still is. This is a collection of old and young, of the unsung and the unassuming. You wouldn’t take this everyday eight over Philadelphia’s, but this everyday eight leads the Phillies by 3 1/2 games.
For 15 seasons the Braves came to own first place, and then, in 2006, they lapsed into mediocrity. They’re not mediocrities any longer. They’re in first place, and they’re fun to watch, and this has already been the most exhilarating season since the old ballpark was demolished. And it’s not yet the Fourth of July.
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164 comments Add your comment
Jack G.
June 29th, 2010
1:06 pm
MattSome folks just dont have a life, therefore being first is a very big deal in their life. It’s sad but true.
A Mature Adult, not a child trapped in an adult's body
June 29th, 2010
1:08 pm
An Adult,
You seem like a fun person to be around. Please tell us about everything else you hate.
myra
June 29th, 2010
1:11 pm
Go Marlins. beat the fillwys.
Mathman
June 29th, 2010
1:18 pm
It could be a special season. However, Bobby and Wrenn can still ruin it and are likely to.
Heyward must return to his early season pre-injury form. Escobar must develop some power and hit for a higher average. McCann and Chipper must hit closer to .290 than they are. Escobar must also quit his pouting. It returned last night when he thought he didn’t deserve an error. Heck, I thought they could have been charged with 4 as Chipper should have been charged with one.
Problems are that Blanco is doing well, much better than McLouth. However, Bobby obviously will send him to Gwinnett when McLouth comes back. So, Bobby can and probably will still screw this up.
We also have no salary room with Lowe, McLouth, KK wasting about 28 m. So, there is no room to add the needed starter or outfielder. No one is going to take those 3 salaries. Good news though is that we have at least 2 very good relievers ready and able: Kimbrel and Dunn.
Balderdash
June 29th, 2010
1:21 pm
Matt, this is a sports blog. Sports is about competition, so the readers have a fun, friendly little competition to be first. There are some bitter, never first people, like “An Adult” and Jack G. though, who type disparaging remarks through their sad, lonely, pathetic tears.
DawgDad
June 29th, 2010
1:23 pm
Last???
Bandwagon the Tail
June 29th, 2010
1:27 pm
Mark – I’m very concerned about Hanson. He’s gotten killed the past couple of outtings. From what I can gather, his velocity is right where it should be, but his movement seems to have disappeared. Have you heard anything?
SEVERESTORM
June 29th, 2010
1:29 pm
The only “FIRST” that matters is that Atlanta remains in first.
Larry
June 29th, 2010
1:30 pm
You are so full of it Bradley. Go back to being a pessimistic negative nancy and let the real bloggers write this stuff. you couldnt carry O’Briens jock. Same for Tucker, and he’s like 14 years old.
SEVERESTORM
June 29th, 2010
1:33 pm
Give the guy a break, how many of us can honestly say we weren’t at least a tad bit concerned after the 9 game skid? That’s right, nobody. Times are good now, we just have to hope it remains that way. Maybe we can win one for Bobby this year, kind of like the Broncos, “Win one for John”.
TechSig
June 29th, 2010
1:34 pm
Mark,
This is by far one of the best editorials I’ve read by you in the past year. Well said.
smuglas
June 29th, 2010
1:34 pm
This team has not only been playing well for a couple of months. Beginning last June, this team began to be like the teams of the 90’s. Relentless. In the last calendar year, end of last year and beggining of this one, these guys have won 94 ball games. If they can finish it out this year that way, that should win the division.
Honky Talkin'
June 29th, 2010
1:38 pm
Mark…please don’t jinx anything.
59bulldawg
June 29th, 2010
1:38 pm
Absolutely agree! Fleeting thoughts of the 91 season up here in Virginia too. This team is fun to watch. Just hope we haven’t jinxed ‘em by daring to say what we’re thinking.
Dawg'88
June 29th, 2010
1:41 pm
Bradley on the bandwagon after casting huge doubts/ lack of confidence in this team:
March 2010 Blog: Bradley said, “Me, I’m still skeptical….I also wonder if the age on this team — and there’s a ton of it — will show over 162 games. I wonder about the offense. I wonder about the defense. I wonder about the zen of Wren. I’d be more than happy to be proved wrong in my doubting, but as of now I’m still saying what I said back in February.
Third place.”
April 2010: Bradley said, ” As constituted, these Braves aren’t going to win anything
It isn’t just that the Braves aren’t hitting. It’s that they don’t look as if they’re ever going to hit.
Troy Glaus isn’t what he was. Melky Cabrera was never anything special. Yunel Escobar seems to have regressed. Chipper Jones is 38. You tell me: Is that batting order ever apt to strike fear into the hearts of enemy hurlers?
Shed a tear here for Frank Wren….he keeps trying to put a team together on the cheap. But there aren’t many GMs who can bring that off.
What Wren did this offseason hasn’t worked. Javier Vazquez hasn’t pitched well for the Yankees, but wouldn’t you rather see Vazquez in the Braves’ rotation, as opposed to Kenshin Kawakami? Cabrera isn’t a starting outfielder. Glaus isn’t a starting infielder. Billy Wagner has been pretty good, but what’s the point of having Billy Wagner if there’s never a case to close?
The Braves are last, by a considerable distance, in the National League in hitting. They’re 10th in pitching. These Braves have to hit, if just a bit, to win. And they can’t. It has, granted, been only 22 games, but they’ve been 22 sobering games.
They’re last in the NL East. (They’re three full games out of fourth place.) They’re tied with the Dodgers for last in the National League. In all of the majors, only Baltimore has been worse. Even with Heyward working his wonders, his team has collapsed around him.
This is baseball. A good team can overcome a bad start. The 2009 Colorado Rockies were 9-13 after 22 games (and 20-32 after 52) and made the playoffs. But they had to fire their manager to do it, and that’s not an option here. Besides, you could look at the Rox and say, “That team’s losing, but it still has some players.”
You can’t say that about these Braves.
This, sad to say, isn’t a very good team. It has some pitchers but too few hitters. As constituted, these Braves aren’t going to win anything.”
Which is it? Can this team win or not?
Bradley columns are like a see saw….up down up down up down!
Today…the team is special…before there wern’t very good. A third place team at best. I have figured one thing out…this is why players like Smoltz don’t want to talk to you!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BRAVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Felix Millan
June 29th, 2010
1:48 pm
Mathman- folks like you who are so blinded by your dislike for Bobby can’t see want a good job he’s doing this year. Maybe you should go watch soccer.
MyPatooti
June 29th, 2010
1:50 pm
It’s good to see them acting like teenagers rather than adults, such as when McLouth hit his homer, and Chipper was on the field by himself. So many times they have just looked like “zombies” earlier. One thing I wish BC would stop doing is basically giving away the Sunday games by resting too many players at the same time. This happens too often. Living out of state if I get to go to a game it will not be on Sunday. Also, I am not completely sold on JHey yet. Can’t put my finger on it but just not there yet. Francouer is doing great in NY and would fit in with this bunch real well!
Phillies
June 29th, 2010
1:53 pm
Last
JJ
June 29th, 2010
1:54 pm
Mathman
June 29th, 2010
1:18 pm
We also have no salary room with Lowe, McLouth, KK wasting about 28 m. So, there is no room to add the needed starter or outfielder. No one is going to take those 3 salaries. Good news though is that we have at least 2 very good relievers ready and able: Kimbrel and Dunn.
Come on mathman. DLowe is getting better. his money is earned.KK and Mclouth, yeah, wasted. but we have about 5 mil of room and if we can trade KK or Lowe for a Cliff Lee or bring up Minor, that’s a chunk of change there.
Peachtree Pete
June 29th, 2010
1:55 pm
I fully expect this high praise to continue until the Braves lose two or three in a row. Atlanta fans are notoriously fickle. But, in the meantime, let’s enjoy.
JJ
June 29th, 2010
1:56 pm
. One thing I wish BC would stop doing is basically giving away the Sunday games by resting too many players at the same time. This happens too often.
Yep, he loses Sunday games we could win easily to rest people and it’s never Heyward who gets rested.
scottc
June 29th, 2010
1:56 pm
If players like Smoltzie won’t talk to Bradley (a COLUMNIST) then they are pathetic thin-skinned morons. A columnist is paid to state their opinions, and so what if those opinions change over time?
Two months ago, this crew was a very frustrating group for almost any fan to watch, and Bradley is, believe it or not, also just a fan. I was almost screaming at the TV after every damn game in March and early April. So what? things change. Now they are growing into a team that is so much fun to watch because they are hungry and their dirt players are contributing as much as the multi-millionaires and the Bonus Babies like J-Hey.
Class act players like Chipper know better than to turn their backs on reporters who write columns that we fans (who pay the salaries of the players) eat every morning for breakfast. Players like Chipper talk to columnists because they understand that columnists are paid to give opinions and food for thought. Some players, like some fans, are adults. Some others? Not so much.
Go Braves!
Joey
June 29th, 2010
1:56 pm
Very nice, MB. And, a word I have been using to describe the Braves this season – scrappy!
gcs
June 29th, 2010
1:59 pm
I agree wholeheartedly. This season reminds me of 1991 and not just because of the low expectations coming into the season. B)
There have been great storylines: In addition to Heyward, Prado and Glaus, it’s the last hurrah for Bobby Cox and Billy Wagner (and maybe Chipper?). We’ve got a team that was no-hit at home and had 5 & 9 game losing streaks in April and now they are in first place!
There are great moments: Conrad’s walk-off grand slam, McLouth’s walk-off homer and the empty dugout, and just the other night having Chipper unknowingly take the field by himself.
Wagner’s 400th save and Venter’s first. McCann’s 100th HR and JHey’s first. Chipper nearing 2500 career hits and Prado chasing the club record 219 in a season.
The Braves are having fun and so are we! Keep the magic going.
.
ED - the Brave
June 29th, 2010
1:59 pm
Agreed and can I say ‘I’m lovin’ it!”
Defender of the Bradley
June 29th, 2010
2:00 pm
Dawg’88:
You can’t blame Bradley. We were all thinking the same thing–and how could we not, after the Braves lost so many games in a row in April and Glaus looked as bad as McLouth? (Okay, maybe not THAT bad).
Plus, as Mark says, he’s always wrong. Though he might still turn out to be right with that 3rd place prediction. (I don’t think the Mets, at least, can keep up, though.)
Let’s just see how things go and hope that Hanson gets back on track and Jurrjens comes back to his 2009 form– imagine if JJ starts throwing like he did last summer for this crew. That’d be about as big a development as you could possibly have.
Joey
June 29th, 2010
2:02 pm
Jeez, Dawg’88, do you really want to read a blind homer every day? MB was commenting on how the Braves looked in April, IN APRIL!!!
I guess you were proclaiming them to be NL Champs during the 9-game losing streak …
Mark Bradley
June 29th, 2010
2:04 pm
Thanks for the defense, folks. But I’d be lying if I said I envisioned the Braves in first place two months ago. And I’m not a very good liar.
gcs
June 29th, 2010
2:10 pm
Dawg’88, you need to go into the archives and find ANYONE, ANYWHERE who thought the Braves would be in first place right now. I think we all thought this team was doomed after April. That is what makes this turnaround so exciting! This all kinda reminds me of the movie “Major League”.
.
Joey
June 29th, 2010
2:11 pm
Mathman, bloviate all you want about Wren, but true Braves fans like yours truly thank him after every game. If he can put together a contender with a middle-of-the-road budget, what could he do with the payroll budgets of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, etc?
Corky Miller's Beer Gut
June 29th, 2010
2:20 pm
before we start giving praise to wren lets see how he does with bobby not there. alot of the decent players here came here to play for bobby not becuase wren is such a good GM
Smack
June 29th, 2010
2:25 pm
Gotta hand it to you, great writing and the full truth. This is a special year with a special bunch of guys playing in a special situation. They want to send Bobby out on top, and I’ll be danged if they don’t do it.
TomB
June 29th, 2010
2:31 pm
Mark: Blanco bunting last night a sign of the manager rubbing off on his players? We are seeing a different Bobby Cox from years past. I must admit he’s doing a heck of a job managing this year.
shelbydawkins
June 29th, 2010
3:12 pm
Matt, did they not inform you that the first poster wins the progressive jackpot. Today I believe it was $1,023,366.90.
Nite Owl
June 29th, 2010
3:21 pm
I love sports, but I have come to despise the trend towards prediction rather than description in sports and sports writing. If you’re having a little fun, a la Mr. Bradley or Mr. Schultz, I do enjoy that from time to time.
However, the style of sports reporting where a bunch of fans/sportswriters/bloggers/talk show hosts talk as fast as they can and shout each other down while spouting predictions that neither can support or prove, is probably the worst trend in sports in my lifetime.
So I appreciate an article that describes what is actually happening today, puts it in context, and sheds some light on how we got to this point. Even if we already know what’s happening, and we know much of the history, it’s rewarding to read a good sportswriter’s assessment of it. (Insert joke here, blogsters, but I count Mr. Bradley as a “good” one.)
I’m only 38, but I recall Furman Bisher doing this on a regular basis. He would start with some old-timer I’d never heard of, and by the end of the article I’d be fascinated. He told me a story, and it was worth my time. And the best part was there was no reason to yell at anyone about it afterward.
I’m not saying everyone is wrong and I am right, but I am making a point about how things could be more civil. Why rip each other over sports? Not everyone here does it, but why do it at all?
All right, bash away if you must. Oh, and Go Braves.
Braves Fun in 2010
June 29th, 2010
3:33 pm
I agree with many other bloggers this is a TEAM they play as a team.Enjoy watching this bunch every night,usually looking forward to football season but this Braves team is awesome. GO BRAVES
Braves Fun in 2010
June 29th, 2010
3:34 pm
Braves are fun to watch,they play as a team and play hard every game.GO BRAVES
steve whitmire
June 29th, 2010
3:38 pm
my favorite Brave ever: Chipper. But now my favorite is Brooks Conrad, so great to see this guy get his due
bruck
June 29th, 2010
3:44 pm
@braveslover
ummm…. i dont think u noticed but the braves had a winning record in interleague play so i dont know waht your talking bout, but the braves can play against AL opponets
coach joe
June 29th, 2010
3:50 pm
First place end of june…no complaints from new orleans.. i listen/watch every night…even better when chipper starts hitting… love the chop last night on tv…
go braves..
Ross
June 29th, 2010
4:38 pm
Well not to brag, but I wasn’t freaking out like everyone else on the 9-game losing jag – it happens in every season, you have a bad patch or two – it was better to get it over early. If you cancel the bad patch against the good one, what’s left is the real, .600 or better 6-of-10 day-in day-out Braves, with good pitching and good hustle. The real key has been Venters and Wagner. Once it became clear that Wagner was in top form and that Venters wasn’t just a fluke, I knew we’d be competitive throughout. Next in the credit line are Hinske and Conrad, two lunch-pail guys who remind me of football grinders.
The best thing about this season is the visible lifting of the pall of the steroid era. For the first time since the mid 90s, you don’t people admiring their home runs (not many at least) and you see people getting their a$$es reamed for not hustling. And it seems, childish tantrums will no longer be tolerated among these adults. So it’s good all around, not just for the Braves.
Gibson would still make mincemeat of everyone in either league
-drl
Joey
June 29th, 2010
4:38 pm
So, Corky Miller’s Beer Gut, they came for Bobby, not the MONEY? Thanks for that bit of wisdom…
MitchC
June 29th, 2010
5:05 pm
Mark, I always appreciate the analysis. A little voice inside of me wants to believe you’re right The problem I have with getting too excited, is that it’s not even July 1 yet.
The scary thing is that I keep waiting for this supposedly awesome Phillies team to show up, and so far, they haven’t.
As for the Braves, all they have to do is keep playing like they are. They have been so hot lately, except for the Chicago misstep, that we just have to wonder if a cold streak will hit us at some point. In a 162 game season, its bound to happen.
My feeling has always been that this team will make the playoffs. I’ll stick with my original prediction of 90 wins, and at least a wild card, and just maybe, a division title.
.
Robert
June 29th, 2010
6:15 pm
Mark, Methinks you are a bandwagon jumper of the worst order. Don’t jinx this team by bragging on them while they’re on an up. Aren’t you the (in)famous journalist who wrote “It’s Over” when the Braves went up 2 games to 0 against the Yankees in the 1996 World Series — only to lose 4-2??
CaptainMudderland
June 29th, 2010
6:57 pm
Mark, mestinks, I am a bandwagon rubber and have been forgiven for my past transgressions–in 1996 I ran into Lady Gaga at the Yankees games and lost that one too!
Johnny DangerDawg
June 29th, 2010
8:20 pm
Mark Bradley,
I wouldn’t take the Phillies everyday eight unless stealing signs were permitted.
OzzyBraves
June 29th, 2010
10:17 pm
Crap, the Braves just lost to the Nationals…boo.
Chief Pitchanono
June 29th, 2010
11:35 pm
This team is like “catching lightning in a bottle” it has taken every guy on the 25 man roster coming through in big spots to have us in first place here at the end of June. Due to mini slumps and injuries, everyone on the team has had a chance to contribute, and they have all came through. That doesn’t happen often with most teams. I agree with everyone on the chemistry thing, its obvious that this team has it and that has carried us a longway so far. They have to keep play’n hard and fightn against every team. It won’t be easy, but were starting to get healthy and once Heyward makes it back it should be one awesome second half, I don’t think we’ve seen noth’n yet! Go Braves!
duker64
June 29th, 2010
11:38 pm
Mark hope you do not put a jinx on us but is fun watching this team play yes people they play as a team not as a bunch of want to be stars. they do all the little things right lately like get bunts down , pick up your teammate if they do not get the run in with less than two out.Don’t just jump on the band wagon now folks hope you have been like me and have been here through it all . saw hammerin hanks homerun and knuckies get hit hard all those years ,buzz and biff.and also the good times like 14 pennants. But here we are again and we don’t go down easy .so lets go BRAVES country show everyone what we are made of.fill up turner every night .
Coach (2011 or Bust)
June 30th, 2010
12:56 am
There is something resilient about this 2010 Braves roster, that’s for damn sure. They’re gritty, hard nosed and of course, never say die.
That said, my opinion has remained completely unchanged from even before spring training. I always knew they would win because of the pitching. The flaws however, remain clear to the naked eye. They lack power and speed even though both have improved from last season. Ditto for the defense. As for the bullpen, with the exception of last night it has been lights out for the most part. But the rotation is at the heart of why they are winning.
All in all, this is a solid baseball roster consisting of a bunch of ball players who are determined to give Bobby Cox their very best. After all , it is his last rodeo. The cowboys are thus motivated.
So unless Wren can add to the offense and defense, I still see this team winning around 85-85 games. Whether that’s enough to make the post season or not remains to be seen.