Braves Baseball Updates

[Bluedawg]

Just so we are clear, I have lived in Atlanta for virtually my entire life -- and I am 40 years old. So we have exactly the same perspective on this team. I used to fall asleep at night as a child listening to Braves games on the radio. Biff Pocoroba, Jerry Royster, Jeff Burroughs, and (of course) Dale Murphy and Bob Horner were my early heroes in life.

Make no mistake, I want it all too. The difference is I don't think Bobby Cox is the reason we don't have it all right now. I also think that keeping the team in playoff contention is about all you can ask of a manager. Making the playoffs is all he can really control. Once you get to the playoffs, it is a crapshoot. The best team very rarely wins. The Braves have had extraordinary luck (for the most part) in the regular season under Bobby Cox and they have largely had bad luck in the post season. Those are the breaks. Someday they will work themselves out.

Someone else brought up Coach K and I think it is somewhat similar to Duke. For the most part, from the mid-80s to the mid-90s, K had extraordinarily good fortune and success in the post-season though not quite as much in the regular season. People forget this but during Duke's amazing Final Four run from 1986-94, Duke was not a #1 seed very often. We were good-- very good-- in the regular season but we were generally a team in the second tier during the regular season (with the exceptions of 1986 and 1992). But, we had amazing NCAA tourney success almost always doing better than our seed would indicate.

Compare that with what Duke has been in the past decade. you could pretty much book us for a #1 seed and being ranked #1 in the nation (at least at some point) in something like 9 of the past 11 years (i did not look it up, but this is how it feels to me). Our regular season success has been ridiculous. However, we have quite often failed to live up to post-season expectations. Again, I have not looked it up, but I think that in the past 8 times we have been a #1 seed, we have only made the Final Four three times and we only hae one national title from the past decade even though we have entered the tournament as the favorite to win the title something like 5 or 6 times.

Look, I am not criticizing K or Duke at all-- what we have done the past decade or so has been truly amazing. Still, I don't think it is much of a stretch to note that it is not all that different from what Bobby Cox has done with the Braves. The playoffs in baseball, like the NCAA tournament, are subject to a great deal of random variation. The best team wins it all no more than maybe 25% of the time. Running into a "hot" team is almost always death no matter how much better you may be than that team under normal circumstances.

Suggesting that the Braves should get rid of Bobby Cox would, to me, not be all that different from suggesting that Duke should get rid of Coach K. Yes, I am serious.

-Jason "we both know there is about a 0.01% chance that the Braves fire Cox or force him out, so this discussion is just counterproductive anyway" Evans

Obviously in this case we don't have the same perspective on this team, and I'll just leave it at that.

...there is about a 0.01% chance that the Braves fire Cox or force him out...

But this I can agree with.

[dkbaseball]

One reason I've heard given for the Braves' falling a bit short of expectations in the post-season over the last several years is that Maddux and Glavine are groove pitchers, with a strong sense of craftsmanship and everyday competitiveness, who have an edge during the regular season, but with the adrenaline surging in the post-season the power athletes gain an edge -- a couple more mph on the fastball, greater concentration at bat, etc.

Might be something to it. Certainly Maddux's post-season numbers fall well short of regular season; not sure about Glavine. It's important to keep in mind just how ordinary Glavine's arm is. He wins because he has the best repeating motion in baseball, just impeccable mechanics and location.

But then again, you could argue that the extra adrenaline would get the big swingers over-hyped, and give the location pitchers an advantage.

In any case, since Glavine and Maddux left, the Braves really haven't had a club that could be expected to go all the way. I'm pretty certain Bobby Cox hasn't been the guy holding them back.

[EarlJam]

Smoltz and Hudson and three days of cussin'.

-Jason "that's the new slogan in HotLanta" Evans

Did you make that up? That's awesome, perfect and accurate!

Hudson lost last night but he was due to lose one. Hudson, Smoltz and Chipper have carried the team this year.

What I, EarlJam, think someone needs to do right now on the Braves team (be it Cox, Chipper or whoever): CALL THE TEAM OUT!!! GET PISSED!!!!

Stop being so business-like optimistic. It's time for someone to get mad and call it like they see it. I'm talking BOBBY HURLEY HALFTIME AGAINST MICHIGAN IN 1992 TYPE OF MAD!!!

The Braves lack that type of player/coach on this team. Sort of what Kyle Davies was alluding to after his trade.

It's long overdue. GET PISSED SOMEBODY!!!!

-EarlJam

[micah75]

What I, EarlJam, think someone needs to do right now on the Braves team (be it Cox, Chipper or whoever): CALL THE TEAM OUT!!! GET PISSED!!!!

Yeah, sort of like what Jim Leyland did with the Tigers early last year. Locked the clubhouse doors and aired the room out. Lotsa screaming and cussing. No one was spared. It seemed to be effective, as they went on a winning streak which propelled them towards the World Series.

[DevilAlumna]

Yeah, sort of like what Jim Leyland did with the Tigers early last year. Locked the clubhouse doors and aired the room out. Lotsa screaming and cussing. No one was spared. It seemed to be effective, as they went on a winning streak which propelled them towards the World Series.

Did he give them the "lollygag" speech?? I love that one.

Skip: You guys. You lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Larry!
Larry: Lollygaggers!
Skip: Lollygaggers. What's our record, boy?
Larry: Eight and sixteen.
Skip: 8-16! How did we get there?
Larry: It's a miracle.
Skip: It's a miracle!

[dukemomLA]

Again, GO METS< GO METS< GO METS!! Sorry, just can't help it. Then again, I'd also like to see the Cubs do something wonderful -- their GREAT fans have gone above and beyond. The number of extraordinary Cubs players who never got a chance at 'the ring' is heartbreaking. (looking forward to the rest of the season, and the post)

[Lavabe]

Again, GO METS< GO METS< GO METS!! Sorry, just can't help it. Then again, I'd also like to see the Cubs do something wonderful -- their GREAT fans have gone above and beyond. The number of extraordinary Cubs players who never got a chance at 'the ring' is heartbreaking. (looking forward to the rest of the season, and the post)

Cards fans have a saying for the Mutts:
http://www.cardinalsdiaspora.com/?p=557

It started with a radio DJ, JC Corcoran, in the 80's. Letterman picked up on it from a viewer letter from St. Louis, and did an elaborate comparison of the alleged baseball team and the murky residue.

FWIW, the Cubs might indeed do something wonderful, but the Cardinals are now only 2 games behind the Cubs... and STILL under .500! And the Cards have a load of games left with the Cubs ... at Busch!

Cheers,
Lavabe

P.S. Thank you David Wells!

[EarlJam]

Attachment 95

//////////////////////////

-EarlJam

[JasonEvans]

Too brown. Not black enough. They are not toast, they are...

[throatybeard]

The Braves are only 4 out of the WC. There's still a chance for that.

Terry Pendleton's name is "circulating" (whatever that means) for the Royals job:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...0?OpenDocument

[throatybeard]

So I ended up going to all three games, though on Sunday only for the last 5 innings. I hadn't seen the Braves live since 1993, the last full season during which I lived in Georgia. (I'm going to the Ted for the first time since the Olympics, next month).

Smoltzy was strong on Friday, but The Birds roughed up Hudson in a single inning on Saturday, and Wainright was masterful on Sunday. Glad the Braves traded him for JD Drew.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...7?OpenDocument

[hurleyfor3]

The Braves are only 4 out of the WC.

But they're competing against four or five other teams. MUCH harder than if it were just one or two.

[Bluedawg]

Too brown. Not black enough. They are not toast, they are...

What happened to this Jason Evans?

Jason "the notion that the Braves are done is foolish-- yes, they are reeling but there is plenty of baseball still to be played" Evans

I won't count they out until they are mathematically out. We still have 6 games with the Mets.

[TillyGalore]

At least the Braves have a shot at making the playoffs.

[hurleyfor3]

You folks may want to become Cubs fans this week. They have the opportunity to finally put Milwaukee out of their misery.

[JasonEvans]

You folks may want to become Cubs fans this week. They have the opportunity to finally put Milwaukee out of their misery.

After the Braves, the team I am rooting for the most is the Cubs. They deserve some success.

I still think the Braves can turn it around and am not giving up on them. I was just having fun with the Toast post above.

--Jason "the Braves do need to get hot-- they need a streak of 4 or 5 in a row and 8 out of 10... soon" Evans

[Dukerati]

Did you make that up? That's awesome, perfect and accurate!

Hudson lost last night but he was due to lose one. Hudson, Smoltz and Chipper have carried the team this year.

What I, EarlJam, think someone needs to do right now on the Braves team (be it Cox, Chipper or whoever): CALL THE TEAM OUT!!! GET PISSED!!!!

Stop being so business-like optimistic. It's time for someone to get mad and call it like they see it. I'm talking BOBBY HURLEY HALFTIME AGAINST MICHIGAN IN 1992 TYPE OF MAD!!!

The Braves lack that type of player/coach on this team. Sort of what Kyle Davies was alluding to after his trade.

It's long overdue. GET PISSED SOMEBODY!!!!

-EarlJam

I don't know if getting pissed will help. Will anger and temper tantrums help our pitchers throw better? I think the answer is obvious here: genetically clone hudson and smoltz.

[EarlJam]

Attachment 109

Right-Handed starter Buddy "stinky arm" Carlyle

-EarlJam

P.S. To be fair, he's done much better than #4s and 5.

[Lavabe]

Wow... EarlJam... You need some cheering up. After all, if you're not cheering for the Braves when the Mutts come to town, who will?

Hopefully this will work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFK9Vtj-Tzc

[Note: One verse has one mention of one of George Carlin's 7 words]

Cheers,
Lavabe

P.S. In all honesty, I prefer the Life of Brian version.

[YmoBeThere]

now is the time to say it:

There is always next year!