OK, Braves fans: Maybe we SHOULD be watching this Series
David Freese gets his freeze-frame moment. He had a couple, actually. (AP photo)
Yeah, it was unbelievable. A team down to its last strike — twice! — will play one game to become the World Series champ. For sheer thrills, this Game 6 was a match for the Game 6 of 1975. (It wasn’t as well played, but hey, you can’t have everything.) But enough gushing. There’s a lesson to be had.
The Cardinals trailed the Braves by 8 1/2 games in September and were tied with the local nine after Game No. 161. (And, had the Braves not blown Game No. 162 in the ninth, they’d have been bound for a play-in game in Busch Stadium.) But we saw in Game 6 the chief difference between the 2011 Braves and these Redbirds.
The Braves had better starting pitching and a better bullpen, but the Braves’ lineup didn’t put pressure on an opponent the way the Cardinals’ does. Sometimes pressure isn’t always rewarded. Last night it was. St. Louis rallied to tie or take the lead five different times, most notably when facing two-run deficits in the ninth and the 10th.
The Braves could hit home runs. Indeed, they hit 11 more than the Cardinals over 162 games. But the Braves’ swing-hard-in-case-you-hit-it approach didn’t apply pressure in the way the Redbirds’ more clinical method does. For me, the biggest at-bats of Game 6 wasn’t David Freese’s tying triple or winning homer. They belonged to Lance Berkman, who was patient enough to take a walk with one out in the ninth and skilled enough to serve a Scott Feldman pitch into center field to tie it with two out in the 10th.
Those were examples of what we like to call professional hitting. The Braves had a lot of guys who could hit bad pitches hard, not so many who’d accept a single or a walk. The Cardinals’ on-base percentage was the third-best in the majors; the Braves’ was the fifth-worst.
After 162 games, there wasn’t much that separated these teams, but that was the part that did. It’s the reason one of the two will be playing a Game 7 tonight, and also the reason the other just hired a new hitting coach.
By Mark Bradley
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177 comments Add your comment
Still my team!
October 28th, 2011
9:24 am
@Herschel Talker, that’s it! They actually remind me of that 1991 team that beat the Pirates to advance. We were at the Georgia State Fair that night and was listening in at different booths as we went along. We hurried home to watch the last couple of innings. The atmosphere in the stadium was very similar to this one. You just knew something was going to happen and I couldn’t believe that I was able to actually see it! When the Cards caught up and passed the Braves, I told most of my friends that they (the Cards) were going to win the World Series. They peaked at just the right time! Gotta give it to them!
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
October 28th, 2011
9:24 am
I loved the McCarver explanation of why the first base ump made the correct call when the pitcher missed first…. (he made the right call because that is the side of the base he was looking at)………priceless
DetroitBraves
October 28th, 2011
9:24 am
@TheAntiMe – you know, the other thing it might do for them is relieve them of some playoff pressure. It’s kind of like they shouldn’t even be in the playoffs so now that they are they are playing with house money. The Braves, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, maybe the Brewers, and possibly the Rangers tonight – by losing they blew it. The Cardinals could have lost anywhere along the way without anyone thinking they blew it. House money.
perk
October 28th, 2011
9:25 am
traveled back from west coast and watched the game on the plane…one of the wildest series games in recent memory. Washington should have calmed down Feliz in the 9th. Didn’t watch the 1st 2 rounds of playoffs-couldnt bring myself as I was still peeved at the Braves. this could’ve been/should’ve been the Braves. Totally agree that Berkman was the key in the game. Gotta give it to Pooholes for getting a hit in the 9th too.
P Rose
October 28th, 2011
9:27 am
That was one of the most exciting WS games I’ve ever seen. I was pulling for the Cards all the way, so that there would be Friday night baseball. The season still ain’t over yet…
Stanco
October 28th, 2011
9:28 am
When will the Braves managment realize it takes more than just good pitching to win a WS. Fortunately the Braves did it with mostly pitching in 1995, but the other 13 years of that run and every other year since it has not worked! I agree that they need an impact player or 2. They better become more “exciting” and a better watch in 2012, otherwise attendance will fall considerably.
P Rose
October 28th, 2011
9:29 am
David Freese… Lance Berkman… This team has FIRE and doesn’t want to go home without a ring. A Chipper-led Braves team will never play autumn games with this much heart. Come on 2013…
anonymous
October 28th, 2011
9:34 am
Nice way to reel in some readers by making this comparison.
Fact is, the Braves are a BORING, almost nothing of a team. Just two or three guys even worth watching (and Chipper is NOT one of those).
We probably ought to be glad they did not make the playoffs. Would have only been an embarassing display just like last year.
PMC
October 28th, 2011
9:38 am
If it was beer league softball Imagine how good this Braves team could be then….
O'Brien
October 28th, 2011
9:38 am
Mark,
Given the scores we are seeing in the playoffs, how do you feel about the Braves trading from an area of strength (pitching) to improve their offense?
Or because we have a new hitting coach, will Wren and Fredi bank on Prado and BMac returning to form, and Heyward playing better? Will that be enough?
Braves #17 Fan
October 28th, 2011
9:39 am
I’ve been enjoying the series but miss the cutouts to the remote broadcasts from bars in Texas. Remember the 92 NLCS, while during the game, especially the tense moments, they would cut over to broadcast from a bar in Pittsburgh, and you’d see Pirates fans watching the game on the big screen. Fox should be doing something similar.
Bill
October 28th, 2011
9:41 am
A lot of lessons Braves could learn from this Series…Hope Wren and his Asst. are watching.
Braves fan
October 28th, 2011
9:42 am
Umm but you forget! The Braves have Dan Uggla and his awesome agent!
Ted M
October 28th, 2011
9:43 am
Ron Washington managed a terrible game.
Having the pitcher bunt with both the third baseman and first baseman 10 feet away was a certain double play. He got lucky the second time b/c of the error. Then batting the pitcher w/the bases loaded…Washington must’ve been channeling Bobby Cox.
Stanco
October 28th, 2011
9:45 am
@ P Rose & @anonymous…..I could not agree more!! As good as a player as Chipper was, he is definitely not a motivational type leader. I don’t question his desire, but I do question his passion. And to me a leader dosn’t come out in the press and say …”we are the only team that can beat the Phillies….”. A leader says that in the clubhouse to motivate his guys, not give the Phillies the desire he did for the Phillies to own the Braves after that….including the Phillies wanting…and accomplishing….knocking the Braves out of the playoffs.
Go Rangers
October 28th, 2011
9:46 am
These are real players, and managers; not what we have been dished up all year. I know it has shown me what players that want to win look like. We got milk toast. Hated to continue seeing the cards battle back, but it takes more than what the braves have to continue to do that. Very impressive.
Badgerina
October 28th, 2011
9:50 am
It is good entertainment.
Wishing it was us
October 28th, 2011
9:54 am
Timely/clutch hitting have haunted the Braves for 20 years. That’s why we have failed so many times.
Stanco
October 28th, 2011
9:54 am
@ Go Rangers……
I soooooo agree!! It starts at the top, the Braves played just like their manager…….boring, unmotivated, no passion, no urgency, no desire, NO heart……..
wreckmaniac
October 28th, 2011
9:55 am
Great game. Great series. How could any team that plays with the fielding bungles we saw last night be in a world series ?
Dozer
October 28th, 2011
9:56 am
We can only hope that our bunch of tin men see what it is to fight down to the last pitch. The only way we’re gonna see it is if we watch some other team…….
Go Rangers
October 28th, 2011
9:58 am
It hurts braves fans to watch this kind of game. But still we are in awe that other teams can do this. Maybe if any of the braves players have been watching, they will get a flashback next year, and try a little more. Course it would help if they had a decent manager, and owners that gave a crap, and made them more aggressive. They are the ones that need to watch, not us. But maybe they think they don’t need to. Losers
Tumbledown
October 28th, 2011
10:01 am
Yes, as long as the Braves are led by Chipper and a Bobby Cox clone, we will never have the ability to win big games. There is just too much negative baggage with the current leadership.
I do think when talking about the Braves, there is a difference between the 1991-1996 (pre-Leyritz homerun) Braves and the Braves teams that followed. The Braves from the early and mid 90s often played with heart and came up with many crucial hits to win big games. Those teams just lacked a shut down closer as many of the key playoff games were lost by the bullpen late. The post-Leyritz Braves, however, lost something on the mental side especially when Chipper became the main guy on offense and Cox started to manage in the playoffs out of panic (see 1998 NLCS against Padres).
Joey
October 28th, 2011
10:08 am
My thoughts on that article, BRAVESFAN, is that when the statistician said “there were no clutch hitters,” he didn’t mean in MLB.
He was just talking about on the Braves . . .
Joycee_Banicheck
October 28th, 2011
10:14 am
You just gotta tip your cap to those guys over there, they played baseball the it’s supposed to be played. Just gotta tip your cap…
DC
October 28th, 2011
10:14 am
ok yay baseball..amazing game…I’ll be waiting on your UGA/FL blog…im sure it will be coming soon..can’t wait for the “that there florida fan is a GT fan in disguise!” “he is ninja’n this blog up”
D man
October 28th, 2011
10:15 am
Wow, besides the errors at the first half of the game, that was the best game I have ever watched.
Go Rangers
October 28th, 2011
10:17 am
Thank you, Stanco. I am still upset with the Braves, and the more I watch the Cards and the Rangers, it only makes it worse. I don’t really care for La Russa, but he is a great manager. The Rangers manager is always standing on the steps, and gets very excited when things happen. Now the Braves, we got fredi the freeloader that always looks like he is working a crossword puzzle. Sits with his head down. I think that is because he is lost, and never knows when the cameras might show him, and his deer in the headlights look would give him away.
Sonny Clusters
October 28th, 2011
10:27 am
We was hoping the Braves was watching. Do they have television in those tree stands? Having heart means a lot to a team and heart comes up bigger than sore thumbs and bad adductors. The Braves need to make some changes that go beyond a new hitting coach. We are hoping they will get some new hitters and take down those silly little signs in the outfield. There is a NL Champion and an AL Champion and one of them will be the WS Champion. Everybody else is out hunting deer and none of them is champion of anything. No little signs needed to fool anybody.
Driver 8
October 28th, 2011
10:27 am
Feliz has a little too much Brave in him. He just dissolved in the 9th with everything at stake. He would have fit right in if he were still a Brave.
extremus
October 28th, 2011
10:29 am
I’d say Freese’s heroics will place him in the same company with Sid Bream where Cardinals fans are concerned, especially if they go on to win the Series. Honestly though, I hope Texas wins if only because they’ve never had a championship before; I know that if they fall in Game 7 it will be eerily reminiscent of how the Braves and their fans felt that October 1991 night in the MetroDome. And as a fan I wouldn’t wish that on any other fanbase (well, MAYBE the Yankees and Phillies).
Seriously though, while the Series is very important to both teams, I believe there’s much more riding on its outcome for the Texas Rangers. St. Louis has had quite a few seasons in the limelight including some recent years, but to get this close twice in a row and be turned back after a 40-year history with no championships could be devastating for the Rangers and their aura in the same way that the Braves saw their wildly enthusiastic, Tomahawk-chopping fans become cynical and eventually apathetic. For their sake I really hope they get the monkey off their backs.
ClemsonBrad
October 28th, 2011
10:31 am
Mark, the first thing I thought about after that game was over last night..
“Gosh, I hope Mark watched it on TV and did not solely listen to it on the radio….”
extremus
October 28th, 2011
10:31 am
My last comment must have gotten snagged by the “filter” again, Mr. Bradley.
Don
October 28th, 2011
10:32 am
Well said- relating to hitting. You must have a Hitting Coach who teaches, stresses, and demands making the opposing pitcher throw a lot of pitches, working the count, devloping high On Base Percntages, and making solid contact. SO WHY DO THE BRAVES HIRE THE HITTING COACH THAT THEY HAVE JUST HIRED??? Although I do not know much about him, it is my understanding that he does not stress these things.
Also, the future of the Pitching Staff cannot be good if we continue a situation where almost every Starting Pitcher that we develop or acqure becomes injured. Our supply of quality pitching prospects will not support this injury mill. Since Leo left, how many total Starting Pitchers have we had (counting only those who have been in the rotation for a reasonable length of time) and HOW MANY OF THESE (if any) HAVE NOT BEEN INJURED. Right now the three young pitchers (JJ, Hanson, and Medling) who should have formed the core of a great pitching staff for years to come ARE ALL INJURED — and who knows if they will ever really be effective again?
Hedley Lamarr
October 28th, 2011
10:37 am
Sonny – Well stated, as usual.
Kentavo
October 28th, 2011
10:40 am
We’ll know about that Braves pedigree tonight when Matt Harrison takes the mound.
Speedy Gonzalez ( Fredis cousin)
October 28th, 2011
10:42 am
What the Cards have shown we already know: The Bravos need a couple of bats, whoever hits wins & we dont have it, every game its a struggle to score, trade some pitching & lets get on the right path
Philly
October 28th, 2011
10:46 am
@PMC-Could have had Berkman for cheap. I believe he got slightly north of $1 million on a 1 year deal. However, Wren just does not think outside the box enough and consider options like this. Instead he threw 65 mil at Uggla who will kill us for years to come.
Abnerish
October 28th, 2011
10:51 am
Fantastic baseball game. Even the early “sloppy” part of the game was interesting to watch. I am taping the MLB network replay of it today to show my 7-yr old son this weekend. I will make sure to point out 3 main points:
1) When there is a pop-up between two fielders, never yell “take it”. Who does that??
2) USE TWO HANDS when catching pop-ups!!
3) NEVER, EVER, give up!
That game was a great example of how great baseball is, and was proof once again about how difficult the game is at the Major League level and how difficult it is to get the last 3 outs of a game.
Looking forward to Game 7. It will be interesting to see how the Rangers respond. Especially since they may be without Napoli and Cruz.
Robert
October 28th, 2011
10:54 am
“There’s a lesson to be had.”
Dont let Bobby Cox manage your baseball team?
Hillbilly D
October 28th, 2011
11:01 am
I’m from the old school, in a crucial situation, late in a game, if you’re going to beat me, you got to hit the ball over the outfielders head. In my opinion, the “no doubles” defense is what lost that game for Texas.
Reggie
October 28th, 2011
11:05 am
It is my understanding that he does not stress any of these things… DON.
Don where do you get your understanding of Mr Walker ???. Its obvoius you don’t know crap about Greg Walker. The man has been in baseball 19 plus years but you don’t think he understands basic obp and fundamental baseball..give me a break.
Maybe they should have hired you Coach Don.
phil
October 28th, 2011
11:06 am
Sadly, folks like me have to go to bed in the 6th inning or so and almost always miss such great games and their amazing conclusions. It really pisses me off, but what can you do? Obviously someone watches these things til the wee hours or else baseball would move them a bit earlier and stop the stupid singing in the bottom of every seventh inning, etc.
I became so upset each year, when the Braves would make the playoffs, at the afternoon starts, when I also couldn’t watch or listen, that I stopped even paying attention to the regular season for several years.
Baseball has itself to blame for its awful viewership numbers in general compared to the past. Many of us just CAN’T watch because the sport doesn’t seem to want us to be able to watch.
Really disappointing to miss that finish.
Tonight, I CAN stay up. Does baseball not think of stuff like this when it comes up with schedules? Game seven on a thur nite or a fri nite. Isn’t that a no brainer? But for the rainout, it would’ve been last night, if at all.
phil
October 28th, 2011
11:07 am
My remarks were just eaten….
Oh well….no different than not being able to stay awake long enough to see what happened last night…
Thanks MLB!
phil
October 28th, 2011
11:08 am
test
Sonny Clusters
October 28th, 2011
11:10 am
Clusters babies are taught early to shorten up on the bat and put the ball in play with two strikes and runners on base. A Clusters will hit behind a runner if needed and will run as hard to first base as he can. Watching teams in the World Series play team baseball and bringing runners in made this Clusters feel a little nostalgic for that kind of baseball here in the BobbyBall Capitol of the World (make that the division). Picture if you will Jason Heyward coming to bat at anytime last night during those Cardinals magic innings. There, we have in a nutshell what is wrong with the Atlanta Braves. No plate savvy (and he had it when he got here) and never making the adjustment to get things right. We was thinking Spring Training this year better be about more than using an extra practice field and not shaking things up too much for the Buck Commander and his boys. Spring Training will tell us all we need to know about what is ahead.
Sonny Clusters
October 28th, 2011
11:10 am
Filtered! We was doing such a good job, too. Sad.
????????
October 28th, 2011
11:14 am
Buh-bye Lowe, Heward, Gonzalez. Sombody please teach the Braves NOT to swing at the first pitch every at-bat. Also, need bunting practice for everyone, even McCann. Baserunner on second with none out should be a guaranteed run with a bunt (or rt side grounder), and fly ball or another deep grounder.
Stiffneck
October 28th, 2011
11:23 am
Wow! Last night’s game was probably the best World Series game I have ever seen. Hope the Cardinals win it all. They’ve battled back the past two months ( unlike the imploding Braves ). Can’t ask for a better story. La Russa should be Manager of the year.
Hillbilly D
October 28th, 2011
11:24 am
Baseball has itself to blame for its awful viewership numbers in general compared to the past. Many of us just CAN’T watch because the sport doesn’t seem to want us to be able to watch.
Most of the world can see that but unfortunately, Bud Selig and most of the Lords of Baseball can’t.