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Friday, April 18, 2008
Special moments ahead for special Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m sure I speak for Braves fans everywhere — and probably the Braves themselves — when I say that it was really nice to be able to sit back and enjoy a game for a change.
Bobby Cox called a very rare team meeting before the game, which is about as close as he comes to taking desperate measures, and whatever he said must have worked.
Highlighted by John Smoltz’s five scoreless innings and back-to-back-to-back jacks from Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann in the fifth inning, it looked like the Bravos realized they hadn’t used up all the runs allotted them on this road trip as they crushed the Marlins, 8-0, to end this long, tough journey on a positive note.
And while there were many heroes in this one, the heroics of Smoltz and Chipper stood out.
Despite an obvious sore shoulder (he even altered his delivery to compensate, which is never a good sign), the veteran struck out the side in the first inning to set the tone on a night when Braves pitchers would strike out 16 Marlins. Smoltz got 10 of those K’s to put him within four of 3,000 for his career.
And while Chipper came thisclose to a batting title last season, he seems even more determined to win it this year, going 4-for-4 last night to send his season average soaring to a league-leading .443. And he’s within reach of a historic career milestone as well: His two homers last night put him only 10 away from 400.
The next few weeks should hold some amazing moments for those two Braves lifers who have gone above and beyond — Smoltz taking a hit in career wins to go to the bullpen and Chipper gamely attempting to move to left field, not to mention restructuring his contract to allow the team some financial flexibility.
There may not have been a whole lot for Braves fans to get excited about yet this season, but those two milestones are about to change that.
So which are you more excited to see: Smoltz’s 3,000th K or Chipper’s 400th homer? And speaking of excited to see, what will your reaction be to seeing Andruw Jones in a Dodger uniform?
TV schedule for the homestand:
Friday: vs. Dodgers, 7:30, Peachtree TV
Saturday: vs. Dodgers, 3:55, FOX
Sunday: vs. Dodgers, 1:30, SportSouth and TBS
Monday: vs. Nationals, 7:00, SportSouth
Tuesday: vs. Nationals, 7:00, SportSouth
Wednesday: vs. Marlins, 7:00, FSN South
Thursday: vs. Marlins, 7:00, SportSouth
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