Thursday, August 29, 2013

It's Hard to Not Count Your Unhatched Chickens When You're 13 Games Up

            I cannot believe baseball season is almost over.  This summer has flown by!  Maybe that is because all three of my favorite teams are doing well.  The Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers are all currently leading their divisions.  The Braves and Dodgers have considerable leads, but we know all too well not to take it for granted.  Remember 2011?  As late as September 8, 2011 the Braves were leading the Wild Card race.  The closest team behind them was the Cardinals.  They were 6.5 games back.  The Braves did not make the playoffs that year.  That was decided on the last day of the regular season.  The Cardinals went on to win the World Series.  That’s one of the things that make baseball so great.  Nothing is decided until the very end.  The best game I have ever watch was game six of that World Series.  The Cardinals were down to their last strike not once, but twice.  They pulled out the win and went on to win game seven and the World Series.  I felt sorry for the people who just do not “get” baseball after that series.

            I am getting a little worried about the Braves.  Sure they are thirteen games up, and playing very well, but we’ve all seen this before.  I wrote a while back about the Braves being streaky this year.  I’m still worried they will hit a cold streak at the worst possible time.  Plus, guys are getting hurt; really important guys and by really freaky accidents.  Tim Hudson’s ankle got stepped on while he was covering first and it resulted in a season ending injury.  Jason Heyward got hit in the jaw by a fastball while batting and he is out for at least the rest of the regular season.  By the way, my favorite hockey player, Sidney Crosby, took a slap shot to the jaw and missed a considerable amount of time last hockey season.  I’m starting to wonder if it’s me.  Hudson and Heyward’s injuries both happened at Citi Field.  Good thing we don’t have to go back there!  Last night a pitch hit Justin Upton and now he has a contusion on his hand.  Hopefully he will not miss too much time.  We cannot afford to lose anyone else. 

            They pretty much have to keep it together because…..I HAVE POST SEASON TICKETS!!!  Presale tickets went on sale earlier this week and I have two to the second game that will be played at Turner Field during the NLDS.  Of course it is yet to be determined when exactly that will be, but I will be there.  I am so excited!  I have never been to a post season game before.  I can’t wait.  In the mean time we will see how the Braves finish.  Here are a few things to consider:

-We have already lost Hudson, and Beachy had a scare last week with his elbow.  We are second in the league in ERA and have had great pitching.  Will it hold up?

-Will Jason Heyward make it back for the post season?  He was the best hitter on the team when he got hurt.  Will he still be hot?

-During the game tonight they announced that Fredi Gonzalez has started his original line-up 28 times this season.  Tonight is game 134.  Things have not gone exactly as planned, but the boys have done a fantastic job.  Will the back-ups continue to step up?

I hope so, on all counts!  We will see.