Empty seats? Team choking? This time it’s NOT Atlanta
National Anthem, Yankee Stadium, 2012 ALCS Game 1. Note the unpacked pews. (AP photo)
Well, this sounds familiar. Empty seats at postseason games. Team not hitting in the clutch.
Talking about the Atlanta Braves, right?
Wait. One more clue.
Superstar flirting with women from the dugout during an extra-inning game.
OK, not the Atlanta Braves. (At least so far as we know.)
Answer is: The New York Yankees.
Pardon me for being provincial, but how long have we Atlantans been told, often by New York-based media types, that we’re a lousy sports city because we don’t — or at least didn’t; the Braves’ wild-card game was sold out — pack the house for playoff games and that our team pretty much stinks anyway because it won Only One World Series and that hard-bitten New Yorkers would Never Stand For That Sort Of Thing and that All Any Yankee Cares About Is Winning? Pretty much every day for the past 15 years, right? Well, here’s where we get to say …
Heh, heh, heh.
The Bronx Bombers’ postseason run, even conceding that they won their Division Series against Baltimore, has thus far bombed. The new Yankee Stadium has been conspicuously unfilled for both ALDS and ALCS games. The team that finished second in baseball in runs scored has mustered five runs in 30 innings — four of the five coming in one inning — against Detroit, which has seized a 3-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher, identified in a Sports Illustrated poll of players as the two biggest phonies in the sport, have been benched for not hitting, and the als0-not-hitting Curtis Granderson wasn’t in the lineup for Wednesday’s rained-out Game 4. (And Robinson Cano, now considered the Yankees’ best player, just broke a record-setting 0-for-29 postseason drought.)
But back to A-Rod. The ever-diligent New York Post reported the following:
After being replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, the highest-paid Yankee openly flirted with a pair of pretty women two rows behind the dugout — even sending them a ball bearing a note asking for their phone numbers, a witness told the Post.
Talk about watchdog reporting! But the Post didn’t stop there. It discovered that one of the women was, wouldn’t you know, a bikini model named Kyna Treacy. (Who has taken to Twitter to correct the Post. Tweeted Treacy: “Ha I am 27 not 33!!!!“)
A-Rod checks the stands for friendly faces. (AP photo)
We should also note that the Post suggested A-Rod’s shamelessness apparently knows some bounds. A Post source said: “The flirtation stopped once Derek Jeter got hurt.”
Nobody anywhere should wish any ill on Jeter, the classiest Yankee since DiMaggio. But I’m sure those New York voices who chastise our Atlanta sports sensibilities will hold themselves to a higher standard and rip Big Apple fans for not caring and the team for not performing. I’m sure the firing of manager Joe Girardi will be demanded by every New York pundit. After all, it was a writer for ESPN New York who, back in January, penned these deathless lines:
Sadly, there always seemed to be empty seats at Turner Field when the Braves were in the playoffs as well. You still have to wonder how fans got tired of the Braves winning. They had the best pitching staff in Major League Baseball for a decade and won a World Series back in the ’90s. Fans should not have missed a pitch during that run.
Worse is the lack of passion the fans showed after an epic Braves collapse this season. Looking like a shoo-in most of the season, the Braves, who were 8½ games up in the National League wild-card race to start September, gave up their postseason spot on the last night of the season … Heads should have rolled. Instead, Braves first-year manager Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t under fire from the fan base and will be back this coming season. Again, most probably didn’t even notice.
I’m not here to offer a blanket defense of Atlanta. Our teams haven’t won very big very often. Our attendance figures haven’t always been the best. We are a strange sports city. But what gets me is the New York-centric declaration that This Could Never Happen Here. Yet there it is — underwhelming crowds, underperforming team and a Big Name who apparently has better things to do than watch a game.
Pardon me for being provincial, but this is pretty darn funny.
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
179 comments Add your comment
Spyro
October 18th, 2012
9:30 am
First?
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
9:33 am
Looks like Braves?
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
9:33 am
From the past
MatthewH
October 18th, 2012
9:43 am
Yes,yes, yes. I, too, have noticed the empty seats with glee. It is also interesting that the New Yourk media use the example of the Yankees as best fanbase. Surprisingly, the Mets are never mentioned.
Also, to that ESPN Ney York writer, I would ask. What happened to the other team that collapsed that DID hire a new manager? Hmmm?
MatthewH
October 18th, 2012
9:45 am
Should’ve taken typing in High-school
atlvol55
October 18th, 2012
9:45 am
ZING….Bradley you are coming strong today!
Spartacus
October 18th, 2012
9:47 am
No bigger bandwagon fans than New Yorkers!!!!
Jason
October 18th, 2012
9:48 am
That scratched me right where I itch. Kind of like when I was at Turner field and the debris started raining down during the Wild Card game. Yes, the behavior was boorish and juvenile. But a part of me liked it – don’t tell me we don’t care about baseball. Don’t tell me we’re not a baseball town. In the immortal words of Chris Rock, “I’m not saying they should’ve done it…but I UNDERSTAND.”
P.S. And on a per capita basis – given the NY metropolitan area’s enormous population – NY looks even worse. Twenty million people and you can’t fill a stadium? For shame…
Mark Bradley
October 18th, 2012
9:49 am
Kudos, Spyro.
Ryder
October 18th, 2012
9:50 am
The difference, MB, will be that in New York they will still do whatever is necessary to win championships and make moves to create that championship culture, even if it means trading A-Rod. In Atlanta, it will be more of the same old mentality of hoping that Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman will grow into top notch players but not do what is needed to get to the next level.
St. Louis has shown that until you create a championship culture teams like Atlanta will always be a step behind.
zgoldatl
October 18th, 2012
9:51 am
Amen Bradley. I hope Mr Parker reads this
zgoldatl
October 18th, 2012
9:52 am
Maybe you can forward it to him?
Athens born, exiled in South Dakota
October 18th, 2012
9:52 am
I was so proud of our fan base for littering the field during the playoff game …It was a universal cry by a suffering fan base that WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH! I have never seen a more laid back non passionate fan base then our ATL one, it was so nice to see a glimpse of the passion that this city could have.
MatthewH
October 18th, 2012
9:53 am
And another thing (because I am bitter about this). I have a few friends who are Boston fans and they like to get on me about empty seats and how Fenway “never has that”. What they fail to mention is that Fenway’s capacity is 37,400 while Turner Field is 50,096. I believe we could fill up a 38,000 seat stadium with no problem.
Just for comparision, Yankee Stadium’s capacity is 50,291.
Athens born, exiled in South Dakota
October 18th, 2012
9:55 am
right on Matthew ..its the same with the Phillies stadium.
Vanakatherock
October 18th, 2012
9:57 am
Mark, why don’t you buzz ol’ Rob Parker of ESPN and see what he has to say about it, now?
Mark Bradley
October 18th, 2012
9:58 am
Really? You mean win championships like the Knicks? (Last title: 1973.) The Jets? (Last title: January 1969.) The Mets? (Last title: 1986.) The Rangers? (Last title: 1994.) The Giants? (OK, no argument there.)
And let’s note that the Yankees, for all their spending, have won it all once since 2000. I credit the Yankees for trying, but when you say they’ll “do whatever is necessary” … they don’t do what’s necessary every year, do they?
Athens born, exiled in South Dakota
October 18th, 2012
10:00 am
So true Mark, the Yankee’s are like bad Gamblers …they throw soooo much money into the machines and hope if they spend enough, they will win something.
Jason
October 18th, 2012
10:02 am
You are killing it today, Mr. Bradley.
SimpleDawg
October 18th, 2012
10:07 am
Why pick on A-Rod for ‘hitting’ on a pretty girl in the stands? He’s just trying to improve his ‘average’…. Besides, he may ’score’…..something the Spankee Yankees seem to be struggling with this series.
…..and he needs a hug after being demoted.
El Bravo
October 18th, 2012
10:10 am
A-Rod didn’t need to send that note. Everybody has his number during the postseason…
tc
October 18th, 2012
10:12 am
This always ticks me off. It was the same with the trash throwing after the wild card shame. “Atlanta should be embarrassed….we can’t have this.” If it happens in Boston, New York, or Philly people say, “that’s what you get from a passionate fanbase…those fans are crazy…Har Har Har….gotta love them.” It is not limited to sports either. The south has this stereotype of being racist and backwards and always in need of being put in our place and criticized. Listen to some African American players who played in Boston and what they have been called from the stands and on the street. Sick of the double standard. Good job Mark you finally pissed me off in a good way.
D man
October 18th, 2012
10:18 am
LOL great artical Mark. I don’t like the New York bias in the sports world. I’m always happy to see the Yankers lose…
Steve
October 18th, 2012
10:22 am
Regarding Atlanta’s playoff attendance problems, the last three playoff games here (2 in 2010 and 1 this year) were as packed as can be. NY has no excuse with the amount of people who live there, easy access to the stadium, and having a new stadium. During the regular season, Atlanta’s attendance would be much higher if the stadium was in a different location. I would guess that 80% of the people who attend games are from Buckhead, north. Hopefully if/when we get a new stadium way down the road it will be built on the northside. Maybe the old Ford plant area at 285/85?
JacketFanMarcus
October 18th, 2012
10:25 am
Old school people and writers just want to “hate” on Atlanta.
It’s easy and lazy to say Atlanta is the “worst sports” town. While Atlanta was going through some growing pains with its team in the 70’s and 80’s, since then, Atlanta has been a solid sports city…
Joey
October 18th, 2012
10:29 am
Mark, I read back when the new Yankee Stadium opened, regular-season tickets for those seats between the dugouts were $2500 each.
They hardly ever are full, and in this economy, it’s easy to see why.
Tami
October 18th, 2012
10:29 am
What goes around, eventually comes around!!! LOL
And, I LOVE TC’s comment!!!
Josh
October 18th, 2012
10:33 am
Good article. I wish this perspective would get more national attention. However, you also make a good point that we ARE a strange sports city. But in the end WINNING always fixes everything. If the Yankees were winning, seats would be filled. If the Braves had more of a culture of winning the big games, the seats would be filled. It’s just the way of sports.
Josh
October 18th, 2012
10:34 am
Well played El Bravo. Well played.
Sonny Clusters
October 18th, 2012
10:43 am
And how do the Yankees react to sloppy play and indifference? What do they do with a batter that is selfish? What do they do when again and again the player fails to put the ball in play when all they need is contact? Are there differences in how their organization handles it and how it is handled by the Braves organization? Are the fans in NY more demanding? The media? These are all good questions. Now, we don’t like the Yankees even a little bit but we know they expect to win and usually do. When they don’t it is not okay with everybody. They get mad. We think maybe the Braves need to get mad – especially if the Cards win the pennant again. Especially so if it happens again this year. Get mad and do something about it. What we are reading is that Uggla is probably going to be back at second base and he could get hot at any time. Hahahahahaha!
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
10:48 am
Yankees become the Braves..Bleacher report by Kevin Kaduk.
Guranteed trip to the post season that are guranteed to end early. Home playoff games that don’t come close to sell out. Andruw Jones hanging out in clubhouse.
Yes, the New York Yankees have some how MORPHED into an Atlanta Brave for the new generation, A Franchise that makes disappointment as much a part of its fall as Halloween.
How true….Thanks Mark for great report..This time of year fans want all the info they can get about Braves.
Rimfire
October 18th, 2012
10:53 am
NY blows! Anything they say about the South is tainted, because they have to live there. I would never trade!
Dejay
October 18th, 2012
10:53 am
The fact that this went on in NYC without any fanfare hardly surprises me. You, I, and anyone on this board all know that if there were more than 300 empty seats in the stands of Turner Field for that wild card game, they would still be talking about it on First Take, PTI, Sportscenter, and every other sports show in America.
Here’s the bottom line; the national media has had a hard-on for Atlanta ever since winning the bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics back in 1990. Before then, this was considered as another hick town with a few hot spots in Buckhead and three lousy sports teams who should’ve been playing elsewhere. Many national (and international) media folks felt as if our fair town didn’t ‘belong’ in the category of hosting such an event and have been riding us ever since.
Hear a Yankee fan tell it and he’ll say that they didn’t show because the team hasn’t shown the passion to win it all as in years past; couldn’t we say the same thing about a squad that hasn’t been in the LCS since 2001? Hear a Sixer fan tell it and he’ll say that they don’t pack the arena because they dropped Iverson and they haven’t won anything worth mentioning since; couldn’t we say the same thing in regards to the Hawks and how they treated Dominique Wilkins many years ago? Hear a Cub fan tell it and he’ll say that the team is inept with bad management and that’s why they stopped showing up when they were 20+ under .500; couldn’t we say the exact same thing when the Thrashers were in town?
Look, it’s mighty easy for some jabrone from NYC or Boston to talk tough about passionate fans when they have championship rings falling out of their pockets and reams of ticker-tape still attached to back of their cars. Try being a Hawks fan who never seen his team play in a conference finals before. Try being a Braves fan who had to watch one team after another celebrate on the pitching mound and splash champagne in the visiting locker room every year they make the playoffs. Try being a hockey fan who had to watch not one, but two NHL teams leave for reasons well beyond their control. And try being a Falcons fan who had to listen to one ‘expert’ after another gloss on about them winning in the playoffs first before they should be taken seriously. If the Redskins, Giants, Eagles, or Patriots were 6-0 right now, they’d already be talking about running the table. It wouldn’t be a matter of if they make it the Super Bowl; it would be a matter of how many touchdowns would they beat the sacrificial lamb who opposes them in the Super Bowl.
Anyway, I’m getting off my soapbox. I have work to do…
Athens born, exiled in South Dakota
October 18th, 2012
10:57 am
Dejay,
That was awesome. Couldn’t of said it better.
Blake
October 18th, 2012
11:00 am
Outrageous ticket prices fit somewhere in this puzzle. If they want to fill stadiums, maybe MLB needs to look at prices.
Heisenberg
October 18th, 2012
11:02 am
Heads should have rolled. Instead, Braves first-year manager Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t under fire from the fan base and will be back this coming season
How did that work out for the other team in same division as Yankees that also blew a larger WC lead than Braves?
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
11:02 am
Dejay good read..The “I have to work” now remark and end..glad you not one of the 42 million without a job.
Trashy
October 18th, 2012
11:05 am
Mark, God Bless you for writing this article, damn Yankees.
Heisenberg
October 18th, 2012
11:14 am
Why Braves should not pursue Josh Hamilton (or sign Bourn to bloated contract).
Exhibit A: Alex Rodriguez. Still with 5 years and $114M owed at age 37.
Exhibit B: Albert Pujols & Angels are watching playoffs on TV and in 3 more years they will regret this signing.
Exhibit C: Carl Crawford.
Exhibit D: Jose Reyes. Really turned the Marlins into a contender….not.
Exhibit E: Jason Werth. Moderately productive but Nats did not miss him while he was injured and would move him if they could.
Exhibit F: Prince Fielder. Moderately productive but Tigers season turned around only when their pitching improved and in 3 more years they will regret this signing.
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
11:21 am
NNY-Tigers game today at 4:07 on TBS
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
11:23 am
NYY..ops
Heisenberg
October 18th, 2012
11:25 am
Why Braves should not pursue Zack Grienke:
Exhibit A: Derek Lowe.
Exhibit B: AJ Burnett. Had some success with another team after fleecing Yankees.
Exhibit C: Carl Pavano. Had some success with another team after fleecing Yankees.
Exhibit D: John Lackey. Made DLowe look good before missing entire 2012 season.
Exhibit E: CJ Wilson. Moderately productive but watching playoffs on TV.
Exhibit F: Cliff Lee. Phils already regret this as they tried to move him after waiver deadline.
Mark Bradley
October 18th, 2012
11:28 am
Let me be clear about something: I have great respect for the Yankees. (I have less respect for the Mets.) But the Yankees are not the only baseball team in the world, no matter how it might seem, and they don’t always win. And they make bad personnel decisions, same as every other team. The difference is, the Yankees can outspend their mistakes. An NFL team can’t do that. An NBA team can’t do that. A smaller-market baseball team can’t do that.
Look at their (usual) lineup, and you’ll find two homegrown players — Jeter and Cano. Look at the Braves in 2012 and you’d find six (Uggla and Bourn being the exceptions).
Hillbilly D
October 18th, 2012
11:32 am
You’re not supposed to take pleasure in other’s misfortune but I think it’s okay in this instance. Nothing is quite so enjoyable as watching that pack of smug, self-important, navel gazers, that make up the Evil Empire, go down. Icing on the cake is that they have to pay A-Rod for 5 more years.
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
11:33 am
Agree Mark..and I’d keep the homegrown as long as possible.
NCBravesFan
October 18th, 2012
11:33 am
I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning! Well done, Mr. Bradley.
JS
October 18th, 2012
11:33 am
Another good article, Mr. Bradley. I was just saying the same thing yesterday about the Yankees reminding me of the Braves not hitting in the post-season. Didn’t realize how similar they are in the other areas, however, until this article!
Tumbledown
October 18th, 2012
11:37 am
Mark, I agree wholeheartedly with your article and comments.
Hillbilly D
October 18th, 2012
11:41 am
Hopefully if/when we get a new stadium way down the road it will be built on the northside. Maybe the old Ford plant area at 285/85?
The Ford plant was at Hapeville.
Heisenberg
October 18th, 2012
11:43 am
That was a GM plant at 285/85. Not sure what is going on with it but good location with direct access to Marta. No shuttle buses needed.
BulldogBen
October 18th, 2012
11:47 am
I love a little Humble Pie for Yanks fans but I’d kill to be able to say “Only 1 Championships since 2000″. KILL.
Also, doesn’t change the fact that the Braves HAVE choked the last 2 years. Get our own house in order.
This is also another reason why Falcons fans are happy to be 6-0 but are waiting for the inevitable choke job in the post-season. It’s the Atlanta Way.
Athens born, exiled in South Dakota
October 18th, 2012
11:57 am
Not anymore Bulldog. This curse is over, its flown up to New York.
Realist
October 18th, 2012
12:00 pm
Call ‘em out Mark, I like it.
NCDawg
October 18th, 2012
12:00 pm
Anyone who wasn’t born in NYC or lived in the area for a long time and calls themselves a Yankees fan, is a frontrunner. I hate the Wankees. They are the epitome of arrogance. I hope they disappear from the scene for a good long time. Baseball will be better for it.
NCDawg
October 18th, 2012
12:02 pm
BulldogBen, the Brave choked in 2011…they were screwed in 2012.
Democratic Plantation Dweller
October 18th, 2012
12:13 pm
Vote for Obama.
It is easier than getting a job!
*{jj}*
October 18th, 2012
12:15 pm
yea..3 errors (choked)and bad call.
DIPEN PATEL
October 18th, 2012
12:17 pm
WHAT’S UP with this pro-yankees article on AJC regarding the ONE AND ONLY BRAVES/??????????????????The ENTIRE BASEBALL WORLD has ALWAYS KNOWN that the BRAVES have GIVEN the yankees TWO WORLD SERIES TITLES in 1999 and 1996, ESPECIALLY because the BOBBY COX’S LOYALTY to certain BRAVES PLAYERS was TOTALLY forcing HIM to make HORRIBLE PITCHING and BULLPEN DECISIONS when WORLD SERIES GAMES and other POSTSEASON GAMES were on the line for the BRAVES, not to mention the BRAVES gave WORLD SERIES TITLES to toronto, minnesota and st louis 1991,1992 and 2011 by TOTALLY COLLAPSING in OCTOBER when it MOST COUNTED as far as this ENTIRE BASEBALL WORLD has ALWAYS KNOWN.And it’s because of the BRAVES making 3 errors in the ONE-GAME PLAYOFF GAME –not to mention the nationals letting them come back and later giving them a win in the NLDS earlier if the cardinals win a second straight WORLD SERIES TITLE in 2012.GO BRAVESNATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dick whiskey
October 18th, 2012
12:23 pm
glad to see the fans starting to wise up,ticket prices are outrageous,to watch a bunch of millionaires play a dumb ballgame,with the tough economy i don’t blame them
DIPEN PATEL
October 18th, 2012
12:28 pm
HEY SO WHAT if the BRAVES have a SAD HEARTBREAKING OCTOBER HISTORY this BRAVES ORGANIZATION will start WINNING in OCTOBER ANNUALY, ,ESPECIALLY WHEN the redsox and the whitesox were both losing in for 80-plus YEARS and yet these TWO teams have won WORLD SERIES TITLES IN 2004,2005 and 2007.The BRAVES are losing now Aand I can GUARANTEE ALL BRAVES-HATERS the BRAVES will be WINNING the BIG ONES in OCTOBER ANNUALY and the redsox and the whitesox have ALWAYS been PERFECT EXAMPLES of that. GO BRAVESNATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DIPEN PATEL
October 18th, 2012
12:36 pm
This article is TOTALLY WRONG in EVERY ASPECT, ESPECIALLY when it says that derek jeter is the CLASSIEST yankee since JOE DIMMAGIO, ANDY PETTITTE and MARIANO RIVERA have ALWAYS the CLASSIEST yankees since the YANKEE CLIPPER, I mean these TWO PLAYERS on the yankees have ALWAYS had ZERO ARROGANCE and have ALWAYS played the GAME the WAY IT SHOULD BE PLAYED by TOTALLY STAYING QUIET and WINNING.Now that has ALWAYS been the TRUEST ATTITUDE, speaking of CLASS.
maxman
October 18th, 2012
12:37 pm
dipen patel, i bet you own a minit mart or dairy queen don’t you
P Rose
October 18th, 2012
12:38 pm
“Well, here’s where we get to say …
Heh, heh, heh.”
No, here’s where we get to say, HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
dean
October 18th, 2012
12:45 pm
Greenburg, the little Mike, said this morning that Gonzales’ phone number retrieval was not a big deal. “Happens every day at every ball park.”
I ain’t buying that.
Gary
October 18th, 2012
12:50 pm
Still doesn’t change the fact that Atlanta is an awful sports city.
DIPEN PATEL
October 18th, 2012
12:51 pm
HEY maxman I don’t even know what a mini mart is–I’VE heard of WALMART, I haven’t even heard of minit mart.
Dum-Bass
October 18th, 2012
12:55 pm
“maxman” a motel would be more like it.
Dum-Bass
October 18th, 2012
12:57 pm
What has crossed my mind several times are the parallels between the Yankees season and the current administration in the WH. Come November hopefully both will be relegated to “obscuredom”. (I just invented a new word, proud of me!)
C
October 18th, 2012
12:57 pm
Great article MB. Down with the northeastern based sports “journalists”!
IlliniBrave
October 18th, 2012
1:00 pm
The guy did get one thing right, IMHO. Fredi should not be managing this team. I fear that we will have to go through a couple more years of underperforming before the front office decides to make a change.
Lou Piniella's cap
October 18th, 2012
1:09 pm
Heisenberg
October 18th, 2012
11:43 am
That was a GM plant at 285/85. Not sure what is going on with it but good location with direct access to Marta. No shuttle buses needed.
——————————————————–
Why would you even consider putting a new stadium (theoretically if they were talking about getting a new one) on a site located near the hands down worst afternoon rush hour traffic in Atlanta?
Braves 73
October 18th, 2012
1:12 pm
Mark, you are correct. The NY showing by the fans has been pretty abysmal. In fact, they were asking fans to move from some sections and covering areas so it wouldn’t look as bad on tv.
On another topic, baseball in general has taken a huge back seat with me for the lack of a progressive thinking by their idiotic commissioner. I know that this is beating a dead horse, but the MOST successful/profitable sport in the U.S. is football for reasons that would be seem to be common sense:
1.) An actual Salary cap with real penalties for those who exceed, which makes teams reliant on hiring appropriately, from top to bottom
2.) Replay system that actually improves the quality of the game and leaves very little doubt
3.) Progressive commissioner (love him or hate him) who is not stuck in the ice ages when it comes to looking at ways to improve
I could go on and on, but it would too long.
gtt
October 18th, 2012
1:13 pm
Serves them right. Tearing down Yankee Stadium was like tearing down the Coliseum in Rome, or the U.S. Capitol, or the White House. It’s just not something that should have ever been thought of, much less done.
Loser Talk
October 18th, 2012
1:17 pm
Losers gloat when winners won’t.
bill
October 18th, 2012
1:31 pm
my Yankee fan friends they are all sphincter holders but recently I got to ask them about a horrible call that went against them after they talked bad about us complaining about being jobbed. When I talked about our injuries they said that a good team would have a ready replacement for any injured player. Then ARod’s brain went deat and Jeter broke his leg. Swisher lost his eyesight and ARod has hormonal problems and they are losing and whining and SPENDING 200 Million Dollars. All the Yankee hats have suddenly disappeared.
JoeBravesFan
October 18th, 2012
1:31 pm
As much as it costs to go watch a game in Yankee Stadium now, why would you pay that much money to see them perform they way they have lately, when you can watch it on TV for free?
I think Braves attendance would pick up if there was a better transit system to and from Turner Field. The parking lots are crazy, especially after games. If you take MARTA, you have to walk the full length of Underground Atlanta (scary) just to catch a MARTA bus that drops you off at the stadium. Then, after the game, people are literally crammed into the buses that take them back to the train station. We are passionate about our team, as the fans at the play-in game showed with their reaction to the bad infield fly call.
wxwax
October 18th, 2012
1:33 pm
Said Joey at 10:29 am
“Mark, I read back when the new Yankee Stadium opened, regular-season tickets for those seats between the dugouts were $2500 each.
They hardly ever are full, and in this economy, it’s easy to see why.”
———————————————————————————————————————————————
That’s it, Joey. Prices that make your eyes bleed, to pay for their new palace.
It’s a shame that the Yankees have managed to damage the great attendance and spirit of their fans. I’m not a supporter, but I like a stadium filled with passionate fans. It’s one of the attractive things about sports. It’s kinda sad to see so many empty seats at important playoff games.
Bradley Curse
October 18th, 2012
1:36 pm
Raul Ibanez was pretty much the only reason the Yanks were offed in the first round
bill
October 18th, 2012
1:37 pm
gtt yeah but for a billion dollars they got a new yankee stadium not a new Georgia Dome.
gatorsc1
October 18th, 2012
1:48 pm
ugh more bradley crap…
blue
October 18th, 2012
1:56 pm
Heisenberg; a LOT of good points. Will debate you on one (as a Tigers fan) that is going to be very hard for you to defend. Fielder’s line for the season; .313 BA, .412 OBP, 30 HR, 108 RBI, 182 hits, 85 walks…that’s “Moderately productive”? He hit every “cornerstone number” for a great season (300plus BA, 400plus OBP, 30HR, 100plus RBI). Come on dude…be intellectually honest and admit that you are wrong about that one. And, not AS quantifiable but certainly factors in…it is not a coincidence that the guy hitting in front of him had such a good season (triple crown). Guarantee you that Cabrera, although he will always be a beast, would not have the same numbers without someone so “moderately productive” behind him. But based on your assessment, Cabrera’s season would probably rate as “pretty good”, I’m guessing?
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
October 18th, 2012
2:02 pm
The Yankees have 27 WS championship rings.
Atlanta has 1.
In other words, it’s best to keep your mouth shut.
DONNAN OF A NEW ERA
October 18th, 2012
2:04 pm
BulldogBen is spot on.
Tumbledown
October 18th, 2012
2:14 pm
Donnan – Playing the ole “we have 26 more WS rings than you” card!! Well, well, here is what I have to say about that:
Well played!
Tumbledown
October 18th, 2012
2:17 pm
However, given news of recent legal woes for a former Georgia Bulldog football coach, I might want to distant myself from the name Donnan!!
ChipperisGod
October 18th, 2012
2:20 pm
Attendance was decent for the Braves this season and that WC game (myself included) was packed and the fans were very into the game. Yankees fans don’t get excited anymore, they don’t pack the house and they seem far more apathetic than some Braves fans in the mid 2000s.
I hate NY sports and am glad this is happening to them and love the way they’re collapsing. Wish no hurt on Jeter though. Class act.
Esquire
October 18th, 2012
2:20 pm
I hate the Yankees!
blazerdawg
October 18th, 2012
2:25 pm
deejay is right on
Atlanta drew 3M fans three times before the NYYs ever did.
Atlanta set the all-time NL attendance mark, later passed by the Colorado Rockies playing in MHS.
Atlanta set an IHL single season attendance record for attendance.
Atlanta set the NHL expansion team record for attendance.
Heck, even this year the Braves outdrew every team in the division except Philly – while Washington went on a once in a 70 year run, Miami opened a new stadium, and NYM had a new team and relativley new stadium.
I too have respect for the NYYs, which makes the fact that they did not sell out AL DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP games in prime time, in a market of 20M, with no other baseball team playing within a thousand miles, even more amazing. Remember that the NY Football Giants also has playoff seats available to the public the day before playoff games last year.
Not banging on NY, but always amazed to see empty seats elsewhere, then the Braves or Hawks fans get criticized nationally – sometimes for just a few hundred seats on a weekday afternoon or Sunday evening. Maybe this will now end.
Supes
October 18th, 2012
2:33 pm
The Yankees have 27 WS championship rings.
Atlanta has 1.
In other words, it’s best to keep your mouth shut.
**********************************************************
WTF has that to do with this attendance issue the Yankees are currently having? Move along move along
Ronald Millsaps
October 18th, 2012
2:37 pm
Enter your comments here
Ronald Millsaps
October 18th, 2012
2:38 pm
“simple”— Oh, yeah, try to justify the alleged behavior by Rodriguez. Excuse-making is nearly as rampant in society as is immorality.
markie mark
October 18th, 2012
2:49 pm
hey donnan….byteme@mark.com
Bruce Benedict
October 18th, 2012
3:07 pm
I dislike the Yankees, but after being a diehard fan here for 43 years- no cities teams choke on our level! Hopefully, the Falcons won’t go 16-0 and lose their opening playoff game.
Kennesaw David
October 18th, 2012
3:11 pm
I am always a big fan of the Braves and whoever is playing the Yankees. So I am loving this. Hope Detroit brings the broom out today.
Stinger 2
October 18th, 2012
3:17 pm
Mark: Your gave a great response @11:28 to a previous post that compared the responses of the Yankee vs. Braves organizations when changes need to be made.
The Yankees do it with mostly money. The Braves are constrained with must less money to get expensive FA. Frank Wren & Co. do a great job to keep the Braves in a respectable and competitive position with their wisdom to make mostly good moves
with trades and getting affordable FA along with keeping the farm systm stocked with good prospects.
Whatever
October 18th, 2012
3:17 pm
The media sucks and always bashes Atlanta. Hey, were in the Deep South so we can be their punching bag right? Fly over country right? But, the Cubs have pitiful attendance – massive spaces of empty seats all over Wrigley. Same with the Mets. It is the same everywhere. Well, except in the South with College Football. I hate Auburn. But, look at Jordan-Hare. That team sucks and they are selling out. USC was a yealry loser and has never won a Championship and that fan base acts like they are right up there with Bammer. How well do the Norhteastern Schools sell out games?
billyBobjacket
October 18th, 2012
3:21 pm
I take it as a matter of pride rather than an insult when yankees and Yankees criticize the passion for and attendance at professional sporting events in Atlanta. Perhaps it proves that we have actual lives and interests other than watching a bunch of overpaid pampered (and often juiced-up) primadonnas playing games for money. The NE corridor and SoCal self-styled “elites” can keep their celebrity worshipping lifestyles and keep drinking the “we are better than you” cool-aid, while we here in one of the “flyover states” can enjoy our days in the warm sun doing something more productive and fulfilling.
Wrecker
October 18th, 2012
3:39 pm
Great stuff, Mark! Fans of baseball here are as rabid as anywhere, but we do not get any love.
Tall
October 18th, 2012
3:46 pm
The Braves are the Brooklyn Dodgers of the late 1990’s. No team in the National League had more talent go through that clubhouse. I
RM
October 18th, 2012
3:48 pm
I don’t like New Yorkers, especially the dam Yankees. I’m hoping for a sweep today!
DawgNole
October 18th, 2012
3:53 pm
“I’m not here to offer a blanket defense of Atlanta. Our teams haven’t won very big very often. ” – Bradley
That’s putting it mildly. ONE championship in 156 seasons of competition–a level of failure approached by very, very few. Until the city’s pro teams can bring home some titles, it’s pretty difficult to argue with the critics.
Heisenberg Please Add
October 18th, 2012
4:00 pm
Brian McFann to the DO NOT SIGN list.
Techster
October 18th, 2012
4:03 pm
Talk about a choke job. Did you see the dogs play the gamecocks?
Peter
October 18th, 2012
4:05 pm
Come on mark. even though the Braves REGULARLY CHOKE…… that doesn’t mean they have a monopoly on that condition !
Peter
October 18th, 2012
4:08 pm
Supes . You said it all !!!!!
Please Stinger 2 ………..FRANK WREN needs to be fired.he has screwed up this team too often….. Uggla last debacle !
billyBobjacket
October 18th, 2012
4:11 pm
What percentage of the population living within 25 miles of the stadium attend Braves games vs Yankees games? You would have to go out 200 miles from ATL to capture the same population as in NYC alone. Throw in the big bucks they have to spend, and all the extra cash the players know they can make in endorsements, and it is easy to see why they might have more success.
Playoffs? Did I Say Playoffs?
October 18th, 2012
4:31 pm
NCBravesFan says:
October 18th, 2012
11:33 am
I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning!
______________________________________________________
This is one of the best comments I’ve ever read!
Dum-Bass
October 18th, 2012
4:47 pm
The question is how did the Yankees get to where they are today? One of the top four teams in MLB? I don’t think they are even close. I don’t see them even beating the Houston Astros right now. They are indeed pathetic! Maybe this is the beginning of the end for the Yankees.
GWD,sc
October 18th, 2012
4:50 pm
A 94 win team screwed up?
Peter
October 18th, 2012
4:53 pm
Look Mark….. Infante scored the first run in today’s ball game…….. Too bad he sucked so badly we needed to trade him away.
Great for him that Wren was so DUMB…… Now he has a chance to go get a WORLD SERIES RING !
Dum-Bass
October 18th, 2012
5:11 pm
This gets funnier and more ironic every time I read something new about A-Rod’s escapades in the NY Post. Just read where those two girls from Australia he was flirting with, said they actually got a message from another player but won’t name him. Those two models first passed the ball back to a little girl behind them as they already had a ball, but someone with her gave it back telling them there was a message on it. Would have been hilarious if the little girl had kept it and called them!!!! Would have served them right. Also, the two girls know so little about American baseball they were saying “Yangees” in an interview. Actually would have been more appropriate if they had said, “Bangees”!
DawgNole
October 18th, 2012
5:20 pm
GWD,sc
October 18th, 2012
4:50 pm
A 94 win team screwed up?
___________________
Sure did. Who cares about 94 wins–or 162 wins, for that matter–in the REGULAR season when you can’t pick up even one in the postseason?
Dum-Bass
October 18th, 2012
5:49 pm
The New Yank “Yorkies” are getting beaten 6-0 in the 4th inning. CC Sabathia is getting bombed! Just makes my day, my week, my month, my year, even my life!!!!!!!!! About to be swept by the Tigers in 4 games. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer(UGH) bunch. All you Yankee fans, I would give you the Suicide Prevention Hotline number but I don’t have it.
Teddy B
October 18th, 2012
5:58 pm
WOO HOOOOO the Yanks are SPANKED! No WAY they’re going to come back from a 6 run deficit tonight. I love it when they lose. Just shows you can’t buy a winning team. It helps, but it doesn’t work like that. Granted the Tigers have spent aggressively the past few years but they still have some home grown guys playing well out there.
So it looks like Tigers vs. Cards/Giants in the World Series. I hope the Cards win, the Giants are just a dirty team with all the PED scandals and Buster Posey is obnoxious. He acts like he’s better than everyone else, just can’t stand that guy at all. Being a late call-up and beating J-Hey, who was on the roster on Opening Day because he is a beast, for ROY burned my @$$. I think McCutchen should also win MVP over Poser, but he won’t because the Pirates failed to make it to the post season.
Me personally I like Detroit vs. St. Louis for the WS, and Detroit wins it. Cabrera came back strong this year from his DUI stint winning the Triple Crown, and good for them. Still some games to play so who knows what will happen but this is what I’d like to see.
ODBAlpha
October 18th, 2012
6:08 pm
Mark, your commens may ring true, but it doesn’t diguise the fact that the Atlanta media and fans ARE way too soft on our professional teams. Coming from an Atlanta fan who has lived in both Boston and NYC – Atlantans should demand the same accountability of their “pros” as we do our college teams/coaches when it comes to winnning.
Good Grief Charlie Brown
October 18th, 2012
6:17 pm
MB, good read! Much respect for Jeter….but i can’t stop smiling every time i look at today’s score.
Sonny Clusters
October 18th, 2012
6:18 pm
Big right-handed bats like hot-hitting Dan Uggla who gets some pretty walks can and will make the difference for the Braves next season. We don’t know about you but we remember going to a game this season against the Diamondbacks and hot-hitting Dan Uggla was not hitting hot at the time and he had what was probably the least impressive 3-pitch at-bat we have ever witnessed. We believe that big usher lady you see on TV all the time could have had a better at bat than that. When a player is selfish and won’t take a little something off the swing and try to bring in a run we think that is bad baseball and though they won 94 games this year we did see some bad baseball at times and if it had been good baseball more often maybe the Braves would have won the division outright and they might possibly still be playing but we don’t really believe it.
Doug
October 18th, 2012
6:44 pm
they made it to the alcs. the braves choked again and couldn’t win one game and you write this crap? The only reason why turner field was packed 2 fridays ago was it cj last game. else it would have been half full.
Chuck
October 18th, 2012
7:03 pm
All these Yankee apologists are doing a GREAT job continuing to bash Atlanta, but are glaringly short on explanations for all of the empty seats in that basbeball mecca in the Bronx.
The silence is deafening, Yanks fans
Dum-Bass
October 18th, 2012
7:21 pm
As soon as the Yankees are eliminated (less than 15 mins. now) ESPN may have to shut down operations completely. They won’t have anything to talk about. MLB is getting almost as bad, and they are supposed to support all teams equally for sure!
Hillbilly D
October 18th, 2012
7:26 pm
When a player is selfish and won’t take a little something off the swing and try to bring in a run we think that is bad baseball
Amen to that. Remember when folks said Mickey Mantle had high K rates? The most he ever had in a season was 126. 25 players had more than that this year, just in the NL (22 had more in the AL). Uggla had 168.
Sidslid
October 18th, 2012
7:31 pm
I also think it points to the utter dominance of pro football. New Yorkers didn’t want to miss the Giants on TV
Courtney
October 18th, 2012
7:50 pm
New York has always been a bad “Sports City”. 9 million people and Mets games with 5K people watching a game? Truth is thought I am glad I live in Atlanta a “bad Sports” city. It means we have better things to do.
Roterhals
October 18th, 2012
8:43 pm
Mr Bradley, that just might be the best article you’ve ever written.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 18th, 2012
8:45 pm
All you need to know about Rob Parker’s career is that he is Stephen A. Smith’s backup on ESPN First Take. When you can’t beat out Stephen A. Smith for a starting job, you are pretty much at rock bottom.
John Sterling
October 18th, 2012
9:06 pm
Ballgame OVER!
American League Championship Series OVER!
Yankees Season OVER!
Yankees Bandwagon-Jumping Fanbase OVER!
Derek Jeter Career OVER!
Alex Rodriguez in New York OVER!
George Steinbrenner Legacy OVER!
Yankees Lose!
Thuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh YANKEES LOSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stinger 2
October 18th, 2012
9:39 pm
The Braves are an organization that is on the rise. Ninety-four wins was a great accomplishment considering all of the key injuries. Fredi did a wonderful job of leading the team and hopefully quieted at least some of those who have constantly belittled and criticized him in the past. If the Braves decide to pick up Mac`s option and his shoulder is healed and Uggla gets back to his normal production this means two big bats are back.This will make the Braves be strong contenders to win it all next year. Go Braves!
DawgNole
October 18th, 2012
9:56 pm
Stinger 2
October 18th, 2012
9:39 pm
The Braves are an organization that is on the rise. Ninety-four wins was a great accomplishment considering all of the key injuries. Fredi did a wonderful job of leading the team and hopefully quieted at least some of those who have constantly belittled and criticized him in the past. If the Braves decide to pick up Mac`s option and his shoulder is healed and Uggla gets back to his normal production this means two big bats are back.This will make the Braves be strong contenders to win it all next year. Go Braves!
________________________
Ninety-four wins is fine, but you have to show up in the postseason or it’s meaningless.
P.T. Barnum
October 18th, 2012
10:15 pm
Thank you for that article. As a former Brooklyn Dodger fan now living in ATL, it’s good to see someone write about the yankees. I’m 69 yo and a 3rd generation of yankee hater. The media has kissed up to them for years. I hope there attendence remains as it its and they will continue to lose and have players that are jerks.
bulldogbubba
October 18th, 2012
10:24 pm
@Dawgnole – AMEN!!! We can be glad to have 94 wins , but “0″ in the playoffs is crummy. The Yankees are getting old and they are on a rapid decline to the cellar to join the Red Sox. We still have 4 months to see if the Braves can improve run production with whatever F.Wren does with this roster. GO BRAVES
tyger
October 18th, 2012
11:16 pm
Uggla for A-Rod!!!
P.T. Barnum
October 18th, 2012
11:38 pm
I’m concerned with McCann next season. If rehab takes 6 month then he may not be back until late April or May. I hope he doesn’t rush co ming back. The Braves should keep him next year. Uggla on the other hand has been a big disappointment. Even his defense started to go down at the end of the season and the playoff (that was stolen from us) game. If Prado goes back to play 3rd base can Reed Johnson play an entire seaon? He is ok but we need some power. to tyger, do we really need another…..
Class of '98
October 19th, 2012
12:32 am
Atlanta is a college football city, New York is a professional sports city. It’s funny, whenever these northern writers mock Atlanta for not “filling seats”, they seem to forget about the 10 or so college football stadiums within a 300 mile radius that routinely pack in 80,000+.
Reality Check
October 19th, 2012
7:57 am
The Braves’ roster is nowhere near the talent level or practices the team concept that the Cardinals and Giants exhibit.
You have slugs like Dan Uggla strangling the payroll
Reality Check
October 19th, 2012
7:58 am
Giving Brian McCann a contract extension would doom the Braves’ to mediocrity for years to come.
H
October 19th, 2012
9:19 am
I think people in Atlanta need to get a little perspective on this….Care to do any research on the tickets prices at Yankee Stadium compared to Turner Field? If you put the prices at Turner to what they are at Yankee Stadium, NO ONE would show up. Get a clue.
*{jj}*
October 19th, 2012
9:27 am
Game over!
H
October 19th, 2012
9:31 am
College football town?? Who cares. Does the real world care about winning a National Championship or the Super Bowl or the World Series or the Stanley Cup or NBA title?? The ultimate goal in football is to win a Super Bowl. Sorry, until Atlanta becomes a professional sports town it will always be minor league focusing on non-professional sports…how are those Thrashers doing?? NY has 2 NFL teams, 3 NHL teams, 2 NBA teams, 2 MLB teams…and how many colleges and universities within a 300 mile radius?? Hundreds… NY has 8,000,000 people WITHIN the city limits, not 500,000. 8,000,000. Not in the same ballpark people. Compare yourself to Dallas
Sonny Clusters
October 19th, 2012
9:44 am
Team baseball. Everybody plays hard every day unless the manager offers or insists on a day off. The goal is to win – to lift each other up by advancing runners and scoring runs. A team that repeatedly cannot muster a fly ball with a runner on third base and fewer than 2 outs is a flawed team. A team that repeatedly leaves runners stranded while its “hot-hitters” swing wildly at pitches outside the zone is flawed. Maybe it is flawed only in a few positions. Second base, maybe? Catcher, maybe (because of injury). We say again that the winning teams were concentrating on baseball and the pennant the last week of the season while the Braves were kissing Chipper’s sliding pants. Turn it on and turn it off doesn’t work in baseball and the Braves never seem to be able to turn it back on in October. Now, the Nats are gone and the Cards are leading the NLCS. Did we see this movie before? Aren’t we likely to see it again?
elaine harowitz
October 19th, 2012
9:51 am
the most important moment in a marathon is who crosses the finish line first, who cares who wins the most games, has the most runs, rbis, hits, just noise for traditional paradigm thinkers, it’s the team that comes together, decides it’s time to bring the A game and gets it done, that’s what the cardinals do, we can learn from them
Heisenberg
October 19th, 2012
10:02 am
blue
October 18th, 2012
1:56 pm
I would concede Fielder’s numbers were on par with what would be expected this year and his production contributed to Cabrera winning the triple crown. But I still do not believe he will sustain it through the second half of the deal. But if Tigers get a WS win out of it, they can be satisfied for now. The whole point is the ROI on these type of signings is typically not that good.
Lou Piniella’s cap
October 18th, 2012
1:09 pm
Someone else suggested that site and mistakenly called it the old Ford plant. I corrected that but also agreed it would have some advantages when it comes to being on the Marta line. And although traffic on the 285 top end is heavy, the downtown connector and Grady curve are no picnic either.
SAL
October 19th, 2012
10:04 am
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Steve
October 19th, 2012
10:30 am
Welcome to Braves Country Yankee fans !!!!!!!!
MitchC
October 19th, 2012
10:43 am
Mark, this is one of the best, and funniest, articles you’ve ever written.
While the Braves may have frustrated us many times in the past 20 years with their playoff meltdowns, or falling just short, at least we didnt spend $200 mil plus to mess things up.
Oh, and we Braves fans (At least me,and I’;m sure others too) can gloat with the end to the Yankees season lastr night. Bottom line, the Yankees are an old, inept team that needs to start over, and build from within, like we did with our winning teams in the 90s. They would never do that, though, they’ll just sign another Arod type for 30 mil a season, after they supposedly get rid of the original Arod.
Pathtetic, and funny.
Sonny Clusters
October 19th, 2012
10:46 am
When we was just a sparkle in our daddy’s eyes the powers that be decided that the MARTA stations should be in places that didn’t make much sense but that was where some folks thought they should be if they was going to vote to pass MARTA. So, here we are with MARTA that doesn’t have a station in close proximity to the stadium and here we are with outrageous parking and congestion and inconvenience and even some safety issues surrounding attendance at the games. The City is so bereft of leadership and resources they can’t do anything about it and MARTA is a mismanaged money pit. Go figure. Now, if we was the Braves we’d try to do something to make the experience much better for the fans and starting a one game play-in at 5:07 PM on a Friday is not it. TV and MLB may have set the time but the Braves are the ones that allowed the fans to once again take the lumps. Of course, there were some more lumps to take during and after the game. Some might even feel the lumps now as the Cards are one game away from another celebration and the Braves are up in a tree somewhere looking for Bambi. Ride the bus and leave the driving to us (or something like that).
Wild Pitch
October 19th, 2012
11:00 am
“Our teams haven’t won very big very often”. That’s the understatement of the century. Still, I guess its good to see some October baseball excitement come back to Atlanta even if it is for bashing someone else. Hard to stick up for the Yankees but this is petty and pointless.
DeepDiver
October 19th, 2012
11:01 am
Preach!
DERP
October 19th, 2012
11:31 am
They are Yankees….literally. Enough said. They trash everybody else cause they know just how pathetic they really are.
Oh, and nice A-rod contract morons.
DERP
October 19th, 2012
11:32 am
Please put up a Yankee fence around Alpharetta that way I don’t have to listen to that barbaric accent and look at your ugly women.
Erik
October 19th, 2012
11:42 am
One of the biggest misconceptions in all of sports is that northern sports cities are so much better at selling out their stadiums and arenas than other cities. The fact is that they are just as prone to all the factors that go into whether a game is sold out as anywhere else in the country.
southern hope
October 19th, 2012
11:45 am
Is this the official gloat thread? Because I’ve been waiting for this.
PMC
October 19th, 2012
12:17 pm
Yankees looked exactly like the Braves normally do in the post season, maybe we can get Arod, he’d fit right in.
Absolutely embarassing when it matters.
PMC
October 19th, 2012
12:24 pm
Reasons why we didn’t go. It’s a ridiculously expensive night out. The traffic is garbage, and the outcome (IE our team would be utterly terrible at the plate and give it away in the field) was basically predetermined.
The Cardinals organization has found players that can get on base and then score. The braves are paying the most to guys who can’t be counted on to do either.
Hillbilly D
October 19th, 2012
12:25 pm
The Cardinals, while not the best team for regular season play, are built for October baseball. Do the little things and chip away, chip away.
Dum-Bass
October 19th, 2012
1:06 pm
Hey “HillbillyD” that “chip away” thing would work great for the Braves. Could rename them the “Chippewa’s” which is actually an Indian tribe. Perfect! (but would have to dump Fredi G as he has no idea how to play “small ball” or manufacture runs)
Najeh Davenpoop
October 19th, 2012
1:29 pm
“here we are with MARTA that doesn’t have a station in close proximity to the stadium”
Georgia State station is a very reasonable 10 minute walk from the stadium, but unfortunately most people in our fine nation are too fat to walk for 10 minutes at a time.
TCumpton
October 19th, 2012
1:49 pm
I think it’s a sign of the economy. The ticket prices in Yew Nork are ridiculous. If a person is paying that much money for a ticket they expect a win. Why bother with buying a ticket, try to find parking if you don’t take the #4 train, wait in line to go to the bathroom, pay too much money for a beer, when you can watch it on the big screen at home or a pub. I think you’ll see more empty seats if the economy doesn’t pick up.
Mr. Hankey
October 19th, 2012
1:51 pm
Doen=cha-lov-it! I agree VERY MUCH with the gentlemen who cited huge salaries and bad returns for all these teams. I believe the Braves have a second baseman who fits that bill although I was completely onboard when the signed Ugly. Keep McCann anotehr year, keep Hudson another year and if Bourn wants to stay, well, I’m sure we can arrange it but screw giving him huge money after a playoff game like he had. Surely we can find another fleet footed center field who can’t hit cheaper than they’ll be asking. Delighted with the article, MB. Appearas A-Rod is an A — well, fill in the blank. Douche fits well in the blank.
DaltonBrave
October 19th, 2012
2:37 pm
“Kudos, Spyro.” LOL…yeah, well done. And I might add that I believe A.Rodriguez to be one of baseball’s biggest worms.
Mike McDonald
October 19th, 2012
2:38 pm
@ Tall
There were no Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1990s, aTALL. Dem Bums left for Chavez Revine aka LA in 1958. Reminds me of the TV commercial where Andre Dawson is pulled out of the ivy in Wrigley Field asking :”What year is it?”. Shades of Rip Van Winkle, ole boy.
Lee in S GA
October 19th, 2012
2:46 pm
The Cards will be slipping Champaign shortly while the Braves are guzzling beer already. Guess the Yankess can start icing the cold ones down also.
juice sourcer
October 19th, 2012
3:12 pm
I always love it when the Yankees lose,,,especially like this…because they have such a huge built in advantage over every team.
Bob
October 19th, 2012
3:18 pm
Rationalizing repeated and consistent failure just because this one time another team also failed
This article screams “apologist loser”
Lee
October 19th, 2012
4:53 pm
gee Mark, if only one hockey team had left town? but 2? c’mon, nobody in that town cares about anything there.
Mike Bell 790
October 19th, 2012
5:20 pm
First?
DawgNole
October 19th, 2012
5:44 pm
MitchC
October 19th, 2012
10:43 am
While the Braves may have frustrated us many times in the past 20 years with their playoff meltdowns, or falling just short, at least we didnt spend $200 mil plus to mess things up.
______________________
Past 20 years?! That might not be so bad. Try the past 46 years (excepting ‘95)–or ever since their existence in ATL. Add to that the Falcons, Hawks, Thrashers, and Flames and you have a grand total of ONE championship in 156 seasons of competition. THAT is what stinks.
Mr. Thomas Anthony Jones, SR
October 19th, 2012
5:58 pm
This is the only city where we take glee in other teams’ players getting hurt and their players having bad performances and other teams having disappointments. if we would quit pointing fingers at others teams’ problems and look at our own shortcoming this city could try to improve. Instead of being glad at Jeter’s injury let’s try resign Broune and extend McCann’s salary. Do not attack others when we have lose playoffs many, many years.
GFJacket
October 20th, 2012
8:59 am
The Yankees should move to a city that will appreciate and support them. New York obviously does not. It is absolutely unacceptable to have empty seats during a playoff game – - ridiculous to have empty seats during two playoff series. Since it is ridiculous, we need to increase our ridiculing of the Yankees. Hows that $200million+ payroll working out for them?
GFJacket
October 20th, 2012
9:03 am
Nope, Mr. Thomas Anthony Jones, SR, Atlanta does not take glee in other teams having disappointments. It takes glee in pointing out double standards – - berating Atlanta for not selling out playoff games while giving NY a pass, though NY has far fewer excuses.
GFJacket
October 20th, 2012
9:07 am
Also, it is somewhat satisfying to see a team that has such a big advantage in payroll (two players on Yankees make more than the entire Oakland A’s team), fall flat. The icing on the cake is the fans not showing up for playoff games. What went wrong in this business model?
Sonny Clusters
October 20th, 2012
9:23 am
As to MARTA’s station at Ga State . . . a brisk 10 minute walk in your neighborhood may not resemble the 10 minute walk down Decatur Street, Hill Street, Memorial Drive, and Capitol Avenue through panhandlers and miscreants. We was thinking Honny Clusters wouldn’t want to make that walk and especially if it was dark or the weather was bad, but what do we know? It still seems to us there should be a MARTA station at the stadium and the fact that there is not is another reason why people struggle to go to the games. Of course, MARTA itself is no prize. We was riding the tube in London and had someone tell us he’d ridden public transportation in cities around the world and the only time he feared for his life was on MARTA. Somebody was wanting his iPhone. Go figure.
*{jj}*
October 20th, 2012
12:49 pm
When they were building stadium MARTA had option to run to stadium but decided not to. One offical said in off season they would have no business. Big mistake by Marta… and Braves for not pushing it.
Jimmy Crack
October 20th, 2012
2:18 pm
Enjoyed the article, Mark. I wish we could put it in virus form and place it on every desktop in the northeat corridor.
Yankees go home, your fans never left theirs.
MLB Fan
October 20th, 2012
4:19 pm
Not to even mention that New York has three time the population and still couldnt fill their stadium!
Yankees Fan
October 20th, 2012
5:12 pm
Mark Bradley- you stated in a previous comment post that the Yankees have not won the World Series since 2000. This is incorrect. The Yankees beat the Phillies to win the 2009 World Series.
Mark Bradley
October 20th, 2012
5:18 pm
I never stated that the Yankees hadn’t won the World Series since 2000. I wrote that they’d won it once since 2000.
Mark Bradley
October 20th, 2012
5:20 pm
mbradley@ajc.com
66.190.84.94
Submitted on 2012/10/18 at 9:58am
Really? You mean win championships like the Knicks? (Last title: 1973.) The Jets? (Last title: January 1969.) The Mets? (Last title: 1986.) The Rangers? (Last title: 1994.) The Giants? (OK, no argument there.)
And let’s note that the Yankees, for all their spending, have won it all once since 2000. I credit the Yankees for trying, but when you say they’ll “do whatever is necessary” … they don’t do what’s necessary every year, do they?
Brian McCann's agent encouraged + more Atlanta Braves News - Encompass News
October 22nd, 2012
12:10 am
[...] Empty seats? Team choking? This time it's NOT Atlanta Pardon me for being provincial, but how long have we Atlantans been told, often by New York-based media types, that we're a lousy sports city because we don't — or at least didn't; the Braves' wild-card game was sold out — pack the house for playoff … Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
The Cardinals refused to lose. So how come they just lost? | Mark Bradley
October 23rd, 2012
12:18 pm
[...] of two runs the rest of the series. Derek Jeter broke his ankle and Alex Rodriguez got benched and the empire collapsed in a pile of pinstripes. And now the Tigers, who mustered the seventh-best record in the 14-team American League, have [...]