I’d like to thank the umpires for completely screwing up this game. First they have the teams play in a rainstorm, then once the game was official, they stopped play. I know this is the only trip the Braves will make to Cincinnati, but come on.
Anyway, Jaret Wright was wild and ineffective, while Juan Cruz was excellent. Cruz has a better track record than Wright. Wright got the start, of course, and put the Braves down 5-0 without getting out of the second. I’ll give him a break on the rain delays, but it’s not helping.
The Braves had five hits and a walk; in five innings, that’s pretty good. LaRoche, who seems to be heating up, doubled in a run in the fourth, and Estrada, who leads the team in RBI, doubled in two to follow him… Not much else to say. If the Braves haven’t gotten enough rain, they get to enjoy the swamplike condititions in Florida now. The Marlins are back up to 2 1/2 up on the Braves by sweeping the Phillies.
Allow me to repost my comments from the previous subject:
Looks like Cincy came by this one the cheap way. You cut it the lead to two runs only to have the final 4 innings cancelled on you? This is totally the fault of the unbalanced schedule. Had the Braves a chance to go back to Cincy later in the season, this game would have been called a rainout before it started and then we could have seen who actually deserved to win the game in a doubleheader.
I’ll remember this one if the Braves lose the division by one game. The unbalanced schedule blows!
These five inning games have always seemed so cheap to me. Especially in a close game where you are fairly confident your favorite team is going to catch up within nine innings.
I was thinking about the 1999 Braves team today. I was wondering if you guys think the Braves would have beaten the Yankees if they had Andres Galaraga and Javy Lopez in the lineup since both were hurt they didn’t have enough offense. With the exception of Game 2 the three other games were all close. The Braves should have won game 3 but they blew it. Anyways it will be 5 years this postseason since the last time the Braves made the World Series.
The 1999 team was probably the last Braves team I remember that really had heart. I will never forget Chipper Jones single-handidly holding off the Mets in September, or Walt Weiss’ season saving snag in the 10th inning against Houston. However, it was like there was nothing left in tank once they got to the World Series. It certainly would have helped to have Javy and Andres in the lineup, not to mention Kerry Ligtenberg in the bullpen. Another thing to think about is what if Brett Boone played like he did in Seattle in 2000-2002 a year early with the Braves. That may have been enough to overcome the Yankees bullpen (which IMO was the major difference that October).
It’s hard to think that two players could make the difference between taking the series or being sept like the Braves were that year. I tend to devote more thought to what things would have been like if Mark Wohlers had not thrown three straight breaking balls to Jim Leyritz in ’96. Braves had the choke-hold on the Yankees in that series. Going up 3-0 on them would have surely sealed it for us that day. That dark day.
I agree with Boyd. The unbalanced schedule sucks. I hate it. I live in Columbus and it was raining like crap up here so I don’t know how they even tried to have a baseball game. I hope that Juan Cruz continues to make progress. From what I’ve seen of him he has great stuff. A little Leo magic and he might make Paul Byrd superflous.
I think it would have made a huge difference if we played Klesko everyday instead of playing Brian Hunter against lefties. We would’ve seen how good he is and we would have never made that stupid trade with the Padres in the first place.
Boyd,
I live in Brooklyn, and channel 80 on Time warner cable is the Yankees network. One day about two months ago I was flipping through from the food network, which is up there somehwhere, and when I landed on 80 I saw Mark Wohlers close-up. My first thought was “yay, Braves” and then of course came the “wait a minute, i know what this is”. Sure enough he delivered a pitch and it was Jim Leyritz at the plate. Ugh!
Free Juan Cruz.
Sorry you’re forced to relive that Troy. I’m sure that’s probably one of the most overplayed moments in Yankee history. At least you have plenty of Mets fans around to make you feel better.
This discussion got me thinking about other players who have haunted Braves fans memories over the course of our great run. These just stick out to me. I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten.
Top 5 anti-Braves villians from the last 13 years:
Jim Leyritz (Yankees, Padres) – He turned the tide in game 3 of the 96 World Series with his homer against Mark Wohlers thus propelling New York into a new dynasty, the Braves into one-hit playoff wonders and Mark Wohlers into obscurity. He came back to help San Diego smite the Braves in the 98 NLCS earning him the nickname “Braves Killer”. With a cocky smirk and one of the ugliest batting stances you’ve ever seen, how can you not hate this guy?
Eric Gregg (NL Umpire) – With what had to be the worst called strike-zone in MLB playoff history, he helped Livan hernandez set a playoff record for strikeouts in a playoff victory against the Braves in the 97 NLCS. He lost his job in that botched “walkout” attempt by the MLB Umpires Union not long after that and has been trying to get back in ever since.
Kirby Puckett/Jack Morris (Twins) – Their heroics in game 7 of the 1991 WS ended the most magical season of the Braves run on a sour note, but perhaps kept the hunger alive for the seasons to come.
Kenny Lofton (Indians, Giants, Cubs, Braves?) – He’s always given Braves pitchers fits with his aggressive baserunning in the playoffs in 95, 02, and 03. In 1997, he brought his malcontent to the Braves clubhouse in a trade for two very popular and loyal Braves, David Justice and Marquis Grissom. It was obvious that Lofton never wanted to be a Brave.
Craig Counsell (D-Backs) – Another guy with a messed up stance. Another guy who just baffled Braves pitching in their NLCS loss to Arizona in 2001.
What about Kent Hrbek? “Cheat-er!”
Reggie Sanders for coming over and leaving his bat behind?
Ed Sprague and his damn wife?
I’ve actually been working on a Braves Enemies List. (Sanders doesn’t count because he was a Brave when he screwed up.) I figure the first members are Leyritz, Gregg, Hrbek, and Bobby Valentine.
Don’t forget Drew Coble–the idiot umpire who called Gant out. Unbelivable.