One of the benefits of the 14 straight years of winners is the Braves finally have a fan base Do they masquerade as empty seats?
;) |
| |
Written By:
shark
URL:
http://
|
Heh ... as you know, shark, winning puts fannies in the seats. However, compared to the 80s, there are a lot less empty seats than when they were a perennial 6th place team. 15 to 20,000 a game for a sub .500 team is not bad, even in Atlanta.
I remember when I used to go to games where 3,000 fans showed up (you could pick your seat) and almost all of them were there to root for the other team. You almost had your own personal beer vendor ... which, on second thought, wasn’t such a bad deal. ;) |
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
|
Tell you what now McQ....the Bravos have a great offense w/ LaRoche and McCann. LOVE those guys. I’d move Francouer though while his value is still good |
| |
Written By:
shark
URL:
http://
|
Go Mets! McQ - you’re killing me with that one! Can’t you pull for the Dodgers or Padres? The last thing baseball needs right now is another subway series.
And yes, I’m bitter. A Red Sox fan through and through :) |
| |
Written By:
meagain
URL:
http://
|
The last thing baseball needs right now is another subway series. That’s an easy one to resolve ... get the Yanks beaten in the playoffs. |
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
I’d move Francouer though while his value is still good. Not gonna happen, shark. The kid has a 100 RBIs this year and a cannon for an arm (not to mention being an improving right fielder). Plus, like McCann, he’s a local kid and a fan favorite. I think the club thinks of him as the new "Chipper" in terms of a budding superstar.
Since the quit platooning LaRoche and let him hit against lefties, he’s been awesome. And McCann has been a total and welcome surprise. Kid can hit. And he’s a pretty darn good catcher too. Calls a great game.
Now if we could get some pitching to execute his game calling, we’d be fine.
Sounds wierd saying the Braves need pitching, doesn’t it? |
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
Sounds wierd saying the Braves need pitching, doesn’t it? Unless you were talking about their lack of a closer. Can you imagine how many titles they would have won with a guy like Rivera out in the pen? The only time we had a lock down, lights out guy in the ’pen was when Smoltzy was out there. But then we needed a power pitcher to start games in October. It’s been the one glaring area of need. Wolhers and Rocker were the best we could do?
And I agree with you on Frenchy. That kid is special, and once he gets a little more selective at the plate he’ll be a legit 5 tool superstar. |
| |
Written By:
meagain
URL:
http://
|
Can you imagine how many titles they would have won with a guy like Rivera out in the pen? The only time we had a lock down, lights out guy in the ’pen was when Smoltzy was out there. But then we needed a power pitcher to start games in October. It’s been the one glaring area of need. Wolhers and Rocker were the best we could do? Well in defense of Wolhers, he was a lights out guy, and then, for some inexplicable reason, just lost it. That happens to ball players occasionally.
Remember Steve Sax for the Dodgers. Lights out great second baseman and then couldn’t throw to first.
One of the most sad but memorable moments in baseball was when Wolhers tried to come back and he was brought into a game in Atlanta. The crowd was so with him it was amazing. They wanted him to succeed so badly. They cheered every strike, which were few and far between. And when Bobby finally had to come out and take the ball, he got a standing O. For some reason Atlanta fans loved that kid.
Rocker otoh ... well, you know that bit.
It’s going to be interesting to see how it shakes out next year on the mound. They have some promise. But again, it’s going to be middle relief where they need some arms. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh, and about Rivera. He may be a Yankee but he’s one of the most awesome pitchers it has ever been my pleasure to watch. Ice-water in his veins. Just amazing. A lock for the Hall of Fame.
|
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
Not gonna happen, shark. The kid has a 100 RBIs this year and a cannon for an arm (not to mention being an improving right fielder). Plus, like McCann, he’s a local kid and a fan favorite. I think the club thinks of him as the new "Chipper" in terms of a budding superstar No way. Francouer is Jeromy Burnitz w/ worse on-base skills. I don’t care about his RBIs, he’s the most exploitable batter in that lineup. |
| |
Written By:
shark
URL:
http://
|
I don’t care about his RBIs, he’s the most exploitable batter in that lineup. So was Andruw Jones at one time (down and away with just about anything and you got him ... you could predict both the pitch and the outcome).
But, to paraphrase Python: ’E got better!
Frenchy is much more patient at the plate (see his walks second half v. first half) and with Pendleton as his hitting coach, he’ll come around.
Oh, and you don’t get 100 RBIs by being the most "exploitable batter in the line up". Not in that league. |
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
"15 to 20,000 a game for a sub .500 team is not bad, even in Atlanta."
I still think it’s nearly astounding because it’s Atlanta. My father was in the color-guard the night they opened Fulton County Stadium. He told me that the stands were half empty by the seventh inning. When the Braves played their first game in town, in 1966, fifty thousand people showed up. The very next night, there weren’t thirteen thousand.
I’ve loved the Braves since ’91 (I hated ’em before that, and used to go to FulCo regularly in order to let ’em know, right out loud), but Atlanta never impressed me as a major league baseball town.
|
| |
Written By:
Billy Beck
URL:
http://www.two—four.net/weblog.php
|
...but Atlanta never impressed me as a major league baseball town. It never had any reason to be until ’91. |
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
By that standard, Boston didn’t have a reason for most of the twentieth century.
Atlanta sure worked hard to pry the Braves out of Milwaukee, though. It only took them thirty-five years to figure out what it’s all about.
|
| |
Written By:
Billy Beck
URL:
http://www.two—four.net/weblog.php
|
By that standard, Boston didn’t have a reason for most of the twentieth century. Not really ... Boston has a history back to the 19th century. Atlanta has one back to the ’70s.Atlanta sure worked hard to pry the Braves out of Milwaukee, though. It only took them thirty-five years to figure out what it’s all about. But they did figure it out. So what’s the beef?
|
| |
Written By:
McQ
URL:
http://www.qando.net/blog
|
"Boston has a history back to the 19th century. Atlanta has one back to the ’70s." Mid-60’s. And the Sox were losers notorious throughout the universe, but their fans kept showing up to get their hearts broken, generation after generation. That’s a baseball town."So what’s the beef?" You know...I’m not entirely certain, beyond my general conviction that Atlanta is now the East Coast’s Los Angeles. And there is something about that town’s committment to the Braves that has never really rung true to me. In 1989, I thought they were bums as a baseball team, but I certainly took the effort to get to know what I was talking about, and that put me in a very distinct minority which had really existed for a long time.
I might be curious about attendance figures next year.
|
| |
Written By:
Billy Beck
URL:
http://www.two—four.net/weblog.php
|
