RIP Braves

He's so hit and miss anymore.

 

And in 2 subsequent starts against the Mets, Davies gave up 7 runs, 13 hits and 8 walks in 11 innings.

 

he's also 22 years old. I'll take a good-to-great start out of him every once in a while as long as he approaches adequate in most of the others...and he's probably the 4 or 5 in the rotation. put him up against young bannister, who has done well but also has more walks than strikeouts (and is probably nym's 3), and they're probably a push.

again, davies and the rest of the starters aren't the problem. but if they start tearing it up like it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect in the next couple weeks, they can right the ship mighty quick.

 

Bannister, when healthy, was the Mets 5. (if you wanna count Zambrano). He'll be 4 when he comes back beind Petey, Glavine and Trachsel...and I'm not counting on him for a whole lot of consistency, either

 

And Pedro has a month on the DL this season ... guaranteed.

And, If Glavine doesn't average at least a 4+ ERA for the rest of the year, I will be stunned.

I don't see how the Mets win with those two occurrences.

And Trachsel blows chunks, too.

 

I'm showing my bias here, but I don't care. If you really think Glavine is going to average a 4+ ERA this year, you're sadly mistaken. He reinvented himself as a pitcher sometime in the second half last year -- he has developed a real curveball (finally), he throws fastballs inside more now than the last 10 years combined (his major adjustment to combat his QuesTec slump of the past), and he's completely changed the pattern of his pitches.

Also, I looked up game-by-game logs for his three seasons in Flushing, and found 13 instances where he left with a lead that Benitez or Looper, et al, promptly blew for him. If by luck of the draw (and a better bullpen/defense), Glavine gets all 13 of those wins, he's got 292 right now and we're ogling over his impending 300th ... which we'll be doing anyway next year, so it doesn't matter. Glavine has been a decent pitcher with the Mets the last three seasons, but he doesn't have the record to show for it. He's also struggled on his own, but I think he's corrected that now. ... (Btw, I'm now convinced that Andruw Jones in CF was worth at least 25 wins for Glavine over the years. Maddux, too.)

 

I agree with all of wehat Buck said about Glavine,
Plus, in case you haven't noticed, Gomer, Pedro has not missed any significant time since 2001. He's made at least 30 starts the past 4 years and pitched 217 innings each of the last two. But you. like many others, have bought into the myth that he is fragile.

 

Way too early to bury the Braves. Also, note that they have played 20 of their first 31 on the road. And they finish September with a big swing to the Turner Field side of the ledger.

I wouldn't count the Braves out until they are mathematically eliminated. Seems like every year recently, I've looked at their roster and said not this year. And every year, they win the division. That said, I do think the Mets will take it this year, but you can't write off ATL yet.

The bullpen is a big, big issue. The lack of a true closer and some definitely below standard middle relief/setup will probably end costing the Braves anywhere from 4-8 victories that they shouldn't cough up--potentially the difference between 1st and not.

And on the fans not showing for post-season: I do think Atlanta fans tend to pretty weak overall in terms of their passion and participation (Dawgs excluded). One reason not mentioned so far is the very transient nature of the city. A lot of the residents come from elsewhere and don't have a lifetime devotion built up for the Braves; in fact, you'll always tend to see a lot of visiting team support at an Atlanta game.

The other issue for the Braves is their success has in a way jaded the fan base. Double digit consecutive years of postseason appearances has led to fans waiting for the World Series or LCS (which in a lot of cases has never come), and you don't get the same type of 'must see' baseball event for the Division Series, and maybe even the LCS. Which is also just fine with this transplanted Cardinal fan....

 

There was an AJC article in 2004 where the team estimated that only 50% of single game ticket sales were to people in Metro Atlanta. The "other" Georgia had 20%, Alabama bought 10%, 7% each for Tennessee and the Carolinas and the rest from elsewhere across the South and nation. By the time you get to October, with weeknight playoff games and ridiculously late starting times, its up to the city to drive attendance. And we all know what a lousy sports town Atlanta is.

Also, this Reds fan stuck in Georgia is skeptical that the stake is in the vampire's heart already.

 

All waving their Confederate flags and chopping their right arms up and down with pride.

 

Dyepack: The confederate-flag waving nuts are over at Dawg games in Athens.

Dixie is right. The Braves fans who are lifers are necessarily from the city. They're the ones who live in South Georgia or Alabama and grew up watching TBS and "America's Team" all their lives. And they're not always the ones who can afford playoff tickets, as Dixie pointed out, on mid-week games that start at 8 p.m. Kids gotta get to bed and all. These fans are the ones who pack up the kids and the cooler on the weekends and drive over to the Ted.

 

That's a low blow, Grrlhack. Boo! Hiss!