THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2011
PAGE 11
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I don't put a whole lot of stock into all that stuff. We're in the Big 12 right now and we need to win in the Big 12. We're focusing more
on this season. We'll worry about next season, next season, when we are in that conference."
Texas A&M football coach Mike Sherman, ESPN.com
MORNING BREW
Braves blow postseason chance
While the nation saw Boston's historic freefall from atop the American League wild-card standings, another monumental collapse went mostly
The Atlanta Braves have an 8.5-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 5, but after going 9-18 in September, Atlanta would lose that lead 23 days later on the last day of the season. The Braves, who appeared bound for October baseball, are now faced with the harsh reality of the offseason.
Whenever a team collapses at such a magnitude the fan base looks for someone to place blame on. So who is at fault when it comes to the Atlanta Braves?
A lot of people would like to blame first-year manager Fredi Gonzalez, but other than tweaking around the lineup, there wasn't much Gonzalez could have done to stop the bleeding.
Atlanta's bread and butter all season was pitching. The Braves had a stellar starting rotation and the league's most dominant bullpen. When September arrived, the wheels began to fall off for both components.
Braves' starting pitcher Jair Jurriens was 12-3 with a league-leading 1.87 ERA at the All-Star Break, but injuries plagued the young right-hander so much in the second half that he did not pitch again after Aug. 30.
In addition, starter Tommy Hanson was among the league leaders in strikeouts before
his shoulder injury in early August. The absence of two of Atlanta's best three pitchers forced the Braves to rely heavily on the struggling Derek Lowe and a contingent of young arms.
Up until September, the bullpen trio of Eric O'Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel was an unhittable force. The closer, Kimbrel, went from June 11 to Sept. 9 without giving up a run, but he would eventually blow more saves in September than the previous three months combined. Atlanta's bullpen was so overused during the season that they had nothing left for the final month.
Venters, in particular, led all major league relievers with his 85 appearances, and Kimbrel wasn't far behind with 79. Both Kimbrel and Ventors displayed a lack of command in September, and this is indicative of being overworked. Through the first five months of the season, the pair's ERA was an impressive
1. 46, but it jumped to an alarming 4.94 in September.
The Atlanta pitchers needed the offense to provide run support, but instead of responding to the challenge, the Braves' offense disappeared entirely. The Braves depended too much on homeruns and timely hitting to produce runs this season, and Atlanta's .235 batting average in September made consistent run production nearly impossible. As cold as the Braves' bats got, the St. Louis offense ignited.
When the Cardinals kept winning, the Braves players appeared more noticeably nervous by the day. Players like Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla weren't able to support an offense that looked very talented on paper.
—Edited by Sarah Champ
The bottom line is that the Braves coated through September while the Cardinals played with passion.
RANKINGS
AP TOP 25 (First-place votes in parentheses)
RK TEAM
1 LSU (40)
2 Alabama (12)
3 Oklahoma (7)
4 Wisconsin
5 Boise State (1)
6 Oklahoma State
7 Stanford
8 Clemson
9 Oregon
10 Arkansas
11 Texas
12 Michigan
13 Georgia Tech
14 Nebraska
15 Auburn
16 West Virginia
17 Florida
18 South Carolina
19 Illinios
20 Kansas State
21 Virgina Tech
22 Arizona State
23 Florida State
24 Texas A&M
25 Baylor
THIS WEEK IN SPORTS
Sport Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Sun.
Football
vs. UNO 6:30 p.m. Lawrence
WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ALL THINGS SPORTS?
Visit Kansan.com to view photo galleries, rosters and stats.
vs. Oklahoma State 2:30 p.m. Stillwater, Okla.
Volleyball
vs. Texas A&M 6:30 p.m. Lawrence
Soccer
vs. Baylor 4 p.m. Lawrence
M. Golf
W. Golf
Johnie Imes Invitational All Day Columbia, Mo.
Rowing
All-american Championships All Day Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Tennis
Cross Country
Haskell Invitational TBA Lawrence
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