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Limping to the finish Despite sluggish bats, Braves eyeing playoffs again
Updated: Thursday September 27, 2001 5:47 AM
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com If postseason berths went, simply, to the deserving, the New York Mets could take the National League East flag and be done with it. Since the All-Star break, and for some time before that, no one has played better in the NL East than the Mets. But pennants go to those who play the best over a 162-game season, regardless of how terribly they play at the end. And so, the Atlanta Braves, long owners of the NL East, inch closer to another division title even they can't feel all that good about. "We've done everything conceivably wrong that we can do wrong," pitcher Tom Glavine told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "But as bad as we've played, the plus side is we're still in first place." Well, yeah, but only because of the equally inept Philadelphia Phillies, who are trying to shrug off a terrible second half and stay with the Braves. If you've seen the Braves play at all in the past few months, it's a wonder they haven't sunk right to the bottom of the division. Their starting pitching is good enough, though Greg Maddux's recent hyper-extended elbow is of some concern. Their bullpen is OK, especially if they can get to new closer John Smoltz. But they simply can't score runs. They are 13th in the 16-team NL in runs scored since the break. They haven't put up 10 runs in a game since August 5, a stretch of 40 games (in which they're 18-22). Chipper Jones, who is hitting .325 in what he describes as his best offensive year ever, has only 16 RBIs in that time and only three in his past 14 games. It all adds up to a 32-32 record after the break for the Braves. The Phillies are 30-34 since the break, which explains why they're where they are, and the Mets are 39-23, which explains why everyone is watching them. Pure arithmetic makes the Mets' chances of taking over the East almost impossible. But the Phillies, despite their stumbling, are only one game out of first going into Wednesday's games. The big series -- after the Mets at Atlanta this weekend -- comes next week in Atlanta, when the Phillies visit Turner Field for a three-game set Oct. 2-4. That could well decide who, finally, heads into the playoffs. If it is the Braves, who have won their division every year since 1991 (not counting the '94 strike season), they should just be thankful that this isn't a 164-game season.
Hanging on, Part IIThe Arizona Diamondbacks are holding onto first place in the NL West, still the best race in baseball. Sure, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling are big parts of it. (Talk about hard luck, though: In four September starts, Johnson is just 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA.) But some guys who might not be top-of-mind are coming through, too. Steve Finley is hitting .353 in September, with 12 RBIs in 13 games. Tony Womack is hitting .352 with 19 runs scored in 13 games. Veteran Matt Williams has 13 RBIs in 11 games. Just think what the D'backs could be doing if Luis Gonzalez were holding up his end. Gonzo is hitting just .278 since the break and just .188 in September, with just two homers in 16 games. The Johnson-Schilling combo makes the D'backs a scary opponent for anyone in the postseason. The question, as always, is if they can get there. Luckily for them, their last six games are against Colorado and Milwaukee, two teams that are a combined 38 games under .500.
Sleeping with the enemyWe love Tony Gwynn and all, and we admit, we may be making too much of this. But giving tips to Barry Bonds before a game is kind of like David handing Goliath a helmet before their showdown. Last weekend, Gwynn and Bonds crossed paths before the game. Longtime friends and mutual admirers, they got to talking about Bonds' pursuit of the home run record and his recent struggles. Going into the game, he had hit one homer in five games. Whatever was said, Bonds went out and smacked two homers (Nos. 65 and 66) that night against the Padres. The two teams play again this weekend in San Francisco, with Bonds at 67 homers, only three away from tying Mark McGwire's single-season record. Someone from the Padres ought to make sure those two don't cross paths again.
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