As a lifelong fan of the Atlanta Braves, I can’t help but feel robbed by the results of the 2010 post season. The front office made some incredible moves to ensure the team had a fighting chance in Bobby Cox’s last season, and it looked as if it was paying off. After holding onto first place in the NL East for two and a half months, the Braves had to settle for the wild card after a suddenly red-hot Phillies team retook the lead in mid August, then went 21-6 in September.
Here’s what went wrong.
When healthy, the Braves had a solid starting lineup with a deep bench, formidable rotation and one of the best bullpens in the game. But key players just couldn’t keep healthy. Starting baseman and future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones went down in August with a torn ACL. This would prove to be huge. Not only is Jones a team leader, but he is the only current player left from the 1995 World Series Champion Braves. With a knack for clutch hitting and years of post season experience, I can’t help but feel his field presence alone would have boosted the Braves’ chances in the NLDS.
The killing blow may have been the loss of second baseman Martin Prado, who had been making a case for NL MVP before his injury woes. With the regular third and second basemen down, Cox was forced to tap into his bench. Backup players like Omar Infante and Brooks Conrad who were normally used in key hitting spots were forced to start in the field, ending with disastrous results. Brooks Conrad’s poor defense single-handedly gave the Giants Game 3 of the NLDS as he tied for a record of three errors in one game.
With key pitchers like Kris Medlen, Jair Jurrjens, Takashi Saito and Eric O’Flaherty injured, both the rotation and the bullpen were missing key pieces. The injury to Billy Wagner seemed to be the nail in the coffin. With no closer, the Braves were forced to send up a variety of inexperienced post season pitchers with the hope that they could pull through, but you can’t expect rookies like Craig Kimbrel and Johnny Venters to be perfect replacements.
I’m not saying the Giants don’t have a great team. They won the World Series fair and square with great pitching and clutch hitting. But, with Jones and Prado in the lineup, there’s no way you would see the sloppy defense and slack offense that characterized this playoff campaign. While Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner make a formidable front four, if healthy, the Braves rotation would have been just as solid, with the option for at least seven different solid starters, also adding depth to the bullpen.
Bottom line, fans saw the San Francisco Giants barely hold on to beat the Braves back-ups in the tightest series of the post season. Oh well, I guess there’s always next year.
-Joey Rabinowitz
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