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Counseling Session with Smitty
Written by Smitty on June 14, 2008 – 1:38 amSounds strange, but: It’s OK. Take a deep breath.
It’s gonna be OK.
That’s the last thing you would expect to hear from a serious Braves fan in the middle of a 6-game losing streak, plagued by million dollar injuries, and 7.5 games out of first.
Sure, we’ve lost Smoltz for the season. And sure, the Disabled List is a revolving door that keeps getting stuck due to high traffic. Sure, we strand runners like it’s cool.
Sure, we’ve just tied the major league record for one-run road losses.
But you know what? It’s ok. Really; it’s OK.
There will be fair-weather fans who check out in July and the Ted may look half empty (or half full, depending on your personality). In September you will hear them say, “Oh, the season’s still going on? I thought it was over.”
But, still, it’s OK. It’s ok because it’s Baseball. And they are the Braves. That means something. It means that despite having a baseball’s worst record in 1990, there were a couple young guys coming into their own at the time. They went by the names of John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. Future Cy Youngers and Hall of Famers. And later, through a fluke, the Braves acquire Greg Maddux instead of Barry Bonds.
The Braves would go from being the laughingstock of baseball, basically of whom everyone would say; “Hey, at least we’re not as bad as the Braves…,” to being perennial post-season contenders. For 14 straight years, they were a force to be reckoned with. Every team in the division, and often every team in the National League, when considering their post-season hopes knew they had to go through the Braves to get to the Series.
Now, at this rate, things do not look well. In terms of beauty, right now, we are the elephant man.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up on this season. Anything can happen. Bobby Cox is a mad genius and has a way of adding two and two and getting nine. But again, things do not bode well, based on the current rate of X’s in the L column.
And I can’t help thinking how hopeful we are were coming out of spring training:
A starting rotation of Hudson, Smoltz, GLAVINE, and Hampton caused the Braves to belabor over who would fill the #5 spot. Decisions, decisions!
A bullpen that had a bona fide closer in Soriano and a wicked sidewinder set-up guy in Moylan.
Perhaps baseball’s best 3 & 4 combo in the batting order. Truly incredible switch-hitting power twins in Chipper and Mark Teixeira. (Who cared if we only had Tex for one full season—we only have today, right?)
A double All-Star power-hitting catcher. A Future Face of the Franchise™ right-fielder, coming off of a 100 RBI season.
But now, spring hopes have turned to summer disappointments. And everyone seems surprised. Noone moreso than the staff at BravesBlast.
Yes, there have been some bright spots; Escobar, Jurrjens, Campillo, Smoltz’s 3000th strike-out, Chipper’s offense. But somewhere, between a strained pectoral, leaving runners on base, a twisted ankle, a dropped routine fly-ball, an avalanche has started, with no end in sight. (Break out the St. Bernard with the little barrel of sherry around his neck!)
But if they don’t make the playoffs; (I know it may seem blasphemous to some of you for me to say this) that’s OK. They are still my team, and I will still be watching them most every game.
Go Braves. I’m in it for the long-haul.
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