~JB, Regular Coffee, Friday Night Blues, Another West Coast Series? Let’s get these over with so I can get over my jet lag,
Reyes vs Peavy.
Another 10:05 pm start time but at least it’s Friday night. I’m taking it easy at my favorite coffee shop in Marietta and sitting here wondering where this season is really headed. I keep looking for opportunities to pounce on and say “Aha! We’ve turned a corner. This is THE moment the Braves salvage their season and begin their magical triumphal return to glory.”
I think of the Rockies and Phillies last year, the Marlins of 2003 who played exceptional late season ball. The Miracle Braves, the Amazin’ Mets both made seemingly impossible comebacks from larger deficits than ours. And I also think of the Mets’ poor finish. And though I hope for a better outcome, the Collapse just reminds me that Yogi said “it ain’t over until it’s over”. The second half proves extremely crucial.
He also said “It gets late early out there” and the Braves seem to be playing without any magic right now. So here’s some magic, Braves.
I’m not trying to talk down about my team here now. But we need something to bring back that punch. The joie d’ vivre. I watch my Braves and wonder if the thrill is gone for them.
I don’t think it has to be this way. It’s been a hard season to watch for many reasons and typically at this time of year there’s a lot of scrutinity that equates into “buyer/seller” talk or “throw in the towel on the season and trade Tex” talk. But I think we can very easily turn the corner, spark the excitement, and watch our guys just have fun again. It’s a long season but I think the right jolt at the right time could ignite the cylinders once more.
I don’t know what it is though. Last year we all thought it would be the Teixeira Trade. I went back and read an article and the responses from everyone in the clubhouse. All our guys were thinking World Series. And not that Tex has been bad, but obviously it didn’t get us there.
So what will it take? McGriff got us back in it during a tight divisional race in 1993. Picking up Mike Devereux at the right moment in 1995 (just before playoff time) turned out to give us a productive hitter in October. Bringing on Maddux not only gave our fans something to be excited about, a big name, big time pitcher- but all those Gold Gloves, all those Wins, and all those Cy Youngs.
Maybe this year we don’t look to the horizon for the midseason blockbuster trade. Maybe there’s something we’re all overlooking. Maybe we’ve just been a team that’s a victim of really bad luck and it’s time to play with fire again. I’m not sure how… but the magic needs to come back and I think it can.
I say keep Tex.
I say don’t throw in the towel.
Chipper is 2008’s MVP.
Reyes, Morton, Campillo, Jurrjens (Rookie of the Year), and Hudson is what we’ve got and somehow it’ll get us through. Of course when Glavine comes back say good bye to Charlie.
Tex will keep sluggin’.
Frenchy… we’ll see about Frenchy.
Who knows. But if the stars align and something snaps again we could see some great baseball. Let’s just get a series win on the road. That would help.
Keep Choppin’
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4 Comments
July 12, 2008 at 12:49 am
Wow, I haven’t heard the name Mike Devereux in YEARS!
I’m on the fence about the Braves for the rest of the year. They just don’t seem to have any offensive magic right now. Heck, tonight was another shutout. It’s painfully obvious they need some offense in a bad way. I just don’t know what they could really do. The outfield offense is just horrible this year. With the exception of Francoeur (who certainly isn’t doing all that well), our production from 7-9 is awful.
The real question though is, what to do? I’m not sure they have enough to make it to the Playoffs. They definitely need to keep Tex though. If we let him go, I don’t want to know what our offense will look like next year
July 11, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Wow, I haven't heard the name Mike Devereux in YEARS! I'm on the fence about the Braves for the rest of the year. They just don't seem to have any offensive magic right now. Heck, tonight was another shutout. It's painfully obvious they need some offense in a bad way. I just don't know what they could really do. The outfield offense is just horrible this year. With the exception of Francoeur (who certainly isn't doing all that well), our production from 7-9 is awful. The real question though is, what to do? I'm not sure they have enough to make it to the Playoffs. They definitely need to keep Tex though. If we let him go, I don't want to know what our offense will look like next year
July 12, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I am 100% positive we have enough to make the playoffs. If you look at what we’ve been doing in terms of hits, etc… we should be in the division lead. We just can’t seem to get a hit with runners in scoring position. 1. Gregor Blanco 2. Yunel Escobar 3. Chipper Jones 4. Mark Teixeira 5. Brian McCann 6. Kelly Johnson 7. Jeff Francoeur 8. Mark Kotsay vs. Lefties and 1. Martin Prado 2. Yunel Escobar 3. Chipper Jones 4. Mark Teixeira 5. Jeff Francoeur 6. Brian McCann 7. Matt Diaz 8. Mark Kotsay vs. Righties are both great lineups. I’m more concerned with starting pitching. Chipper said before the season the 1 guy we can’t lose is Smoltz. We lost him. I’m not sure we have enough. The bullpen looks good with Nunez and Gonzalez in there, but there are some questions about the rotation. 1) Can we expect Morton to go the distance with us? I don’t think so. If Hampton pitches well after the All-Star Break I think we’ll go with Hampton and put Morton back in AAA. 2) Will we get any more from Glavine this year? With Reyes pitching well and Hampton coming back we really don’t need another lefty. I’m for releasing Glavine. Jurrjens, Hudson, Reyes, Campillo, Hampton doesn’t look to bad. Throwing Morton or Glavine in there anywhere makes it look worse. Just my thoughts. I hope we can start hitting with runners in scoring position and make a big push. The Braves need the All-Star break like they need oxygen.
July 12, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I think Morton gets sent down if/when Hampton pitches. So far, as much as I hate to say it, it looks like a possibility.
As far as Glavine…he’s not going anywhere and Reyes would be the one to go in Tommy’s place. If Tommy can stay healthy and get run support he can get wins.
I’ve mostly (surprisingly) liked Reyes on the mound. I haven’t been impressed with Morton but as I’ve said before, he’s not Chuck James and that’s a big improvement for the time being.
July 12, 2008 at 11:21 am
I am 100% positive we have enough to make the playoffs. If you look at what we've been doing in terms of hits, etc… we should be in the division lead. We just can't seem to get a hit with runners in scoring position. 1. Gregor Blanco 2. Yunel Escobar 3. Chipper Jones 4. Mark Teixeira 5. Brian McCann 6. Kelly Johnson 7. Jeff Francoeur 8. Mark Kotsay vs. Lefties and 1. Martin Prado 2. Yunel Escobar 3. Chipper Jones 4. Mark Teixeira 5. Jeff Francoeur 6. Brian McCann 7. Matt Diaz 8. Mark Kotsay vs. Righties are both great lineups. I'm more concerned with starting pitching. Chipper said before the season the 1 guy we can't lose is Smoltz. We lost him. I'm not sure we have enough. The bullpen looks good with Nunez and Gonzalez in there, but there are some questions about the rotation. 1) Can we expect Morton to go the distance with us? I don't think so. If Hampton pitches well after the All-Star Break I think we'll go with Hampton and put Morton back in AAA. 2) Will we get any more from Glavine this year? With Reyes pitching well and Hampton coming back we really don't need another lefty. I'm for releasing Glavine. Jurrjens, Hudson, Reyes, Campillo, Hampton doesn't look to bad. Throwing Morton or Glavine in there anywhere makes it look worse. Just my thoughts. I hope we can start hitting with runners in scoring position and make a big push. The Braves need the All-Star break like they need oxygen.
July 12, 2008 at 11:35 am
I think Morton gets sent down if/when Hampton pitches. So far, as much as I hate to say it, it looks like a possibility. As far as Glavine…he's not going anywhere and Reyes would be the one to go in Tommy's place. If Tommy can stay healthy and get run support he can get wins. I've mostly (surprisingly) liked Reyes on the mound. I haven't been impressed with Morton but as I've said before, he's not Chuck James and that's a big improvement for the time being.
July 18, 2008 at 11:54 am
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