A Fan’s Note

The Braves made an early exit from the postseason – again – losing their Division Series to the Astros, 3-1.

The Braves entered the eighth inning of Game 4 leading 6-1. The Braves bullpen, which has been far from stellar this season, had held up this long. Maybe, just maybe they could hang on two more innings.

Then it happened.

The Astros loaded the bases, and Lance Berkman placed a Kyle Farnsworth pitch in the stands, making it a 6-5 game.

In the ninth inning, the Astros tied the game with a home run by Mike Lamb off of none other than Farnsworth.

I could bang my head against the wall trying to understand why Bobby Cox left Farnsworth in for the ninth, but with the performance from the rest of the Braves bullpen, who can blame Cox?

Some are saying that this is the greatest game in baseball playoff history. Maybe if you’re an Astros fan.

But it you’re a Braves fan like me, it is just chapter 14 in the Braves disappointing postseason history.

The only highlight for the Braves came in Game 2, when rookie catcher Brian McCann belted a three-run homer off of Roger Clemens.

McCann, a native of Athens, Ga., grew up a Braves fan. His most cherished possession. An autographed picture of himself with Braves pitcher John Smoltz when McCann was seven years old.

Fourteen years later, McCann was in the big leagues catching for Smoltz in the playoffs.

In the second inning of game two, McCann stepped up to the plate with two men on and the Braves trailing the Astos 1-0.

McCann was ahead in the count 2-0 when Clemens left a fastball over the plate; McCann swung, and a few seconds later it landed 409 feet away in the right-field seats.

McCann would later say that he didn’t remember rounding the bases.

There is no way to know if McCann will be a great player. If he continues to play as well as he did his rookie season, he will certainly be a good player.

But no matter where McCann’s career takes him, that 2-0 Clemens fastball will always be slicing through the October sky.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 14 2005. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry