AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2005 > October > 05
Wednesday, October 5, 2005
Team keeps using worn Game 1 plot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Move along, folks. There’s nothing new to see here. Nothing except another Braves’ playoff opener, another putrid performance therein.
We keep hearing this is a new and vibrant team, but nothing about Game 1 was new or vibrant. On the contrary, it was the same old same old writ lousy and large. The Braves’ starting pitcher got outpitched. The Braves’ lineup got outhit. The Braves’ bullpen reeked. The Braves’ stadium was conspicuously unfilled. The seasons change, but somehow Game 1 of the Division Series never does.
This marked the fourth consecutive Braves postseason — and sixth of the past seven — that has commenced with a loss. Some of those openers were utterly wretched, but this one reached a new low in the top of the eighth inning. Houston scored five runs, one coming on a bases-loaded walk, another on a wild pitch. That ran the Astros’ lead to 10-3, a score that was actually kind to the Braves.
Given that eight of Houston’s first 22 outs were made on either sacrifice bunts or double plays — and a ninth came when Brian Jordan reached above the left-field fence to snatch Adam Everett’s screamer — it could easily have been 13-3 or 15-3. And to think: This was supposed to be a series in which the Braves have the better lineup and the better offense.
Alas, October offenses are at the mercy of October pitching, and the Astros had way more of that Wednesday. Andy Pettitte was mostly superb, as you’d expect, and Tim Hudson, imported over the winter to be the No. 1 starter the Braves lacked last fall, looked instead like a No. 3 starter in over his head. The starting pitcher’s job description: Give your team a chance to win. Hudson gave the Braves no chance. Craig Biggio singled on Hudson’s second pitch. Ten of the first 17 Astros batters reached base. It was 1-0 after a half-inning, 4-1 after 3 1/2.
“He was way off his game,” said Bobby Cox, speaking of Hudson. “He was maybe too fired up.” So, to all those who insist the Braves lose in October because they’re too blasé, there’s the rebuttal: See what happens when they get excited?
Once Hudson exited and the alleged relievers entered, a bad day got exponentially worse. Poor Chris Reitsma, who yielded four runs in less than an inning in a Game 5 loss to a better Houston team last October, was charged with four more runs Wednesday. This led Cox to say, as only Cox can: “Reitsma couldn’t have made better pitches. ? He’s not going to throw the ball any better than he did tonight.” To which we can only say: Yikes.
Afterward, the Braves made their usual can-do noises about how this was only one game, and no team in the world is more practiced at pronouncing Game 1 “just one game” than this bunch. But now John Smoltz, who’s really good, has to beat Roger Clemens, who’s really good himself, tonight or this series will essentially be aborted on the launch pad.
The odds, oddly enough, are with Smoltz: After those five previous losses in Division Series openers, the Braves roused themselves to win Game 2 four times. The Braves, lest we forget, are not totally overmatched when it comes to this postseason thing. It’s just in Game 1 where they’re hopeless.
Toward that end, here’s a suggestion: When the Braves win their 15th consecutive division title, they should begin the 2006 playoffs by trying something new. (Clearly, whatever they’re doing isn’t working.) Next time they should forfeit the opener and start the Division Series down 1-nil. Bud Selig might frown on such a maneuver, but think of the aggravation it would save the Braves. And us.
Permalink | Comments (92) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
Seems like old times: no offense, an injured goalie
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Sunrise, Fla. — Eighteen months later, the starting goalie left early with a groin strain and the power play appeared to lack a pure goal scorer.
I’m sorry. But who said, “Let’s go to the videotape”?
One game into season No. 6, the Thrashers’ biggest problem is the thread still connecting them to years one through five. Scoring wasn’t supposed to be a problem, even with Atlanta’s best player still minus a contract and currently more concerned about stockpiling Pampers in his New York flat.
Health in goal shouldn’t be a problem, either, but Kari Lehtonen appears to be channeling Damian Rhodes. The 21-year-old rookie missed all but one preseason game with a groin strain and lasted only one period in the season opener.
Is this any way to start a playoff run?
Florida 2, Thrashers 0. Atlanta whiffed on six power plays, including a two-man advantage for two minutes that was wrapped into a five-minute advantage overall, which generally was wrapped into 60 minutes of frustration.
The Panthers’ goalie, Roberto Luongo, made 34 saves, but the Thrashers too often played footsy with him in the offensive zone. As Bobby Holik neatly summarized, “We just didn’t make it hard enough for Luongo to stop the puck. We got enough shots to score, but there’s two reasons [why we didn’t]. We didn’t do a good enough job screening or creating traffic. Traffic and screens. It’s not complicated. It’s not science.”
No, that’s the thing about hockey. It’s a pretty simple game. You score, they score. Simple.
It was supposed to be simple and more wide open this year with rule changes and stepped-up enforcement of the old ones. This was supposed to be the “new” NHL, the one with more flow, more scoring, more bells and whistles and twirling red lights behind the nets.
Maybe the new rules don’t go into effect until next week. Because Wednesday’s game often lacked flow and, certainly, goals. It was scoreless through two periods, and at that point the teams were scoreless in nine power plays (they finished a combined 1-for-14).
This was the kind of game in which the Thrashers could have really used a pure goal scorer. But, well, it’s that age-old problem of not being able to pry a Russian away from Khimik.
Unless there’s a break in negotiations soon, the next time the Thrashers see Ilya Kovalchuk might be on EA Sports’ “Russian SuperLeague ‘05-‘06.” He’s closer to the team now than ever before, but only geographically. He flew to New York on Wednesday night to visit his girlfriend and newborn daughter.
Atlanta’s next game is Friday in Washington, and general manager Don Waddell isn’t ruling out a side trip to Manhattan. If Waddell wants to show a flair for the dramatic, he can sign Kovalchuk the day of the home opener Saturday.
He made a point to say during the morning skate that Kovalchuk was put in the team’s new media guide because it is his intent to get the player signed. Problem is, media guide bios can’t skate.
“We’re hoping it all works out,” Marian Hossa said. “He’s a big piece of the organization. But right now he’s not here and we can’t worry about it.”
If they continue to blow 5-on-3 power plays, they’ll worry.
Lehtonen, meanwhile, did a nice job opening and closing the door to the players bench in periods two and three. He was bowled over by Florida’s Nathan Horton late in the first period and told coach Bob Hartley during the intermission he was toast. In came Mike Dunham, who did fine for a while. But he gave the game away in the third when his clearing pass was picked off by Horton, and he compounded the giveaway by letting in a soft shot low on the glove side.
Dunham: “If you give up that goal when it’s 5-1, it’s no big deal. But you can’t make that mistake when the game is scoreless.”
The Thrashers dressed 20 players for the game — 10 of whom had never played a game for the team. But roster churn didn’t produce a goal in the opener. Said Hartley, “We moved the puck well, but we couldn’t finish.”
The finisher wasn’t in town.
Permalink | Comments (25) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Thrashers / NHL
Keep the Super Bowl away
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Oh, no.
Not again.
Surely NFL owners realize that it still gets really cold, wet and dreary in Atlanta during your average February.
Translated: Ice storms. As in, why are these owners even consider bringing another Super Bowl to this place?
They got it right the last time. We’re talking about May, when the owners decided that the 2009 Super Bowl should go to Tampa (as in sunshine and as in a lovely vacation spot during the winter that jives well with the slew of visitors who come to a Super Bowl Week) instead of Atlanta (as in ice storms, period).
From an Olympics to an NBA All-Star Game to many events in between (hello, Freaknik), Atlanta has shown that its already clogged streets become even more so during mega events. Little stuff like the SEC championship game and the Peach Bowl aren’t a problem, because they are quick events, with only regional appeal.
We can’t handle the big stuff, when the entire world is involved.
So when the owners meet Thursday in Detroit, let’s hope they don’t lose their minds when choosing the location for the 2010 Super Bowl.
Give it to Houston or Miami, as in places not named Atlanta.
Permalink | Comments (21) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
