Well, the bullpen is coming together, as I prophesized. That’s two from Oakland while Cleveland and the Yankees beat up on each other. After two more games with Oakland comes two with Cleveland and 4 with the Yankees.
Should be a fun few weeks ahead of us!
Sir, check your numbers, that beating was very one sided. Cleveland lost all three. The strength of their staff could not overcome the Yankee hitters and our much maligned starters kept their bats dormant.
Jim
Oh, for a third starter. This is like the old days of “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”
“Hudson and Smoltz and pray for…”
No no, actually Carlyle has been pitching surprisingly well of late. I’m still confident that in the long haul the Braves are going to take this division. Or at the very least wrap up the wildcard spot.
Okay I have been watching this thread for a while, as My team plays over expectations, knowing that as soon as I brag on them the dream will quickly end. but GO ROCKIES!!!
They had a surprising first 2/3s of the season last year, staying within possible striking range of the playoffs until about this time last year. Then a bad streak and it was all over. This year as of now they are in an even better place. A bit off the wildcard, and in range on the division. They have been pretty damn hot the last couple months, even against good competition(First team to sweep a series at both the Yanks and Mets in a sinlge season in like 30 years or something). They are showing a talented scouting system the last couple years with young stud after young stud comming up and have success in hitting, and amazingly even pitching.
I don’t know if they will make it this year, but I hope they finally make a move this offseason and open the pocket books for some premiere veteran talent. I see them a lot like Detroit a couple years ago. Detroit gathered up some good young talent both hitting and pitching then added some good free-agents like Pudge, and become an elite team.
of course I have jinxed it now, so let the 15 game losing streak commence…
The last true pennant race ever between two great teams, and damned if it wasn’t one of the greatest pennant races ever.
I miss the days when 162 games was considered enough to resolve the question of which team was better.
I understand you can get Jason Giambi cheap in the off-season. The Yanks would gift wrap him in $5 to $10 million. They would like back a nice bag of balls or maybe a single A prospect or 2. 
Jim
While this is Andruw’s worst year since about 1997, the fact is that his BA is only a fraction of his offensive value. (My back-of-the-envelope guesstimate: ~40%.) His OBP and slugging avg. are 100 and 200 points, respectively, above his BA, so he’s giving decent value even in a bad year.
If the Braves wanted to trade him for, say, Nats CF Nook Logan, who’s hitting .275, but without much in the way of walks or power (.327 OBP, .358 SLG), they’d be out of their minds, even if this season represented Andruw’s true level of ability, rather than being an off year for him.
I’ll chime in for you, wolfman: the Rockies have been impressive this year. Nothing spectacular, but hard-nosed and not willing to fold. I think there’s some confidence there. I don’t think they’ll get the division or wild card, but I don’t foresee a long losing streak either.
spoke-, I honestly see last night’s game as a snap shot of the Braves this year: they played well, but came up short in the end. There’s just not enough ‘oomph’ there, notwithstanding the top two spots in their rotation (nice to see Hudson return to form; he was a favorite out here).
I’ll also second or third the thoughts about the 1993 race between the Giants and Braves. I’ve long thought of 1993 as “the last great season” for a lot of reasons: that race in the NL West was epic; the Phillies took one of the most colorful teams in recent memory to the Series; Toronto became the first team to repeat as champion in a long time. And of course, it was the last season before the 1994 strike created that severe dividing line between then and now. (Or was it a lockout? I can’t remember anymore.) Those are good memories, even if the team I wanted to see win (SF) did not make it. (Salomon Torres, crushed in LA on the last day of the season. I sure as hell remember that.)
As a Yankees fan (not a rabid fan, but I still care enough to watch a check the standings semi-regularly), I’m pleasantly surprised at how the team is doing. I’ve been expecting an utter collapse for a while now, and my fears seemed to be coming true earlier this year. Now, I think they have a better than even chance of making the playoffs (not that I expect them to go very deep one they get there).