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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
75 comments Add your comment
Casey Stinkle
August 29th, 2012
12:21 pm
No, Hell no! All the way baby!
Casey Stinkle
August 29th, 2012
12:21 pm
No, Hell no! All the way baby!
Dirty Dawg
August 29th, 2012
12:44 pm
We gotta get some more bats goin. Two runs against, basically rookie pitchers over he sat two games? And it’s almost too bad Uggla got lucky last night…all it’ll do is confirm his belief that swinging harder is the answer.
Ken Stallings
August 29th, 2012
1:00 pm
Even with the extra Wild Card, baseball remains the most exclusive of professional sports when it comes to playoffs. Only five teams in each league make it, and in the NL, that means 11 teams do not. Compare to the NFL, NBA, and NHL and the stark difference becomes all too clear. So, is making the playoffs enough for now? Yes, it is the goal for now and a darn worthy one at that!
Then, if the playoffs are made, by whatever method done, you start to analyze where the team is at, remembering that baseball is the most unpredictable sport on a game-by-game basis. And rather than ratchet up the media pressure on that, perhaps all of us (media included) should chill a bit and enjoy the opportunity vice stand around setting up measures of disappointment or failure.
bobbymahlon
August 29th, 2012
1:20 pm
First off only a World Championship is enough.
Getting in the WS is very good.
Winning the division is good.
Getting in the one game playoff game is risky, anything can happen in one game.
I hate the one game wild card playoff, after playing 162 games you play one game to decide who gets into the playoffs bull c–p.
Ken Stallings
August 29th, 2012
1:20 pm
You know what the “win it all or else” philosophy does? It sets up disappointment. Because only one team wins it all and so everyone else carries degrees of disappointment in measure to the intolerance of their own “win it all or else” mindset. It is so very easy for people to observe and critique the performance of others without any true stake in the outcome.
The Braves have the third best record in the NL, and have actually gained three games on the Nationals in the last week. Yet, several bloggers here use words like “average,” and “middle of the road” to describe the team.
The only people who regarded the mantra “World Series of failure” as the guidepost of the Braves during the 1990’s are so-called fans who walk around with such a foolish notion. They speak louder than their numbers warrant!
Bobby Cox, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Chipper Jones (at minimum) will be enshrined in Cooperstown in the near future. Five names from one team in the world’s most exclusive hall of fame does not average or disappointing make! At what precisely does the general fan extract from a World Series championship that he does not get from a successful team making the playoffs and winning at a high percentage?
A trinket? A shirt? What do these tokens do for us that following a successful team playing engaging sport not do? When did fielding a successful team that wins far more than it loses over a two-decade period of time become fodder for negative commentary? It’s not merely the fans and bloggers only. Many in the media deliberately fuel the same negativity and then sit back to watch the fun.
In the truly big scheme of life, it is all entertainment. It is unpredictable entertainment devoid of a script and therefore unconcerned with the notorious “spoiler alert.” You don’t have to worry about reading 300 pages in a 325 page “who done it” book and having your kid walk in and say, “Great book, never guessed that “XYZ” did it!” Don’t have to worry about watching 1.7 hours of the two hour movie and having your cousin walk in and give away the ending.
Especially in baseball, since there is no clock, there is no predictability. There is no lead at any time from which victory cannot be extracted from defeat. And there alone baseball remains unique. It provides the ultimate in unpredictable entertainment — a game with so many facets that it can be studied in depth and yet appear simple, and with rules designed to encourage the remarkable outcome.
Enjoy the season. Enjoy the games. Enjoy the chance to see the remarkable and to see the unpredictable.
Stick a fork in em
August 29th, 2012
1:31 pm
It should be apparant what ownership thinks of this team as illustrated by their hiring of Freddi g. The Marlins ran him off b/c he stunk. Fire him, resign Bourne (which AINT gonna happen), and then MAYBE Ill start to believe ownership cares.
CDOG
August 29th, 2012
1:47 pm
DAN UGGLA GOT HIS BIG CONTRACT THEN QUIT ON THE BRAVES.HE NEEDS TO PLAY AND MOST OF ALL, HIT THE WAY HE IS CAPABLE OF.
Stinger 2
August 29th, 2012
1:52 pm
extremus: I read your post and understand the points you made. All I am saying is that only one team of the 30 MLB teams can win a world championship each year. That being the case, I don`t see how every other team is a failure. For example, a team wins the World Series like the Marlins did a few years ago. I don`t remember who they beat but whoever it was won the AL Championship. To me, that is an accomplishment in itself…not a failure.
None
August 29th, 2012
2:06 pm
Doesn’t matter. They could go all the way every year and it wouldn’t be enough for some of the so called “fans” that quit playing baseball about mid 4th grade. I am sorry you guys are so unhappy with life. Must suck,
whassup
August 29th, 2012
2:17 pm
Even with Medlen factored in, this team cannot beat the Nationals or the Reds in a series. Why expect them to ? Lets assume Medlin continues to be terrific and Hudson has a good day. Beyond these two, starting pitching is totally unreliable. And what is wrong with “just” making the playoffs ? Before the year began we all know that the Phils and the Marlins were picked ahead of the Braves. So the Braves were a projected fourth. Getting into the playoffs means it has been a very successfull year. Sure, I want to be in the World Series but this team isn’t ready for that.
KEVIN CHOP: Mets and Phils fans can throw bottles on the field but it won’t get either of those teams into this years playoffs.
BravesFanSince80s
August 29th, 2012
2:32 pm
I REALLY wish people would stop saying Dan Fuggla is in a “slump.” Oh he’s in a slump eh? Slumps usually last something like 2 weeks to a month. By my recollection, with the exception of about roughly 3-4 weeks of fluke hitting, he’s hit at about the same pace the ENTIRE time he’s been here. Pretty tough to call that a “slump” anymore. It is what it is, Ugly Dan has been exposed on a bigger stage and is no longer capable of reproducing anything like what he did while in FLA. PERIOD….
Tomahawkin
August 29th, 2012
2:34 pm
Yes, The Nats are in The Braves Head, Its like the Phillies were last year and every year since 2006
And This is a 1 and Done Team if they don’t Choke the wildcard spot away before then
Huddy is Not a #1 Ace and bet Fredi starts him in that stupid 1 Game WC Elimination…
Meds Should start that game because the league still doesn’t know about him enough yet
Tomahawkin
August 29th, 2012
2:36 pm
Huddy is too predictable in a big elimination game…Wait til he beats a team like the Cardinals before we can call him an ace, Huddy is as big a Choker in big games as the guy at 3rd and behind the plate
Bruce Benedict
August 29th, 2012
2:37 pm
The Cardinals were probably not any better on paper last year than the Braves but they got hot at the right time and David Freese played out of his mind in the playoffs. I agree that the Braves organization does not seem to put winning it all as the goal anymore, but I’m sure the players want to win. When you’re already rich beyond imagination, what else is there to play for? Absolutely anything can happen in a playoff series, you only have to go 4-3 to advance, that’s nothing. A bounce here, a bad call, an inch there, these can all be the difference in a single game. The Rangers were by far the best team in baseball last year and they still lost. You just have to get in, and see what happens. That said, I think the Braves will get in and then promptly lose because I am defeatist by nature.
Bruce Benedict
August 29th, 2012
2:41 pm
I also hope that no matter what happens that the Braves don’t resign Brian McCann. Let someone else pay the ridiculous money he will want, besides he’s had 7 years at catcher and his knees will not be able to withstand much more. Plus, there’s nowhere else for him to go on this team, we already have a first baseman. Let him go!
anonymous
August 29th, 2012
2:53 pm
I would be satisfied if the Braves only made a divisional series BUT in doing so were competitive in that series. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Of course I want them to go to the World Series and win it. I just won’t get all upset if they lose (be it NLDS, NLCS, or WS) to a better team.
BulldogBen
August 29th, 2012
3:01 pm
Who cares if the record “says” they’re good. Many a Braves team has had better records than this team and all but one wet the bed.
Agree with others that say the main problem with Atlanta sports is that OF COURSE the playoffs should never be enough. The fact that the question is even posed says it all.
At this point, I await the inevitable failing.
Chief Yikkity
August 29th, 2012
5:51 pm
testing
Chief Yikkity
August 29th, 2012
5:54 pm
Ahhh, finally a blog that talks about the current state of the Braves instead of arm-chairing the 2013 and beyond season(s.)
Stick a fork in em
August 29th, 2012
6:40 pm
Gabby “yard ape” Douglas gripin cause ppl dissed her…….obviously gymnastics aint the sport for the bruthas and sistahs……..stick to bball and football and crack dealin.
loserville
August 29th, 2012
11:10 pm
atl — 1 fluke title in baseball in 95, a strike year. the rest of the years for all these teams–misery. atl — loserville!
nashvillewill
August 30th, 2012
10:24 am
Mark, let’s not count chickens, or playoff appearances, before hatching. Sorry to reference last year, but…..this team has the capability of imploding again. Lack of consistency throughout the lineup; only Chipper, Prado, and Freeman could be called consistent: Bourn is streaky and too many K’s; Heyward is streaky and way too many K’s; hitting from SS position may get better when Simmons returns, but Janish cannot hit and is allowed to bat in key situations late in games and kills rallies; the bench is atrocious. Hopefully in Sept callups some new blood will help. After two years of watching I think Uggla is not ML caliber. And Ross is superior to Mac and should be starting. Evaluate the catchers in the offseason – is Mac’s decline due to injury, or to the lifespan of a ML catcher? In general Fredi has handled pitchers better this year, though late to the dance on Medlen. And Sheets may be done. Also, Hanson has not looked like a ML pitcher in spite of his W/L record. Does Fredi go if the Braves fail again down the stretch?
Double Zero Eight
August 30th, 2012
5:34 pm
From Liberty’s perspective the answer is “yes”.
They refused to invest in a “bat” before the trading
deadline. Losing 3 to 1 or 4 to 2 , is just as bad as losing
6 to 0. Our best bet is for Medlen to start the wildcard playoff,
and hope he holds the opposition scoreless.
faultline
September 2nd, 2012
3:14 pm
Yes, it has always been, and always will be.