Sunday, April 02, 2006
Same old doubts, same old Braves
03/21/2006
You digest all the angst concerning the uncertainty at the end of the Braves' bullpen, and you giggle. "Don't these people know it always turns out right in Atlanta, where they always figure out a way to close out games and seasons?"
You assess all the doomsday analyses of the Braves' starting rotation, their meat and potatoes, and you shake your head. "This is new? A year ago, it was one guy out of Oakland, another guy out of the bullpen, some others out of sick bay or the shadows. Turned out all right. It always turns out all right."
Yes, the cynics allow, but now Leo Mazzone isn't on hand to make it right. And even that makes you roll your eyes. Not so much because the Braves accept the challenge of proving they can win with Roger McDowell, too, but because these skeptics, with their toes dug a little too firmly in the real world, just don't get it.
The Braves don't play by the same rules as the rest of flesh-and-bones baseball. They are not about individuals, roles, billings. They are about a system, about consistently buying into an approach, about execution both in the front office and on the field.
So, come late September, we may again find the other four teams in the National League East wearing blindfolds, with their backs to the wall.
Expressing the Braves' simple philosophy, manager Bobby Cox says, "We like what we've got. We've done it before with pieces and we'll do it again."
Call it faith, and success, by osmosis. They've done it 14 straight times now, sports history's greatest achievement. Even the Cubans -- and we all have certainly gained a deep appreciation for their talent and legitimacy -- lost the 2000 Olympics.
By the way, this isn't an idle comparison. Cuba's World Baseball Classic run through a gauntlet of Major League star-studded national teams offers a valuable reminder: Names don't win games, teams do.
And that's what the Braves have been doing since 1991. So to dimiss them now because, say, Rafael Furcal has gone to Los Angeles is to totally miss the point.
If anything, the division may have missed its chance last season. Injuries and ineffectiveness panicked the Braves into working 18 rookies into their mix. It smacked of being the type of rebuilding, transitional season all teams must endure at some point.
The difference is, in the process other teams take a hit, step back for a couple of years. The Braves chalked up another 90-win season, put another notch in their championship belt.
Now they're younger -- half of the Opening Day lineup will be new from a year ago -- and set up for another cycle of domination. Average age of that projected lineup: 27. Does this sound like a troupe heading into any sunset?
"If we don't win this division, everybody in this clubhouse will be shocked," Chipper Jones has been saying all spring. "If I were looking at it objectively, I'd probably favor other teams. But there's something special about this clubhouse, this uniform.
"We walk out on the field and expect to win. I know other teams walk out on the field and they're hoping to win. There's a big difference. We expect to win. It's not going to be any different this year."
Well, the challenge will be different. Logical arguments can be made for both the Phillies and Mets, who finished two and seven games behind, respectively, having improved.
And the Braves can't point to evidence that they've kept pace. They've lost a half-dozen veterans and, with the exception of shortstop Edgar Renteria stepping into Furcal's spot, are replacing them with youth or journeymen. So there is always the danger of misplaced conceit, that this might be the time they're wrong about feeling they can survive with small parts.
Yet, it's hard to fault their faith, even when it appears to be blind. So Chris Reitsma may seem chancy as the closer? Could anything turn out worse than last year's Dan Kolb experiment? But the Braves survived that with a communal approach -- three relievers posted saves in double figures -- and are as prepared to adjust on the fly.
Reitsma at times seems too fatalistic to succeed in the role. To him, blown saves are a routine part of an often-cruel game, which is a good bounce-back attitude for a closer. But there is a difference between being able to shake off bad days and expecting them in advance.
John Smoltz, part of Atlanta's 15-year bullpen shuffle prior to his successful return to the rotation, understands that the task is difficult because it is the one element the Braves haven't perfected.
He, Tim Hudson and the healed Horacio Ramirez are solid atop the rotation. There is enough pop in the lineup to overcome even the departure of leadoff man Furcal. So there will be late-game leads throwing a spotlight on the bullpen gate.
"There's a perception problem in Atlanta with the bullpen," Smoltz said. "It's hard to let go of the past. As soon as something goes wrong, everyone says, 'Here we go again."'
Funny. That's what the rest of the NL East has been saying about the Braves since 1991.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
You digest all the angst concerning the uncertainty at the end of the Braves' bullpen, and you giggle. "Don't these people know it always turns out right in Atlanta, where they always figure out a way to close out games and seasons?"
You assess all the doomsday analyses of the Braves' starting rotation, their meat and potatoes, and you shake your head. "This is new? A year ago, it was one guy out of Oakland, another guy out of the bullpen, some others out of sick bay or the shadows. Turned out all right. It always turns out all right."
Yes, the cynics allow, but now Leo Mazzone isn't on hand to make it right. And even that makes you roll your eyes. Not so much because the Braves accept the challenge of proving they can win with Roger McDowell, too, but because these skeptics, with their toes dug a little too firmly in the real world, just don't get it.
The Braves don't play by the same rules as the rest of flesh-and-bones baseball. They are not about individuals, roles, billings. They are about a system, about consistently buying into an approach, about execution both in the front office and on the field.
So, come late September, we may again find the other four teams in the National League East wearing blindfolds, with their backs to the wall.
Expressing the Braves' simple philosophy, manager Bobby Cox says, "We like what we've got. We've done it before with pieces and we'll do it again."
Call it faith, and success, by osmosis. They've done it 14 straight times now, sports history's greatest achievement. Even the Cubans -- and we all have certainly gained a deep appreciation for their talent and legitimacy -- lost the 2000 Olympics.
By the way, this isn't an idle comparison. Cuba's World Baseball Classic run through a gauntlet of Major League star-studded national teams offers a valuable reminder: Names don't win games, teams do.
And that's what the Braves have been doing since 1991. So to dimiss them now because, say, Rafael Furcal has gone to Los Angeles is to totally miss the point.
If anything, the division may have missed its chance last season. Injuries and ineffectiveness panicked the Braves into working 18 rookies into their mix. It smacked of being the type of rebuilding, transitional season all teams must endure at some point.
The difference is, in the process other teams take a hit, step back for a couple of years. The Braves chalked up another 90-win season, put another notch in their championship belt.
Now they're younger -- half of the Opening Day lineup will be new from a year ago -- and set up for another cycle of domination. Average age of that projected lineup: 27. Does this sound like a troupe heading into any sunset?
"If we don't win this division, everybody in this clubhouse will be shocked," Chipper Jones has been saying all spring. "If I were looking at it objectively, I'd probably favor other teams. But there's something special about this clubhouse, this uniform.
"We walk out on the field and expect to win. I know other teams walk out on the field and they're hoping to win. There's a big difference. We expect to win. It's not going to be any different this year."
Well, the challenge will be different. Logical arguments can be made for both the Phillies and Mets, who finished two and seven games behind, respectively, having improved.
And the Braves can't point to evidence that they've kept pace. They've lost a half-dozen veterans and, with the exception of shortstop Edgar Renteria stepping into Furcal's spot, are replacing them with youth or journeymen. So there is always the danger of misplaced conceit, that this might be the time they're wrong about feeling they can survive with small parts.
Yet, it's hard to fault their faith, even when it appears to be blind. So Chris Reitsma may seem chancy as the closer? Could anything turn out worse than last year's Dan Kolb experiment? But the Braves survived that with a communal approach -- three relievers posted saves in double figures -- and are as prepared to adjust on the fly.
Reitsma at times seems too fatalistic to succeed in the role. To him, blown saves are a routine part of an often-cruel game, which is a good bounce-back attitude for a closer. But there is a difference between being able to shake off bad days and expecting them in advance.
John Smoltz, part of Atlanta's 15-year bullpen shuffle prior to his successful return to the rotation, understands that the task is difficult because it is the one element the Braves haven't perfected.
He, Tim Hudson and the healed Horacio Ramirez are solid atop the rotation. There is enough pop in the lineup to overcome even the departure of leadoff man Furcal. So there will be late-game leads throwing a spotlight on the bullpen gate.
"There's a perception problem in Atlanta with the bullpen," Smoltz said. "It's hard to let go of the past. As soon as something goes wrong, everyone says, 'Here we go again."'
Funny. That's what the rest of the NL East has been saying about the Braves since 1991.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
