Will the Braves Miss the Playoffs?
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by user Andersed
Last year I made public my MLB predictions for the first time, in our school newspaper. For some reason, I chose the Philadelphia Phillies or the New York Mets to win the NL East, thinking I could pick the season where the Atlanta Braves finally cede control of the division.
Well, thanks to Jeff Francoeur and Andruw Jones, I was wrong. John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox were again lauded as underrated geniuses (eventually they'll be correctly rated). Francoeur made Sports Illustrated. And I looked a bit like an idiot.
This year, I resolved to pick the Braves at all costs. I didn't care that they had little pitching, or that all of their 2005 rookies could look forward to sophomore slumps, or that Chipper Jones was injured and aging. If they don't win the division, so be it. If they do, OK. It's difficult to admit this, but I was torn between the Phillies and Mets after the Braves.
The Mets raced away to that midsummer Sports Illustrated cover and a double-digit lead. Omar Minaya is already talking about resting players and prepping for the playoffs. The Phillies phlopped (I really was rooting for them from all the way out here in Seattle). The Braves simply had a mediocre start and played progressively worse as they approached the All-Star Break. Uh-oh.
I'm surprised this isn't a bigger story. Even the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, together, haven't dominated their division over the same 13-year time period. It seems like the Braves maintain the same personality regardless of personnel and always play like winners. Give credit to Bobby Cox, who mysteriously cranks out NL East titles.
Now it's time for some eerie theories on whether the Braves can come back, particularly given their current six-game win streak (and Chipper Jones' underrated major league record of 14 straight games with an extra-base hit). Clearly their pitching and offense don't match up to the Mets. But baseball is baseball, and don't forget those 1914 Braves! This would be the 14th straight NL East title...
In seriousness, the Braves are just five games back of the suspect Reds for the wildcard berth.
I'm not an Atlanta fan by any remote stretch of the imagination, but I'm fascinated by their incredible run (and Oakland-like mediocrity in the playoffs).
Date
Mon 07/17/06, 8:21 pm EST
