Is it time for Braves’ fans to panic? Nah, I say bravely
Melky Cabrera's not giving up. Who's with Melky? (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
The lead’s down to 3 1/2 games, and Nate McLouth had nothing to do with the most recent failure. The Braves were set to oppose Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday and wound up getting shut out by Miguel Batista and some Nat relievers. And now you’re asking: Is it time to panic?
And I’m saying: Nah.
Esteemed colleague Tim Tucker said something profound 20 years ago. (Tim says something profound pretty much every day, but this pearl of wisdom is particularly germane.) Quoth Tim: “When you think about it, it’s never time to panic.”
And that’s true. All panic brings is hyperventilation, and who needs that? Panic is what drove the Braves to trade for Len Barker in 1983 — they were desperate to see and raise the Dodgers’ acquisition of Rick Honeycutt — and we know how that worked out. The Braves wound up missing the playoffs and, owing to loss of Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby, hurt their team for years.
Here’s where we take a deep breath and say: This is baseball. Teams get hot and teams get cold. The Braves were fine as of last Thursday, when they completed a series victory over the first-place Padres. They’ve since lost three of four, two of the losses being walk-off jobs in Florida.
And the Brave can do nothing about the Phillies. (Who were, let’s recall, barely above .500 this time last week.) If Philly wins every game from here on, the Braves aren’t going to finish first. But nobody’s going to win them all. It’s baseball, remember.
What the Braves have to do: Keep playing the way that built them the lead. Keep stringing quality starts and good at-bats together. Keep grinding, as they say. They’re still 3 1/2 up (four in the loss column). They still have the biggest lead of any division front-runner save Texas.
If Frank Wren can consummate a useful trade, that’s great. If not … well, the guys here were good enough to have constructed a seven-game lead only six days ago. These guys are still good enough. And it would be folly to try and match Philadelphia if it should land Roy Oswalt. That name again: L-E-N B-A-R-K-E-R.
You’ll recall that a certain correspondent with a penchant for being wrong last week offered eight reasons the Braves wouldn’t blow their lead. You’ll note that I didn’t say they’d win by 15 games; I just said they’d hold on. I believed that then. I believe it now.
See, I’ve come to believe in these Braves. Three losses in four games haven’t changed that. They’re still in front. They’re still the team to catch.
And even if they should get caught by the Phillies, all would not be lost. The Braves have never availed themselves of it, but I hear baseball has this thing that gets you into the postseason even if you’re not a division champ. I believe it’s called the wild card.
There’s a lot of baseball to be played, and the Braves have played inspired baseball for more than two months. There’s no reason to think they’re about to stop. Have a little faith, I say.
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248 comments Add your comment
SKB
July 28th, 2010
8:44 am
Enter your comments here
Ted M
July 28th, 2010
8:45 am
Navigator why even suggest that. that about as crazy as trading McLouth for Josh Hamilton
Herschel Talker
July 28th, 2010
8:45 am
curtis jones:
What did you think of Bobby butchering that end of the game on Sunday? What a disgrace. I’d rather have the captain of the Titanic manning this ship than this clown Bobby.
HT
Nate McLousy
July 28th, 2010
8:45 am
Maybe the Braves were distracted by the red panties falling from the sky!
Craig
July 28th, 2010
8:46 am
While I agree that we must continue to dominate Turner Field, do we not have to become a better road team if we are going to be successful in the playoffs? And as I stated last week, we have to bring in a right handed power hitter. We can not depend on Glaus (stuck on 14 hr’s since mid june) to be the answer. We have the trade bait, pull the trigger.
lin
July 28th, 2010
8:47 am
look
the umps cost games also. people the players are human they will have bad days this is normal. only thing is when one brave has bad day the others seem like follow. yes they do awful against bottom teams always seem that way. nate is gone to farm team. now kk needs go also. he just can not handle american baseball. time he retire. blanco comes back but heard yesterday have wait 10 games first that rule i heard. i still put braves in 2nd place this year. also mets go 1st. odds who know just guess.
Mark Richt
July 28th, 2010
8:48 am
I’ll work with the players, and I guarantee that no more than a dozen of them will be arrested.
SouthGaBrave
July 28th, 2010
8:50 am
If we can just tread water for the remainder of this road trip against the Nats and Reds, hope is on the horizon. Given the Braves much better record at home, I think the stat of the day is this: after this road trip the Braves have 24 road games left and 34 games at home. That backloaded home schedule will pay dividends down the stretch.
Don
July 28th, 2010
8:50 am
Evan – Say what? The Phillies infielders are 30, 31, 31, 34 and 31 years old. The outfield is 31, 28, and 38. The starting pitching is 33, 26, 25, 27, and 29. The Phillies have played roughly .600 after the all star break for the past three years. It doesn’t matter how old you are if you can’t hit. The Braves need a couple more bats. The team has overachieved for May and June. Last few weeks at .500 are more likely to continue for the rest of the year if they don’t find some hitters. Getting shut out 3-0 by a bunch of nobody arms last night should tell you something. Also, better hope old man Wagner’s arm doesn’t fall off before Sept.
Blackberry Cobbler
July 28th, 2010
8:51 am
Comments about Glaus———-
Mark Texeria never shows up offensively until the last half of the season. The same for Larouche.
I never heard any Braves fans bitchin’ about them. So, why dump on Glaus?
Craig
July 28th, 2010
8:52 am
I love how the techies come on a Braves blog and snipe about UGA. Grow up nerds, talk Braves baseball or go back to the X-box and leave us adults alone.
Steve
July 28th, 2010
8:53 am
Get Oswalt and we win two ways big time. One, we keep him from the Phillies and two he pitches for us! Dump Kawakami and get medlin in the pen to make us stronger there. It will be a great mental thing to help ourselves AND hurt the Phillies AT THE SAME TIME.
We are already playing scared with the lead and if the Phillies AGAIN get the top available pitcher (remember Mr. Lee last year) while we sit on our hands or get some more bargain basement crap, we will fail!
Aaron King
July 28th, 2010
8:53 am
miguel batista… that’s all i need to say there.
i’m not panicking, but we’ve missed a lot of opportunities lately. come october, i hope we’re not 2 or 3 games out of it, looking back at this week and wondering what could’ve been.
Ron H
July 28th, 2010
8:54 am
When did the Marlins and Nationals become such offensive and defensive juggernauts? Oh, when we play them on the road…
Skeezix
July 28th, 2010
8:55 am
It is not time to panic but it is time for Wren to go out and get a big stick to add to this offense.
Shug
July 28th, 2010
8:56 am
It’s my understanding that the Mets are trying to trade Jeff Francoeur. He’s an outfielder, right? The Braves need an outfielder, right? Just thinking out loud. . . .
oldfart
July 28th, 2010
8:57 am
Agree completely MB. The other GMs aren’t stupid and you have to give something to get something. Either in young talent or willingness to take on a big guaranteed contract. I wouldn’t panic but I would be willing to talk to anyone shopping a decent hitting outfielder. Isn’t the trade deadline kind of an artificial thing anyway with the gentleman’s agreement thing on the waiver wire we have seen so often in the past?
Ted M
July 28th, 2010
8:58 am
Mark – Has David Ross ever played 1B?
Herschel Talker
July 28th, 2010
9:00 am
Shug:
Francoeur sucks. He is a .240 hitter with few HRs. Terrible idea. The Braves can do better.
HT
robdawg08
July 28th, 2010
9:00 am
The chemistry on this team is so good now that they ALL go into slumps together… Except for Hinske. He’s the rebel on the team. You’ve got 14 guys to choose from to play 8 offensive positions. Put the hottest hitters in those 8 positions. If it means sitting Heyward,Chipper,and Glaus so be it. Just by the numbers Infante,Conrad,and Hinske have hit better than the afore mentioned three but are relegated to pinch hitting and spot starts. Why is Chipper hitting 3rd and Glaus 4th ? These are RBI spots and both just suck at driving in runs (lately July).
Troy Glaus
July 28th, 2010
9:00 am
What did Bobby mean when he asked me if I knew where Gwinnett was?
Rill Ist
July 28th, 2010
9:01 am
What about me? In the past month I’ve hit the same number of homers as Glaus, and even though I’ve never coached a day in my life, I have managed only one less team to a championship than Mr. Cox has in his 30 years.
His name is Robert Paulsen
July 28th, 2010
9:02 am
It’s all good guys. We’ll get back on track with Huddy and start a win streak through Cincy. Reds series will be fun to watch.
Sonny Clusters
July 28th, 2010
9:04 am
Chipper Jones.
Sonny Clusters
July 28th, 2010
9:05 am
Flashing some deerskin last night.
robdawg08
July 28th, 2010
9:05 am
Somebody kidnap Jay Bruce when we play the Reds and hogtie KK and Glaus to their dugout as collateral payment.
Sonny Clusters
July 28th, 2010
9:06 am
We was caught in the filter again! Was is deer skin that did it?
Sonny Clusters
July 28th, 2010
9:07 am
Now we can’t type. Was it deer skin that did it? Nope. Was it “flashing” some deer skin? Could be. Chipper’s fielding is a lot like McLouth’s batting.
raymond
July 28th, 2010
9:07 am
They are starting to play like the team we thought they would be.
PMC
July 28th, 2010
9:09 am
There’s no reason to panic. It’s baseball. Teams go through ebbs and flows. Sure it’s a lot more comfortable to have a 7 game lead but it’s not THAT realistic overall. The Phillies have an excellent team, they weren’t going to be terrible all year. The Braves just need to get right and get back to winning. It will work out over the course of the year. I think they still win the division.
robdawg08
July 28th, 2010
9:09 am
Chipper went from MVP candidate to old folks home candidate in 1 year.
PMC
July 28th, 2010
9:10 am
One thing we do need to be concerned with…. McCann’s really really poor defense. He calls a great game no doubt…but he’s been lousy in his other catching duties.
robdawg08
July 28th, 2010
9:11 am
True PMC. He can’t throw runners out or make plays at the plate (drops the ball or misses it A LOT). I’d run on the Braves every chance I got if I were the other teams.
robdawg08
July 28th, 2010
9:12 am
They don’t run on Medlen. Dude’s got a masterful pick off throw to 1st.
Don
July 28th, 2010
9:14 am
Yeah whatever Bradley. You are wrong way more than you’re right. Just 6 days ago with a 7.5 lead, you wrote this garbage about why the braves would not lose the lead. By the end of next week, the lead will be “squandered”. This team is in a lot of trouble. Of course you’re feeling might stupid for writing that garbage you did less than a week ago and then this happens. Watch for another series loss to Wash, a possible sweep by Cincy and a 7.5 lead vanished to .5 by the end of the weekend.
MitchC
July 28th, 2010
9:14 am
Mark, I told you last week that I thought you were being… boastful with the column you wrote. You almost made it sound like the Braves were definitely going to be division champs, and it was only the third week of July.
Panic? No. Be very concerned. Yes. When a team has a seven game division lead, and blows half of it in a week’s time, it is time to be concerned.
It would be sad to see the Braves blow all of a seven game lead. Yes, there is the wild card, but that can be a bit more dicey, with many more teams involved. Although, at the beginning of the season, I told you my feeling was that the Phillies would win the NL East, and the Braves would get the wild card. I still see that as a strong possibility.
Whatever happens, the Braves need to play better, period, and it doesnt get any easier with the Reds at Cincy this weekend. I hope by this time next week, we aren’t looking up at the Phillies
Bruce Mac
July 28th, 2010
9:14 am
Enough Please stop it with the optimism.
Greg Norton
July 28th, 2010
9:15 am
Hey guys – I’m still for hire. I can hit. No, seriously.
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July 28th, 2010
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NEW CARS
July 28th, 2010
9:17 am
Here’s a novel thought..Package a group of minor league prospects like Lopez and Dunn with Jurjjens and McLouth and send to Houston for Oswalt and Hunter Pence…Pence would make do in CF the rest of the season…Then send Kawakami to someone desparate for a starting pitcher, even if you only get a C level prospect…Might be a pipe dream, but if we want to send Bobby out on a high and set the team up for success next year, that looks good…We would be adding a little payroll this year, but Wagner and possibly Chipper coming off after this year would offset for the future…And we might be able to trade Lowe this offseason after a decent year and only 2 years left on his big contract
Red
July 28th, 2010
9:17 am
Glaus is slumping. Prado is slumping. Escobar is gone and his replacement can’t hit anything. Chipper rarrely plays and has one good game per week. Melky has been doing well lately but booby keeps him batting 8th. This team needs an adrenaline shot.
G Morris
July 28th, 2010
9:17 am
MB you also posted last week blasting a Philly writer for saying all the Phils had to do was right their ship and not to worry about the Braves. That was less than a week ago and they cut the lead in half already. Maybe you should write about something else. I don’t think you’re a jinx…you just don’t know what you’re talking about.
Perhaps have journalists write the blog and the fans comment rather a fan write the blog itself.
Dawg Fud
July 28th, 2010
9:18 am
We needed a grand slam to prevent a sweep by Florida. No we lose to an awful team in the Nationals.
It is not time to panic but its time to man up. We should have feasted on these two teams.
loveforthegame
July 28th, 2010
9:19 am
To make the team better quick, bring up Freeman to give Glaus a break. Send down Cleven.
NEW CARS
July 28th, 2010
9:23 am
The other thought, a little bit radical, would be to bring a red-hot Freddie Freeman up instead of Blanco…I think Glaus could use a stint on the DL to get his legs back under him, it hurts to watch the man run…
Prado
Heyward
Jones
McCann
Pence
Hinske/Diaz
Freeman/Glaus
Gonzalez
Oswalt
Hudson
Hanson
Lowe
Medlen
That team is the best we could do right now
Alpha
July 28th, 2010
9:26 am
The George Costanza of prognosticating strikes again.
Dave
July 28th, 2010
9:26 am
Time to panic? No. Time to trade for a hitter? Yes. We have too many holes in our lineup. Gonzalez has always been a poor hitter, save the occasional dinger. In our blown game against the Padres and our first one against the Marlins, he had a chance to put the game away with runners in scoring position and each time he struck out (as he’s done 1/5 times throughout his career.) Center field is a black hole on offense. Blanco is a n okay stopgap, but he’s a singles hitter who can’t steal bases despite being fast. We need a good hitting outfielder who will consistently drive people in- not a Nate McLouth/Alex Gonzalez-type .250 hitter who hits the occasional home run. If we can’t swing a deal for that type of player, we should stand pat. Another mediocre bat on the bench won’t get it done.
PMC
July 28th, 2010
9:30 am
Players with big contracts and no value (Kawakami; McClouth) are impossible to trade. No one wants to pay them for no production. The only players with trade value are players with potential (like Escobar) or players that other teams feel they can win now with. If the Braves are going to make a trade more than likely other teams are going to covet our young pitchers. At this point it might just be that there isn’t anyone available that Frank Wren feels can really put them over the top as a hitter that would not damage his ability to improve the team further with perhaps better options in the off season.
There are a few good options in the Outfield that are free agents this offseason if the money is available.
CLevelan will be sent down as soon as Blanco is eligable to come back up.
Chicken Little
July 28th, 2010
9:31 am
Mark: I never panic but I’d suggest that you call the funeral home and tell them to start digging the hole. It’s over. They’re done. Last night rigor mortis started setting in. All hope is lost. Throw in the towel. Raise the white flag.
Phil
July 28th, 2010
9:34 am
Is it time to panic you ask? Whenever you have Bobby Cox in the dugout, it’s always time to panic.