I stand behind what I said in my last post. Don't boo your own players, and don't be so forgetful of all that we've accomplished in spite of all of the odds.
That being said, the Atlanta Braves have GREAT fans. The flip side of my rant is this: those fans? They don't matter. The real fans still show up every day and even if they get mad at the mistakes a player has made, they recognize that the players are human and that they are entitled to off-days.
Today, I was really proud to be lumped under the name "Braves fan."
Today I witnessed a truly beautiful thing:
Brooks Conrad came out onto the field during batting practice, walking slowly and almost hesitantly, as though he really wasn't sure how he would be received. He need not have worried. There were some cheers, which he didn't respond to... after all, were they sarcastic? He couldn't know.
But then the crowd got LOUD. Keep in mind that this is nearly 2.5 hours before the game began, and there weren't that many people there, yet, relatively speaking. And Brooks turned around and acknowledged the fans. And I almost shed a tear right there in front of my friend Mike, which he would have laughed at. (BUT STILL.)
There are clearly awesome Braves fans. The fans at BP were definitely those fans. The fans at this crowd? Even though there were a few stray boos (not umpire-directed but at Atlanta players)... they were AWESOME. They were loud and supportive and exactly what the Braves deserve.
I am so proud that this crowd was caught on national television giving Brooksy the ovation he deserves.
The real fans showed up and they backed up the team. It was one of the best things I've ever witnessed.
4 comments:
Brooksie was probably worried about snipers.
So jealous; Boo Jays fans suck. They wouldn't get off Overbay's case for the first half of this season, and by the way Wells was treated last year you would've thought he started the home opener by burning a Maple Leafs jersey in centre field or something.
Plus, like, the Braves made the playoffs. Jealous about that too. Good post though.
It IS lame that they wouldn't get off of Overbay's case! I do read Jays fan blogs and whatnot, and I'm thinking, "Why is everybody trying to trade him?" Honestly, I'm pretty sure he's more productive, offensively, than any of our first basemen have been this season, le sigh.
And Wells is AWESOME. I am just glad I saw him make that great freakin' catch during the Brandon Morrow almost-no-hitter.
And yes. The Braves DID make the playoffs. That's why I was so mad to begin with... why would you boo your team... when they made the playoffs with their third string players? Look at who they had to beat and what they had to overcome! I think it's a major accomplishment.
PS -- I am fully confident that the Jays will make the playoffs within the next 2 seasons. I don't know why I'm so confident, but I am. :)
A Blue Jays blog is actually what led me to YOUR blog. ;)
I think the thing with Overbay is the Brett Wallace situation. Wallace is somewhat of a household name even among casual fans, because he was one of the guys who came over in the Halladay trade. I think fans saw this young kid tearing the cover off the ball in Las Vegas (the most extreme hitter's park in the most extreme hitter's league in all of baseball, naturally) while Overbay struggled to stay above the Mendoza line for the first few months of the season. That's my guess for the "educated" fans, whereas the dumbass fans booed Overbay because they just thought he sucked. Then Overbay started to improve, Wallace cooled off and was then traded for Anthony Gose, so the idiots stopped booing.
Are the Braves doing that poorly at 1st base? I was thinking a Lee/Hinske platoon might work. Or they could sign Overbay! ;)
As for the Blue Jays' playoff hopes, I don't know if I'd bet on it happening within the next two seasons, but they're definitely moving in the right direction.
I sure won't complain when they prove me wrong, though. :D
haha, I didn't know that Blue Jays fans actually read this blog. I'm surprised that a Jays fan blog would lead to my blog, but I'm certainly not going to complain.
It's hard to keep up with the Jays because I don't get to watch them every day, whereas with the Braves... well. I live in Atlanta. The easiest way for me to keep up, though, is fantasy baseball (since I only ever seem to draft Braves, ex-Braves, Jays, and ex-Jays... or both!). And since I broke down and got MLB.tv, I have actually watched several Jays games, too. (Buck Martinez's voice grates on my nerves.) But I <3 Overbay, and I think booing your own players is inexcusable, as you can see. That's lame.
The Braves were having issues at 1B towards the end of the season when T-Roy's knees just... he couldn't do it. So we had to go get DLee, but he didn't start out performing well either. But next season, Freddie Freeman will probably be our rookie first baseman, and DLee... well. Benching DLee just seems silly. Platooning Hinske and Freddie is out of the question too, since they're both lefties. Let's just say that the future, for several of our players, is uncertain. :( I really do like them all, and I want DLee and Hinske to stay... I just don't know how we'd be able to manage that. :( VERY tight budget.
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