Five division titles in a row. The rebuild was long, but it seems so far in the rearview mirror because, well, it is. The Braves have been at the top of the division for a half decade. I remember having to watch the has been’s, the journeymen, the failed prospects all throughout the rebuild. While it was still a massive 18-win improvement over the 2017 team, the 2018 team was able to win the division with 90 wins, and that was good enough to start our run.
This year, it was a dog fight until the final week. This team won 100 games for the first time since 2003. They started the year 23-27, so I know I was worried there was the potential for a post-championship hangover effect for this team. But on June 1st, 10.5 games, they started winning at a historic pace, and they would not stop. They won 14 straight to cut the lead by more than half. The season was alive again. From that June 1st date, the Braves have gone 78-23, a .700 winning percentage. A .700 winning percentage. For almost 4 months. I’ll leave it to the historians to tell us if the Braves have ever done that before, but I don’t remember it.
What feels great about where Atlanta is right now is that they did it differently than last year. The season was saved last year because the division was not very good (we won the division last year with 88 wins), and we heavily reinforced our roster last year with rentals. This year, the Braves showed they’re going to be good for a very long time. Instead of piecemealing the roster, they were able to infuse the roster with players that will be in the organization for a long time. Spencer Strider, though he had already gotten his cup of coffee last year, started the year in the pen and then got his rightful spot in the rotation. And now he becomes yet another homegrown guy that hopefully will be a fixture in the rotation should he stay healthy. In a lot of years, he would be a great candidate for Rookie of the Year if not for Michael Harris. Harris was called up on May 28th (3 days before the winning streak; not a coincidence), and he has somehow been even better than Strider has been amongst our rookies. Vaughn Grissom gave us another shot in the arm.
This team needed every bit of a deep, detailed, and superior organization to get past the Mets. This was their year. The Mets also won 100 games, the first time since 1988 and only the 4th time in their existence. They led the division for 175 days. I’m going to leave the trolling to everybody else, especially in regards to that talking head “Sal†who declared the division over in June or whatever. But it was over. We were 10.5 back, below .500, and it looked bleak. It’s fun to troll this “Sal†guy, but I think it devalues what this team has done. It took a .700 winning percentage pace for most of the season to beat a really good Mets team. That’s the story here. The Mets didn’t collapse, and Sal wasn’t saying anything that crazy when he said it. But the Braves have built a really good team. That’s what I will choose to remember.
One more regular season game. And then we go again. May there be no Jim Leyritz moments keeping us from repeating this time.
Great recap Rob. Like you mentioned, he story here is where we were and where we are seemingly positioned for a long time. As sweet as this comeback was this season, this was always about the long term plan and what this organization has us set up for moving forward. With one flag in the bag from last year, let’s go get another one. We just might be those M-Fers again.
Excellent. Thank you, Rob.
Just win the last game you play, Braves. That’s all we want.
@91 from previous thread – all this talk of MHII being a pitching prospect makes me want to see him go throw an inning. Wishful thinking, not worth the risk. Just saying.
Go Bravos !! 5th straight Div championship ..we may not win the WS but not many repeat .. but what the Braves did to the Mets is so enjoyable ..and to see the comments from Mets players ..well we think we are the better team .. lo .. they choked under pressure … love it … Lugo with his comments and then Canha saying well our goal want winning the East .. well they just got punched in the face in ATL .. you know it has to be in their minds ..we choked .. LOL
Lineup today ????
Grissom – SS
Arcia – 2B
Harris – CF
Contreras – C
Rosario – LF
Ozuna – DH
Grossman – 1B
Adrianza – 3B
Heredia – RF
Thanks, Rob. Perfectly fitting recap.
How good have McIglintersen been this past week. And the amazing balance of this team – hitting and pitching- is the reason for .700 baseball since June. This team was never in a real slump.
There aren’t many things left on my baseball fandom bucket list. But eliminating the Cardinals from the playoffs once more is one of them.
(Not to look past the Phillies…or to say I wouldn’t enjoy beating them too.)
From my perspective (living in chatty/chirpy MetLand), it felt a bit like a big lion finally catching that annoying, laughing hyena. But in the end, we ran them down. It’s funny how those texts & emails just stopped.
I wouldn’t mind the Braves paying a visit to Flushing this month & doubling their misery. Then again… if the Padres finished off the Mets, it wouldn’t break my heart either.
It’s gonna be a sweet six days ’til we ramp it up again.
So great watching the post game celebration interviews here. Especially the young guys MH2, Grissom, Strider.
Perfectly said. Right after the Braves clinched last night, the Mets broadcast put up a graphic of how thoroughly dominating the Braves have been since they joined the NL East in 1994 (1995, really). 17 in 27 years. We have a tendency to think of the first 11 (out of 14 overall, counting the NL West years) as a pitching dynasty, and it was, but not that’s all it was. It needed immense productive turnover to keep it going. AA (and Schuerholz before him) and Snit (and Cox before him) should take a lot of the credit for this.
And (he says begrudgingly) it also time to begin crediting John Malone and Liberty Media, whose first 11 years of ownership had only one NL East title and all but one of the failures to win, just before they took over in 2007. It was quite natural to attribute those 9 failures to ownership, and they probably bear some of the blame, but it may be time to move on from that concept. Crap ownership is not known for producing five straight championships with massive changes in personnel.
I hate the Cardinals, and we owe them a beatdown. Hopefully we win the clinching game on a bad call.
10 — No doubt the increase in payroll due to the Battery and Truist Park revenue is helping.
So, you win a division/World Series/etc., you definitely stay sober enough to hit the sack with your lady, right?
To amplify what’s already been said, I think it’s amazing what AA has already accomplished for future years. I can’t remember any year (including last year) when there was so little to do in the offseason. The big priorities being signing Dansby and trading Ozuna. After that, signing a Util (like Jace who was suggested). Beyond that and getting everyone else healthy, this team is ready to go next year too.
It’s funny that we have so much talent that just needs to get well – Ozzie, Duvall, Strider, Soroka, Anderson, Yates.
How about trading Ozuna for J-Hey? At least then we get someone who can field. Platoon Duvall and J-Hey in LF and Contreras and Rosario at DH. They could send us $6M next year and we could send them $6M the year after and we’d be out from under Ozuna/J-Hey a year sooner.
I think the big off season work will be trading pitching depth. I read an article last couple of days that listed, with Morton, something dumb like 15 MLB quality SP under control next year. We need depth, of course, but it would be nice to consolidate some of that value into fewer roster spots.
@13, We have evidence that at least one Brave may have been thinking ahead.
Heyward has hit 1 hr this year and has a .278 OBP and a .556 OPS. Ozuna has hit 22 hrs, a 271 OBP, and a .673 OPS. Heyward is a year older and was not much better in 2021. I’m sure Heyward would be a better teammate, and his defense would be better, but I don’t see it. He has been a much bigger black hole offensively than Ozuna over the last 2 years. My guess for Heyward is that Freeman talks the Dodgers into a reunion with him. He could give them close to what Pujols gave them last year with defense included. I also think we can do better than Peterson for a utility player.
Did anyone else notice that while Odorizzi was pitching us to a #2 seed, Will Smith inherited a no-hitter in the ninth and promptly gave up three straight singles?
Just me? Ok.
@19 I mean, I hear what you’re saying, but wouldn’t our bullpen have been just that much deeper over the last month with Will Smith in the mix?
#19
Was listening to the Hou/Pha game on the MLB app last night & I did chuckle when Smith immediately gave it up. Takeaway Trivia: Of all the teams in MLB history, the Phightin’ Phils have been no-hit the most — 20 times.
Picks for WC weekend:
Cle over TB
Sea over Tor
StL over Pha
NYM over SD (sorry)
SEC Gridiron: I know Auburn’s not so formidable this year, but… 30-point underdogs in Athens? I see it more like a slow, choke-out kinda game for UGA… 34-13 maybe.
FWIW, Olson & Swanson in the starting lineup today.
Acuna, Riley, d’Arnaud & Harris out.
@21 – I agree with you. Auburn is playing hard, Harsen has just not recruited well and they are lacking in depth. Auburn looked great in the 1st half against LSU but their depth caught up with them. Georgia looked terrible in the 1st half against Missouri, but their depth was evident in the 4th quarter. 34-13 sounds like a good score, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a little closer.
DeRo breaking down the Braves season:
@19,20
As I alluded to last night, I wasn’t sure that trading even this year’s Will Smith was worth acquiring Odorizzi until last night. Last night alone made that trade worth it. I’m not sure depth is a good thing when it’s as unreliable as Smith was.
@22
Olson and Dansby want to play 162. Fair enough, I say. I’ll be shocked if they’re still in the game when it ends.
In fact, I think they’re both coming out after their at-bats here in the first. Dansby just got a bunch of handshakes and whatnot in the dugout.
UPDATE: Dansby out, Olson still in apparently. I guess there isn’t really anyone who can play first base unless Riley comes in later or they shift everything around in some other fashion.
#23
It could be closer, sure. But in the recent history of this rivalry, you may never see a bigger talent gap between the schools than this game. Auburn’s offense really is a tough watch. (The only SEC school scoring less per game is A&M.)
I’m sure Auburn will try some of the gap-filling/sell-out blitzes that worked for Missouri in the 1st half last week. If they can successfully man-up on the WRs, they might have some success. But, I’m guessing UGA OC Todd Monken’s already figured something out on that front.
It hasn’t been the case with this rivalry in a while, but for the longest time the visiting team always seemed to win. Too many times I left Sanford Stadium with the Auburn fight song still ringing in my ears. So, I’ll certainly never take them lightly.
Auburn/LSU: Overall, Auburn did play pretty well. However, some of the QB decisions Auburn endured last weekend — brutal. Auburn probably shoulda won last week, but they definitely shoulda lost the week before.
And keep an eye on UT/LSU — that one, a noon start, could be very entertaining.
Not surprised by it, but glad Acuna isn’t playing today. I figured Mattingly, managing his last game, might have him hit for old times’ sake.
You just know Ozuna was hammered last night. Today he hits a 3-run laxer to left field.
So I’ll say one thing about the guy: he can hold his alcohol just fine.
Of course, now he hits a 3-run HR…
@25
My comment was in fact intended as very dry humor; no change to our bullpen could have ever improved it over the last month.
@30 Of course he does. This is who he is.
Yes, please:
https://news.yahoo.com/former-braves-voice-ernie-johnson-223600639.html
I’m watching the end of someone’s MLB career being used as cannon fodder. Life is a tough business.
This was a fun game in a weird sort of way. I am thankful that nothing was riding on it or it would have been incredibly stressful – and disappointing. Is there a rule about calling someone up on the last day of the season? It would seem this would have been a great game for Muller or even Tarnok to start. It looks like we will finish tied with the Mets but win the division based on the tiebreaker.
The Braves and Mets will finish tied atop the NL East. Extra salt in their wound. They couldn’t win one game with Scherzer, deGrom, and Bassitt on the bump.
Nice comment Bravey. I was jesting in the last thread.
I agree, this was a fun game. I was surprised Olson stayed in too. Oh well, it doesn’t matter, but it was good to see Olson continue to hit the ball hard.
I for one am really looking forward to the wild-card series and watching some stress-free playoff baseball. The Cards scare me, but I we definitely owe them a few beatings. It would be nice to sweep Pujols and Co to end their season.
@34 – about whom are you referring? I’m missing something.
Bracho. He’s done.
Great summary Rob. And Jonathan. Don’t forget in addition to the 17 East division titles we also made the playoffs as the wildcard two more years. As much as many like to complain about Liberty ownership it’s astounding and a credit to the organization, and it’s leadership, that the rebuild only took three years. They didn’t begin it until the off-season after the underachieving 2014 squad dismally failed to follow up on the 2013 division title and two wildcards in the three yrs before that, (with a competitive team in the one year they missed the playoffs in that stretch). ’15,’16,’17 were woeful indeed but by ’18 we’re division champs again and the trajectory is upward still. We didn’t get lucky or do a heavy dose free agent quick fix that wasn’t sustainable. And all done despite the handicapping punishments and IFA restrictions from Coppygate. I can’t think of any other teardown and rebuild so quickly successful and sustainable in baseball in my lifetime. There’s countless examples of teams that have failed miserably in their rebuild plans and seem to be hopelessly stuck in a perpetual non contending status. As a Brave fan since the move to Atlanta and during the many dark years of the 70s and 80s I count my blessings for what has happened the past 32 yrs and consider myself a very lucky fan.
@40 Well said BraveMarine. As bad as things were at times, we certainly have been spoiled over the last 32 years for sure. It is amazing how well we are set up on top of it.
recapped.