A Fitting End to Braves Baseball in '09

If you watched the Braves vs. Marlins on Wednesday all the way through, you saw the season in a nutshell.

Braves' ace, Javier Vazquez lost to the Marlins for the third time this season. The Marlins were the only club to beat him more than once.

A pitcher the Braves normally crush, Ricky Nolasco, struck out 16 batters, tying the Atlanta Braves' franchise record for strikeouts against.

The pesky Marlins, whom the Braves have had trouble with all season long, virtually eliminated them from playoff contention.

All three points sound vaguely familiar. It’s happened all season long.

But the play that really summed up Atlanta’s on-again, off-again season was the one that ended the game.

The Braves trailed 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded for Martin Prado. Marlins pitcher Leo Nunez threw a wild pitch. An indecisive Matt Diaz broke for home, then hesitated twice. Once Marlins catcher Ronny Paulino found the ball he threw down to third where Diaz was sliding back to the base—out three, ballgame over, competitive baseball in Atlanta over for ’09.

It was a scene all too familiar for Atlanta fans this season. I wanted to shout random criticisms while throwing the remote through my 42-inch Visio Plasma TV. Thankfully, all I could do was laugh.

In my mind, the season was over three weeks ago.

This remarkable run made me “believe” again. On Tuesday night when the Braves lost and Rockies won to push the deficit to three games, I thought it was over. On Wednesday night, I knew it was over.

What have we seen all season long in Atlanta?

There was “lackadaisical” play in the season’s first two months, Bobby Cox said so himself.

There were brief moments of utter stupidity by the brightest future star in the Braves lineup, Yunel Escobar.

There was the baffling second-half slump of Chipper Jones.

We saw Derek Lowe look brilliant one game and clueless the next.

To further illustrate the point, we saw Bobby Cox make inexplicable moves and non-moves alike. How Greg Norton made it an entire season on a major league roster confused even the most seasoned baseball analysts.

The Braves have played mediocre ball in Atlanta all season (40-37) while being road warriors (46-35).

So, really, what is so surprising about the way it ended? Nothing.

Remember the five-game winning streak in late June-early July? They were winning their sixth straight behind Rookie of the Year candidate, Tommy Hanson when Cox pulled him in the July 4 game. Mike Gonzalez came in and promptly vomited the lead and the win.

The Braves would go on to lose their next two games, finishing a five-game winning streak with a three-game losing streak.

There was the series in Florida when the Braves seemed to be on their way to victory in the third game of a four-game series in which they had won the first two games. The Braves lost 8-7 after a Marlins' rally followed by a Braves' rally followed by a Mike Gonzalez gopher-ball in the bottom of the ninth.

The Braves would lose their next four games, including a sweep at home to the lowly Cincinnati Reds.

So please don’t lose anymore sleep over the way it “officially” ended on Wednesday night. Looking over the past six months, one could clearly see it coming.

Sometime during the season Joe Simpson remarked that a scout told him that this Braves team was “just good enough to break your heart.”

Anyone want to question whether that was spot on?

I didn’t think so.

This article is not meant to bash the Braves. It is what it is. And this baseball season has been about as frustrating as ever for Braves fans.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel though. Sure, it hurts like heck right now, but next season sets up rather nicely for the Braves.

This streak has shown many what this team can do with a consistent middle of the lineup bat and a top-tier pitching rotation.

That rotation should be back next season with most of those pieces in place. I no longer believe the Braves can afford to ship Vazquez off to the highest bidder. He was the de-facto ace all season in the ATL.

With Vazquez, Hanson, and Jurrjens back you can definitely expect big things from the staff again.

Derek Lowe will be shopped, although I don’t see any takers for the overpaid starter without Atlanta absorbing a tremendous salary hit.

Tim Hudson should be brought back at a lower salary than he currently makes. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen.

Kenshin Kawakami might be dealt if there are no takers on Lowe, but when the two are compared, I’d much rather keep Kawakami.

Most notably we have Jason Heyward to look forward to next season. The phenom is slated for right field next season and if he plays as advertised, the Braves will have a R.O.Y. candidate for the second straight season.

This winter should be an interesting one as well. There are potential holes to fill in the lineup; upgrades are needed at second base and left field; the closer situation has to be addressed as both Gonzalez and Soriano are potential free agents; the Braves must sign Adam LaRoche to a one-year deal if he’ll take it; and finally, they must get a legit cleanup hitter.

I know it sounds like a lot, but the pieces that are already in place for next season immediately make the Braves a preseason favorite. After all, with a pitching staff like theirs, anything is possible.  

We came close to seeing it all come to fruition this season, but alas, it was not meant to be.

With another good offseason and some tweaking here and there, next year might just erase this fitting end to ’09 from our memories.