I am watching the Braves...

and I have been a fan for over 30 years. During this run of the past 12 years, Bobby Cox has always been a manager that plays for the 3 run homer, as opposed to manufacturing runs.

In the postseason, 3 run homers are much less likely due to the pitching being better and the weather being cooler, therefore the ball is heavier and less likely to fly out of the park.

This explains why the Braves had nice offense during the Launching Pad days (Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium) and limited offense now excluding this year from May-September, the warm months in Atlanta and most places.

Here it is October, and it's chilly/46F at the present in Chicago. Not condusive to the long-ball. What works in the warmer months don't work now, and that is why Atlanta only has 1 World Championship.

 

i can see why you would be frustrated...but my question is...how are you supposed to manufacture any runs when you only get two hits? if i remember correctly, they only got a couple of hits off kerry wood the other night. this loss is not on bobby cox. maddux pitched well enough to win...but his defense hung him out to dry several times...and of course, the offense could not generate any runs. the old saying goes...

good pitching beats good hitting any day of the week.

it seems that the braves have run into stupid hot pitchers in many of the series that they have lost. Jack Morris in 91, Andy Pettite in 96, Livan Hernandez and Kevin Brown in 97, Kevin Brown again when he was with the Padres. and now, Wood and Prior. coincidence? Bad luck? tough to say. or maybe...the braves' bats go into hibernation as soon as the calendar hits October.

 

The defense definitely lets us down tonight, but this has been pattern over the years because of the old Earl Weaver method of managing isn't going to work in the modern post-season.

Ortiz pitched well enough to win to, but the same thing happened, despite the tiny strike zone.

 

Hate to say I told you so, But I told you so. Can you imagine what a good manager like LaRussa, Art Howe or Torre could have done with the talent and resources that Cox has wasted the past 12 years? I like the Braves players and their pitching coach but Cox sucks

 

To reiterate what law1ing has said, it's hard to manufacture runs when you only get 2 hits.

In fact, the Braves DID manufacture their only run on Friday night. DeRosa got a hustle double, then was moved over on a groundout to 2nd base, then scored on a fly out to center field.

Let me respond to the idea that the Braves had limited offense this year. Actually, they led the league in many offensive categories. They had how many players with over 20 homers and 100 RBIs? 5 or 6.

In other words, the problems the Braves had this year was not the lack of hitting.

I don't follow the Braves that much to even begin to guess what they're problems are in postseason, but they definitely have one.

I'm sitting here listening to AM750 out of Atlanta and its filled with Braves fans wondering why the Braves have choked so much in the playoffs.

Some of them think that the Braves have lost intense players. An example is John Rocker. He was one intense guy and he fired up the team. There is no doubt that the Braves players are calmer and tend to let their playing do the talking. The result is that the team plays flat.

 

dude, why the beef with cox? cuz you're phils are in the same division? i suppose you think dusty baker is a god or something. his managing in game 2, now that was an example of horrible managing.

 

i am sick and tired of this crap. lemme ask the cubbie fans. would you rather make it to the postseason once every 5 years and maybe win a divisional series, or make it 12 in a row and win one title in there? phils fans. same thing?

 

Art Howe? are you serious? he was a Billy Beane's puppet in Oakland and he was barely a .500 manager in houston. i won't even bring up the season he had with the mets this year.

As for LaRussa and Torre, i dunno. I am not defending bobby cox, but the manager does not pitch, hit, catch and throw in the playoffs. Joe Torre has had a ton of success in NY, but he has had the most talent year in and year out. LaRussa only won one World Series in Oakland when he clearly had the best team three seasons in a row...and his cardinals team fell apart against the braves in 96 with a 3-1 lead in the NLCS.

 

I have to agree with your opinion. Art Howe had 3 studs pitching in Oakland and could never get pass the ALCS.

LaRussa, for all the power and pitching he had in Oakland in the late 80's early 90's, he only won one Series. Last time I looked, Bobby Cox did the same thing.

Torre is the only one of the three mentioned that should get some credit. He did have the best talent for a few years, but he also managed in the toughest city in America and for the biggest prick in American Sports, Steinbrenner.

 

I would take the Braves record any day of the week over what the Cubs have done since 1945. No doubt about it.

HOWEVER, you still have to ask yourselves the hard questions: why have the Braves only won 1 World Series during their incredible run the last 12 years? Why have they choked so often during the playoffs?

Simply saying that you'd take that record over a losing one doesn't quite answer the question. It just ignores it.

As I said, I would rather have my Cubs have that same problem that the Braves have had. But that doesn't take away from the reality that what the Braves have is a problem.

Let me make it simple: if the Cubs win the world series this year (a BIG if), they will have won the same amount of world series that the Braves have won in the last 20 yrs.

Considering what the Braves have accomplished, that is a sad, sad fact.