Atlanta Braves...

[HatCityEnforcer]

14 straight (when a champion was declared).  Or is this just semantics?

When people say 14 straight, this is what they mean.

As for my general opinion on the Braves, see what Tank said.

I notice a few parallels between the Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers of the late '40s and '50s.

From 1945-1957, the Dodgers were 1-5 in World Series.

Since 1991, the Braves have been 1-4 in World Series.

The Dodgers never finished below 3rd in any year from 1945-1957

The Braves have had at least the 3rd best record every year in the NL since 1991 except 2001.

If people are going to call the Braves of the past decade+ a bunch of mediocre chokers, they should also call the Dodgers likewise.

The thing is....

Those Dodger teams lost to arguably some of the greatest teams of all time (as much as I hate the Yanks, those teams of that era were spectacular)...

The Braves have made a living losing to teams that had, quite frankly, no business being able to make it a series against them on paper.

The Bums ran into a buzzsaw...

The Braves underachieved in the biggest moments...

[See Red]

Last time I checked, David Wells, Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement and Mike Timlin weren't that bad.

And yes, the #1 offense in the MLB being outduelled 3 times in a row is choking.

Not when said team didn't deserve to be in the playoffs to begin with.

I don't know what Clement you'd watched in the second half, but he had been flatout awful down the stretch. As for Wells, he pitched good enough to win -- he just had an error by a player that rarely commits errors. If you give teams extra chances, they will beat you.

They didn't deserve to be in the playoffs -- next year, they'll retool and be a better baseball team.

[Jigga]

At least the Yankees have the Red Sox (and Orioles) to fend off

You said Orioles...that's funny.

[CC97]

At least the Yankees have the Red Sox (and Orioles) to fend off

You said Orioles...that's funny.

Once again, no respect for us up North

The Jays have finished ahead of the Orioles in 7 of the past 8 seasons.

[VitaminD]

At least the Yankees have the Red Sox (and Orioles) to fend off

You said Orioles...that's funny.

Once again, no respect for us up North

The Jays have finished ahead of the Orioles in 7 of the past 8 seasons.

I was referring to the O's in the historical context; when the Yankees started this run back in '96, the Orioles were the team they beat in the playoffs.

And no offense, CC, but I suffer from total amnesia about Canadian baseball, ever since '93, when something happened that I can no longer remember. But it definitely involved a Phillies game in Toronto, late in the season. Or am I hallucinating again?

[HatCityEnforcer]

Last time I checked, David Wells, Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement and Mike Timlin weren't that bad.

And yes, the #1 offense in the MLB being outduelled 3 times in a row is choking.

Not when said team didn't deserve to be in the playoffs to begin with.

I don't know what Clement you'd watched in the second half, but he had been flatout awful down the stretch. As for Wells, he pitched good enough to win -- he just had an error by a player that rarely commits errors. If you give teams extra chances, they will beat you.

They didn't deserve to be in the playoffs -- next year, they'll retool and be a better baseball team.

Clement wasn't the same pitcher after he got clocked by Carl Crawford's comebacker...just seemed really really gunshy after that.

As for Wells and Game 2...you can blame part of it on Graffinino's error, but a bit has to go to Wells for thinking it was a good idea to slide step before throwing that curve to Iguchi.

Still, out of those 3 games vs. Chicago, Boston only got ripped apart in Game 1...they had AMPLE chances to win the other 2 games.

Somehow, I think the lack of hitting by folks not named Ortiz or Ramirez had a lot more to do with the fact that maybe the White Sox pitching staff was a lot better than many of us thought about a week ago.

[-kj]

"Choke" is one of the most mis-used and over-used words when it comes to sports. A choke is not losing in a championship game. A choke is not losing in the playoffs.

A choke is being up 3-0 in a series and losing 4-3. A choke is being up 35-3 in a game and losing the game. A choke could be winning the regular season title with a record number or wins and losing to a much lesser team, but that might be stretching the definition.

So, quit using "choke" to describe the performances of the Buffalo Bills because they lost four straight Super Bowls. And quit using it to describe the Atlanta Braves of the last fifteen years (no matter how much I want to see them lose). The insinuation that those franchises were poor performers is ludicrous at best, and uneducated at worst.

[JQK]

"Choke" is one of the most mis-used and over-used words when it comes to sports. A choke is not losing in a championship game. A choke is not losing in the playoffs.

A choke is being up 3-0 in a series and losing 4-3. A choke is being up 35-3 in a game and losing the game. A choke could be winning the regular season title with a record number or wins and losing to a much lesser team, but that might be stretching the definition.

So, quit using "choke" to describe the performances of the Buffalo Bills because they lost four straight Super Bowls. And quit using it to describe the Atlanta Braves of the last fifteen years (no matter how much I want to see them lose). The insinuation that those franchises were poor performers is ludicrous at best, and uneducated at worst.

The Bills were a mediocre team in a bad conference.

And the Braves do choke in the playoffs every year. In my mind, winning 14 division titles in a row, and only winning one world series, shows an inability for the manager to manage and the players to play in the post-season. Every year the Braves are chosen as a team that can do something, and every year they crap-out.

[PhilaLogos]

I can't comment on the past 13 years, but this years Braves team just wasn't that good. If Eude Brito can 4 hit dominate your lineup, you're not that good of a hitting team. Chipper Jones is a very good hitter, Jones is dangerous but ridiculously inconsistant, as are Francouer and Furcal. Their pitching staff is overrated. They did lose Hampton, but Hudson isn't all of the hype, Smoltz is their only really dangerous pitcher IMO. Lastly their bullpen is TERRIBLE, as was evident when they blew a 5 run lead the other day. They don't have a real closer or good middle relief, you need both to be successful in October.

[pcgd]

"Choke" is one of the most mis-used and over-used words when it comes to sports. A choke is not losing in a championship game. A choke is not losing in the playoffs.

A choke is being up 3-0 in a series and losing 4-3. A choke is being up 35-3 in a game and losing the game. A choke could be winning the regular season title with a record number or wins and losing to a much lesser team, but that might be stretching the definition.

So, quit using "choke" to describe the performances of the Buffalo Bills because they lost four straight Super Bowls. And quit using it to describe the Atlanta Braves of the last fifteen years (no matter how much I want to see them lose). The insinuation that those franchises were poor performers is ludicrous at best, and uneducated at worst.

I agree.

Had the Cardinals been swept by the Padres...that would be a choke.