2008 Woodie Awards
Loving to hate
Brad Howell
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Sports
For the first time since I was 5 years old, my beloved Braves failed to make the playoffs. A Georgia native, I feel I'm one of the few true fans I know since I moved to North Carolina.
As hard as it is to admit, the Braves sucked this year…there's no other way to put it. Despite having what was arguably the best lineup in the National League, Atlanta was without the caliber of pitching it had been accustomed to the past 14 years.
Even with the July acquisition of Bob Wickman, the Braves' bullpen was still suspect with the likes of Tyler Yates failing to hold leads in the seventh inning.
The rotation was only a shadow of the vaunted Atlanta staffs of yesteryear. Beyond John Smoltz, the most reliable starter was rookie Chuck James. Tim Hudson had one of the worst years of his career, and the remainder of the staff was decimated by injuries. Oh well, maybe next year.
But despite the Braves' follies this season, I was still thrilled when the playoffs finally arrived. Because the only thing that could be worse than the Braves not making the post-season, is the Yankees winning the World Series.
The Yankees represent everything that is wrong with pro sports today. They're a group of mercenaries constructed by Steinbrenner built to win at all costs. A $200 million payroll should be able to buy a championship.
As much as I hate the boss, I can't fault him. All he wants is to win, and as long as there's no salary cap in baseball he can pay $25 million per to his eighth place hitter if he so pleases.
Murderer's Row and Cano. How catchy? This lineup was treacherous from top to bottom, but everyone seemed to forget that outside of Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina, there were no reliable starters. Mariano Rivera is arguably the best closer in the game, but it's hard for him to perform if he doesn't have a lead to protect.
After reading my Sports Weekly, I was shocked to see that every single writer picked the Yankees to win it all.
As hard as it is to admit, the Braves sucked this year…there's no other way to put it. Despite having what was arguably the best lineup in the National League, Atlanta was without the caliber of pitching it had been accustomed to the past 14 years.
Even with the July acquisition of Bob Wickman, the Braves' bullpen was still suspect with the likes of Tyler Yates failing to hold leads in the seventh inning.
The rotation was only a shadow of the vaunted Atlanta staffs of yesteryear. Beyond John Smoltz, the most reliable starter was rookie Chuck James. Tim Hudson had one of the worst years of his career, and the remainder of the staff was decimated by injuries. Oh well, maybe next year.
But despite the Braves' follies this season, I was still thrilled when the playoffs finally arrived. Because the only thing that could be worse than the Braves not making the post-season, is the Yankees winning the World Series.
The Yankees represent everything that is wrong with pro sports today. They're a group of mercenaries constructed by Steinbrenner built to win at all costs. A $200 million payroll should be able to buy a championship.
As much as I hate the boss, I can't fault him. All he wants is to win, and as long as there's no salary cap in baseball he can pay $25 million per to his eighth place hitter if he so pleases.
Murderer's Row and Cano. How catchy? This lineup was treacherous from top to bottom, but everyone seemed to forget that outside of Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina, there were no reliable starters. Mariano Rivera is arguably the best closer in the game, but it's hard for him to perform if he doesn't have a lead to protect.
After reading my Sports Weekly, I was shocked to see that every single writer picked the Yankees to win it all.
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