Getting An Early Start - GDT 10/4/2013: LA (Zack Stinky) @ ATL (Mike MAJOR!) Game 2

...so I can't sleep and I can't even really blame the last game. Either way I'm still awake, and as a nod to my favorite GDT poster of all-time (thedeathlesshorsie) I just have a few thoughts.

As ya'll know, I (and anyone who grew up with the mid to late 90's Braves) kinda got used to--and took for granted--the yearly trips to the postseason followed by the usual disappointment. Fast forward to 2013, and getting out of the first round has truly become my own sorta World Series for the Braves this year. I'm sure in a way that kinda thinking is rather silly, if not a psychological coping mechanism, but here we are. I was in fact questioning myself thinking this way until I ran across this post on the Mets' Scout board (morbid curiosity after the game? Hah!):

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Man do I love watching Atlanta just crumble EVERY SINGLE YEAR. If it's not at the end of the regular season in historic fashion, it's during their annual "one and done" playoff appearance.

For as "AWESOME" as so many who don't know any better make them out to be, I'm STILL saying they aren't anything special and by the time the Mets are better than they are, the Braves won't have won anything but a few division titles in a horrible division. As far as playoff series wins go, they'll have few if any more than we do.

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I dunno, I read that and afterwards kinda felt a sense of relief for myself. Obviously it's rather ironic (and lol) that a Mets fan would talk about crumbling at the end of the regular season, but I realized something; we (as Braves fans) have at least had the opportunity to crumble, choke, etc. Meaningful games in September? You can nearly always count on that. The Mets (and a whole other schmorgasm of the MLB)? Not so much.

So yeah, we're down a game and get to place our fates in the left-hand of one Mike Minor (was kinda hoping Julio would get the call in game 2, but then realized that even at 1-1, Minor would be pitching in a pivotal game anyway). And here's the thing (for me), given our recent playoff history, I don't even know how comfortable I'd feel even with a game 1 victory. So lemme tell you some things I do know (or at least believe, at 2 in the morning).

"Streaks are streaks," Bobby Cox once said (in 2004 or 2005) when we beat the Astros on a game-ending double play off the bat of Jeff Kent; this ended the Astros' streak of home wins, which was well into double digits at the time. The streak we are unfortunately on is a bad one; it's just that we've been losing games in the playoffs, but how we've been losing them that's particularly galling. And this totally calls for a gameplan, amirite?

Smoltzie also once said something that stuck out to me. In gist, he said that he preferred pitching in the playoffs because he was able to use the hitters' aggression against them.

Mikey, I know you're not Smoltzie, but I know ya can give us 6 or 7 out there on the mound with maybe 3 (hopefully) earned runs. If the offense can't support that kinda effort, then ya really will have had nothing to lose in your postseason debut.

One pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time, and one game at a time.

I do think we got this.

I am right there with you.

I'd be thrilled if we got swept in the NLCS if it means we actually got out of the NLDS.

Ok maybe I wouldn't be thrilled, but I can really really see the monkey on the franchise's back with the 1 and done early exit thing. I know these guys with the exception of McCann and Hudson were not there when we kept choking at home, but you can see the weight on some of our guys just out there pressing. The pressure of not only the playoffs, but to bring the Braves back to the NLCS let alone World Series is getting to them.

You can see guys out there being too aggressive because they feel if they don't make something happen that somebody else won't.

McCann had two swings for the fences today, Andrelton worked counts but K'd on full counts, Gattis surprisingly walked twice. Justin worked great counts against Clayton, he just couldn't deliver anything.

While I'd love to compliment this team on how good we are despite being so young, I don't really care about next season or the future. As of this moment, I want to
BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

This is a winnable game but Minor has to throw zeros until we score with this offense against grienke we can not create a hole for us to dig ourselves out of. Offensively, and I'm not sure if we can, stop swinging for the fences go 1st to third on a single steal some bases and hopefully stay out of double digit strikeouts for the game. Grienke is tough but he's not Kershaw and his postseason record is nothing to write home about and god do we have to get to Ryu and nolasco maybe we don't have to face Kershaw again.

Need to try something new.

This.

Means.

WAR!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNuNsKwG1RI

The 1st inning has been Minor's nemesis lately. If he can get off to a good start I think we will score for him.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Liked the way our hitters looked yesterday. Kershaw is just an all time great. If we come to play like we did last night we will win!

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Originally Posted by thethe

Liked the way our hitters looked yesterday. Kershaw is just an all time great. If we come to play like we did last night we will win!

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Agreed about the hitters looking pretty good yesterday. We need Minor to come up big.

Also the pen did well last night. Fredi did a good job spreading the work. No threw over 20 pitches, so they can all come back today.

So we have a long time til gametime, because I'm off today and will be bored most of the day as I have to clean (YAY) It's time to post random get you pumped music.

To start the day is the king of all pump up music used as introductions for everything from the lowest sports to the highest, For Whom the Bell Tolls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17HRV8k1YMw

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Originally Posted by thethe

Liked the way our hitters looked yesterday. Kershaw is just an all time great. If we come to play like we did last night we will win!

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Agreed, if can get some quality at bats and draw a few walks like we did last night I think we'll capitalize if Minor keeps us close.

I said when the Dodgers first got hot that they were the best team in baseball. Kershaw was tough, and Greinke will be as well. I'm still confident we can win the series, but we need to win tonight.

Excellent post, and I'm glad everyone is pumped and not too down after last night. Our hitters didn't look horrible last night, and I think we have a great chance to come back and take it out on Greinke tonight.

Greinke has made 3 career post season starts and has given up 15 runs (12 earned) in 16.1 innings pitched. With his anxiety issues, we need our crowd to be fired up tonight to get in his head.

I was not a fan of the Dodgers match up. Kershaw is almost a guaranteed win and will shut down any offense no matter who it is but unfortunately this team just isn't built for the play-offs right now. The line up is very feast or famine and is one of low averages and low OBP which doesn't bode well come play-off time when you have to manufacture runs. Also, we have good starters but we don't have that dominant starter that most teams have who win a WS. You know the Cliff Lee,Kershaw, Adam Wainwright(Thanks JS for never focusing on the future in your last few years) variety.

It may be irrationally rosy to say it after a game like that, but I think this team has showed a lot of fortitude this season and I think they will bounce back, win tonight, and take the series. All of the comeback wins, responding to injuries, stepping up to throw dirt on the Nats when they had the chance, responding to challenges from serious (losing a veteran leader) to silly (Carlos Gomez?)—this team has got some mettle and, dare I say it, some g-r-i-t. It's a young team. These guys will have short memories.

Kershaw is as tough as they come, and still, if McCann's ball had snuck over the fence, the outcome of the game might have been different. I hope they stay loose and keep believing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyGzPmgR1QY

I was at the game last night and it's always hard to tell but how was the home plate ump? The crowd was on him pretty hard and it felt like everytime a Brave checked his swing he said he went and refused to check with 1st/3rd base ump but when the Dodgers checked, he would check. Justin's first ab sticks out to me.

Another thing I found to be very interesting was in the bottom of the first the homeplate ump went to the mound and had a conversation with Kershaw. He was on the hill with him for a good minute or two. Did they show that on tv? Not sure what they were talking about but I thought it was a bit odd.

I thought Kershaw got a couple of calls in the first inning, but I was in a bad place to judge inside/outside.

I really don't see how we could get much worse. But Minor has got to give us a chance. He can't just give up home runs.

And we have to score early. Our success on offense depends on Heyward getting on base at the top of the lineup. I understand he was way overmatched against Kershaw, but he HAS to have a big night tonight. And we have got to put a competent defense out there. Don't put Simmons in a shift again, please. Hit cutoff men, know where you're supposed to go with the baseball. We'll have to just live with Gattis in left, but there's no excuse for not being able to catch that ball last night at this level.

I expect us to bounce back because we didn't win 96 games for no reason.

While I would be a little more satisfied getting past this series, I will not be able to stomach losing to the Cardinals again. So let's at least get to the WS while we're at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmXumtgwtak

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Originally Posted by tululush

I was at the game last night and it's always hard to tell but how was the home plate ump? The crowd was on him pretty hard and it felt like everytime a Brave checked his swing he said he went and refused to check with 1st/3rd base ump but when the Dodgers checked, he would check. Justin's first ab sticks out to me.

Another thing I found to be very interesting was in the bottom of the first the homeplate ump went to the mound and had a conversation with Kershaw. He was on the hill with him for a good minute or two. Did they show that on tv? Not sure what they were talking about but I thought it was a bit odd.

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The commercial breaks are longer in the postseason, so Kershaw was ready to go well before TBS was back on the air. The umpire was out there explaining that to him. Braves radio was back on the air during this and mentioned it. Nothing odd about it, imo.