8 reasons why these Braves will NOT squander this lead
This young man is about to get going again. Just watch. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
They’d suffered a bad loss late Wednesday, and now the Braves had to play an afternoon game against the team with the National League’s best record on a sweltering day. (Heat index: 106.) They won so easily as to make you believe there’s no way the final 10 1/2 weeks of this regular season hold any danger for this dauntless band. The reasons why:
1. They can pitch. It never changes. As long as you can pitch, you can win. The Braves won breezing Thursday — actually, they did some sweating, too — because Tim Hudson never gave the Padres a chance. He worked seven innings and yielded six baserunners, one of whom was erased by a double play. This isn’t a team apt to lose five in a row because the rotation won’t let that happen. Jair Jurrjens looks hale and hearty, and even if Tommy Hanson and Derek Lowe haven’t been dominant they’re fine as Nos. 3 and 4 starters.
2. They’re buoyant. Not 15 hours after a sobering loss, the Braves had taken a lasting lead in the decisive game of a three-game set against an opponent they might well see in October. Said Billy Wagner, who blew a save Wednesday night: “Good teams are resilient. The heat out there today was awful; I guarantee you the Padres had never felt anything like that. We jumped on them early and kept them out there a long time.”
3. They’re daring. The key play of the first inning was the rookie Jason Heyward going first-to-third on Chipper Jones’ single to left field, which isn’t easy to do. (Heyward scored the only run the Braves would need on Troy Glaus’ sacrifice fly.) Said Bobby Cox of Heyward: “His instincts are off the chart, and he’s got some larceny in him. He’s not afraid to take a base.”
4. They’re clever. The 20-year-old right fielder is wise in the ways of older men, and there are a bunch of older guys to backstop him. Back to Heyward taking third: “You’d be surprised how many [left fielders] at this level can’t make that throw,” Jones said. “We’re a smart team. We steal bases at a very high percentage [69.5 percent, to be precise]. We’re very good at taking the extra base.” Then this: “We’ve got ballplayers. We’ve got guys with great instincts.”
5. They have a dependable shortstop. Alex Gonzalez, nicknamed Sea Bass, had four hits Thursday and made another series of deft defensive swoops. Said Cox: “Watching him play shortstop these past few days has really been special.” Jones likened A-Gonz to Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel, saying: “It’s great that he’s having a great offensive year, but what I want out of a shortstop is defense — to know that 99 percent of the time he gets his mitt on something he’s going to make the play.”
6. They have a healthier Heyward. He was hitting .251 at the All-Star break, but this is in no way a .251 hitter. He carried this team when nobody else could do a thing in April, and he’s capable of more heavy lifting. He hit .321 over the seven-game homestand. He will do even better very soon.
7. They have a working lead but they’re not impressed by it. Said Wagner: “We play as a team. Chipper has said it a million times, but it’s not one person keeping us going. It’s someone new, a new face in the bullpen, helping us win a game. And we worry about one game at a time, and that comes from the manager.”
8. They have it going in a way that makes you believe they’ll keep it going. They didn’t panic when they lost nine consecutive games in April. They didn’t wring their hands over the lost lead Wednesday night. They press on. They’ve won or halved 20 of their past 21 series. Said Gonzalez, on board only a week: “When you watch the way they play ball every day, you think, ‘This is a great team.’ ”
“Great” overstates. This is a good team that has come to maximize every resource. It isn’t without flaws, but after 95 games it holds the best record in its league. Gonzalez again: “We play hard. We do the little things you have to do. We want to put ourselves in position and see what happens at the end of the year.”
What will happen: The Braves will play beyond the 162nd game for the first time since 2005.
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247 comments Add your comment
Satchmo
July 22nd, 2010
7:14 pm
Outside the division play in August and September the 4 game series with St Louis in September looks to me to be the litmus test on how we will fare going forward, as the pitching match ups will tell us who most likely will dominate the playoffs.
jacket3
July 22nd, 2010
7:14 pm
Good story line MB. My Partner is from San Diego so I get to give him the “bidness”. I know that I have seats at Qualcomm if and when they play for the pennant. This was an exciting series to watch. There were a number of blown calls, out of position umpiring and a few dusted players on both sides. I am just glad the Braves came back out and took the rubber game on a sweltering day. This series displayed dedication, great effort, good pitching, spectacular defense and run production. Atlanta is on top because they are playing “Billy Ball”. They have not played in this fashion for a long time.
Joe
July 22nd, 2010
7:14 pm
Braves should sign Jermaine Dye first the rest of the season.
St. Clarkston
July 22nd, 2010
7:17 pm
This race will tighten up. Braves are bound to have a slump, that’s baseball. Still I say they win the division by five games. Playoffs are always a crap shoot.
NCBravesFan
July 22nd, 2010
7:17 pm
First of all, thanks Mark for a great analysis of where the Braves stand.
It’s too bad that not everyone can enjoy this renaissance at face value and just savor the moment. It’s been a long time since the Braves were in first with a team like this. I’ll worry about October when it gets here. For now, I’m going to enjoy this season immensely.
JT
July 22nd, 2010
7:18 pm
I could not agree more that Cox’s post season blunders have cost us dearly over the years.
Looking forward, has anyone noticed that LaRussa and Torre are both in the last year of their contracts?
Katherine
July 22nd, 2010
7:22 pm
Maybe Torre will come back to the braves?
ReddJonn68
July 22nd, 2010
7:22 pm
Good point JT knowing Wren he’ll let Bobby hand pick his successor !!!
ReddJonn68
July 22nd, 2010
7:27 pm
Wishful thinking Katherine when have you known our ATL franchises to actually make a common sense decision, I love Torre as manager plus he has history with us, perfect match.
bob
July 22nd, 2010
7:34 pm
9. The Phillies and Mets are fading fast.
JT
July 22nd, 2010
7:35 pm
Heard Chipper talking to Rome on the radio yesterday. He said he would not be surprised for the next Manager to be someone that had a history with the Braves. Think he has heard something?
bob
July 22nd, 2010
7:37 pm
Would not be the first time Torre got the credit for a team that Cox built.
rebman76
July 22nd, 2010
7:41 pm
Bradley,
I was listening to Fox Sports radiothis evening and they mentioned the L.A. Dodgers possibly putting Andre Ethier on the trading block. What are the chances the Braves could trade for him? He is a power hitting outfielder is he not?
ReddJonn68
July 22nd, 2010
7:42 pm
Yes he builds them & when the postseason comes along, he stands back and admires his work !
Fan since 1977
July 22nd, 2010
7:44 pm
Mark –
Any doubt in your mind that the past 2 days we were simply showcasing Dunn & McLouth for the Florida advance scouts, since they are interested in dealing Cody Ross?
I’ll hang up and listen.
mikeDW
July 22nd, 2010
7:48 pm
Attn. NCBravesFan….. We ALL are truly savoring the moment. But after all those years of built up pension, some of us are ready to explode! We don’t want to just make it. Any manager worth his salt could have just made it ’till October! I no longer want to “Wait till October”. With a rotation of Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine, anyone coulda made it till October! Geeze, will any team EVER see such a rotation again?
IRREGARDLESS, which isn’t even a word, this team feels Spunky…not all pitching and business…..just some good old boys tryin’ to win! I think we have what it takes to get there….Let’s just hope Cox doesn’t spoil it (like by playin McClouth for the rest of the season).
Go Frank Wrenn. Go Fans. Go Braves!
Go Navy
July 22nd, 2010
7:55 pm
Good to see the Braves whup up on the Padres. The heat was brutal. Wife and I left after the 7th. Go Braves!
"Chef" Tim Dix
July 22nd, 2010
8:06 pm
In a season of bell weather moments, maybe wednesday’s, Wag’s blown save in a game they lost is such. Bitter like the inside of a pecan shell. I’ll leave you with this: In my mind, this is more like ‘91 than we’d like. Yeah, home sched is good, but something is foreseen. It will be like waiting on the late west coast scores, but worst.
Alas, the outcome will be ultimate.
JMayne
July 22nd, 2010
8:07 pm
This is great. Go braves. Hudson is the ace we all thought he would be when he got traded here. Phillies or Mets are gonna have to play some great baseball to catch and overtake the braves. As of now (before nym game) all three teams (atl, phi, nym) have 67 games left and they are both 7 back. if braves go 37-30, one of those teams have to 45-22. thats .672 win%. If the braves win 40 more games(40-27), that puts them at 96. gonna be hard for either team to win more than that. phi or nym would have to go 48-19. Go braves. Skin those fish.
Herschel Talker
July 22nd, 2010
8:08 pm
MB:
Outstanding piece. Well written. The math works too. Even if they go .500 the rest of the way (which they won’t), the Phils need to play at a far higher clip than they have so far. And neither will happen. And the Mets are irrelevant. So like you say, it’s over.
HT
Billy
July 22nd, 2010
8:08 pm
James …U are nuts. Frenchy will not return to Braves.
Good job Mark.
Still believe Wren will add another outfielder shortly.
frank james
July 22nd, 2010
8:09 pm
Shoot it will take a hurricane to stop us!
912 Dawg
July 22nd, 2010
8:11 pm
ANY news on Eric Hinske?
frank james
July 22nd, 2010
8:12 pm
Joe Simpson and Chip said he had X-rays and they were negative. Just a deep bruise. Day to Day
Grandpa Right, formerly of Cochran
July 22nd, 2010
8:15 pm
Forgive me for saying so, but Larry is an a$$.
Manny
July 22nd, 2010
8:16 pm
I think the Phillies will take the lead. See, they aren’t afraid of the Braves and they only beat themselves. When they finally stop beating themselves they will start winning games.
See? I listened to the Jedi Mind Trick that the Philly homer columnist did while trying to explain why the Phillies are terrible. See? Heyward and Sea Bass is an easy out. And the starting rotation is merely average…
(Sorry, but I tried to go through an entire comment without laughing at that Phillies columnist. It didn’t work!)
Frank Bolling
July 22nd, 2010
8:17 pm
What a strange game in every way. When I saw our starting line up — I thought I was gonna puke. Of our nine starters, our pitcher had the second highest batting average of the nine Brave starters. Behind only Prado. Is that gonna win you a World Series?? But, they take that and beat the SECOND best team in the National League 8 to 0. Who would have thunk it?? Alex Gonzales was a “magician” out there today. Same for scrawny, little old Tim Hudson! Chipper looked like he was 28 again. Bobby looked like Bobby. At least he didn’t start McLouth. Then, he simply stayed out of the way. Good for him. I can’t figure this team out. No team speed at all except Heyward. No real big bats. Top tier pitching, but in the play offs and beyond, all the teams will have that — plus some of the the pieces we lack — as of now. This season appears to be a mirage of sorts. Does anyone seriously believe this team can ride this magic carpet and WIN the World Series??? Seriously, now folks. GO BRAVES!!
oleman
July 22nd, 2010
8:18 pm
Larry’s got a good point.
mikeDW
July 22nd, 2010
8:19 pm
Yes, Frank. Yes.
Frank Bolling
July 22nd, 2010
8:20 pm
Hope you are right Fan Since 1977!! Man, I hope you are right…..
Chip Caray's Eyebrows
July 22nd, 2010
8:30 pm
I agree that at some point the Phillies will probably put some streak togther, but they better do it relatively soon or it wont matter. If the Braves keep winning series after series, no one will catch them.
Larry
July 22nd, 2010
8:31 pm
Grandpa,
My wife says the same thing!
DoninToccoa
July 22nd, 2010
8:33 pm
Fan since 68 and these guys are coming together cold or hot weather!
Fan since 1977
July 22nd, 2010
8:42 pm
JT _
You been under a rock? No question Freddy Gonzales will be our mgr next year. I’ll bet Chipper’s salary next year on it.
Of course, I am counting on him to retire.
Fan since 1977
July 22nd, 2010
8:47 pm
Chef –
You a fatalist or trying to sound like a Victorian era author or both?
This team is more like ‘95. My support:
1. Starting pitching.
2. A real closer.
3. Depth.
In fact, this bullpen as a whole is better than ‘95. We didn’t need many guys besides Wohlers when Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz got the ball.
MB is a butt kisser
July 22nd, 2010
8:55 pm
MB I wish I could find that article you wrote in late April or Early May about the Braves being a below average team.
NCBravesFAN
July 22nd, 2010
8:56 pm
Hey Mark…so glad you not only hopped on the bandwagon, but it now appears you are driving it too!
Go Braves!!
MB is a butt kisser
July 22nd, 2010
9:04 pm
Oh MB, after some searching I found the wonderful article- Do you remember this?
“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.”
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/04/30/as-constituted-these-braves-arent-going-to-win-anything/
Herschel Talker
July 22nd, 2010
9:07 pm
MB is a butt kisser:
lol. Great find. However, instead of lambasting MB, perhaps you should dig up the article where he admits he was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with someone asserting a position and then changing his position when the facts and circumstances change.
HT
TommyP
July 22nd, 2010
9:08 pm
Gonzalez like Ozzie or Vizquel???? What the hell? That’s insane.
MB is a butt kisser
July 22nd, 2010
9:12 pm
I guess I agree HT, I have to do that a lot with my wife. Maybe I’m taking my anger out on MB
Sorry MB, Good Article (the one about the Braves making it to the playoffs)
Go Braves!!!!
Fan since 1977
July 22nd, 2010
9:13 pm
Gonzalez ain’t the Wizard but I’ll take him over Yunel who?
Keith
July 22nd, 2010
9:19 pm
Yes, Mark, let’s make it #9…..
Playoff roster of bullpen come September (not exhaustive)
Moylan
Dunn
Oflaherty
Saito
Venters
Wags
Not too bad I must say!
NCBravesFan
July 22nd, 2010
9:19 pm
Heck, who in April after that nine game skid thought the Braves would be where they are now? Hard to criticize Mark for saying what a lot of us were thinking.
Keith
July 22nd, 2010
9:21 pm
Oh and #10 if you will…
Motivation from a rival team’s city newspaper
“Braves are nothing special….”
That’s a paraphrase of the article, but you have to wonder if they posted that in the locker as a little motivation….;)
NCBravesFAN
July 22nd, 2010
9:25 pm
HT
I can agree with changing your stance but when the local sports writer dogs on a team all winter, through spring training, and even into the month of may….THEN starts writing articles like this and ending them statements like he did above it seems a bit hypocritical. In the article posted by “butt kisser” MB ends it with “these Braves have no chance”. I feel quite alright ignoring his admittance of being wrong and calling him a bandwagon driving, butt kisser!
Chris
July 22nd, 2010
9:28 pm
Mark….I agree with you that this team will play into October. I really thought they were the team to beat in the National League. However, word is that Oswalt is probably headed to the Cardinals. If you add him to a rotation that already includes Carpenter and Wainwright you are talking about a rotation as good or better than the Braves.
I know Oswalt to the Cardinals is not a done deal yet but the road to the NL penant may have to go through St. Louis.
NCBravesFAN
July 22nd, 2010
9:32 pm
To the other NCBravesFAN who posted at 9:19…..I still watched every game and still believed. Call it blind allegiance if you will but I knew what these guys were capable of, saw them doing it at the end of last year, through spring training and then when they found every way possible to lose games in that 9 game stretch, I knew the schedule would get easier and we still had a chance.
Also…why exactly did you choose to copy my screen name??
Stanley Palmer
July 22nd, 2010
9:35 pm
I love Chipper
NC Braves fan
July 22nd, 2010
9:35 pm
I stand corrected…you posted under that name hours before I got on this blog tonight. Pardon me.