Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 29

Thread: Are we cursed as an organization and fans?

  1. #1
    Anytime Now Frankie...
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    1,452
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    624
    Thanked in
    345 Posts

    Are we cursed as an organization and fans?

    Hello all, first post here, been reading posts awhile since scouts forum went asleep. I posted on scouts forum years ago, like 10 years ago, but was banned primarily because I disagreed big time with Shanks on a number of things, mostly minor league player evaluation. I look forward to have good discussions on here, as I love my Braves and have been a lifelong fan, although I don't get to follow them as much as I used to.

    Anyway, as a fan I've been reminiscing a lot lately. Most of it probably has to do with all the HOF talk with Cox, Maddux, and Glavine being likely first timers. Those were the glory days of my childhood, I wish I would have enjoyed more of it at the time as it was special. Not to mention Smoltz on the ballot next year. Also I came down with the flu over Christmas and have been watching MLBnetwork a lot, and between watching Ken Burns baseball documentary and history of the World Series I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and going through a lot of emotions.

    Are we cursed? I mean, seriously had there been a team where more fluke things could go wrong? From Hrbek and air conditioners in 91 to the infield fly in 2012.

    I can except 91 and 92, it is what it is. We probably shouldn't have been there in 1991 and we played a great veteran team in the Jays in 1992.

    The one that continues to bug me is 96. We had it, and had it taken away. So many bizarre things that lead to the end result. Everyone remembers the Leyritz homer off Wohlers, but does any one remember the bizarre incidents and plays that lead to the big comeback, specifically Dye? What about Andruw getting rung up by Welke in game 3 in a critical situation, and what about the horrible call at second with Grissom in game 6 in the 8th inning with Chipper and Mcgriff on deck to mount a possible comeback?

    We know what happened in 1997? There are numerous others to mention through the years,

    But 1996 bothers me big time. I've gotten to come to respect those mid to late 90s Yankees teams more and more as I age because they had homegrown talent and grinders that knew how to win. That was before they became insane and become ridiculous at big spending.

    But how different would history be if we closed out 1996. We'd certainly be remembered differently and are for sure the team of the 1990s. Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, Chipper, Mcgriff and others would be thought higher of than they already are. Does the Yankee dynasty happen? You know Grorge would have gone ape **** if they lost, he already was chomping at the bit with Torre after we took the 2-0 lead. No Torre=no stability=same Bronx zoo. Also the front office would have been pressured to make big immediate moves so you know that some of Jeter, Pettite, Rivera, Bernie, Posado, etc would have been moved for an aging veteran.

    So that changes 1999, directly. 1998 as well.

    And most importantly, since that series we lost the swag and confidence. We win in 1996 who knows what happens. And maybe that deters Schueholz from making questionable changes afterward by trading Justice/Grissom for Lofton or trading for Tucker/Lockhart. I still scratch my self over those moves. Maybe if Wohlers doesn't give up the homer he goes on to have a dominant career instead of a guy struggling to find the plate and a career journeyman.

    And most of all, throughout the years, if the FO would have spent more time and resources on the pen, things might have been a lot different. Through watching replays of all those games, I feel sorry for Cox who had to rely on castoffs or overaged veterans in key situations.

    No one had the direct answers to any of my questions, but being it is bugging me so damn much lately hopefully we can have a discussion.

    And maybe talking this over will release these Demons off our backs and get us a championship, or at least some postseason success in the near future!

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Millwood1Hitter For This Useful Post:

    bravesnumberone (01-04-2014), The Chosen One (01-04-2014), weso1 (01-05-2014)

  3. #2
    Making Atlanta Great Again!
    #MAGA!

    Promises MADE, Promises KEPT!
    The Chosen One's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    School of Hard Cox
    Posts
    25,337
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    8,593
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    9,752
    Thanked in
    5,746 Posts
    I think we're somewhat cursed. I don't know what to attribute it to, to be honest.

    MikeAdams just thinks we have the worst luck in the world. I happen to think we just have guys not performing in the playoffs when we need them to recently (see: Chipper, Medlen, Upton, Carpenter, Teheran).

    Freddy Garcia of all people puts up a better performance against Kershaw than Medlen does.
    Forever Fredi


  4. #3
    Expects Yuge Games nsacpi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    47,433
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2,704
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    11,384
    Thanked in
    7,533 Posts
    It is the curse of Buddy Hernandez. He should have made the team out of spring training in 2005. Instead Bobby Cox went with Adam Bernero, incurring the wrath of the gods. They have yet to forgive us. I don't think they will until we put a reincarnated version of Buddy on the team.

  5. #4
    Called Up to the Major Leagues Gary82's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    SC
    Posts
    1,900
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    519
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    675
    Thanked in
    375 Posts
    At least back in the 90's we could get past the first fricking round of the playoffs.

    I don't think it's a curse. It's just bad performances by good teams. Sure there are things that are completely out of the teams' control like umpire idiocy, but previous plays could have rendered those moot.

    By the way, I'm still angry about '96.

  6. #5
    Called Up to the Major Leagues Gary82's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    SC
    Posts
    1,900
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    519
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    675
    Thanked in
    375 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by KeithLockhart View Post
    I think we're somewhat cursed. I don't know what to attribute it to, to be honest.

    MikeAdams just thinks we have the worst luck in the world. I happen to think we just have guys not performing in the playoffs when we need them to recently (see: Chipper, Medlen, Upton, Carpenter, Teheran).

    Freddy Garcia of all people puts up a better performance against Kershaw than Medlen does.
    Medlen was terrible. Teheran was terrible. Minor was a boss.

  7. #6
    Expects Yuge Games nsacpi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    47,433
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2,704
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    11,384
    Thanked in
    7,533 Posts
    Little things make a huge difference. Minor was a boss because he (not a groundball pitcher) got two key groundball double plays. And then Avilan got an even bigger one later in the game.

    Minor labored through the first two or three innings, mainly because he couldn't control his curveball. Then he started throwing his slider instead around the fourth inning and was a much more effective pitcher from then on. Little adjustments. But he could have easily given up more than one run in those early innings when he and McCann were still trying to figure which pitches he had that night.
    Last edited by nsacpi; 01-05-2014 at 09:43 AM.

  8. #7
    Connoisseur of Minors zitothebrave's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    DANGERZONE
    Posts
    24,622
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,428
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    3,432
    Thanked in
    2,463 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Gary82 View Post
    Medlen was terrible. Teheran was terrible. Minor was a boss.
    I think you ment to say Medlin, Tehran, and Miner.
    Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to zitothebrave For This Useful Post:

    Julio3000 (01-15-2014)

  10. #8
    It's OVER 5,000! Braves1976's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    15,027
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    7,679
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2,207
    Thanked in
    1,642 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by nsacpi View Post
    Little things make a huge difference. Minor was a boss because he (not a groundball pitcher) got two key groundball double plays. And then Avilan got an even bigger one later in the game.

    Minor labored through the first two or three innings, mainly because he couldn't control his curveball. Then he started throwing his slider instead around the fourth inning and was a much more effective pitcher from then on. Little adjustments. But he could have easily given up more than one run in those early innings when he and McCann were still trying to figure which pitches he had that night.
    Good point about the little things, but Minor deserves more credit here. If not for a bad relay, then Minor doesn't even give up that first inning run. That's also one of those little things that make a difference. Minor's performance reminded me of his game vs the Cardinals after Huddy went down. Which started our 14 game winning streak too.

    BTW, I recently watched the replay of game two online. It's the only one from the NLDS I wanted to see again.
    Last edited by Braves1976; 01-05-2014 at 10:08 AM.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Braves1976 For This Useful Post:

    zitothebrave (01-05-2014)

  12. #9
    Connoisseur of Minors zitothebrave's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    DANGERZONE
    Posts
    24,622
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,428
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    3,432
    Thanked in
    2,463 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Braves1976 View Post
    Good point about the little things, but Minor deserves more credit here. If not for a bad relay, then Minor doesn't even give up that first inning run. That's also one of those little things that make a difference. Minor's performance reminded me of his game vs the Cardinals after Huddy went down. Which started our 14 game winning streak too.

    BTW, I recently watched the replay of game two online. It's the only one from the NLDS I wanted to see again.
    Minor reminds me of Glavine interms of his demeanor on the mound. Maybe a little more Maddux, but certainly not a full blown excitable guy like Medlen. He has like a calmness about him that stops him from over pitching, but he is out there with the intention of attacking hitters and winning. I hope we're wiser next year and use Minor as the tone setter. I think we still lose game 1 with him on the mound cause we couldn't hit Kershaw to save our lives, but I think moving Julio to 2 (so he could start game 2 in Atlanta not game 3 in LA) and then have Medlen ready to go for either the rubber match ro keep the series alive. Also sets up Medlen to pitch game one of the NLCS which assuming we had to travel to St. Louis would have been better.
    Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg

  13. #10
    Called Up to the Major Leagues AUTiger7222's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Cullman, AL
    Posts
    2,036
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    437
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    181
    Thanked in
    137 Posts
    If you ever need to be reminded of everything that went wrong for the Braves after they got up 2-0 on the Yankees in 1996 just watch the first 10 or 15 minutes of this video. It's so painful. I watched this game the other night just to remind myself what it felt like when the Braves used to be able to get out of the 1st round of the playoffs. Also I like Millwood fan have been desperate to watch any old video of the big 3 going at it and aside from 1 bad inning in this game Maddux was on it like always. But of course that 1 bad inning was all it took as the Braves lost the game 3-2.



    But a trend that I just noticed about the Braves first round playoff exits is they always lose game 1, then win game 2, then always have a chance to win the swing game (which is 3) but always find a way to lose it and pretty much it's the end of the series.

    2013 - Won game 2
    2010 - Won game 2
    2005 - Won game 2
    2004 - Won game 2, won game 4 to force a game 5 back at home and then got blown out.
    2003 - Won game 2, won game 4 to force a game 5 and then Kerry Wood was untouchable.
    2002 - Won game 2 (7-3), won game 3 (10-2) and then scored just 4 runs total in losing games 4 and 5.
    2001 - Swept the Astros

    So you have to go all the way back to 2001, the last time the Braves won a playoff series, to find out the last time they won game 1. I'd venture to say that has played a major factor in the Braves not being able to make it past the 1st round of the playoffs.

    Another thing that has tended to haunt the Braves in the playoffs is terrible defense. We lost that 1996 World Series to the Yankees because of terrible defense. We lost the 2010 series to the Giants because of terrible defense. We lost the WC game to the Cardinals in 2012 because of terrible defense. Defense played a major role in the Braves losing game 1 to the Dodgers.

  14. #11
    Called Up to the Major Leagues AUTiger7222's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Cullman, AL
    Posts
    2,036
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    437
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    181
    Thanked in
    137 Posts
    I made that post on another forum and someone dared me to post this game so here it is on here.


  15. #12
    Arizona Fall Leaguer
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    133
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    13
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    47
    Thanked in
    30 Posts
    I think we're blessed. I have enjoyed watching Braves baseball since 1966. I can't imagine being without it.

  16. #13
    Anytime Now Frankie...
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    1,452
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    624
    Thanked in
    345 Posts
    There is a part of me that dyed the last week of October 1996.

  17. #14
    Fredi Gonzalez Supporter Dalyn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Your mom
    Posts
    14,077
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    6,446
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    5,802
    Thanked in
    3,408 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Millwood1Hitter View Post
    There is a part of me that dyed the last week of October 1996.
    What color?

  18. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Dalyn For This Useful Post:

    Julio3000 (01-15-2014), nocalgirl10 (01-21-2014)

  19. #15
    Anytime Now Frankie...
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    1,452
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    624
    Thanked in
    345 Posts
    LOL

  20. #16
    Shift Leader CyYoung31's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    24,244
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,032
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    9,990
    Thanked in
    5,481 Posts
    There's a part of me that dyed when Jermaine got traded.

  21. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to CyYoung31 For This Useful Post:

    AUTiger7222 (01-16-2014), jpx7 (01-16-2014), Julio3000 (01-16-2014)

  22. #17
    Arizona Fall Leaguer
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    California
    Posts
    172
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    67
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    71
    Thanked in
    43 Posts
    I'm pretty sure I'm cursed. Being a Braves and Kansas City Chiefs fan aint easy.

  23. #18
    Voted Worst Poster
    '13, '14, '15 (Co-Winner)
    Heyward's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    22,572
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,251
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2,257
    Thanked in
    1,831 Posts
    I believe so, im not sure what it is.

    But nothing goes right for the Braves while teams like the Cardinals get every break in the world.

  24. #19
    A Chip Off the Old Rock Julio3000's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    15,038
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    6,273
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    9,790
    Thanked in
    5,155 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by CyYoung31 View Post
    There's a part of me that dyed when Jermaine got traded.
    I plum tuckered myself out lol'ing at that.

  25. The Following User Says Thank You to Julio3000 For This Useful Post:

    CyYoung31 (01-17-2014)

  26. #20
    Called Up to the Major Leagues AUTiger7222's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Cullman, AL
    Posts
    2,036
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    437
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    181
    Thanked in
    137 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by jgriff3029 View Post
    I'm pretty sure I'm cursed. Being a Braves and Kansas City Chiefs fan aint easy.
    Wow. You do have it bad. 28 point lead. I feel at least a little responsible because I said that it would take a major meltdown for the Chiefs to blow that game and it happened.

Similar Threads

  1. Assessing Starting Pitching in the Organization
    By nsacpi in forum Extented Spring Training
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 08-30-2018, 12:41 PM
  2. More Evidence The Mets Are A Trash Organization
    By CrimsonCowboy in forum 2023: Celebrating Our 10th Year Here
    Replies: 78
    Last Post: 08-16-2018, 05:52 PM
  3. We will always be a second fiddle organization
    By Millwood1Hitter in forum 2023: Celebrating Our 10th Year Here
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 08-01-2016, 08:54 AM
  4. DOTW 9/4/'13: Is Kimbrel the best closer this organization has ever had?
    By ChapelHillMatt in forum 2013 Debates of the Week
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 01-10-2014, 05:31 AM
  5. St. Louis Cardinals - The Model Organization?
    By NYCBrave in forum 2023: Celebrating Our 10th Year Here
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 09-23-2013, 12:14 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •