The 1991-2004 Atlanta Braves: has any other sports franchise in history...

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...been so futile in the postseason so many times in such a stretch?

1991: Lost the WS to futile-ever-since Minnesota in 7.
1992: Lost the WS to Toronto.
1993: Lost the NLCS to WS losers Philadelphia.
1994: No World Series. Probably would've dropped the NLCS to, let's say, Montreal.
1995: Won the World Series against the Cleveland Indians. Fact that Manny, Murray, Thome and Lofton were shut down is overshadowed by the fact that, c'mon, it's the Indians, how hard can it be?
1996: Lost the World Series to the newly resurgent New York Yankees.
1997: Lost the NLCS to the future fire-sale Marlins.
1998: Lost the NLCS to the one-year wonder San Diego Padres.
1999: Swept by the Yankees in the World Series.
2000: Lost the 2000 NLDS to the Cardinals, the first time they failed to advance past the first round. The Cardinals would lose the NLCS to the Mets.
2001: Lost the NLCS to eventual World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks (aka "the most fucked-up four-word phrase in baseball history").
2002: Lost the NLDS to eventual WS loser San Francisco Giants.
2003: Lost the NLDS to THE CUBS, PEOPLE.
2004: Lost the NLDS to the Houston Astros. In supa-ugly fashion.

I used to loathe them, dating back to the O.G. Gant/Pendleton/Justice days of '91. (I blame the chop.) But holy shit, it's getting kind of hard for me to hate them when they've gone through so much postseason disappointment. But damn, what a weird-ass stretch.

― alfalfa romeo (natepatrin), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 02:54 (twenty-one years ago)

As a pretty big Braves fan living far away, I can't imagine any other team has experienced so much futility after regular-season greatness. The Braves' record above absolutely blows away that of the Red Sox, A's, Astros, Twins, Indians, etc. Pretty sad. From their 6-0 lead on the Yankees in Game 3 of the '96 World Series onward, they've experienced nothing but failure.

― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 03:09 (twenty-one years ago)

what I wanna know is how does Bobby Cox still have a job?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 03:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, if he was fired, the Braves wouldn't have Cox.

― alfalfa romeo (natepatrin), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 03:27 (twenty-one years ago)

(that was awful; please forgive me)

― alfalfa romeo (natepatrin), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 03:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Were it not for Cox (& his staff, especially Mazzone), the Braves wouldn't be as well known for their playoff ineptitude; they'd just be known for flat-out suckage.

Has Bobby Cox done anything egregious (like neglect to yank a crap pitcher, or make a strange defensive substitution, or carry 12 lefties in the bullpen) that have directly lead to any of those early exits?

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 03:35 (twenty-one years ago)

It doesn't make much sense, either, becuase the Braves have had nearly every possible flavor of team in the postseason in the last eight years or so and all have failed: loaded starting pitching in the 90s, mashers last year, general competence this year. Just terrible luck I guess.

― mattbot (mattbot), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 03:52 (twenty-one years ago)

daver - cox has done tons of crazy 'wtf' postseason moves (cf. bringing in chris fucking reitsma tonight), to an extent chalk up lack of outrage/calls for cox's head to baseball being a distant second to football in the south (at the time braves mania actually gripped atlanta - early 90s - the dawgs were mediocre, the falcons grasping at a wildcard maybe)(even then no brave approached the popularity of deion sanders(haha - including deion sanders)(speaking of, case in point, etc. - the tomahawk chop adapted/adopted from fsu noles becuz of neion deion, the 'braves' tiein just a nice coinkydink)(so yeah, football rules, now and forever quoth luther), to an extent chalk it up to people favoring (wisely) braves futility: 90s version to braves futility: 70s and 80s version. the one series win (oddly enough against the best team - by far - the braves ever faced in the postseason), helps too, acts as a vaccination shot. still, dan reeves and jim donnan weren't cut nearly this much slack.

bbt otm: blame jim leyritz.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 05:04 (twenty-one years ago)

re: tomahawk chop, i've never really cared for it, more for 'it's corny reasons' (i'm one of those people that gets really pissed when a wave starts and gripes about how these newfangled ballparks are too much like amusement parks)(with their hipping and their hopping...) than for pc reasons (which i'm somewhat of mixed mind about, what with it's fsu heritage and hence apparent seminole nation endorsement), i guess i like it better than a fucking rally monkey or thunderstix or whatever the fuck on the west coast or obnoxious yankee fans '1918' chants and fucking 'new york, new york' and weepy irish 'god bless america' on the east coast (haha after the game some yanks fan started chanting '1918' and 'red sox suck' at some bosox fans waiting for the shuttle*, the bosox responded by chanting 'yankees suck' back which the braves fan mass could definitely get behind, and then we shouted 'go clean your pool' at him. good times.) ANYHOW tonight (until the stros tore it open) the atmosphere was more, um, charged than i've seen at a braves game in a long long time, after the estrada hr they played 'shake ya tailfeather' which of course prompted tomahawk chop and it was by far the most i have enjoyed either of those elements. and then of course reitsman came in, they kept pitching to beltran, the stros tore it open, etc etc. the braves are paring down payroll again (bye bye jd drew fer sure, among other things), the phillies will have an actual manager (maybe), the marlins should be good, next year might be the year atlanta doesn't win the east. i'll believe it when i see it though.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 05:27 (twenty-one years ago)

* for some reason marta (atl subway system) doesn't have a turner field stop. this is a fucking mystery.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 05:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I just wrote it on the NLDS, but I'll write it again -- the '95 Indians were a sensational team, they went 100-44 and were certainly better than the Braves on paper.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 06:21 (twenty-one years ago)

This just reinforces how much I would LOVE to read a book written by cinniblount.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 06:21 (twenty-one years ago)

out of print, sadly

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 06:55 (twenty-one years ago)

and then we shouted 'go clean your pool' at him. good times.

That is eeeeeeeeevil. I'll pray for your soul, JB.

Unless Bobby Cox turns into a lobotomized Dusty Baker in the playoffs, I still say he (& his staff) (keep on rockin' me, Leo) did an amazing job getting to the playoffs this year, all things considered. (Though I'm still wondering why Andruw wasn't batting higher in the line-up these past 2 games.) (And why the hell wasn't Paul Byrd starting instead of Jaret????!?)

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 12:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Insult added to injury:

The Braves' first season in Turner Field was 1997, and in seven of their eight years in "The Ted" the Braves have been eliminated from the postseason at home. The lone exception was 1999, when the Braves were swept in the World Series by the Yankees, and Game 4 was played in New York.

― mattbot (mattbot), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

How did that '95 Cleveland team get away with playing only 144 games?

― boldbury (boldbury), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 12:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Thank the '94 strike for that boon.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Bobby Cox is a no-brainer Hall of Fame manager. How many other teams ina 14-year period have had so much success in getting to the postseason in a sport where the playoff system isn't (yet) a total joke?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 13:24 (twenty-one years ago)

My competitive dislike of the Braves morphed into a passionate hatred sometime during the '92 WS. Watching Turners' wife there praying during the game is more or less what did it.

Like they were so hard done by - what the fuck was she praying for?:
"Oh please lord hear my humble prayer; deliver us from these foreign blasphemers and bless us with more millions. Amen"
God: "Shut up."

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Jane Fonda prays?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 15:41 (twenty-one years ago)

dude, she's evangelical born-again. The hardcore.

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

is that just to make up for her years as a godless communist? Oh and y'know she and Ted split up some time ago.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

It's too late. Once you're a tribe hater there's no going back!

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 17:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I believe the Xtian conversion came later, and I've read that it was a big contributor to the divorce. He: "Ew, you've gone all bible thumpy!" She: "If I can't convert you, I'm sure not going to hang around you."

― William Crump (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 18:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I kinda like Ted Turner, big fucking goof that he is. Still hate teh Braves though.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 18:14 (twenty-one years ago)

bad late-night tv joke - "Ted Turner and Jane Fonda got divorced - Jane found God and Ted found out it wasn't him."

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Discussing Ted Turner and Jane Fonda wrt the Braves: dud or dud?

― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 20:56 (twenty-one years ago)

not as dud as being a Braves fan!

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 13 October 2004 04:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Ted Turner managed the team for one game in 1977!

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 13 October 2004 05:10 (twenty-one years ago)

it's b/c they're originally from BOSTON. that taint has never left.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 17 October 2004 03:52 (twenty-one years ago)

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