The Braves run is over....

[SPTO]

....after watching the 3 game series between the Braves and Jays I have to say this is the worst Braves team that I can remember. The team does have a lot of young guys and that Ray kid is actually a pretty decent reliever but overall this team doesn't really have what it takes.

So seeing that the Braves aren't going to do much this year, is it time for a total rebuilding mode? Will Bobby Cox leave or be fired? (I can't see him sticking around for a rebuilding period) Will Smoltz be traded? I've heard the Braves may trade him for pitching prospects.

I'd mostly like to hear from Braves fans on this one.

[BGarrett7]

Re: The Braves run is over....

I'd mostly like to hear from Braves fans on this one.

The post I made after the loss on Sunday...

You know, last night when Frenchy hit the three-run homer, I said to my fiance, "that is the one swing that will turn this season around." Remember that game two years ago against Baltimore? End of June, five games under .500, sitting in fourth place everyone writing the team off. We fall behind 7-0 heading into the top of the seventh, and then it happens... We plate seven in the top of the eighth to move ahead 8-7, and go on to win 20 of 26 over the next month, and position ourselves perfectly in first place. I just knew that that one homer by Jeff was going to be the turning point.

Then Macay came in and embarassed Papi and Manny. Things were going wonderfully. Everything was falling into place. But... Wait... Trot just walked, and so did Varitek... No biggie though. We're still up three, Crisp is at the plate, and the big guns are nowhere to be seen. And then everything went wrong. So very, very wrong.

Six runs with two outs. And not just any two outs. Two dominant strikeouts of the most dominant hitters in the game. How does this happen? Why does this happen? How do you manage to strikeout Papi and Manny (LOOKING!) and then let up six runs?

When Lowell doubled in the tying run, I lost hope. Not just in the Braves pulling the game out. No, I lost hope in this entire season -- hell, I lost hope in everything at that very moment.

Francoeur's homer was supposed to be one of those magical moments you look back on years from now, and realize that it wasn't just some homer hit in a June game. No, it was supposed to be the homerun that sealed his legendary status even more so than it has already been. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be.

You know, it's heartbreaking being a Braves fan. Everyone in this thread knows it. We've all felt that October pain the past decade-plus. It hurts. It ruins your day. Hell, your week, your winter, your entire off-season. You know from the middle of October until the beginning of the following April, you are going to have to endure another year of someone else winning the World Series. Something that should have been done by us. Something we all talk ourselves into believing in. We know deep down that our hearts are going to be crushed again, but somehow, someway, we all will ourselves into believing that this year would be the year.

But not this season. My October isn't going to be ruined this year. No, this year, my entire summer is going to be ruined. It isn't going to be six months of, "ok, we lived and learned from last year, it's time to put it all together." No, it's going to be ten months of, "where did it all go wrong? What happened here? Is this really it? Are we back to living with mediocrity? Is it going to be the late Eighties again?"

I thought last October 9th was going to be the most hurt that the Braves have ever made me. Never did I think I would be hurt anymore than I was when Chris Burke hit that damn walkoff after eighteen of the most stressful innings of my life. But I was wrong. That homer just ended our 2005 season, it was just another phenomenal season followed by a disasterous October.

The eighth inning on June 18, 2006? That ended a legacy.

[Brandon13]

Re: The Braves run is over....

....after watching the 3 game series between the Braves and Jays I have to say this is the worst Braves team that I can remember. The team does have a lot of young guys and that Ray kid is actually a pretty decent reliever but overall this team doesn't really have what it takes.

So seeing that the Braves aren't going to do much this year, is it time for a total rebuilding mode? Will Bobby Cox leave or be fired? (I can't see him sticking around for a rebuilding period) Will Smoltz be traded? I've heard the Braves may trade him for pitching prospects.

I'd mostly like to hear from Braves fans on this one.

Our kid Ray is 31, back in the majors after about a long absence and is still our best reliever. Sad.

At this point I don't really know what should be done. If we just had a bullpen this year we would be around .500 so I don't know if a total overhaul is needed but something definitely should be done.

I would hope that Cox isn't fired. It would be sad if they fired him after all the magic he has worked in the past getting teams into the playoffs that many thought had no shot.

[SPTO]

Re: The Braves run is over....

I didn't realize Ray was older based on the way the Jays radio crew described him.

BGarrett I'm not even a Braves fan but that post made me very depressed.

[Brandon13]

Re: The Braves run is over....

BGarrett I'm not even a Braves fan but that post made me very depressed.

Now read it again and pretend that your a Braves fan.

[aukevin]

Re: The Braves run is over....

I would hate to see Cox fired and I don't think that would happen. I could see him stepping down if nothing sparks this team the remainder of the year. It's just a bad season.

Smoltz saying he would allow himself to be traded to help the team really bothers me. Ever since the start of last year I knew and said that Smoltz means more to the Braves in the bullpen now. It has nothing to do with his ability as a starter because he is awesome at that, but he is such a major threat out of the pen as well. How many times have the Braves lost games this year in the final couple innings 10-15 times? That the difference with the team right now. I don't know how many of those games are against Mets and I don't know if they would be tops in the division had they won those games because the Mets are good this year, but they definitely would be within a couple games to where a series would be the difference. Like I said in the Braves thread, if Smoltz wants to do something for the Braves, go to the pen. Trading away Smoltz would hurt the team's morale worse than it is now I believe.

Sometimes it seems the Braves offense can't get it done, but I think it all goes back to no confidence in the bullpen and that is affecting the offense. The deals I wouldn't mind seeing the Braves make could include LaRoche, Saltamacchia, Chuck James, or Horacio Ramirez. I guess you could always through in guys like Orr or Diaz too.

I just don't want to see the Braves start offloading the guys that were so key in getting those 14 division championships. I seriously think it would hurt the Braves more to lose Smoltz, Chipper, or Andruw no matter what "potential" you could get for them.

[Brandon13]

Re: The Braves run is over....

By the way, I hope this thread goes down in history just like the one Eli created about the Illinois basketball team getting knocked out of the tournament by Arizona in 2005.

[SPTO]

Re: The Braves run is over....

I just don't want to see the Braves start offloading the guys that were so key in getting those 14 division championships. I seriously think it would hurt the Braves more to lose Smoltz, Chipper, or Andruw no matter what "potential" you could get for them.

I understand the sentiment but realistically I think it's better to trade what little true comodities you've got in order to reload for the future. It's sentiment that makes great teams become mediocre.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: The Braves run is over....

The Braves are lifeless. The Jays did their best tonight to give a victory to the Braves but they just couldn't take advantage of the opportunties. They get the tieing man on 1st against Ryan with no outs, and then a player missed a sign and gets gunned at 2nd.

I know the Braves are way back in the standings but I'm not ready to count them out yet.

The worst thing the Braves could do is to have a fire sale. They have a lot of good players on the roster and the farm system is pretty good. Zack Minor would look pretty good in a Braves uni right now but too bad he got dealt to the Tigers.

The main flaw of the Braves is the awful bullpen. They're even worse than the Jays and Red Sox. The Braves have prospects like Saltamacchia, Escobar, and Andrus that should be offered up in trades for bullpen help.

I'm sure Schuerholz will make the right decisions.

[bravosfan]

Re: The Braves run is over....

The Braves have prospects like Saltamacchia, Escobar, and Andrus that should be offered up in trades for bullpen help.

God, I hope not. Those are some of our best prospects, I don't want to see the future traded away just so we can finish in 2nd or 3rd place instead of last.

If anyone gets traded for relief help, it'll probably be Giles.

[skitch]

Re: The Braves run is over....

The eighth inning on June 18, 2006? That ended a legacy.[/I]

That pretty much sums up my thinking, as well.

It's been a fantastic run by the Bravos, piecing division title after division title together. The one constant, Bobby Cox, has held the different teams together beautifully, and I will always admire the work he has done for the organization.

With that said, I think it's safe to say we can close the books on the 2006 Atlanta Braves. Although they are far and away my favorite team in the majors, I don't see them doing anything at all for the rest of the season. Bobby won't be fired, Atlanta owes him that much. He'll eventually walk away under his own power, hopefully before he has to endure too many more of these seasons.

[rsox]

Re: The Braves run is over....

While i don't expect a fire sale i would not be surprised to see the Braves trade some of their players. John Thomson, Horacio Ramirez and Jorge Sosa will likely be on the block. Marcus Giles, Adam LaRoche and Ryan Langerhans will probably be available also. The Braves will also have to make a decision about Andruw Jones. Jones is a free agent after next season and unless the new owner increases payroll the Braves will not be able to even try and re-sign him. If the Braves do try to trade Andruw it probably won't be until after the season.

As for Smoltz wanting to leave Atlanta, he sees the writing on the wall. the Braves are in shambles right now and Smoltz probably only has maybe 2 or 3 more years left in him, his window for a chance at another championship is closing so if it takes playing somewhere else to get the chance, then that is what he is willing to do.

However, Schuerholz has said he has no intentions of trading Smoltz. But i'm willing to bet if the right deal comes around he will be more than willing to listen.

[stalsy2310]

Re: The Braves run is over....

I said in the beginning of the season and made a bet with my friend that the braves run is over and the mets will win the division.........looks like im right so far.

[Tomahawk]

Re: The Braves run is over....

I said in the beginning of the season and made a bet with my friend that the braves run is over and the mets will win the division.........looks like im right so far.

WOW......they've been saying it for 15 years and you are the one who finally got it right. Congrats to you and the Brew crew. I said before the season I didn't think the Brewers would finish above .500 ..... wonder how many seasons I've gotten that right so far, Bud?

[TheMatrix31]

Re: The Braves run is over....

**sigh**

Don't know what to say...