For Braves, Series Still World Of Trouble
It’s a scene that’s become all too familiar for the Atlanta Braves.
Once again, they were sitting in a somber clubhouse after losing the final game of the season. Once again, they were trying to figure out why they fell just a little short of a World Series championship. Once again, they had missed a chance to ensure their legacy as one of the best teams in baseball history.
Division titles and league championships are nice, but there’s only one true measure of a team’s greatness. For all their victories during the 1990s, the Braves have managed to win just one World Series.
“I still think this is a good ballclub,” Fred McGriff said, trying to cope with Atlanta’s third Series loss since 1991. “There’s a lot of talent in here. We just came up a little short this time.
“And,” he added quietly, “all the other times.”
The Braves have captured five straight division titles (not counting the 1994 strike season) and four National League pennants. The only World Series championship, however, came last year, a six-game victory over the Cleveland Indians.
“It’s very hard to get here, period,” said Greg Maddux, who took the loss Saturday night when the Yankees wrapped up the Series with a 3-2 victory in Game 6. “What has it been, five of the last six years? That’s an amazing accomplishment. We just got outplayed this week.”
The Yankees, with their deep bench and outstanding middle relief, exposed those same two areas as major weaknesses for the Braves.
During the regular season, it’s easy to get by with a great starting rotation and an offense that relies on a few sluggers. In the playoffs, though, the entire 25-man roster must contribute.
Does another World Series loss overshadow the Braves’ many accomplishments in the past six seasons?
“No, except maybe in the minds of the addle-brained,” general manager John Schuerholz said. “Reasonable thinking people wouldn’t assume that. They would see this as an organization that has had great ongoing success.”
If there was a silver lining in defeat, it was the development of rookie outfielders Andruw Jones and Jermaine Dye. The 19-year-old Jones, especially, looked like a future star after hitting .400 with two homers and six RBIs.
Now, for the bad news. John Smoltz, who won 24 games during the regular season and four more in the postseason, was eligible for free agency as soon as Mark Lemke popped up to Charlie Hayes for the final out Saturday.
Resigning Smoltz is imperative to keeping together the team’s most dominating presence: the starting rotation.
Smoltz said he would prefer to return to Atlanta if the terms are right.
“Selfishly, I would like to see this continue,” he said. “I want to play where we’re going to win.”
If only the Braves could figure out how to win the World Series.