AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2005 > October > 03 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USDemands of postseason not kid stuff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
In this patron’s search for a whiff of reality, it comes to mind that this Braves team requires a close inspection as they head into the first stage of the Tour de Pennant. Yes, they have won their 14th division championship. Huzzah! Yes, they have been the surprise of the season.
Yes, they have become the darlings of the province with their kids from the neighborhoods.
Yes, they’ve become a product of their scouting bloodhounds and the verdant farm system. When the veterans have fallen on their swords, the kids have stepped up and carried on the fight.
But this is another level, more than a scuffle or a skirmish, this is a kind of war these youngsters have only witnessed before with their dads in the stands, or on television. You realize that during the last days of September, Bobby Cox was merely audititoning for his October roster. But it was nice that his employees had sewed up their share of the loot early. You don’t look good losing, no matter what page of the calendar you’re on.
They come into this critical part of the year with the bullpen unraveling. Frankly, whatever order there was appears to be scrambled now. Are the young’uns really adjusted to the short-order life? What about the starters who will be working on short call? Dan Kolb was supposed to slip right in and answer all of John Smoltz’s old calls. What you’ve seen of Kolb mainly has been fastballs coming in, line drives going out. But the other night you saw him throw two breaking pitches and get two strikeouts. Where has his breaking stuff been? Relief pitchers don’t get by on one pitch.
Coming out of the bullpen, there has been no brighter prospect than Macay McBride, the Georgia farm boy. His road is paved with promise. Left-handed relievers are as precious as a diamond mine.
The starters don’t get off that easy. No one won more than 14 games and each had a sinking spell, except for Jorge Sosa, one of the best deals John Schuerholz will ever make, a steal from Tampa Bay. Tim Hudson didn’t measure up to his billing, and both he and Smoltz settled on No. 14. Mike Hampton became a surgical investment. Horacio Ramirez didn’t trust his own stuff and couldn’t break himself of trying to shave the corners. A lot of astute observers came to agree that the starters all owed the bullpen battalion more than five or six innings a game.
Apparently, the Braves are going into the playoffs against Houston with some pitching unrest. Smoltz, who expected to start the first game, won’t. Cox and staff fear for his shoulder. Hudson will. After Sosa, back to Hudson, I suppose. John Thomson and Ramirez will serve in long relief, duty unaccustomed to them. You don’t tell the kids, Francoeur, Langerhans, McCann and Orr, to sit down and behave, but this is when you turn to the old established firms to set the table. The Joneses, Chipper and Andruw, Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles are obligated to fire up the offense. Simple as that.
Look at the matchups and you wonder why the Braves couldn’t have drawn the pitiful Padres instead of the pitching-filthy Astros. But wait. During the season the Braves won only one of six games from the Padres. They beat the Astros five of six and swept one four-game series. They beat Andy Pettite and Roy Oswalt once each. They never faced Roger Clemens. But they weren’t trying to get their ticket punched to the World Series then. And the “Our Gang” farm kids hadn’t even hit town yet. This will be their introduction to a kind of pressure they’ve never known. That carries a lot of weight here.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Furman Bisher
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By joe
October 3, 2005 11:55 PM | Link to this
by the way, hudson faced clemens early in the season and the braves won.
By Donny
October 4, 2005 05:06 AM | Link to this
I hate to put so much on 1 game but I think Game 1 will be a tell tale of whats to come for the Braves. We will see really quick how the kids do under pressure. Its a must win for the Braves. You dont want to be down 1 game facing Clemens and then going back to Houston. Personally, this series will go as far as Furcal and Giles go. If they get on, then they will score. Chipper has been here before and I think he is hungrier than ever before.
By Dave
October 4, 2005 09:33 AM | Link to this
I agree with Donny’s analysis that Game 1 is a “must win” and that Furcal and Giles are one of the keys to the victory. However, neither Chipper nor Andruw Jones will drive in Furcal or Giles, because the Houston pitching staff will NOT let that happen.
Houston will look at the season and realize that, had he not been out for about 50 games, Chipper would have hit 30+ home runs and driven in 100+ runs, rivaling Andruw’s RBI production. Knowing this, they will NOT give in to either batter with Furcal and/or Giles in scoring position. Neither of the Jones boys will get that 2-0 or 3-1 fastball. More than likely, they will get a breaking pitch, a curve or a slider, and it will probably NOT be in the strike zone. Chipper will take that pitch and draw the walk. Andruw may or may not, but at least half the time both of these batter will get themselves out.
That means that the #5 and/or #6 hitter will have to come through if the Braves hope to win this series. In other words, the Braves win or lose depending on how well LaRoche/France (the #5 hitter) and Francoeur (the #6 hitter) hit with men on base.
Just my humble opinion!
By Jon
October 4, 2005 09:44 AM | Link to this
I’m quite happy that the Braves won the division. It does beat the alternative, esepcailly for someoe like me who’s followed the team from ‘66 on. But the regular season is over. The playoffs are a different season. No easy breaks in the schedule. Good pitching, timely hitting. Small ball, as they call it. That’s what wins playoff games. If you only get five innings from a starter and only get 5-6 hits from your lineup, you won’t win. Period. The top four in the order must produce, and then get some help from someone lower in the order. Winning division titlea are nice, but the Red Sox, Marlins, etc. have shown that it’s just as possible to win the World Series without winning a division.
By Carroll
October 4, 2005 10:59 AM | Link to this
How could one forget the epic batle between Clemens and Hudson early this season. See there…we already beat all of their dominant pitching. I don’t wanna hear any excuses. By god we proved already that we can do it! YEs that may have been back when they were struggling, but remember this….it was also back when we were starting BJ Jordan every day and Raul Mondesi…we had Tom Martin and Adam Bernero outta the pen and Kolb closing games…Furcal and AJ were mired in perhaps the worst slumps of their careers AND I believe Gilys and/or CJ were hurt during that time. Yet we still managed to win 5/6. That tells me we can do it and hopefully instills a little confidence in our guys.
By KANEKO
October 4, 2005 12:02 PM | Link to this
this test will be bolded Andruw and Chipper need to step up and take charge. At the first sign of trouble, Bobby should take the starting pitcher out, go to the bull pen, and PRAY. If the team keeps on doing what it has been doing, they should win this series.
By Robert
October 4, 2005 12:37 PM | Link to this
Does anybody ever proof-read any of Furman’s work? Yo, AJC people, check the box score from April 18, 2005. Some kid named Clemens was pitching for the Astros.
By Stephen
October 4, 2005 01:40 PM | Link to this
I’m srry im going to have to go with the Braves here in this series. The Stros were hot in late season. But still couldnt get the job done and waited til the last game of the season to win the Wild Card. True, the Braves hit a slump in Sept. but were they the only team to do so, NO! Tigers, White Sox, Padres, Indians, Oakland A’s, along with maybe 2 more teams hit bad streaks. The only team to really have a hot streak was the Yankees. So even though the Braves look to be the “same old braves” the young blood on the team has energized the players and the fans including me a braves fan since I watched baseball in ‘90. the First game is crucial for a Braves victory and i think they can do it.
Prediction : Braves in 4 or 5.
By Ssgreeno
October 4, 2005 03:42 PM | Link to this
On 18 Apr, Clemens & Hudson pitched to a “draw”. Sosa came out of the bullpen and finished, and was the pitcher of record for the 1-0 win in the 12th inning, according to the Chop Talk mag.
By Eric Nelson
October 4, 2005 04:04 PM | Link to this
Perhaps the most encouraging thing to look towards is that Hudson has been able to throttle the pea shooting offense of the Astros.
Very simple thing: Clemens, Pettitte or Oswalt have to have offense to win!
If Huddy keeps them to 2 runs or fewer for 7 plus innings, the Braves likely win. If he gets sloppy, even the Astros have a modicum of power. Make them play small ball, and limit the damage.
I like Andruw and Francouer facing off with Pettitte. Both should be a good matchup in the Braves favor.
Furcal needs to be on base 2 times minimum, and the rest falls in.
By no means are the Braves overmatched in this series.
If I were Bobby Cox, I would use all of the ESPN commentary that is picking the Astros to win the World Series and bulletin board it like noones’ business.
The Braves have gotten MINIMAL respect, although Alan Schwarz of ESPN (The only expert there that chose the Braves) and Ryne Sandberg and John Kruk have picked the Braves.
I think the Braves match up better than the last 3 years, and these are still the Astros….who have exactly 1 playoff series victory in their HISTORY!
Attendance will be the potential series turner to go with momentum.
By HAROLD LEE SCOTT
October 4, 2005 10:16 PM | Link to this
BOBBY COX HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB OF BLENDING THE VETS AND YOUTH TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH AN OUTSTANDING DIVISON WINNING TEAM THIS YEAR. HOWEVER THERE ARE A LOT QUESTIONS FOR THE SHORT SERIES OF THE NATIONAL TITLE AND WORLD SERIES. WE HAVE WON A LOT ON SPIRIT, HUSTLE, ATTITUDE, DESIRE, AND DETERMINATION. OUR PITCHING HAS BEEN A LITTLE SHORT BECAUSE OF INJURIES. OUR HITTING HAS BEEN GREAT AT TIMES BUT INCONSISTENT AT TIMES. ALL THESE QUESTIONS WORRY ME. MY HOPE IS THAT THE TEAM, HEADED BY THE REAL LEADERS HAVE A MEETING AND MAKE SURE EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS TEAM HAS BEEN A WINNER MOST OF THIS SEASON MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THEIR TEAM ATTITUDE, THIER DETERMINATION AND DESIRE TO WIN. THAT THEY ARE GONNA TAKE THE ATTITUDE THAT THEY ARE NOT GONNA LOSE. THAT THEY ARE GONNA DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN. THAT THEY ARE GONNA REFUSE TO LOSE. BY THIS ATTITUDE THEY CAN OVERCOME A LOT OF THE SHORTCOMING THEY HAVE BEEN HANDED HERE AT THE END OF THE SEASON. A LOT OF US ARE COUNTING ON YOU THIS YEAR, ESPECIALLY AS GOOD OF YEAR AS YOU HAVE HAD WITH ALL OF THE DRAWBACKS THAT YOU HAVE HAD. GO BRAVES!! WE WANT YOU TO WIN IT ALL!! REFUSE TO LOSE!!!!!
By Pete
October 5, 2005 10:01 PM | Link to this
When the leaves turn brown, the Braves lay down.
By Jim
October 5, 2005 11:38 PM | Link to this
Well Furman if the veteran’s are what we’re living or dying on…. we’re dead…
Say what you want, the rookies got us here… not the Brian Jordans or Johnny Estradas…..
The two of those (not to mention the wonderful and venerable Julio) simply fell on their swords today…
Bobby’s loyalty to washed up vets will again cost him and the team a chance to win this thing if he doesn’t have a rebirth and wake up….
By Jim
October 6, 2005 03:41 PM | Link to this
The problem isn’t the kids, it is Bobby’s inability to follow thru with the kids who got us here…. bringing Jordan in and sitting the blazing hot Langerhans, using gun shy Estrada instead of the clutch hitting McCann… maybe he gets a pass on Julio until the leftie is gone….
No Furman, as much as I respect you, the problem here is that Cox goes against the grain and the record is clear in 13 years, he only got it right once… and that, he owes to the soon to be banned David Justice…
All his easy going genius cannot buy him anything more than a cup of coffee at playoff time….
Until Cox stops the insane loyal to a fault thing we have no chance… ride the hot horse is all you can do…
I think history will show that Cox would have sat down Lou Gherig after Wally Pip came back…. want to wager that? You know, that old dumb saying that “no one can lose his position to an injury”….
Sorry folks but that ain’t how it works ….Wake up Cox before it is too late..
By Jim
October 6, 2005 11:35 PM | Link to this
Well well boys and girls… look what happened tonight with the three Cox sat last night… you know, LaRoche, Langerhans and McCann…
OK Cox can you see the handwriting in the wall? No more Estrada, Julio, or Jordan except pinch hitting and pinch running…. ????
Unfortunately I am afraid of his “instincts” to self destruct….
That “instinct” is why we only have the one ring in 13 years…
By Jim
October 7, 2005 09:44 AM | Link to this
Hey Furman…. the real “kid stuff” in this series has been Bobby’s absurd “kid stuff” lineup Wed night….
It is time for Cox to “grow up” in his managing and play the “kids” that won this division for us and fuel and oil this team…
No time for “kid stuff” in this series should refer to NOTHING BUT COX’S ABSURD LINEUP….
Give the megaphone to Jordan and the pinch hitting lumber to Julio… Estrad is now no better than an occasional bat and a support for McCann..Thank Ersted for that, but it is reality…
Smoltz’s praise for McCann behind the plate says legions… and his bat said the rest…. period
Langerhans hit .293 or so against Lefties… how about Jordan?
LaRoche….hot hot hot…
OK…got the picture Cox…. ???
If not go ahead and make your plans for next week, for that will inevitably guarantee that St. Louis won’t be in your itenerary…