AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > July > 25
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Turning back clock reveals ’80s-era hole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
The Braves turned back the clock Tuesday with ” ’80s Mullet Night.”
Now, I’m not quite sure why anybody would actually embrace memories of the mullet. I have no fond recollections of the ‘do, even when I had the choice to grow one. But I guess somebody in marketing just joined the crowd and burned out on celebrating past division championships.
Besides, the Braves are trying to salvage something worthwhile after the All-Star break. That does seem so ’80s, doesn’t it?
So turn back the clock on this: After going 7-2 on a road trip to revive a spark of a flicker of a crack of faint light of hope, the Braves proceeded to remind us what this scramble is going to be like. To open a homestand they were terrorized by Cody Ross (solo home runs in his first two at-bats) and tamed by Anibal Sanchez (one run in seven innings). For what it’s worth, no team has ever been terrorized by a Cody and tamed by an Anibal and made the playoffs.
The Braves lost to Florida, 2-1, which means they’re 6-5 against a team that’s 41-46 against everybody else. Sure, that’ll get you in the playoffs.
This is the same team that hit .328 with 46 home runs and scored 150 runs in the first 18 games of July. So they return home with renewed hopes, and it’s back to bad-hair days.
“It’s a little disappointing,” said center fielder Ryan Langerhans, who was hardly to blame on this night with two spectacular catches as a replacement for the injured Andruw Jones. “The first game of any series is a big game, and you want to win and go from there. But I’m confident we’ll come back.”
The Braves have worked their way back into wild-card contention. The only problem with that is because they’re battling more than one team, it’s difficult to scoreboard watch. “I don’t know who to root for half the time,” manager Bobby Cox said. “If we get closer to the Mets, it would be easy.”
Good luck with that. There aren’t any teams between the Braves and New York — just the Grand Canyon.
After going 6-21 in June to fall 13 1/2 games behind the Mets, the Braves opened July by going 13-5. For their efforts, they reduced the Mets’ lead by only two whole games. Just imagine the first time you celebrated after knocking down all six milk bottles with one pitch, only to realize your reward was a choice between the whistle ring and the eraser.
They have dug a hole. For the division, it’s too big of a hole. Logic screams it, and the numbers support it. Some just refuse to accept it, or publicly admit it.
“We’re not chasing the wild card — we’re chasing the division title,” Andruw Jones said Tuesday. “That’s what we do, and if that doesn’t happen, then the wild card is cool. We don’t talk about it, but I hope everybody in here is thinking the same way. We have the talent to do it. It’s not impossible.”
The Mets started the night 59-41. If they played .590 baseball the rest of the way, they would finish 96-66. In that scenario, the Braves would have to go 50-14 to match that. A team that is five games under .500 would need to play .781 baseball the rest of the season.
No. Not impossible. Then, of course, there’s always world peace.
The Braves’ problem is that they have not left themselves any room for error. Their offense has been explosive to the point of ridiculous — 46 home runs? — but that didn’t figure to last, and they haven’t shown they have the pitching to overcome quiet nights like Tuesday.
And worse, they save the worst for Turner Field. They’re 21-24 at home, which is worse than their road mark (26-28). They’re also only 17-19 within the East Division.
Further, it doesn’t seem Atlanta is getting swept up in this wild-card chase (sorry, Andruw). The term “crowd noise” was a contradiction Tuesday. The talk is about football training camps opening, not catching Cincinnati.
Cox said he wasn’t surprised by the hot start this month. “Everyone feels we have a good team and we should be winning,” he said.
But at times, it seems they’re being pulled back toward the ’80s.
Permalink | Comments (29) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Jeff Schultz
The Tuesday Countdown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
10: Just back from vacation, which included swims in two oceans and a tour of College of Charleston with my son. For those who have never been there, the college (founded in 1770) is actually older than the U.S. The highlight of the tour was being told that, in the old days, good students were rewarded by being allowed to stand on the roof to watch the pirate hangings.
9: Which, of course, leads me to wonder what students might see standing on other college roofs. Alabama? Tennessee? Feel free to blog your own cheap shot. I’m just waking up.
8: I see where John Schuerholz finally acquired a closer (Bob Wickman) to help the Braves’ bullpen. Well, that’s nice. Where was this trade a month ago? We’ve all been standing on roofs, watching the Chris Reitsma and Jorge Sosa hangings.
7: If you don’t believe Schuerholz waited too long, it’s only because you’re comparing him to Billy Knight, who should’ve moved Al Harrington several weeks ago. Or months ago.
6: Nice to see that Joe Johnson is saying what Knight won’t acknowledge — that passing on Chris Paul was a monumental goof. Johnson to our Sekou Smith: “Seriously, I told him [Paul] I don’t even want to think about it anymore, what we could’ve done together. Because he’s the truth. … It’s unbelievable how far ahead of his time he is as a player.”
5: Tiger Woods is crying for good reasons again.
4: Just wondering: If Rich McKay is not going to get the NFL commissioner” job — and reports are he won’t — why not just pull out and avoid the distraction as the Falcons open training camp?
3: Greg Knapp is under more pressure than Michael Vick. Why? Because Michael Vick is not in danger of losing his job, and Knapp is.
2: Terrell Owens truly is special. It’s not anybody who can claim to be misquoted in his own autobiography.
1: A few more arrests and suspensions and the Bengals won’t have to make any cuts in training camp. Must remind David Pollack of the olds days in Athens.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
Services »
