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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Braves have to find a way to lift this curse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here? Jair Jurrjens twists an ankle leaving Wrigley last night? Unbelievable.
Do we need a live rooster to take the curse off the mound? Did they wait too long to replace the strength and conditioning coach?
I’ve been a fan for more than 30 years now (wow, does that make me feel old), and I’ve never seen a season like this. Do they even have enough warm bodies to get through nine innings, not to mention, God forbid, extras?
I don’t want to see any animals harmed in any way, but how about some sort of exorcism or good-luck ritual in the locker room before tonight’s game, just to make everyone feel better?
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Time for Bravos to let go of the past
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Injuries are a part of the game, but enough already!
John Smoltz and Peter Moylan are done for the year, Tom Glavine is on the disabled list, Rafael Soriano is a big question mark, as is Blaine Boyer, who’s pitching through knee soreness, and no one even mentions Mike Hampton anymore. And that’s just the pitching staff. (Check out the Braves’ mega-million-dollar disabled list.)
I’m not sure how we could have expected our Braves to go into Wrigley and beat the Majors-leading Cubs without their starting third baseman, center fielder or left fielder in the lineup. Then they lost Glavine in the fourth.
Now I’m not sure what to expect from them the rest of the year, because it looks as though the baseball gods are trying to tell the Braves it’s time to stop trying to hold onto the past and move on.
If they call up Charlie Morton from Richmond to fill in for Glavine, they’ll have three starters under 25 (Morton, Jo-Jo Reyes and Jair Jurrjens) and one who had thrown in all of eight Major League games before this year (Jorge Campillo, an old man at 29).
In the field, there are two All-Stars carrying the team (McCann and a hobbled Chipper), two top-tier guys who look completely lost at the plate (Mark Teixeira and Jeff Francoeur), two bench players forced into starting roles (Greg Norton and Omar Infante) and a bunch of unproven youngsters (Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, Gregor Blanco and Josh Anderson).
Looking at that big picture, there’s not a quick fix for this team, so it may be time to revise my expectations for the year and get back a little of that zen-like attitude I had in the ’70s and ’80s. Before you jump all over me, I’m not saying I’m giving up on the guys, but the reality is that they’re not among the top teams in the league right now.
So I’ll kick back and root for Chipper to hit .400 while watching the young guys grow up without expecting too much and getting too frustrated, and if they come together and actually turn this thing around, I’ll be pleasantly astonished and enjoy the ride.
Easier said than done.
Upcoming TV Schedule
Wednesday: at Cubs, 8:05, FSN/ESPN
Thursday: at Cubs, 2:20, Peachtree TV
Friday: at Angels, 10:05, SportSouth
Saturday: at Angels, 9:05, SportSouth
Sunday: at Angels, 8:05, ESPN
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