Thursday, October 4, 2012

Braves/Cardinals Wild Card Game Most Nerve Racking I've Ever Seen



I have never been more nervous about a baseball game than I am about today’s National League Wild Card playoff game between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, which begins at 4 p.m. on TBS.  

There are many things leading to the nervousness, the first of which is that it’s a win or go home game. The Braves were clearly a better team than the Cardinals this season finishing a whopping six games ahead of them in the wild card standings. The Cardinals, by the way, are tied with the American League Central Division champion Detroit Tigers for the worst record this season of the 10 MLB playoff teams. The Braves 94-68 record would have been good enough to win half of the divisions in baseball. So, the Braves are the better team, but in a one game win or go home playoff anything can happen, which means I will be on the edge of my seat for the entire game. I, also, have a very bad hunch about this game, but maybe that’s because I’m a pessimist. The Cardinals do have a knack for winning it all when they’re the worst of the playoff teams and have done so twice in the last six seasons.

In my opinion, the second wild card was a bad move on the part of Major League Baseball. I’m not just saying this now that it could potentially screw over the Braves; I’ve said it from the very day it was instituted before this season. I know it will lead to more excitement for most fans, but if you’re a fan of one of the four teams playing in the two games it must be a horrible experience. It’s not actually really the second wild card that bothers me so much, but the fact that it’s only one game. If it was a best of three series it wouldn’t be some bothersome, because it would be fair. A one game playoff in this situation doesn’t seem fair; especially to a team like the Braves that was six games ahead of the Cardinals.

The second reason I’m very nervous is that if the Braves lose to the Cardinals today it will be the last time I will ever see Chipper Jones play the game of baseball and it’s frankly not something I’m ready to happen under this circumstance. I know that Chipper’s career will come to an end sometime this month, but I would rather it be under more fair circumstances than a one game playoff against a frankly lesser team.

The third and final reason why today’s game is making me so nervous is that this is the best team the Braves have had in over five years. This team is frankly capable of going the distance, in my opinion, but their biggest threat may actually be today’s game because of the unusual and new circumstances. Not only is it the last opportunity that the Braves will have to win a World Series with Chipper in the lineup, but who knows what will happen to the team next season. The Braves look like they should be contenders for years to come, but I think a big key for the team in free agent center fielder Michael Bourn could be leaving for a bigger contract in the offseason. Chipper Jones has definitely been the heart and soul of this Braves team this season and honestly should garner at least slight NL MVP consideration, but Michael Bourn has been the best and most important piece on this team, at least as far as the offense goes.

Luckily it appears I will be getting off of work a few hours early today to see the game at 4 p.m., but it’s going to be the most nerve-racking baseball game I’ve ever seen. Hopefully the Braves can bust things open early so I can relax and actually enjoy the game.

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