Ugh, my whole National League bracket was destroyed and the Rays might go down next which would leave me with the hated Yankees. Actually, I think I hate the Phillies more than the Yankees just because of their fans. New Yorkers might be obnoxious and arrogant, but I'd much rather spend time or live in NY than Philly, so at least they have more of an excuse to act like jerks.
I still think the Reds had a shot to surprise the Phillies, but they decided to play like a little league team with the ball. Unreal.
The Braves (and I've always been a Braves fan) have amazing problems. How they won so many games is beyond me. And besides all their injury problems I think their main problem is coaching. Can't argue with Cox's success overall, but I think it is time for a new perspective on things. I don't think he should have pulled Kimbrel in game 3 and I think he should have pulled Lowe before he walked the bases loaded. But those things happen and they're judgment calls that can always go either way, on the other hand, batting coach Terry Pendleton should find work somewhere else. The Braves probably could have walked 5 or 6 times a game. Instead they walked about 4 times for the whole series. If they weren't striking out on high fastballs they were whiffing on breaking balls in the dirt. A couple of guys trying too hard to make something happen? Okay. But the whole freaking team doing that? That's a problem with the approach and game plan designed by the coaching staff.
At any rate, the Braves obviously need better fielders, but they also need some hitters for high average if they can find them. Still, at least the Mets are history and they got farther than anybody thought they would and overall were an exciting, frustrating team to root for.
Maybe next year.
AI
