Sep 26 2008
As bad as it’s been, winter’s approach brings dread, sadness
By Bud L. Ellis
braves.today.com
ATLANTA – For seven months, it’s laid the backbeat of our daily existence, from the meaningless exhibition games played amid the spring breezes of Florida to the frustrating losses in the dog days of summer.
And now, it’s almost over. Baseball season is drawing to a close.
Doesn’t seem right that the Atlanta Braves are embarking on their final series of the season starting tonight in Houston. In a little more than 48 hours, this season will be finished, and for the third season in a row, Atlanta’s players will clean out their lockers and head to the golf course, to the hunting fields, or home to catch up with family and friends.
Where they won’t head will be the postseason. Once again, the Braves fell short of reaching October, the place where for most of a decade and a half they were an annual participant. Once upon a time the Braves and playoffs were as synonymous as April 15th and taxes.
But that was then. This is now, and as we all can attest, the now hasn’t been pleasant.
It’s been difficult to watch this team on a daily basis this season. Out of the 159 games played, I’ve watched probably 150 of them. It’s been hard to bear witness to a team that was a legitimate playoff contender coming out of spring training fall apart at the seams.
I didn’t buy into the World Series talk bouncing around Lake Buena Vista in March; there were too many factors hinging on good health of aging pitchers. But still, even with losing one arm, I believed this team was good enough to win 90 games and capture the NL East title. Instead, we all know what happened, and as a result, Braves Nation has endured its darkest days since 1990. The injuries, the one-run losses, the overworked bullpen, the lack of clutch hitting, the death of Skip Caray … it’s been one thing after another.
And yet, now that it’s nearly over, there is a dread that we feel. While eight teams prepare for the glory of October, the rest of us move into the offseason. We’ll be shifting into that mode next week at Braves.Today.Com by looking back at the season that was – the good, the bad and the ugly – and taking a long, hard look at who should and shouldn’t be back in 2009. We’ll recap the minor league seasons, and provide commentary and insight on this franchise and baseball in general, while keeping an eye on former Braves playing in the postseason, the GM meetings, the Winter Meetings, the Arizona Fall League and, of course, any breaking news about the Bravos.
That’s part of the job of writing about a team in this day and age. News happens year round, and I’ll be here throwing logs into the ol’ Hot Stove all winter. But it’s not the same as watching games night-in, night-out. For no matter how bad this season has been, it’s still baseball. It’s still the Braves. And now, it’s nearly over.
And that stinks, regardless of where the Braves reside in the standings.
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