August 16, 1993
Travel Day
72-47
2nd place
7.5 games behind
ONE WEEK TO GO
On July 20, the Atlanta Braves acquired Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres and their stadium caught fire. So, too, did the Braves, the offense igniting from the league worst to one of the league's best, and the Braves have fired off a 19-6 record since the trade, a blistering .760 pace that if kept for an entire season would net Atlanta 123 wins and shatter the all-time record. You would think that such a jolt would lift a team either well into first place, into a pennant race, or at least wipe out much of a deficit with a division leader. You'd think that, but you would be wrong.
The San Francisco Giants, who were 9 games ahead of the Braves when the trade was finalized, are still a solid 7.5 games ahead of the Braves. And thanks to the addition of two expansion teams to this year's schedule, the Braves can sweep all six of their remaining games with the Giants and would still trail by 1.5 games with a month left in the season. One week from tonight, the Giants and Braves will square off with six ballgames against each other over the next ten days, three in each team's home ballpark, and the Giants are sitting pretty knowing that the Braves have no choice but to win at least five of the six contests or be at the mercy of the Giants' opponents. Basically, the Giants opened up their lead in the West during three periods of Atlanta in the doldrums, a 3-6 mark in April (that included 3 head-to-head losses to the Giants), a 1-6 streak in early May that included five straight losses, and 3-8 homestand against the three teams on the West Coast that included the Giants. When the Giants finishing taking five of seven games between the two teams on May 30, they had a five-game lead. Between hot and cold spells for both teams, it now stands at 7.5, and the Braves have been no closer than that since June 18.
What may be missing in this discussion is the fact very few are even talking about the Giants and what a spectacular season the team is having as a whole. Much of the coverage centers more around "what's wrong with the Braves" than "what's good about the Giants this year." And the Giants have played spectacularly well. In May, the team as a whole hit .294 and in July they did even better by hitting .296. And the emergence of Rod Beck as a lights out closer has helped them preserve wins that might have turned into losses with a shoddy bullpen. Beck currently has 36 saves and has blown only two thus far. Even by his lofty standards, Barry Bonds is having an MVP season, hitting .338 with 36 home runs and 90 RBIs, a definite threat to win the Triple Crown...if Tony Gwynn ever has a deep slump. Matt Williams is also having a solid year at the plate. And while neither John Burkett nor Bill Swift would be rated more highly than Atlanta's Fab Four starters, both are having solid years. And as has been shown too many times, you only need two solid starters to win a World Series.
Can the Braves catch the Giants?
Well, it depends. It is to be remembered that Atlanta had the pennant race of all pennant races two years ago and prevailed. And even last year, they were 7 games behind at one point before catching fire and coasting past Cincinnati with ease in mid-September, when the Reds hit a nine-game losing streak that ended the challenge. The Giants to this point have not had a losing streak longer than 3 games. The Braves, by contrast, have had four 3-game losing streaks (to the Giants' three) and a five-game losing streak.
Which team has the advantage?
Well, position by position, you'd choose Fred McGriff, Jeff Blauser, Ron Gant, and David Justice from Atlanta as everyday starters while the Giants have the advantage at second (Robby Thompson), third (Matt Williams), left field (Bonds), and catcher (Kirt Manwaring). Atlanta has better depth on the mound and better starting pitchers, but the Giants are better in both middle relief and at closer. Atlanta's bench is probably a bit deeper, and you'd give Atlanta the nod (for now anyway) at skipper since Dusty Baker is a rookie.
Who will win? Well, we'll learn eventually.
And we'll also learn that this wouldn't even be a point of discussion if the wild card baseball has imposed on us next year started this year.
Travel Day
72-47
2nd place
7.5 games behind
ONE WEEK TO GO
On July 20, the Atlanta Braves acquired Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres and their stadium caught fire. So, too, did the Braves, the offense igniting from the league worst to one of the league's best, and the Braves have fired off a 19-6 record since the trade, a blistering .760 pace that if kept for an entire season would net Atlanta 123 wins and shatter the all-time record. You would think that such a jolt would lift a team either well into first place, into a pennant race, or at least wipe out much of a deficit with a division leader. You'd think that, but you would be wrong.
The San Francisco Giants, who were 9 games ahead of the Braves when the trade was finalized, are still a solid 7.5 games ahead of the Braves. And thanks to the addition of two expansion teams to this year's schedule, the Braves can sweep all six of their remaining games with the Giants and would still trail by 1.5 games with a month left in the season. One week from tonight, the Giants and Braves will square off with six ballgames against each other over the next ten days, three in each team's home ballpark, and the Giants are sitting pretty knowing that the Braves have no choice but to win at least five of the six contests or be at the mercy of the Giants' opponents. Basically, the Giants opened up their lead in the West during three periods of Atlanta in the doldrums, a 3-6 mark in April (that included 3 head-to-head losses to the Giants), a 1-6 streak in early May that included five straight losses, and 3-8 homestand against the three teams on the West Coast that included the Giants. When the Giants finishing taking five of seven games between the two teams on May 30, they had a five-game lead. Between hot and cold spells for both teams, it now stands at 7.5, and the Braves have been no closer than that since June 18.
What may be missing in this discussion is the fact very few are even talking about the Giants and what a spectacular season the team is having as a whole. Much of the coverage centers more around "what's wrong with the Braves" than "what's good about the Giants this year." And the Giants have played spectacularly well. In May, the team as a whole hit .294 and in July they did even better by hitting .296. And the emergence of Rod Beck as a lights out closer has helped them preserve wins that might have turned into losses with a shoddy bullpen. Beck currently has 36 saves and has blown only two thus far. Even by his lofty standards, Barry Bonds is having an MVP season, hitting .338 with 36 home runs and 90 RBIs, a definite threat to win the Triple Crown...if Tony Gwynn ever has a deep slump. Matt Williams is also having a solid year at the plate. And while neither John Burkett nor Bill Swift would be rated more highly than Atlanta's Fab Four starters, both are having solid years. And as has been shown too many times, you only need two solid starters to win a World Series.
Can the Braves catch the Giants?
Well, it depends. It is to be remembered that Atlanta had the pennant race of all pennant races two years ago and prevailed. And even last year, they were 7 games behind at one point before catching fire and coasting past Cincinnati with ease in mid-September, when the Reds hit a nine-game losing streak that ended the challenge. The Giants to this point have not had a losing streak longer than 3 games. The Braves, by contrast, have had four 3-game losing streaks (to the Giants' three) and a five-game losing streak.
Which team has the advantage?
Well, position by position, you'd choose Fred McGriff, Jeff Blauser, Ron Gant, and David Justice from Atlanta as everyday starters while the Giants have the advantage at second (Robby Thompson), third (Matt Williams), left field (Bonds), and catcher (Kirt Manwaring). Atlanta has better depth on the mound and better starting pitchers, but the Giants are better in both middle relief and at closer. Atlanta's bench is probably a bit deeper, and you'd give Atlanta the nod (for now anyway) at skipper since Dusty Baker is a rookie.
Who will win? Well, we'll learn eventually.
And we'll also learn that this wouldn't even be a point of discussion if the wild card baseball has imposed on us next year started this year.
