As you may have noticed, if you're watching either ESPN or SNY this afternoon, the Braves didn't bring the entire A-team to Tradition Field. But once the season begins, expect Atlanta to be a force to be reckoned with. And don't underestimate the chip on the Braves' shoulders after the Mets ended their streak of 14 straight division titles last year.
All of the Phillies' early trash talk hasn't gone unnoticed, and it doesn't sit well in Atlanta that most prognosticators have the Braves slotted third in the NL East. General manager John Schuerholz made it a priority to fortify the bullpen, and now he believes this club is as good as any in the division.
"The reality is inevitably our streak was going to end," Schuerholz said before today's game."No one wins forever. We knew sooner or later there would be some reason for us to lose. Somebody would just be overwhelmingly better or our team wouldn’t be as strong as needed. Or there would be a fatal flaw in the construct of our team that we couldn’t cover and it occurred last year.
"We knew that our bullpen last year needed to be addressed and so that prior winter, we tried to sign Bob Wickman, we tried to sign Trevor Hoffman, we tried Danys Baez. We tried to sign every free agent out there, but our pile of money wasn’t big enough."
Whether or not that last comment was a slap against the free-spending Mets, you make the call. But despite his cool exterior, Schuerholz is as competitive as anyone in the game, and seeing the Mets overtake the Braves last season was tough to stomach for him.
"There’s that fire and there’s that pride that has driven us and our players," Schuerholz said. "You don’t win 14 years in a row because you dominate with ability or you spend more money or you’re smarter putting a roster together. You’ve got to rely on the leadership of the manager and the pride of the players to dig down during tough times."
Comments (5)
HEY DAVID !!! THANKS FOR THE ATLANTA BRAVES UPDATE!
IT WAS A REAL TREAT TO READ THAT...ON THE MET BLOG. PLEASE KEEP US UP TO DATE ON HOW THOSE PATHETIC INBRED REDNECKS ARE DOING THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. YOU ROCK. Hey, how's mike hampton doin'? And too bad you forgot to ask how many games HUDSON is going to lose this year in his second season of TANKING after signing a big CONTRACT!! ATLANTA Who???
Dave, I think you're on the ball 99 times out of 100, but my jaw dropped through the floor when I read the "free-spending Mets" blurb (luckily no one lives below us).
First of all, everyone and their mothers have been taking the Mets to task all winter for NOT spending any money. How many writers (including Newsday's own Ken Davidoff) basically accused Omar of dereliction of duty for playing hardball with Barry Zito (as if Scott Boras had a "Buy It Now" price in early December)? The media can't have it both ways - Omar can't be both a free-spending idiot AND an arrogant miser, no matter how many writers would like to switch between both memes whenever it suits any given day's particular criticism.
Second, everyone falls over each other to talk about Scheurholz's alleged class, but if he was taking a dig at the supposed "free-spending" Mets, then that's just pitiful. It makes it sound like he's trying to tell anyone who'll listen that the only reason they lost last year was because they got outspent. It also makes it sound like he's crying poverty when the Braves had a $90 million payroll on opening day last year. Real classy.
It's just my opinion, but I don't think Schuerholz was taking a veiled shot at the Mets. I think he was just highlighting the fact that his budget is limited (and more limited than that of many teams). He's one of the best in the business.
The Braves still scare the pants off me! After years of having their foot on our throat, I hestitate to bury them after one off year. And with the Mets questionable rotation, it's not like we're going to have four 20 game winners and dominate!
I just wanted to say, As a Braves Fan, Hampton is out for the season, Hudson is having a
career year, and the pathetic inbred rednecks and in first place. And thats the Atlanta Braves. Well I'm off to bang my sister, because thats what we do in the south.