Baseball Karma in the NL East? Let's Hope Not

First of all, I must state that I have never cheered, or been happy when an opposing player was lost with a devastating injury. That's totally bush league, and I would never stoop to that level.  

But with the recent developments concerning Johan Santana of the Mets, I have to wonder if Karma is finally setting in on someone other than the Atlanta Braves.

Face it, the last three seasons, the Braves have paid dearly for their string of 14 consecutive division titles.

2008 was the coup de grâce for Atlanta. The hits just kept on coming. No, not the good kind of hits either.

It all started in March when John Smoltz experienced shoulder inflammation and was sidelined for the season's first week. That was followed, nine days later, by Mike Hampton's first of his annual DL stints.

Even at that point, we had no idea what was about to hit.

Rafael Soriano, one of Atlanta's top setup men/closer, was sidelined in April's first week. He was followed five days later by Peter Moylan, Atlanta's other top setup man, being lost for the season.

Two days after Moylan was sidelined, Tom Glavine went on the DL for the first time in his career!

So to recap we saw Atlanta's ace, John Smoltz; top two setup men, Soriano and Moylan; fourth starter, Mike Hampton; and third starter, Tom Glavine all go down within the first three weeks of the season.

Smoltzie made it back in early April but was lost to the DL again on April 28. Between late-April and late-May, Atlanta seemingly outran the injury bug. But the Braves still lost Mark Kotsay, Martin Prado, and backup catcher Brayan Pena to stints on the dreaded DL.

Starting right-fielder Matt Diaz had knee surgery on May 28. He would not play again until late September.

John Smoltz had season ending shoulder surgery on June 3rd, followed two days later by Soriano's second stint on the disabled list. That was followed a week later by Tom Glavine's second DL stint of his career and second of the '08 season.

Are you tired yet? Yes, it was that bad. And I'm still not finished!

Chipper Jones finally made his annual trip to the infirmary on July 24. Three days later, Tim Hudson, was lost for the season with Tommy John surgery.

On Aug. 3, Rafael Soriano, was lost for the season as well, only to be one-upped by Glavine, two weeks later, when he was lost for the year.

So yeah, Atlanta was greatly affected by the baseball gods last season. It seemed as though when one went down, they went in bunches immediately afterward.

I wont blame the Braves lack of success in '08 totally on the injuries, but when you lose 3/5's of your starting rotation, 2/3's of your late-inning stoppers, your starting right-fielder, and the league's best hitter for weeks at a time, it's bound to kill your title hopes.

Now to see the Mets ace with tightness in his arm two weeks into Spring Training, it brings back rather unpleasant memories of a lost season for the Atlanta Braves.

But it also makes me wonder if what we went through last season could be revisited on a division rival. Or any other team in the major leagues for that matter.

Dont get me wrong, I would not wish what happened to the Braves in '08 on my worst of enemies. But there's something to be said for those baseball gods and their revenge.

Here's hoping that everyone can stay healthy in the East the season. I still ascribe to Ric Flair's philosophy; To be the Best You've Got to Beat the Best.

I'd much rather the Braves win the wild card or the division over the Phillies or Mets at full strength rather than to see Santana, Wright, Reyes, Hammels, Utley, or Howard go down.

Hopefully, Atlanta can take Dr. James Andrews off their speed dial in 2009 and actually compete with the other full-strength teams in the division.