Instead of heading to St. Louis for a wild card tiebreaker game with the Cardinals tonight, the Atlanta Braves are destined for ignominy. Considered a certainty for a postseason berth two weeks ago, the Braves now head into the offseason a downtrodden team, surely embarrassed by their fall from grace in September.
Leading 3-1 in the eighth inning Wednesday night at Turner Field, Atlanta’s touted bullpen caved in before the talented Philadelphia Phillies. In a game epitomizing the the Braves' tailspin, the Phillies tied the score at 3-3 in the ninth and went on to win 4-3 in the 13th inning.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, handled their business, routing Houston 8-0 and putting Atlanta out of its misery to claim the final playoff spot.
Wednesday's loss to the Phillies was merely the final episode in a tragic drama of ineptitude and frustration. This discomfiting story began a month ago with the Braves leading the Cardinals by 8½ games in the National League' wild card race. Since early September the Braves lost 18 of 26 games including their last five. That’s a script for total disaster.
Some fans will now be calling for the scalp of manager Fredi Gonzalez. They will swear that Bobby Cox would never have let such a collapse happen. They will criticize Gonzalez for staying with the ineffective Derek Lowe in September. They will question his toughness and ask why he didn’t crack his whip when things started to deteriorate.
That is utter nonsense. Managers don’t pitch or hit. It’s up to the players to perform, and the Braves didn’t. Lowe was indeed terrible, but heaping more pressure on one of the talented rookie pitchers was not the answer. It was not Gonzalez’s fault that Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson were injured and were unavailable. Further, cracking the whip doesn’t motivate professional athletes. Staying positive is usually more effective, and that’s what Gonzalez tried to do.
If there were a “least valuable” designation for this team, it goes to Lowe, who started 34 games this season and was paid $411,176 per start. In those 34 games he finished 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA. At least he admitted after last night’s game that he “had a terrible year.”
No kidding, Derek.
The other culprits in the Braves demise were the hitters who came to the plate with runners on base. In the last 17 games the Braves hit a deplorable .170 with runners in scoring position. Unless the starting pitching is phenomenal, which wasn't the case in Atlanta, no team is going to win many games leaving potential runs on base.
It’s fair to criticize the players’ performance down the September stretch. It isn't fair, however, to criticize the effort. Tim Hudson is one of the toughest competitors in the major leagues. The loss last night can’t be blamed on Hudson’s lack of effort. During the month he was the closest thing the Braves had to a “stopper.”
For the most part, players were busting their rears to turn the stretch around. Chipper Jones played through excruciating pain in his knee and still tried to maintain his role as the veteran leader on the team. Catcher Brian McCann hit very poorly after coming back from his oblique injury, but even the most casual observer admit the effort was there.
The same could be said for Dan Uggla, Freddie Freeman, Martin Prado and others. Not achieving one’s goal does not mean that one doesn't try hard to attain it.
Looking back at the season, remember the outstanding work of first baseman Freddie Freeman and closer Craig Kimbrel. If there ever were a time to award co-rookies of the year, this would be it.
The Braves will recover during the offseason and return to spring training ebullient about the new year. They have good reason for optimism. Jurrjens and Hanson should be ready to return to the rotation. The bevy of talented young arms will be fighting for a starting role. The front office is stuck with Lowe. Many fans would like to see him replaced by Randall Delgado, Mike Minor or Julio Teheran.
The back end of the bullpen is the best in baseball despite its failure last night. Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Kimbrel give Gonzalez great peace of mind late in games. That’s a luxury many managers don’t have.
General manager Frank Wren and his staff will certainly need to re-evaluate the rest of the team. Several questions remain to be answered: What about Jones’ health? Will Jason Heyward return to form? Would one or two big bats improve the offense?
The offseason will be interesting, and after Wednesday night's meltdown, it's officially here.
