Heat Check: Braves lose the NL East; Falcons haven’t lost
Well, if you're not going to win something, the division title is the thing not to win. (AP photo)
The regular Monday Heat Check was delayed because of logistics. It arrives today, and we can only hope that absence really did make the heart grow fonder.
BRAVES: They can’t catch Washington. They were eliminated from the divisional chase last night. That’s a disappointment, but — speaking of logistics — it might not be the worst thing in the world. The thought of having to play a division tiebreaker in D.C. on Thursday and then, if they were to lose, play the wild card elimination game here on Friday and then, if they were to win, start the best-of-five NLDS here on Sunday was rather daunting, not to to mention confusing. Forecast: The play-in game is a coin flip, but if the Braves prevail — and Kris Medlen hasn’t lost since May 23, 2010 — they’ll be a tough out. And I say that knowing full well they managed only two hits against Pittsburgh on Monday.
FALCONS: You can’t really quibble with 4-0. (Well, maybe you can. I can’t.) And they seem to have the figurative wind at their backs: Pat Yasinskas of ESPN reports that their surge to the climactic field goal against Carolina marked only the fourth time in the past 20 years that a team has fashioned a game-winning drive that started inside its 5-yard line with under two minutes to play. Forecast: A testing game awaits in Washington, but this is the NFL. They’re all testing games. And the Falcons are favored.
GEORGIA: The Bulldogs played somebody last weekend and won. I forget who. They play somebody else this Saturday. I forget who. Forecast: South Carolina is favored by a field goal. I figure the game goes one of two ways: The Gamecocks win close or the Bulldogs win big. Not really sure why I think that, but I do.
GEORGIA TECH: The Jackets played somebody last weekend, and they’d like to forget it ever happened. Forecast: Next up is Clemson in Death Valley, which some see as a wipeout-in-waiting. I’m not among those. To paraphrase what Bobby Knight said about Dale Brown: When you look up and see Dabo Swinney, you always feel you have a chance.
GEORGIA STATE: Lost to 0-4 William & Mary by 32 points to fall to 0-5. I would advise the Panthers not to think about scheduling Middle Tennessee. Forecast: Has a coach who has announced his retirement ever gotten fired before his exit date?
HAWKS: They opened training camp Monday, and they have a new look about them. This should be good in the long run. It could be good in the short run. It could also not be so good in the short run. Forecast: At this moment, the best small forward the organization has is 52 years old. His name is Dominique Wilkins.
DREAM: They had a chance to win their playoff series at Philips Arena on Sunday. In the grand tradition of the other Philips Arena tenant, they tripped over the moment. Forecast: They’ll try again tonight in Indiana, and they handled the Fever up there in Game 1. And yes, it’s a little disconcerting when the names of teams involved in a postseason series are “Fever” and “Dream.”
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
104 comments Add your comment
WhoCares?
October 2nd, 2012
12:47 pm
Got a feeling the FT defense will play much better against Clemson — but still lose. I’m calling it 31-26 Clemson. Agree with MB; GA either wins big or loses small, turnovers the key. How about FL-LSU; got another feeling LSU is going to lose, maybe just a bit over-rated, and FL is getting better.
WhoCares?
October 2nd, 2012
12:47 pm
Make that GT defense
JoeBravesFan
October 2nd, 2012
12:51 pm
The Braves tend to do their best hitting against the best pitching. For example, they lost to Kyle Kendrick, then turned around and beat Halladay and Lee back to back. So to whatever team the Braves play on Friday, start your best pitcher…we DARE ya! GOOOO BRAVES!!!
Red Stick
October 2nd, 2012
12:53 pm
@Gamecocks, I would take Murray and Jarvis over Shaw and Clowney any day. I do agree that Lattimore is better than Uga’s 2 headed monster, but that’s only because Gurley and Marshall are true freshmen.
Geaux Tigers
Go SEC
Jeremiah Wright
October 2nd, 2012
1:00 pm
Paul in NH.Since your buddy, JSS, is not here, NOBODY cares about your Liverpool crude. Where is the Alinskyite?
Peter
October 2nd, 2012
1:01 pm
Gosh the Braves scare me……. last night they faced a guy with a 0-6 record and a 6 plus era and got 2 hits……
What makes anyone believe they have what it takes to win in the playoffs ?
Heisenberg
October 2nd, 2012
1:13 pm
“It’s already been decided that Ryan Lohse, a Righty, is starting for St. Louis Friday.”
*******************
Maybe they could start Ryan Lochte in a speedo. That would at least get a sellout.
WarEagle
October 2nd, 2012
1:15 pm
Mark, what about Georgia Southern? You guys leave the Eagles (the ‘REAL’ GSU out all the time)….They are far better than the other GSU, Georgia State….
Sonny Clusters
October 2nd, 2012
1:24 pm
Scratchy pajamas can make any blogger cranky but one in particular becomes most irritable and screechy. When we was a young Clusters there was a baby in our neighborhood that would get red in the face and screech real loud and pass gas. That’s about what some of the posts are like from our stalker buddy. We was thinking he should blog some baseball instead of some Clusters. Now, we will take our own advice and say that Fredi better have them ready because two hits is not going to be enough. Also, some good glove work is going to be important and we hope they get some over around third base.
Eddie Ray
October 2nd, 2012
2:26 pm
The Rambling Wreck looked more like Rube Goldberg last weekend.
Eddie Ray
October 2nd, 2012
2:30 pm
Falcons have a man sized test this weekend. I hope to see them handle the run a bit better. Else it could be interesting…
Herman fm Dunwoody
October 2nd, 2012
2:36 pm
Better late than nelver
Hillbilly D
October 2nd, 2012
2:54 pm
It’s on to the Ultimate Coin Flip Game. Hell of a way to run a railroad but that’s Bud the Dud for you.
P B Orr
October 2nd, 2012
2:57 pm
Am I the only one who thinks Bryce Harper is a whiny baby d__k?
Stinger 2
October 2nd, 2012
3:00 pm
Some ( one in particular) blogger is so caught up in himself that he thinks someone else is interested in stalking him. He also thinks of himself as a funny boy. Now that fellow does not need to worry about Fredi and the Braves. They will take care of business without his snide comments. Go Braves!
P B Orr
October 2nd, 2012
3:00 pm
Baseball is probably dead. It’s boring. The players are boring and stubbornly mediocre and do not hustle (McCann?). The season is too long. The playoff structure is idiotic. The steroids era cannot be forgotten or ignored, rendering the record book moot. In its favor, they have some really cool facial hair and neck ropes.
robodawg
October 2nd, 2012
3:07 pm
Well, I expect our game at SC to be close and defensive. Bad news according to MB’s prediction, but maybe that means we’ll avoid the “Bradley curse.”
Big Ten Stinks, Delany All Mad
October 2nd, 2012
3:28 pm
Spurrier’s best ever UGA quote:
“Why is it that during recruiting season they sign all the great players, but when it comes time to play the game, we have all the great players? I don’t understand that. What happens to them?”
SWAT Native
October 2nd, 2012
4:16 pm
Mark,
Thanks for taking note of the Atlanta Dream, the best team in Atlanta and no one knows it.
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
4:30 pm
Sonny, why did the Clusters leave the DOB blog? I always enjoyed your insight. DOB gets really upset if you don’t agree with him and say thank you to every thing he does.
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
4:32 pm
DOB has a small group of followers called DOBBERS and they will pile on if you dare question anything he says.
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
4:35 pm
I was once told that participation was all that mattered. I guess that is only is you agree with everything.
Bon Jon Bovi
October 2nd, 2012
4:35 pm
Whooooooooooooo day who day hooday gone beet dem saints
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
4:46 pm
Everybody going to beat dem saints.
Dum-Bass
October 2nd, 2012
4:50 pm
Obviously St. Louis has a manager who fits in the same category as the one the Braves have. Hardheaded, stubborn, doesn’t pay attention to tell-tale stats and based on this year has pulled the same shananigans that FG has. “Two peas in a pod” it would seem. How Mathey cannot start a LH is beyond reason. Stats say Braves have scored 448 runs vs RHs and only 238 vs LHs(as of 2-3 days ago). These two teams are so similar that the one advantage the Braves have(Med-icine Man) may pull them through it. Both of these managers have been underwhelming this year. May the almost-best team win.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 2nd, 2012
5:00 pm
So CHOKE is 3-0 vs teams that missed the playoffs…..
Meanwhile Vick is 2-0 vs teams that played in the championship game last season……
Like I said over and over…………CHOKE’s menu…………
Beat the basement dwellers and CHOKE in the 1st round………..
HA HA
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
5:11 pm
Let’s get ready for Friday.
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
5:12 pm
Hello Dum-Bass. You are spot on. without a doubt you would have expected the Cards to start a LH and any lefthander at that.
ACE
October 2nd, 2012
5:18 pm
Two things that would have been different with Cox still as manager. No meltdown last year and a division win this year. I think Bobby would have been good for at least four or five games each year. Bobby was the master at regular season no doubt.
Stinger 2
October 2nd, 2012
5:31 pm
Obviously a lot of bloggers do not like Fredi G. He managed good enough that the Braves have won 93 games. If they dislike him it must be for other reasons than his won-loss record which is the statistic that matters.
Sonny Clusters
October 2nd, 2012
6:04 pm
ACE, we never blog with DOP or whatever his name is. Clusters have standards. Blogging with a columnist like Mark is like being in a better neighborhood. When we was growing up there was a beat writer that lived across the street. When he was out in the yard our mama would not let us go outside. That should explain some things about beat writing and column writing and besides Mark is too tall to beat write.
Pete Van Weird
October 2nd, 2012
6:06 pm
Naw….Spurrier called you chickensh@t? No….really…..the overgrown frat boy called you that? You are now my hero. In the words of Ernest T. Bass, I love you.
Sonny Clusters
October 2nd, 2012
6:09 pm
93 wins would be pretty good if the team in front of you didn’t have 97 and only one of you can finish first. Put another way: 97 games wins the division. 93 games loses the division. The main distinction being LOSES. Now, there was some soft and fuzzy stuff tis season and the pajama wearers have to take comfort in it. 93 wins is second in the division. Chipper is retiring and you have to love the comeback from Medlen and the continued dominance of Kimbrel. Fredi did not hurt himself eating seeds in the dugout and Uggla is warming up just in time for movie season. Other than that, we hope they can win the play-in because if they don’t the little sign they put up in the outfield is going to get somebody laughed at. Being droll and unimaginative is not unexpected from a little stalker fella but calling Clusters’ comments “snide” is really hurtful. We would not be snide on purpose and we also would not care to share a bag of peanuts with a little stalker fella. Time to snuggle into some Braves pajamas and watch the game, little buddy.
mcdonoughbrave
October 2nd, 2012
7:10 pm
sorry steve, i remember all of the games that they should have, could have won, but no hits. and you have to remember that they have a losing playoff record.
P Rose
October 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
Atlanta sports fans have suffered more miserably than fans in any other city. But some of us were born and raised here, and we continue to have faith and hope in our teams. When we finally are able to enjoy some real success, as in winning a Super Bowl or another World Series, our suffering will have been worth it.
No one thought the Red Sox would ever win another championship, but they did. There was a time when Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rogers had never won Super Bowls. No one thought they ever would, but they did.
I believe Matt Ryan will win one. Maybe this year, maybe next — but he will eventually, because he has determination, drive and a winning attitude. He clearly is getting better and better every year. He studies and works as hard as any quarterback in the NFL. He has the highest QB rating in the league. His team is 4-0. And he is undeniably cool as “ice” when the game is on the line, as he has proven again and again.
The insufferable “Choke” (see 5:00 PM, above) is completely in love with just one athlete — one who will never win it all because he lacks character. An athlete who left this town in shame because he was caught committing a heinous act, for which he served two years in a federal pen.
Choke is so in love with this sadist that he has dedicated his free time to publicly loathing his replacement, to the point that he even chose his screen name based on his hatred for this one human being. His sad and misguided loyalty to the criminally insane Vick renders him blind to Matt Ryan’s excellent qualities, which are many.
Ryan has done nothing to elicit such vile, unhealthy hatred from anyone, except that he happened to be the person who was drafted to replace the psychopathic Mike Vick. When Ryan wins his Super Bowl, we Atlantans will rejoice, but Choke will deride him for winning only one. When he wins his second, Choke will compare him unfavorably to Montana and Bradshaw, and criticize him for winning only two.
Choke’s MV7 posters will never come down from his ceiling, and he will never forgive Matt Ryan for being a better football player than Mike Vick. As we enjoy what may turn out to be the Falcons best season yet, we will unfortunately have to endure Choke’s endless hatred because, like Ron Mexico’s herpes, Choke is never going to go away.
Jeremiah Wright
October 2nd, 2012
7:33 pm
“CHOKE” do you know what ‘convoluted’ means? Probably not. Try a dictionary. If you can’t figure that out, ask mommie.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 2nd, 2012
8:02 pm
2002 Playoff win
2004 Playoff win and Championship Game
2008 1 and done….lost by 6
2010 1 and done….lost by 27
2011 1 and done….lost by 22
Hell….Joey Harrington could have done that for a couple of
million, not 72 wasted million on an over hyped CHOKE…
HA HA
extremus
October 2nd, 2012
8:25 pm
I expect the Braves to be a tough out with Medlen on the mound…but anything can happen in a given baseball game, especially one with such “win or go home” ramifications. To be honest, I’m not looking forward to the Wild Card game at all because it’ll be taking what’s already become a crapshoot and render one team’s effort over 162 games moot. So the Braves may finish 5 or 6 games ahead of the Cardinals or Dodgers; all of that would be negated by a single loss. And I can’t help but feel that somebody’s fanbase is going to be left feeling cheated, especially if it’s the team who earned the better regular season record. Baseball has never had single-game playoff formats, and in my humble opinion it never should.
If the Braves make it to the Divisional round, hey, anything is possible depending on who gets hot or is clutch at the right moments. But for now, the outcome of one game holds sway over any of those possibilities, hence I have a bad feeling about it.
MattMD
October 2nd, 2012
10:38 pm
Please don’t mention the sorry Hawks, it’s not even basketball season. Hell, no one would care anyway.
PHilly Falcon Fan
October 2nd, 2012
10:56 pm
DLed – Let me help you here…
Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder.
Caleb
October 2nd, 2012
11:02 pm
Braves are a really really pathetic team. Their buttholes will be so tight on Friday night that you wouldnt be able to slide a toothpick in there. This team is a joke, a really bad joke. 1 hit will be alot to ask. Will need Medlen to throw a no no. A walk, 2 stolen bases and a wild pitch to have a chance Friday night. We have seen that last Braves win of 2012
Keith
October 2nd, 2012
11:59 pm
Best starting rotation in the 2nd half
Best NL defense
Best MLB bullpen
Braves could do some serious damage in a series. Hope they nip the Cards. Go BRAVES!
Keith
October 3rd, 2012
12:01 am
Re: Choke
Just a sad truth that despite the concussions, Vick still doesn’t have the intelligence NOT to get hit when he’s running with the ball. Never been the brightest, never will.
Go FALCONS!
Keith
October 3rd, 2012
12:03 am
Re: Caleb
While I will agree a one-game is a crap shoot, the Braves are poised for a run.
Best starting rotation in the 2nd half.
Best NL defense
Best MLB bullpen
An erratic offense is enough when most of the playoff games will be won with 2-1 and 4-2 scores.
elb Expos
October 3rd, 2012
1:08 am
Braves beat the Cards, (or Dodgers), then knock the Expos out and go to the NLCS.
Dawgs stumble.
Tech is a wreck!
Falcons win by 14 or more.
“CHOKE” continues to make Webster’s definition of “blather” look insufficient.
elb Expos
October 3rd, 2012
1:42 am
Dodgers just lost. Cards and Braves on Friday.
Stinger 2
October 3rd, 2012
3:59 am
Caleb: That Braves team you call “pathetic” has won 93 games. Your comments
indicate that you have ignored that fact.
I HAVE A DILEMMA
October 3rd, 2012
8:26 am
Hey Mark- I am going to be on a flight back to Atlanta on Friday night. It takes off around 6pm, so I will probably miss most, if not all, of the Wild Card game. I have the possibility of getting internet during the flight. My question to you is what would you do in this situation? I cannot change my flight, and would like to watch/listen on my computer if at all possible. Do you know of any way to do this?
Jeremiah Wright
October 3rd, 2012
8:55 am
“Choke” = absurdity, babble, balderdash, baloney, bananas, bombast, bull*, bunk, claptrap, drivel, fatuity, flightiness, folly, foolishness, fun, gibberish, giddiness, hogwash, hooey, hot air, imprudence, inanity, irrationality, jazz, jest, jive, joke, ludicrousness, madness, mumbo jumbo, palaver, poppycock, prattle, pretense, ranting, rashness, rot, rubbish, scrawl, scribble, senselessness, silliness, soft soap, stupidity, thoughtlessness, trash*, tripe
Mark Bradley
October 3rd, 2012
9:06 am
MLB.com offers radio feeds. But you have to pay a small fee.