04/20/24
October 08, 2002
I was walking home from a soccer game in San Francisco around 9:20 tonight. When I'd peeked in at bar's TV on the way to my game, the Giants were leading the Braves in the sixth, and I was really curious how the game was going. (A guy at the soccer game had a radio, but all he told us was that the game was in the ninth, and he didn't know the score.) As I got to a block with a couple of bars, I heard explosions of cheering from bars on both sides of the street, and that's how I learned the Giants won.
posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 02:03 AM - 13 comments
I got 3 out of 4 (A's lost to the Twins). And really, that was the one series where I didn't mind being wrong because I just wanted a small market team to make it to the Series. And I even got my wish of Barry Bonds shaking off the "choke" label this round. My god, that was a huge opposite-field home run!
posted by grum@work at 06:59 AM on October 08, 2002
Why oh why oh why was Keith Lockhart in that game for so long? All DeRosa does is hit. It looks like Barry Bonds has traded places with Gary Sheffield (or Chipper Jones) on the whole choke thing. While still mourning a bit, this is still the most up in the air (and by extension fun) playoffs in a long time. Go [insert surprise team of your choice here].! There's no stopping the Rally Monkey!
posted by trox at 08:21 AM on October 08, 2002
I love it when a community is following a sporting event so avidly that people are talking about it with strangers on the street. When Dallas returned to the Super Bowl in the early '90s, everyone in the area seemed to talk about nothing else. When I first traveled to Jacksonville to consider moving to Florida for a job, people in the airport were yelling out the Jaguars score to each other, which made it seem like an NFL-mad city. (Sadly, that appears to have been a fluke, considering the attendance of late.)
posted by rcade at 08:50 AM on October 08, 2002
Aside from the fan-value of having Maddux & Glavine win their 300th games in Braves uniform, is there a compelling reason for the AOL execs to pend the $30 million a year it will take to resign these guys? This team has won 1 WS in 11 post season appearances. Clearly the formula in Atlanta doesn't work. You can not win the World Series and spend $105 million, or you can not win the World Series and spend $75 million. Which would you do? And there will be no stopping of the Rally Monkey!
posted by herc at 09:57 AM on October 08, 2002
Once again, the Braves let their fans down in the postseason. The time for Maddux and Glavine has past. At least the Braves farm system is still doing well to develop young talent.
posted by jasonbondshow at 10:31 AM on October 08, 2002
Congrats to the Giants! So what exactly caused Atlanta's postseason curse?
posted by elsoltano at 11:34 AM on October 08, 2002
So what exactly caused Atlanta's postseason curse? My ten bucks is on Jane Fonda.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:44 AM on October 08, 2002
So what exactly caused Atlanta's postseason curse? Unlike failures past, I lay this one at Bobby Cox's feet. So the Braves weren't hitting. Two of their best (and proven to be clutch) hitters were wasting on the bench for most of the series. Julio Franco can hit generally, but if he isn't hot, it's time to give Matt Franco a shot. And continuing to play Lockhart for DeRosa seems idiotic. So what if he hit a home run (did he hit anything else?). Cox, IMO, sticks with people too long even when it's apparent they aren't producing (add Glavine to those above). I still can't see anyone catching them in the east next year, even if either Glavine or Maddux leaves, so we get to go through it again.
posted by trox at 12:23 PM on October 08, 2002
I don't know what caused the curse. My hunch is a guy named Bobby Cox. I don't understand why he platooned the Francos all season, then decided to let Julio bat against right handed pitching come the playoffs. Just another in a long series of questionable moves dating back to brining in Charlie Liebrant as a reliever in Game Six of the 1991 WS. This team cannot win with Cox at the helm. It's a shame that Maddux & Glavine squandered the majority of their careers there.
posted by herc at 12:28 PM on October 08, 2002
See, Mets fans didn't lose out in the end. The Yanks and Braves both got hammered in the first round. That's good enough for me.
posted by Prince Valium at 01:46 PM on October 08, 2002
Mets fans did lose out, the Mets spent a ton of money, and still didn't make the playoffs, only a dellusional person thinks two other teams losing in the playoffs is good for their pot smoking, joke of a team.
posted by jbou at 03:40 PM on October 08, 2002
Now, now, jbou...don't get mean. Take the HIGH road with your comments about the Mets. I tried too hard on that one, didn't I?
posted by msacheson at 05:42 PM on October 08, 2002
well I managed to pick all 4 series wrong... oops. Go Giants!