Live from Braves-Phillies: A playoff series to reach the playoffs
A tight-lipped Fredi Gonzalez before tonight's titanic tilt. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
One game up, three to go. If the Braves take two of three from Philadelphia, they’ll be assured of playing beyond the 162nd game — even if it’s a Thursday play-in in St. Louis. If they sweep the Phillies, this nose-diving team will have bounded into the playoffs and all those who’d dismissed their chances will conveniently forget those dismissals.
“We still control our own destiny,” Chipper Jones said, speaking late Monday afternoon. And it’s true. They do, at least for the moment. But the colder truth is that these Braves haven’t controlled much of anything since Labor Day.
The Braves led the wild-card chase by 8 1/2 games on Sept. 1. They’ve won two of the eight series since, and one of those two wasn’t really a series: It was a doubleheader in New York rescheduled from the washed-out Irene weekend of August. On Sept. 1, these Braves won their 81st game. Twenty-two games later, they still haven’t reached 90 victories.
The past week has been spent asking where this would rank among epic collapses over the fullness of baseball history — worse than the ‘69 Cubs or the ‘78 Red Sox or the ‘64 Phillies? — but this caveat needs to be attached: All those teams had to win their division/league to reach postseason; these Braves have only to finish first among runners-up. And they’ve spent a month casting doubt on their capacity to achieve even that.
Some of this has been bad luck: When you lose your two best starting pitchers, you’re going to feel it. The Braves are trying to make the playoffs with a rotation that includes three rookies, which nobody can remember happening, and if they get there it’s unclear who, if anyone, will start the games in the Division Series. But that’s a different discussion for (perhaps) another day.
At issue now: Can the flagging Braves steel themselves for three days more? Game 1 didn’t figure to be easy: The Braves were scheduled to face Cliff Lee and the full complement of Phillies starters Monday night, and in a weird way that didn’t seem a mismatch. Because the Braves, who’d won four of their past 10 games, had actually been the hotter of the teams.
The Phillies clinched the National League East on Sept. 17. They then lost their next eight games. Yeah, they’ve been resting guys, but still: Is that the way to prepare for the playoffs? (One thing the Phillies’ skid did do was yield another of baseball’s bizarre benchmarks: This became the first team ever to lose eight straight after winning its 98th game.)
At their September nadir, the Braves have only lose four in a row. They haven’t been winning much, but they’ve won just enough to stay in front. That might sound like the faintest of praise, but it’s still something to note: With three games left, you’d rather be ahead than behind.
Said Jones: “We’ve had more than enough opportunities to walk off the field with wins that would have put this away long ago.”
They have, absolutely. But they haven’t blown this yet, and there’s no guarantee they will. “We have to treat this as a playoff series,” Jones said.
Then, asked about the mood in the locker room: “The locker room’s fine. The dugout might get a little tight at times.”
Someone wondered if Jones, who’s 39, still gets nervous. He smiled. “I don’t really get nervous,” he said. “I break it down to its simplest form: It’s the game of baseball; I’ve done this thousands and thousands of times.”
In his star-spangled career, Chipper Jones has seen everything — a World Series title, an MVP season in which he essentially decided a tight race, 13 playoff appearances. But he has never seen his Braves blow an 8 1/2-game lead in September and miss the postseason. If it happens, this would be a first.
But it might not happen. They might just ride out the worst ride of their lives. According to Baseball Prospectus, the Braves awoke Monday with a 71.7 percent chance of making the playoffs. That’s probably better than they deserve, but in baseball as in life, you don’t always get what you deserve.
And with that, the floor is again open for questions, comments and prophecies of doom. I welcome your input. I value your company. I appreciate your insights.
OK, enough. Join me, won’t you? And I thank you, as ever, in advance.
By Mark Bradley
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835 comments Add your comment
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:41 pm
kerryb you act like the phials didn’t have injuries. Utley missed 2 plus months etc. JJ has fatigue 2 years in a row. Halladay and Lee are a completely different pedigree
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:42 pm
kerryb… Do you really think Halladay, Lee and Hammels will be done in 2 years?
Phillies, Class of The NL
September 26th, 2011
10:42 pm
The Phillies were the most injured team in MLB last year and STILL managed to rally in September and overtake the lowly braves – have you forgotten already?? Any more excuses? All I hear is excuses….
CHOKERS
September 26th, 2011
10:42 pm
CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS CHOKERS
Tied tonight, lost to the Cardinals tomorrow.
the truth...
September 26th, 2011
10:42 pm
In about 30 minutes max the Cardinals will have caught us and we’ll be tied…..
Same in American league as Boston coninues an even bigger choke than we do………….
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:43 pm
kerryb.. you are a typical loser fan. well next year we will be better. oh maybe 2 years from now will be better maybe 3 years haha
kerryb
September 26th, 2011
10:43 pm
You make it sound like they are dogs or something. Losing a second baseman for a month is different from losing 2 of your best starters. JJ doesn’t have fatigue. He has a knee problem. Kind of like Oswalt and his back. But you can afford to lose Oswalt because he is not one of your top 3 starters.
Phillies, Class of The NL
September 26th, 2011
10:43 pm
Why can’t the braves sell out a game – that’s just pathetic (or should I say apathetic?)
kerryb
September 26th, 2011
10:44 pm
PhillyGuy, you are typical Philly fan. That’s why most people in the country think Philly fans are pieces of sh**.
Phillies, Class of The NL
September 26th, 2011
10:45 pm
Seriously, why can’t the braves sell out a must win game????
GT23
September 26th, 2011
10:46 pm
Greg – Disagree! Fredi is a good manager and Frank should not make a dumb decision and let him go. Last year, we heard bye bye Bobby from the manager hatters. Players must play the game! McCann, Prado, Uggla, Heyward, & Chipper were keys to this team. Pitching has been good. Hitting has not been for the last 3 weeks. Fredi has not swung the first bat this year! Hit the baseball with runners in scoring position and this would have been decided 3 weeks ago.
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:46 pm
I do think the Phillies will lose in the division series, however
Lowe Blows
September 26th, 2011
10:46 pm
Caption above the idiots head at the top of the page: “Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?” Think if Lowe had not lost 16 games. We wouldn’t be here for this would we? And those stupes from Philly would have to go to their own blog.
Ekim
September 26th, 2011
10:46 pm
Phillies have been good for four or five years now. Can’t remember what it was like to finish 12 games behind the Mets in 2006. Wasn’t all that long ago.
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:46 pm
kerryb… We have lost Utely, Oswalt, Victorino, Howard, Polanco, Contares, Lidge, all for considerable time this year. We weren’t healthy most of the year. We were just better
kerryb
September 26th, 2011
10:47 pm
Philly fans are all the same obnoxious morons. All of them. The same kind of worthless garbage that throws batteries at other teams players and fans.
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:47 pm
Kerryb, sorry for my last post calling you a typical loser fan….I’m a weenie
Phillies, Class of The NL
September 26th, 2011
10:48 pm
Why can’t the Braves sell out a must-win game, basically a playoff game? Isn’t that pathetic??
kerryb
September 26th, 2011
10:48 pm
Gone to bed. Tired of arguing with idiots that have rocks between their ears.
Ekim
September 26th, 2011
10:48 pm
No excuses here, Phillies, (no) class in the NL and icky, yellow.
Your team won it fair and square. Enjoy it. But a little humility would look good on you; your arrogance is putrid. You should go the the Philadelphia Inquirer blog and bask in reflected glory.
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:48 pm
Kerryb, we weren’t better. We got lucky really
Ekim
September 26th, 2011
10:49 pm
Oh, he even played out the attendance card! Pulling all the stops tonight, aren’t we?
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:50 pm
Kerryb, i took the rocks out…please don’t go. I’m a typical Philly LOSER. How would you feel if you had to live up here? It stinks man
Ekim
September 26th, 2011
10:51 pm
Thanks for the Constitution and for all of the war materials that you produced for World War II. But other than that, Philadelphia is a stink hole with a baseball team that’s been good for now, what, five years running!
Derek D
September 26th, 2011
10:52 pm
I just remembered – after just one win, Uggla said “we’ve got our swagger back, now.” Reminds one of Jim Mora, ex-coach of the Saints who said in his now famous interview “playoffs, playoffs?? We’re just trying to win one game!!” The Not-So-Bravos may not even do that.
PhillyGuy
September 26th, 2011
10:54 pm
Someone is using my SN, how original. But i guess after a total Mets like collapse you have to do something to amuse yourself.
nashvillewill
September 26th, 2011
10:56 pm
I can’t attend many games since I reside 4 hours away. However, if I lived in Atlanta, I would have a hard time supporting this team with my attendance. I hope if Fredi is not let go that the fans will express their displeasure and boycott the team. This is absolutely the worst managerial work I have ever seen on a Braves team. Makes Bragan, Torre, and early Cox look like geniuses.
Derek D
September 26th, 2011
10:58 pm
The same six words that describe the now departed Thrashers apply to the Braves: Spineless wimps, gutless wonders, overpaid underachievers. Eighteen trips to the NL playoffs and one Series ring? Ya gotta be kiddin’ me! Maybe there’s an opening in Winnipeg for a new Canadian franchise? Hope so.
GT23
September 26th, 2011
10:58 pm
I’ve been coaching baseball for 25 years and I can say with experience, although not at the Pro level, that players have to take ownership! You cannot be managed to a win! Players must execute! Hitting, Pitching, and base running are the keys to winning. Fredi cannot do this for them! Neither could Bobby Cox, Chuck Tanner, Russ Nixon, or even Joe Torre when they served as managers. Players own the responsibility for execution. They have not performed in September. Managers can only put them in strategic situations that give them a chance to win. Players win the games!
Bradley Blows
September 26th, 2011
11:07 pm
Nice call on the Braves easing into the playoffs. Nice article today ignoring the real trouble the Braves are in.. You are awful! Please leave town.
And for goodness sake… Please spare us the tired UGA-GT Thanksgiving list. That ceased being funny 5 years ago.
Bradley Blows
September 26th, 2011
11:13 pm
Mark Bradley… Can you please get the paper to hire IJ Rosenberg back? At least he knew something about baseball.
Erk Russell's Dog
September 26th, 2011
11:27 pm
Thank the Astros ,suicide squeeze in the bottom of the 10th .The Braves wild card lead is safe for another day.
kerryb
September 26th, 2011
11:28 pm
Astros won. I can’t believe it. The Braves are having a little luck
James
September 26th, 2011
11:30 pm
If the Cardinals don’t make the playoffs Tony LaRussa is going to the Chicago White Sox.
the truth...
September 27th, 2011
12:02 am
See the team with the worst record in baseball win with two straight bunts?
Our boy Fredi couldn’t call a bunt wo save his life…the other night we had bases loaded no outs with Bourn at bat…..then second and third and 1 out….
bunts……………??????????????????
of course not….to hell with the speed fundamental baseball game….sit back and wait for somethign to happen………..
You think those guys for Houston tonight decided to bunt in the bottom of the 10th?????????????
Sure….manager called for sure…..
When your team can’t hit….you bunt……………………..