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.
No comments:
Post a Comment