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Akkk! The sound of the Atlanta Braves choking, again
By Dan Chase
Who knew? I sure didn't. With the best record and what seemed to be the best pitching staff in the majors, the Atlanta Braves should have had no problem disposing of the New York Yankees in the World Series. Instead, an embarrassing sweep took the place of a potential second World Series title in a decade. But hey, I'm not complaining. The only Braves player I have ever really appreciated was the great Dale Murphy. But Murphy's days are long gone, and now there's a more cocky, annoying and poorly groomed Atlanta franchise. The reasons? Many. I think it starts with the owner, Ted Turner. If Turner were to devote broadcasting time to something other than Braves baseball, maybe I'd like him. Maybe he needs to rename his network. Better yet, keep the acronym "TBS"--I think it's perfect. I'll just give it a personal meaning: The Braves Stink. Then again, maybe manager Bobby Cox has something to do with it. Cox needs to get a clue. He's old, out of shape and spends too much of his time complaining to the umpires. It surprises me that he still is heavy set--he should have lost weight from all the times he made trips to home plate this season to argue calls. Oh, and what a nasty mouth he has! I couldn't believe all the times I had to look away from the television to avoid Cox's utterance of *%&#% and @^#*$%! Get a new vocabulary, Bobby. This is family programming. Now back to my allegations that the Braves are annoying, cocky and poorly groomed. To demonstrate the former, we acknowledge the fact that season after season, they make postseason play, only to get clobbered in the World Series. I'm a National League fan and I'm tired of seeing the Braves represent the NL so poorly. I want to see an NL team win, but if the Braves keep going to the World Series, it's not going to happen. The New York Mets would have definitely given the Yanks a better challenge than Atlanta gave them. What about my allegations that they're cocky? Well, I'm probably not the only one that thinks so. Just take Atlanta reliever John Rocker for example. In the National League Championship Series against the Mets, Rocker terrorized New York batters in the late innings, getting saves in the first and third games to help Atlanta to a commanding 3-0 lead. And Mets fans hated him for it. But they hated him for other reasons too. The way he answered Cox's call in the ninth innings by bursting out of the bullpen and sprinting to the mound like a sex-hungry puppy was definitely a sight. And once on the mound, he spat, grabbed and moved around too much. But what really made Mets fans--myself included--so upset was the third game of the series in New York. Mets fans wanted a win badly. Other than a shaky, two-error and one earned-run inning, New York pitcher Al Leiter did beautifully. Leiter struck out five, walked three and allowed three hits through seven innings. Southpaw Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine also pitched seven innings. After Mike Remlinger pitched a perfect eighth, Rocker came in for the save in the ninth. Rocker struck out pinch-hitter Todd Pratt, forced Melvin Mora to pop out to right-center field, and ended the game after getting shortstop Rey Ordonez out on a force play. And though New York was down three games, little did Mets fans know how their hopes would change in the next two days. The Mets rallied to win the next two at Shea Stadium and basked in the moment of seeing Rocker give up an eighth inning, two-run homer to Mets first baseman John Olerud. After Olerud's homerun, Rocker was not the same. New York fans could then laugh at Rocker's comment to the media earlier in the series, which was something to the effect of: "If we suck so bad, how come they can't beat us?" Sorry, Johnny. I guess you weren't as good as you thought you were. Another Atlanta player disliked by Mets fans is third baseman Chipper Jones. He also made comments to the media about Mets fans. But it didn't take them too long to retaliate. Jones made the mistake of telling the media that "Larry" was his real name. Every at bat for Jones resulted in harsh taunts of "Larry! Larry! Larry!" Finally, I dislike the Braves because they need to shave. To me, baseball is a classy and beautiful sport, characterized by clean-shaven and tidy ballplayers. The Braves obviously don't fit this description. Just look at their facial hair. Or should I say facial mops? In addition, I think a lot of the Braves probably worry about getting sunflower seeds stuck in their goatees. And don't think I don't frown upon Mets catcher Mike Piazza's mustache. I do. On the contrary, the Yanks are the perfect description of a classy ballclub. They are clean-shaven, hard-working and complimentary to the sport of baseball. They're a team of which to be proud. And their fans--unlike the bandwagon-like fans of Atlanta--are genuine and more loyal than any other set of fans in the league. One more thing and I'll shut up. There is no way in Hades that the Braves could have become the team of the decade even if they had won the World Series. Sure they've made it to postseason play the most times of any other team in the league during this decade, but excuse me--they choke every time they get there! That, and one World Series title does not even qualify them for the team of the decade. The Toronto Blue Jays are even better qualifiers in my opinion--at least they have a plural amount of rings on their fingers. But the Yanks aren't only the team of the decade. They're the team of the century. Since baseball's inception, they've made the game beautiful, fun to watch and most importantly, classy. The Braves have only distorted it. Oh and one more thing: I think they stink. |
Archived Months:
September
1998 |
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