Update: After 13 innings, the Braves’ epic failure is complete
Brian McCann can't bear to watch. Can't blame him. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
They’d been portrayed, not without cause, as choking dogs. They finished September having won two of nine series and having watched, numbly if not nimbly, an 8 1/2-game lead go poof. But even a choking dog can have his day, or night, and the 2011 Braves tried to give themselves one Wednesday.
They failed. They failed in the way this entire month had been a failure. They took an 8 1/2-game lead and threw it all away, and by the time they got done losing Game No. 162 they had made us suffer through all the failures that comprised this failed month.
They led 3-1 after three innings and 3-2 after eight, but Game No. 162, like the season itself, lapped into overtime. They hit early, then stopped hitting. They saw a key run thrown out at the plate. In sum, they suffered the kind of wobble that had gotten them into this mess in the first place.
Before Game No. 162, Chipper Jones had noted that the populace seemed ready to box these Braves’ ears. (Or words to that effect.) Attempting a tiny joke, someone suggested such civic outrage only went to show that Atlanta cares. Said Jones: “We care, too. We care more than anybody else.”
Fredi Gonzalez, lately portrayed as a do-nothing manager, cared enough to do something after Tuesday’s ugly loss. He sat his men down and told them he wouldn’t pick any other bunch over this to go out and win a game. Then, being practical, Gonzalez advised his charges to get some sleep and come back ready to play. “It wasn’t Knute Rockne,” he said Wednesday. But then, brightly: “Maybe 50 years from now it will be in a book of great speeches.”
It might not have been Henry V at Agincourt, but it — or something — did the trick. The Braves were loose and supple from the start of Game No. 162, which isn’t easy to do when your constituency stands ready to break out the rotten tomatoes. They had leadoff hits in each of the first five innings. They fell behind in the top of the first but answered in the bottom, and Dan Uggla’s crushed homer off Cole Hamels’ 0-2 fastball untied matters in the third.
And not a moment too soon. Uggla’s ball landed in the bleachers about the time the Cardinals were about to begin their game against 105-loss Houston, and sure enough St. Louis put up a huge early number. (Five first-inning runs on seven first-inning hits against Brett Myers, who like Chipper is an alum of Jacksonville’s Bolles School. Chipper had been hoping for “Bolles mojo.” No go.)
This became the game these Braves had played from April through the August: Tim Hudson gave them 6 1/3 innings textbook innings, and then the once-bulletproof bullpen took the baton. Eric O’Flaherty needed two pitches to induce Shane Victorino to hit into a double play to end the seventh. Jonny Venters walked/plunked the bases loaded in the eighth but struck out Raul Ibanez on three pitches.
Then it was the ninth and the kid closer entered to do as he’d done all season. Instead Craig Kimbrel, who’d blown two saves this month, blew another by slinging the ball around like a bad point guard. He yielded a leadoff single to Placido Polanco, walked the bases loaded, saw Chase Utley drive home the tying run with a fly ball and walked Hunter Pence to boot. The bulletproof bullpen had been hit.
Kimbrel was pulled for Kris Medlen, who in his second appearance in 14 months held the tie and got the Braves through the 10th. The Braves had a chance to win in the bottom of the inning, but Michael Martinez hauled in Chipper’s drive with Michael Bourn aboard. And neither Brooks Conrad, who struck out, nor Martin Prado, who tapped out, could drive home Jason Heyward in the 12th.
To the 13th. Scott Linebrink entered. Ahead 0-2 on Brian Schneider, Linebrink walked him. Chase Utley moved Schneider to third with a two-out single, and Pence brought him home with a broken-bat grounder in the second-base hole. (”Couldn’t have thrown it out there any better,” Gonzalez said.) Down a run, the Braves were three outs from elimination.
Jones led off against David Herndon and struck out. (The Braves’ at-bats from the ninth on had been little except hero swings, to unheroic avail.) Then Uggla induced a walk. But Freddie Freeman rapped into a 3-6-3 double play, and the season was done. There would be no trip to St. Louis, no 163rd game.
There will, alas, be only an aftertaste that will linger long. The 2011 Cardinals became the second team ever to trail by 8 1/2 games in September and reach the postseason. The 1964 Cardinals, beneficiaries of the infamous Philly Phold, were the first, and that’s the miserable company these Braves will keep.
Dan Uggla gives the Braves the lead. (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)
They won their 81st game on Sept. 1. They never got to 90. They led by three games with five to play and never won again. They lost their 162nd game to a team that had no real reason to care about winning. They had the lead and the best rookie closer ever on the mound, and they lost. If you want to say they choked, nobody will argue.
The kid closer all but volunteered the cursed C-word. “You have to bottle up emotions and harness them,” Kimbrel said. “I didn’t do that today. September’s the hardest month of the year, and I let my emotions get to me. Things just started to move too fast, and I couldn’t put it together.”
Kimbrel was overthrowing. The hitters were overswinging. “We’ve been swinging really hard for a while,” Jones said. “When a guy’s living two or three inches off the outside corner, that’s not a ball you’re going to hit out of the ballpark.”
To return to Chipper’s assertion of eight hours earlier, these Braves absolutely tried their hardest. They actually tried too hard. But part, maybe even most, of being a champion is the capacity to perform under pressure, and these Braves buckled. There was, contrary to popular belief, no great mismanagement in this game: Fredi G.’s team was in position to win the exact same way it had all summer, except that summer ended and September arrived and the winning ceased.
“It just got a little wild,” Chipper said, speaking of Game No. 162 but actually the whole lost month. When the Cardinals began to close, the Braves were never the same. Even without Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson, this team should have had enough to play into October. It won’t. It won’t because it choked. End of story.
By Mark Bradley
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874 comments Add your comment
Ghost of Nock-A-Homer
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
You stop chopping…you stop choking. Simple as that.
BCC0224
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
Said it all day : Jack Wilson = Cousin Oliver. Jinx!
And please let Larry Parrish go somewhere else.
At least Scott Proctor made his presence somewhere else – he got the loss in the Rays’ win. And ATL, we don’t have the HUGE HUGE payroll Boston has, plus nearly half our rotation went down w/ injury.
Hurts just as bad as the marathon NLDS game vs. Roger “HGH” Clemens in Houston… Otis making the final out in the 1992 World series.
terry pendleton
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
who yall gonna blame this year??????????
Joe
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
I guess we still got the Atlanta Dream to root for they are in the WNBA finals.
MitchC
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
I thought that Mark Wohlers to Jim Leyritz was the worst baseball moment in Atlanta history. That was bad, but this is worse. At least that year they rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to make the World Series, and won two games against the Yankees. This. They blew what should have been a sure fire lead, with an absolute collapse over a longer period of time, and then waited until the 13th inning of the 162nd game to fold.
My call is that tonight is the worst night in the 45 year history of baseball in Atlanta.
texasboy06
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
Thank You from St Louis!
Big Wally
September 29th, 2011
12:34 am
For the opening home game next year, someone should put up a mock banner “2011 NL Wild Card Chokers”.
DoninAcworth
September 29th, 2011
12:35 am
Tough year Bravo’s but these things happen. Seems like all our power hitters but one (Uggla)
forgot how to hit for power. It should have been so easy to win only one more game but they
forgot how and the manager never got a chance to hit or pitch. Now do we give up on em? Not me, heck I was with the Dodgers from 47 to 68 and we won some but it was always the Yankees
and that little 5′7″ catcher Yogi who knew how to win all the time. Let’s give it a rest fans and like the players, wait til next year! One more thing… it wern’t Larry’s fault..he’s a hall of famer!
Dave in AZ
September 29th, 2011
12:36 am
I saw these clowns and jesters do this to me for years. Leibrandt, Lonnie Smith, Wohlers, Reardon. and Booby Cox. I got sick of them, gave up the TV package, and refused to listen to anybody tell me they were good when they had the second best record in the NL earlier this year. They are the Braves, the choking bums of baseball, one notch in hell above the Bills and Vikings. They are the proverbial ex husband who gets drunk, wrecks the car, soils himself, and tells you next time he’ll do better. Anybody who pays good money and faces that traffic to see these losers deserves the drek they get each year.
Reggie
September 29th, 2011
12:36 am
Remember these articles from the AJC sport writers….if the Braves go 21-21 then St Louis has to go 30-12, if the Braves go 15-15 then St. Louis has to go 22-8, If the Braves go 9-9 the St. Louis has to go 15-3. Now the Braves go HOME and ST. Louis has to go to the PLAYOFFS! Do the math
the mace
September 29th, 2011
12:37 am
How come the Yankees never have a rebuilding year?
NativeAtlantian
September 29th, 2011
12:37 am
UGLY………….UGLY…………..UGLY…………..UGLY……………UGLY…………….UGLY…………….
UGLY…………UGLY……………UGLY……………UGLY…………..UGLY…………….UGLY
UGLY………….UGLY………….UGLY……………UGLY……………UGLY…………..UGLY………………
Pascal Perez
September 29th, 2011
12:37 am
i can still play…………………….
Riiiight....
September 29th, 2011
12:38 am
It’s funny to see some people blame Heyward for everything. He’s not the one who kept starting a washed up drunk week after week. He’s not the one who was too busy jawing with fans in SF instead of doing his job. Go look at the batting averages of the rest of the bums and blame them as well. Still want to blame Pendleton as well? Braves fans are a joke!
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
12:38 am
Hey, at least the future does seem bright with a core of McCann, Freeman and Uggla, and especially the pitching with Teheran, Medlen, Beachy, Kimbrell, Venters, Minor, Jurrjens and Hanson. But the Braves need to resign Bourn and get two more outfielders (Heyward is a bust, and Prado is a utility guy), a shortstop and a new third baseman. The Chipper era needs to end.
Dr. Phil
September 29th, 2011
12:38 am
Who’s the team psychologist?
Whatever
September 29th, 2011
12:38 am
A team that loses in such a way is bad, but they certainly aren’t as pathetic as those fans from opposing teams who gloat about it.
Sandra
September 29th, 2011
12:39 am
I am truly shocked. The Cardinals were out of the race and then the Braves folded. Unbelievable.
bias
September 29th, 2011
12:39 am
I WANT MY MONEY BACK
Deion Sanders
September 29th, 2011
12:40 am
Where’s McCarver?
Frank Mu
September 29th, 2011
12:40 am
What stings the most about this is how close we were. Other than the games in which Lowe pitched, it’s not like we were getting crushed. We were right in most of the games. Unfortunately, the offense was always just one hit away, and the pitching was always just one out or even just one strike away.
And despite all that, we still would’ve won the Wild Card had a few freak things not happened. Chipper losing that ball in the lights of Florida’s craphole that they call a stadium–anywhere else, Chipper’s able to see the ball, field it, throw out Bonifacio, and the game would’ve ended without Infante getting a chance to hit. Today, Ruiz’s would-be-double-play grounder that spasmed at the last bounce and glanced off Jack Wilson–if not for that bounce, Wilson easily could’ve turned an inning-ending double play, the Phillies would’ve still been down 3-1, and the Braves likely would’ve won 3-2. With those two wins, we would’ve won the WC race. But life decided to be a real pain in the rectum this year.
To end this bitter season on a positive note: I believed at the beginning of this year (wow, it feels like a long time ago), and still do, that we have a starting rotation that could carry us to the World Series. That didn’t happen because Lowe went back to his customary sucky ways, and our two best pitchers of the first half got injured and were never the same again. However, if everyone can manage to stay healthy for all of 2012, and Lowe either finds some way to pitch well or to at least avoid hurting the team, just look at what we’d have: Hudson, a healthy Jurrjens, a healthy Hanson, a more experienced Beachy. If any of those guys need help, we’ll have Minor, Delgado and Teheran, all of whom will be more mature and experienced. They should be able to pitch deeper into games next season, which hopefully means we can use the bullpen less, and our Big Three won’t burn out at the end.
So at the very least, we have a bright future to look forward to. And given the way this season ended, next year can’t possibly come quickly enough.
jc
September 29th, 2011
12:41 am
What got me watching the game in STL was the lack of interest from the Braves. Everyone was sitting back on the bench, most with heads down. Unlike the Cardinals where every member on the team was hanging on the dugout rail with every pitch..
Atlanta, it appears that they just didnt give a rats a.. what happens to them.
No Shock
September 29th, 2011
12:42 am
Anyone surprised here must be new to Atlanta. We’ve been racking up failures across all sports for years and our only success came against the only sports town possibly worse than ours- Cleveland. More of the same coming. I guarantee it.
Thomas Williams
September 29th, 2011
12:42 am
Over the past 2-3 years, the Braves had an opportunity to acquire Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Pence to name a few. Liberty Media decided to run it cheap and acquire re-treads instead. Well, the Phillies did what was necessary and are reaping the wins and a consistently sold-out stadium. Last time I checked, full stadiums pay the bills. If Liberty keeps giving us second rate players, we won’t come to games anymore. Think about how long the Phillies will dominate now with the young talent the Braves could have gotten. This result is mainly the fault of Liberty Media.
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
12:43 am
Riiiight… I see where you’re going. But Heyward sucks. So do Chipper, Prado, and Lowe; but that doesn’t change the fact that Heyward sucks.
Big Wally
September 29th, 2011
12:43 am
Lessons to be learned by us all. 1) Fredi-cat Gonzalez is incompetent 2) Kimbrel has a million dollar arm, but jelly between the ears, 3) Heyward is a bust and lazy, 4) Chipper has toe to toe range at 3rd and should have only been pinch-hitting this past month, but for some reason, was allowed to keep playing. 5) Parrish, is the worst hitting coach in the history of baseball.
Rob
September 29th, 2011
12:44 am
I can take solace in this: I didn’t waste a penny going to a game this year.
If the higher ups want to continue to raise the price of tickets, concessions and parking while continuing to lower the payroll every year, I’ll keep my damn money. If more people would do the same, we’d actually see some changes. Tell them what you think with your wallet.
In 2003 the Braves payroll was over $106 million and it was the 3rd highest in MLB. 2011 payroll was $87 million, placing us at number 15 in MLB. Over the years it has went up and down, but never reached that height again. It has obviously mostly been reductions. All of this happened as ticket prices were hiked year in and year out (especially for the families who have no option but to go on weekends), increases in the cost of concessions and jacking up the cost for parking as well.
So… stay away from Turner field, don’t buy the merchandise, and hell if you want to go the whole 9 yards, don’t support their sponsors either.
TX Brave
September 29th, 2011
12:45 am
Norm’s comments are correct: the biggest loss of a terrible September was game one in St. Louis when Kimbrel blew a 3-1 lead; put that win in the books and the Braves would be o.k. (even if they lost games two and three); this game can be cruel
bronkelliott
September 29th, 2011
12:45 am
I for one am glad they lost. The Chipper era ended tonight. Bravo for hard fought year. They are young and will be a team to be reckoned with in years to come. Chipper and Prado must go and new leadership established. Be at peace and let this one go. Looking forward to spring training next year. Will miss the blog and Mitchell & N8 and others who make me laugh. One word of advice to McCann is to get in better shape for next year. Take care guys and gals.
Jacketattack
September 29th, 2011
12:45 am
Sad but I’m glad it’s over so I don’t have to see the postseason embarrassment….I would fire frddi tomorrow and Parrish has always sucked!
Riiiight....
September 29th, 2011
12:45 am
So Heyward is a bust now after battling injuries in his SECOND year and going through a sophomore slump that so many have went through? I mean really, if you’re going to be racist just come out and say it rather than hide.
Big Wally
September 29th, 2011
12:45 am
This is also Wren’s failure. If we would have thrown in Minor in the trade with Houston, we would have gotten Pence, who was the one who beat us tonight.
young team
September 29th, 2011
12:46 am
This braves team is young and overachieved this year and had a lot of injuries. In 2012, they will get it together and make the playoffs—mark it down!
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
12:46 am
No Shock, you’re right – except you forgot that the Cleveland Browns have 8 league championships.
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
12:47 am
Thomas Williams, you’re 100% correct.
Old Fashioned
September 29th, 2011
12:47 am
Just wondering—If George Steinbrenner were alive and the owner of the Braves,how many of those clowns would be banished forever? The team needs really mean- and -nasty owner and manager to light a fire under the complacent,overpaid,bums (most of the team).
athens dog
September 29th, 2011
12:47 am
Georgia Born, you nailed it. Heyward has become lazy in only one year. I stopped counting the number of times he was thrown out after a defender bobbled a ball, because he didn’t hustle down the line. He is most certainly not the reason for this meltdown, but is it coincidental that the Braves latest lack of production, which was mostly to blame for the collapse, started after Heyward was reinserted into the lineup in early September, and we never saw Constanza again?
The pitching injuries killed us. Picture Philly with Oswalt and Halladay (sp?) missing the last six weeks or so, and you have us without Hanson and Juerjens. Our strength was pitching and defense. The defense was not bad, and the pitchers not named Hudson either got injured, got overworked (O’F, Vent and Kimbrel) or collapsed (D Lowe).
Take a team that can’t hit, and relies on pitching and defense and take the pitching away, that team loses an 8 1/2 game lead in three weeks.
Next year? We’ve GOT to find a different approach at the plate. And we also HAVE to find a way to keep the ‘pen fresh. Maybe more quality bullpen arms, or endeavor to get Roger to let ‘em pitch for more than 5-6 innings.
Time for football.
Big Wally
September 29th, 2011
12:47 am
Didn’t say anything about K-wards race you twit. I bashed several other players you idiot.
Sam
September 29th, 2011
12:48 am
It’s sad that it came to this. All summer long, this was a fantastic, fun team to watch with many great moments (Uggla’s 33 game streak, Lugo’s “winning slide” in the 19th against the pirates, a ton of walkoff hits, Zambrano melting down in front of a Braves lineup that ended his career). It’s how it works with a team that survives on “magic”. With Hanson and JJ injured, our unhittable bullpen (of many rookies) had to step up and their arms couldn’t withstand constant use, and Lowe (similar to Troy Glaus last year) seems to have finally run out of gas. We had a lineup that could beat anyone when it was at full strength. Unfortunately, it’s never at full strength and you have to have a backup and be able to recover.
Hope it doesn’t get to Kimbrel’s head. He’s an outstanding closer who didn’t give up a run for three months. To 2012 and hopes of a better year. Come spring, hopefully our team’s recovered and our arms fresh and we can perhaps beat the teams that just pay their way to titles.
NO MORE PARRISH
September 29th, 2011
12:48 am
Notice the Cards and Rays both won with OFFENSE? Can’t wait to see who is the next hitting coach because Parrish better not be brought back in 2012.
Chicken Nachos Fan
September 29th, 2011
12:48 am
I have to keep attending games; they have the best chicken nachos…EVER!!
Hell, I had been eating out at Turner Field for years before I even realized a baseball team was playing there. What’s their name again?
Former braves fan
September 29th, 2011
12:48 am
Followed the braves my entire life. Never wavered in my support. Today I am left bitter and confused. This year’s team figuratively raped its fans. I can’t stand to look at Fredi’s fat hollow head. Count me out on the braves until we get a thinking man in the dugout.
M10
September 29th, 2011
12:48 am
Riiiight
I coud’nt agree more.These pp are just insane to blame Heyward.It’s ridiculous.
TN Jeff
September 29th, 2011
12:49 am
Yes Gonzalez mismanaged the game – pull Kimbrel before he blows the game. Medlin comes it and we’re playing tomorrow vs the Cardinals.
P Rose
September 29th, 2011
12:49 am
Hey Riiiight… why are you defending only Heyward. Lots of white guys are taking hits on this here blog – Parrish, Chipper, Lowe, McCann, etc. You’re the one who brought up racism. Just because the dude is a minority, that doesn’t excuse him from honest criticism. Get a life.
Big Wally
September 29th, 2011
12:50 am
@Riiight must have been an OJ juror.
Kane337
September 29th, 2011
12:50 am
The Rays rallied back. The Braves couldn’t hit one into the ocean.
Tony
September 29th, 2011
12:50 am
Way to go Mark. When was it you said we had it wrapped up? You know just as little about this team as FG. He should be fired but won’t. You shouldn’t write about the Braves but you will. And for the forseeable future we the fans will get stupid analysis from you about a stupid team made stupid by their manager.
Houli
September 29th, 2011
12:50 am
Hard to say the collapse wasn’t unforseen. The hitting was absent all year and when Jurjens and Hanson went down we were done. Heyward was worse than Francouer in his Braves days. He needs to learn how to make adjustments and become the star he thinks he is. Lowe, how do you go the entire month of august without contributing ANYTHING? Chipper still contributed and Hudson was the stud he always is down the stretch.
Phillyroni
September 29th, 2011
12:51 am
Worst collapse in any of our lifetimes,, come to Philly and get swept by our JV team,, sorry to say this but you guys SUCK,, ALL OF YOU,, from the fans who refused to show up (the game today did not sell out) to the players who just suck to the front office. Hopefully you can learn from watching the Phillies what a real major league team is. Heart,, guts,, and a never quit attitude is something that you have not had in quite some time. God I love this,,, goodbye loserlanta.