The National League pennant will be decided tonight. The Braves and Dodgers will kick off NLCS Game 7 in a few hours. The winner will take on the Rays next week in the World Series.
The Dodgers were the league’s most imposing offense in the regular season. Los Angeles has continued to mash in the postseason, averaging nearly six runs per game in the NLCS, thanks largely to Corey Seager’s recent home run barrage. Overall, L.A. has a 35-30 run differential edge for the series.
Atlanta’s lineup doesn’t have the depth of the Dodgers’ but the Braves obviously have ample high-end talent. Atlanta also has the more stable pitching outlook for Game 7. While the Dodgers will open with Dustin May, presumably to kick off a full-on bullpen game, Atlanta will hand the ball over to Game 2 starter Ian Anderson.
The 22-year-old Anderson has just six career regular season appearances under his belt, but he’s been downright stellar. The former third overall pick put up a 1.95 ERA over 32.1 innings as a rookie. Anderson punched out an impressive 29.7% of opposing hitters during the regular season while racking up grounders on over half the balls in play against him. The changeup artist also hasn’t been scored upon in 15.2 playoff innings.
The MLBTR readership was almost evenly split as to who would emerge victorious at the beginning of the series. (For what it’s worth, the Braves have since lost left fielder Adam Duvall to an oblique injury, unexpectedly forcing Cristian Pache into everyday duty). Predicting individual baseball games can be something of a fool’s errand, but we’ll turn it over to the readers nonetheless. Who will be celebrating a league championship tonight?
(poll link for app users).
I’ll vote Braves… but the Georgia based sports team curse is very real…
Tonight’s the the night tho! This year’s the year tho!…been saying that for 20+ plus for every GA team however smh….still got Braves tonight!
Said that for years with the capitals. It finally happened though
Braves desperately need to score first or they’ll settle in to the curse I’m afraid
Trailing at any point likely means game over. Atlanta curse too powerful and ingrained not to take over if they find themselves in that spot
Can we all agree curses aren’t real?
…. did you watch tonight’s game? Had a big lead in this series, had a lead in this game. It’s very real.
No curse, just really bad base-running. Plus, they left Martin in too long.
I don’t think they left him in too long. They would likely bring will smith in and he’s been terrible. Huge waste of money. The problem wasn’t that Martins stuff wasn’t playing well, rather the pitch call. I believe Bellinger or another big lefty hit a home run off him the other night on the exact same pitch. I don’t understand that pitch call. I understand wanting to run it hard up and in on him, but you can’t miss especially with a hanging cutter.. I thought his pitches were playing well on the outer portion of the plate. I don’t see why we attempted to go in on him when we didn’t have too
Fans hold onto curses more than players. “Woah is me” combined with gambler’s fallacy are significant parts of “curses.”
Players switch teams, often many times in their careers, and then they retire. Fans generally stick with their teams for life. Difference explained, without resorting to any fallacies.
This falls on AA’s shoulders!!! If he’d go out and find a quality starting pitcher or two at the deadline, win game 3 or 5 no problem. We relied on too much hope, they refuse to make the right decision which the time comes!! Great job this season Braves! Clearly the underdogs in that final series and the lack of depth showed it’s ugly face and that’s on AA. This team had some of the most grit I’ve ever seen… just wasn’t even.
If they hadn’t lost Soroka early in the year then Duvall right away in this series they probably would have beat the egomaniac Dodgers. I hope the Rays wipe those grins off their faces.
So salty…good game bro
Braves want to win they need to play small ball and push runs across. They need to be aggressive on the base paths as well.
We won games so far based on Freddie and Ozuna homers. Small ball is great, but the long ball gets it done. Leadoff homer from Acuna, maybe a Swanson hammer, and say a D’Arnaud one.
Braves of course!
I think the Braves pull through tonight, but the real winner is Dustin May’s glorious hair.
lets all pray he never goes to the Yankees.
I know! What a tragedy that would be.
Braves will get a few runs late to win 6-4. Looking for big hits from Ozuna and Dansby.
Anderson’s team!
But reality will strike again and we will see another choke/collapse. A perennial Braves choking is guaranteed every season.
It’s the Dodgers. They will get to Anderson early and take the wind out of the Braves. Should be a great game!
Dodgers 11-4
I hope you’re right, but I think it’ll be much closer.
Its gonna be tough for a young pitcher like Anderson to beat a team like the dodgers twice. I don’t trust the dodgers bullpen or Dave Roberts though
Braves bullpen looked gassed in games 4 and 5. I voted dodgers while rooting for Atlanta
Dodgers 5-4 in a classic –
*Taylor has a big hit
**Victor Gonzo gets some key outs
Go dodgers!! Both really fun and young teams though
I have to laugh at all this talk about a Georgia team curse. The Braves may lose tonight, but it won’t be because there is a curse.
Curse vs. Choking vs. Failing vs. Coming Up Short!…Whatever semantics you wish to label it hahaha!….But still, Go Braves!
Braves 2-1 neither team scores until the 8th
Ian Anderson for the win!
It will probably come down to the bullpen, give LA a 5-3 Win.
I would say if it comes to the bullpen then advantage Braves…but if its offense then advantage Dodgers
Pretty close on your prediction
Ian Anderson look like all he lacks is a pulse when he is pitching. So calm, so controlled, such a big spot. I think he powers through. 6+ 1 run innings from Anderson will be all the Braves need to push past the Dodgers 4-1 to punch their ticket.
Rays v Braves: Let’s go Braves!
And for what it’s worth Chris Taylor will be playing hurt.
As will Acuna.
Imo, this game unfortunately is all in Anderson’s hands. If he goes 6, giving up 2/3 runs, the Braves should/could win. Otherwise, the Braves won’t be able to keep up with Seager, Betts, and a deeper bench. But let me say this, the Dodgers needed every bit of their deeper team, both bats and pitching to keep up with this Braves team.
Dodgers survive Roberts’ over managing blunders.
Do they?
@MrMet, your thinking may be a a casualty of analyzing based on small sample size
If the Dodgers win, it won’t be due to an ATL curse… it’s more about my lucky Dodger jersey.
I keep reading that the dodgers have a much better offense. They scored one more run, but the Braves were better in September.
1st inning for Anderson is going to be key as the Doyers will launch a raid as they did against Fried. I hope for a nice efficient inning from Anderson, and then hope he can go 6.
Braves. I’m wearing my lucky underwear. No way we lose.
Formerly known as your lucky undies?
Dodgers players play DIRTY.
Especially Muncy, I would love to smack him just once. He’s always showing out when he does something and getting mad at other players for doing the same. I guess he didn’t realize he hit .182 for the season.
Use examples or you’re just spewing
I am a little suspicious of Muncy. Guy didn’t do much till age 27 in MLB. Then all of a sudden is a power hitter. Bad attitude too. Hmmm….
Oh stfu. You have nothing to base this on and sound like a child
There’s countless people who don’t break out till they are older. He went to a new team with a new swing and utilized his always amazing batting eye. Guess Turner, Taylor,Kike, Beaty, Bellinger, Smith and Muncy are all cheating. They all had their swings built by the same group of coaches and started to have success as a group. How dare they!? Almost like the dodgers are just good at development
Don’t accuse people of cheating people because they worked at their craft. Comes off lazy and ignorant Work on fixing the Braves
What’s the bad attitude? Protecting his teammate After they were getting cussed at by a former teammate, THEN he told him to stfu? After a pitcher started barking he said something back? Yawn. You sound like a whiner. Come up with a better excuse than HE CHEATED
Lmao. MV you wouldn’t even be able to say his name in front of him, let alone take a swing
He’d kick your ass so fast hahaha
Ian didn’t have his fastball tonight. They were hitting him hard all game. Knew he won’t last after seeing his stuff early. Still a fighter, still have respect for him. Earn that ace label later Ian!!
There you go, another blunder by the Braves.
The worst part is? The excuse will be they are a young team, learning.
They do this **** every season.
That double play was some Bad News Braves type of stuff. Game changing sequence.
Indeed, JT’s awareness of Swanson & Riley’s baserunning blunders was huge. Big momentum shift
Why the dodgers took May out was confusing?
He threw 8 straight balls to start the game. Got lucky with the double play. Looked awful. As a Braves fan, I wish Roberts would have left him in.
Or more accurately, he was playing the role of opener
I’m afraid the Braves will give the ball to Smith late in the game.
Pros:
He is a former Giant. I’m sure he would love to hurt the Dodgers
Cons:
One of the worse case scenarios is him giving up another big blow after a huge offseason contract.
Mookie Betts! Oh my!
That’s a $365 million catch!
Betts is a true superstar
His timing on the jump was a work of art, so perfect.
How does he not have a great nickname by now? It’s not very befitting a baseball moniker…but he’s a Ninja!
Doesn’t Mookie count? Lol
Great catch, but that probably wasn’t going to be an HR. It would have bounced off the wall for a hit.
I am not missing Joe Buck’s commentary tonight. At all. You can put me down forever on that comment.
You’d never know Davis calls Dodger games every day. That was enjoyable to listen to. Again, what a game
Davis has taken the torch from Scully about as well as a person can
That is blasphemy. Seriously. Listening to Joe and Orel broadcast the Dodgers is about as much fun as having spikes driven into your ears. They spend most of the time blabbing to each other about just about everything but the game as if we’re tuning to hear how much they enjoy each other’s company. Stuff happens on the field and they just don’t seem to notice.
Vin’s secret was every fan who listened felt like he was talking to them, and you could follow the game with your eyes closed. Nobody does that anymore. Nobody even tries. Add to that we don’t have play-by-play announcers anymore. They are so busy with the endless analysis they can’t even bother to mention the count, the score, what’s happening with the runner on first, who’s on deck, who’s warming in the bullpen. Anything.
I learned a lot about the rhythms and subtleties of baseball from listening to Vin, and before that Ralph Kiner. I don’t know where anybody who is new to the game today would get that from any of the current bodies in the booth. Maybe that’s one of the reasons baseball is not building an audience,
You are the only person I know that hates Orel/Davis
No one is Vin, sure. But they have done a fantastic job. Sorry you’re so angry you can’t enjoy it. You sound like I was on your lawn too long….
Do you have any original thoughts, or do you borrow all of them from movies? Probably the latter, since you responded to not one word of what I actually said.
Salty blue skies indeed –
Joe is truly awesome and is lauded around baseball today as one of the best already!
I love listening to Joe & Orel. If you want to have spikes through your ears you turn on Charlie & Rick.
If you like learning about their golf games and how they cook barbecue, then you’ll love Joe and Orel. Meanwhile, who’s on first?
Charlie Steiner is okay. When he’s announcing at least we can tell what is happening in the baseball game.
What a great block of the plate by d’Arnaud.
This game is amazing.
Still waiting for Acuna to prove he is good…waiting and waiting.
Because he doesn’t produce as well as he could in one series?
Maybe it’s being an unhappy fan, but Acuna will be one of baseball’s elites for years to come. Most of hitting is failing and mentally getting past those failures. He’ll be fine.
Shame on you (like many Dodger fans who want Jansen traded or Doc fired) for having low “fan IQ “and/or “fan ADHD”
Oh look I caught another mindless Acuna apologist.
The list keeps piling up will only make it better when you look back 5 years from now.
Gives me chills remembering people on mlb.com game chats back in the day telling me I was wrong for thinking Freeman will be better than Heyward.
Dude’s already elite. He’s giving the Braves the type of production that puts people in the HoF. If he plays out his contract and produces at his current level for the duration then there shouldn’t be any complaining.
Honestly, you bring up a good point. The fact that his contract is so cheap only means that when he does inevitably fail, the contract won’t look bad.
He had a better year than Tatis, Jr going by OPS+. Not sure what else he has to do to to demonstrate how good he is.
Too bad we can’t trade ‘fans’ who irrationally hate superstars on their own team. If we could’ve swapped Sororka’sHealingAnkle for Jeffrey Maier the Braves could’ve won that series.
And Jesus has spent the last week explaining to Joe Morgan why the sac bunt is a bad idea to no avail. Some people don’t get it.
Hahah trade fans, amusing perspective. Or just put them on waivers. Plenty of my fellow Dodger fans should get waived
Soroka’sHealingAnkle. We know how to look at stats. The only person who mindlessly hates Acuna is you. For the longest time you could only cling to his K’s to justify your rediculous opinion. Now you have this post season. You just keep cherry picking reasons to hate the guy. Keep ignoring is HR totals, runs scored, OBP, Slugging, Batting Average and defense. You at least have his K’s and post season to point too. You call us apologists but then, we have a lot to lean on you prove our point.
Come on, Soroka’sHealingAnkle. Admit it. It’s his dreads that really, REALLY bother you. =D
I’m not ignoring any of these stats. To me, they are not relevant. Just like any pitcher, their numbers are useless if they don’t produce when it matters.
Acuna is supposed to be the next big thing for this organization, and I’m still waiting for it. He never came up big for the team. Most of his at-bats were lazy in the CS. I don’t care how young he is or how he has the potential to change that later. I just don’t see anything more than an average player long term. Pitchers will/have figured him out. Notice how he didn’t get anything to hit because they learned he will just go out there and swing for the fences every at bat.
How can you call Acuna “average” and also say his stats don’t matter? If you aren’t referring to stats than how do you decide he is average? If you didn’t refer to stats to justify your position than why did you refer to his K’s in the past? Also, Acuna came through just about all season long. You can’t get to the post season if you don’t win in the regular season and he was a huge part of that.
But in the playoffs you are STILL wrong. He didn’t do great this year but he HAS come through in the playoffs. In 2019 against the Dodgers he had 19 AB’s with 8 hits. His life time OPS..IN THE POST SEASON..is .872. So even in your own argument you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Don’t take my word for it;
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=acunaro01&t=b&year=0&post=1
So again, let’s get to your real reason for hating Acuna…the dreads. =}
They will normalize over time. As I said, pitchers are learning how to pitch to him. His strikeout game already proves how flawed he is as a hitter.
Again, I’ll let the next 5 or so years play out. I know what is to come.
Hopefully, Freddie has a ring by then – probably with a different team.
But you said his stats aren’t relevant yet you except his K’s as one that IS relevant? Of course pitchers are going to adjust to him. That is one of the reasons why batters go through slumps. But you were also wrong when you said he hasn’t come through. But if there adjustments are so great then why does he still produce well? This has been his third year of elite production.
“I’ll let the next 5 years play out.” I don’t care of you do or don’t.
So..about those dreads? And I’m wondering something else too. What do you think of Ozzie Albie’s and Marcell Ozuna? What do you think of Mookie Betts while I’m at it.
Ozuna needs to go unless DH is back.
Albies needs to lead off (or Swanson).
Mookie should have stayed in Boston.
Wow. Just wow.
I’m going to screenshot this and send it to Alex Anthopolous directly so he can see the gem we’ve unearthed here on MLBTR and see about bringing you into the front office.
Stand by…
@coachbrad. That’s cruel buddy. He’d probably send Acuna to Arizona for MadBum and add Max Fried just for the hell of it.
Give me Gallen, Peralta, and Bum, and I’ll trade them Acuna any day of the week with Kyle Wright.
I’ll keep Fried though. The Braves need a #3 behind Gallen. Soroka will be #4. Bum 5.
Trying to even the scales for Dave Stewart?
Gallen is pretty damn good. How can you expect to land him with two mediocre players, maybe worse? Since you really believe that non-sense, don’t you think the analytics department in Arizona would too? And MadBum? You’re right..stats don’t matter to you.
LOL! You’re a troll and don’t even know it. =D
I love Swanson but it is not like the Braves have done anything significant since the trade. I guess celebrating division titles is enough for casuals.
Only winning matters. And the best chance to win is to give yourself as many opportunities as possible. That’s what Acuna does for you. Not sure how to explain this using smaller words.
You don’t have to explain anything. I’m seeing with my own eyes that Acuna is not helping. They are still choking left and right in the postseason.
30 MLB front offices, 7.8 billion people, and every statistic known to man all disagree with you. For good reason.
You’re wrong.
So what am I missing? The Braves won yesterday? Acuna was the MVP? What I miss?
Unless of course, you are referring to useless regular-season accolades?
Why are we talking about Acuna anyway?
The first person to blame is AA. Fire Snitker right after.
Other than SorokasHealingAnkle, is there any fan out there that would not want Acuna on their team the next 5 years?
There is a difference between not wanted Acuna vs. tempering your expectations for him. The Braves and their fans view him as the next Braves to lead the team (after Freeman). I think that will be a mistake because he won’t be as good as Freeman.
Why should they temper their expectations? You’ve been doing that for three years and he Acuna keeps producing.
There is also a difference between being a fan and a psuedofan. He may not be as good as freeman bc freeman is a beast. However, his 1st 2 full seasons absolutely crush Freeman’s 1st 2 full seasons. So give it some time stop your constant crying. It is not manly.
Why should have Betts stayed in Boston?
Why does Albie’s need to lead off? Do you think Albie’s is a good player?
Come one, keep defending your irrational views of Acuna. I gave you a legitimate retort. You keep calling us apologists. Be an apologist for your OWN view.
@Angels and NL West. No. This guy is hard helmet special. Even Dodger fans don’t go as far as this guy when they talk about Kershaw and I have already pointed out that Acuna HAS been productive and come through in the playoffs. Heroin is a hell of a drug.
Braves pitchers must be about 20% on first pitch strikes. Lucky to have only given up 3.
Lol Braves will never win with Snitker, I usually substitute an H for the N in his name but TradeRumors is so sensitive. It’s hard enough to win with Snitker as a manager and his colossal mistakes but when you make huge base running blunders it’s impossible. Go back to the Dbacks or anywhere Dansby you are and have always been a joke.
It is the Braves way. They can’t lose without giving away wins to the Dodgers. That is 3 straight games they gave away for free to the Dodgers.
How did they give this game to the Dodgers?? The Braves had 3 hits. 3
Quit complaining
Managing to get 3 hits off a bunch of scrubs in the bullpen, coupled with the baserunning mistakes – yes, they gave it away!
It is fine though. This offseason will prove they don’t care about winning when they don’t address the rotation and 3rd base.
Just because they came out of the bullpen doesn’t mean they are all relievers. The Braves faced LA’s 3, 4 and 5th starter tonight
That’s called depth. And it still went down to the 9th. It was a great game
“Bunch of scrubs”. Just stop
It’s called depth
Depth my ***. Not managing a hit for 2/3rds of the game tells you more about how terrible the hitters are.
The better pitching won. It always does
No choke. No giveaway. A young team that made a great run. Made a mistake or two tonight, but so did the Dodgers. This is baseball. If you’re only happy when your team wins, you’re going to be pissed off most of the time at season’s end. The Braves have a core that should keep getting better. It’ll be us in the WS in the next few years.
Did you copy and paste that from 2018? and 2019? At some point, these words lose meaning when you keep reciting the same BS every season they inevitably lose in the postseason. The heartbreaking part is they don’t seem to care. Every offseason they stick with the same BS prospects nonsense and don’t spend or trade big.
Keep telling me otherwise – the results on the field prove it.
@Soroka’sHealingAnkle:It must be sad to live your life.
You think its a good time to say that when your team once again choked in the postseason? Im sure you may not care if they win, but still.
I called before the game that someone will make a mistake and it will be the difference.
The window for the Braves just opened this year. Anything before this was over performing. Short term contracts, nothing lingering over the organization for the next five years with aging veterans, developing youth… This is exactly where you want to be. Should be perennial contenders for the next 4-5 years.
This philosophy is BS, always was and always will be. Making the postseason is a privilege, not a right. You can keep reassuring yourself that this team will be back but I’m willing to bet they won’t. Unlike the overachieving Dodgers, the Braves have a tougher division. A division with 2 hungry teams waiting to break out in the Mets and Phillies. The Braves don’t have that – not from their owners nor their GM. It starts on top and the results on the field prove something needs to change.
Hopefully, once the Rays win the WS, the Braves are the first to make a big move. But they won’t. I know they won’t. Prove me wrong again – I’m willing to bet I’m right again. I would like to hear what excuse you will have to agree with the Braves lack of significant moves this off season.
They made the NLCS and fell by one run in game 7 to the best team in baseball! The playoffs are a crapshoot. What’s been proven is that the plan is working. Banners are never guaranteed.
Thanks coach. But I’m willing to argue trading for Milone when your team had the opportunity to go big plays a big part in why banners are never guaranteed.
I know the covid argument will come up. It is a fair one. But as I said before, this offseason will cement everything I ever said about this organization’s lack of care. We will wait and see! Might be Freeman’s last year with the team too.
They didn’t choke. They lost to the better team. Braves played better first four games but it was not a best of five series. The better team won. Period. Dodgers lost one series the entire year.
On paper, yes the Dodgers are better. On paper, many teams not in the postseason are better than the Braves.
But we are not talking on paper. We are talking about what we saw on the field. The Braves continued mistakes on the basepaths proved to be the difference. They let the Dodgers win. They gave the series away.
Good luck against the Rays though. Looking forward to watching the Rays celebrate!
Uhhh. The Dodgers were the better team on the field. Who won the series again? Every team makes mistakes. You don’t think the Dodgers made mistakes? Braves didn’t give the series away. The Dodgers took it. Betts made plays in the field. Seager was a beast. Buehler dominated his second start. Smith had key hits. Urías was awesome. Etc. Didn’t even mention 11 runs in the first inning. They’ve been doing this all season. It’s no coincidence that the two best records are playing for the WS. Stuff happens and the better team doesn’t always win a series. But I think we have the two best teams playing for the WS
Keep it classy. Hope you don’t represent the Braves fan base. Because you’re a whiny excuse making classless fan.
That is all fine and dandy but the Braves gave the series away no matter how much you think otherwise. They only won because the Braves let them win.
But again, Good luck against the Rays. Looking forward to watching the Rays celebrate!
The dodgers had the deeper lineup
The dodgers had the deeper rotation
The dodgers had the deeper bench
The bullpens were 1-2 in the NL this year. And guess what? Fantastic offenses wore them both down
The deeper team won the long series. You should be elated at the future of your franchise. Your rotation is controllable, Acuña had similar number to Tatis this year so idk what your beef is there. He 22! there’s multiple guys in your lineup under 27. Like cmon
All they need to do is keep Freeman and have good fortune with health. Heck I think we all agree Acuña was probably hurt this series, yet was in the middle of nearly every atl rally the last few days. Enjoy the success
“The only reason the Dodgers won is because they played better.”
Brilliant.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
“The dodgers had the deeper lineup
The dodgers had the deeper rotation
The dodgers had the deeper bench”
Congrats. Still does not excuse the baserunning blunders the Braves had multiple times. Like it or not, that is the difference. Not the fact that the Dodgers are better on paper. The game was lost in that inning.
The rotation has Anderson and Soroka, that is it. Oh, yea there is Fried I guess. They cannot go into next season thinking this is enough. They simply can’t. Fried never pitches well in big games, Soroka is always hurt, and Anderson (despite how much I love him) is still unproven. Wright needs to go. He will never be good.
Going after TB might be too hopeful so my expectations are low.
The Braves have lots of questions to figure out this offseason. A lot of contracts are coming off the board. Unless the DH is back, hopefully they don’t waste money on Ozuna.
“Congrats. Still does not excuse the baserunning blunders the Braves had multiple times. Like it or not, that is the difference.”
Your entire argument boils down to: the Dodgers only won because they played better.
Um, yeah. We’re all in agreement on that.
Yes, they played better. Doesn’t mean they truly earned the win.
Ok, I’ll be sure to let them know.
Lmao. So by your logic, the Braves didn’t earn game 1, the dodgers bullpen lost it with bad pitches in the 9th? So what, it doesn’t count?
The better team played a cleaner game and won. You have no idea the dodgers wouldn’t have scored more if you didn’t run into a DP that inning. You can’t say anything definitive would have happened. Never seen someone so bitter with such a decent team coming back next year. Wow
I have to stop you right there. I’m a Phillies fan and I would not use the word “hungry” to describe that team. They were one of the top teams in scoring this year but their bullpen as we all know was an absolute embarrassment. They’re quite possibly on the verge of losing JT and have many holes to fill. The Braves and Dodgers have built their clubs on the strength and depth of their farm system. The Phillies have not. They have to go out and spend on talent every year only for the team to buckle like a belt come September.
So please do not insult us by saying the Phillies are “hungry”
Thank you, MLBDodger! I hate the word choke. Your team is exceptionally talented, and the Braves pushed them to the brink. Credit where it’s due, the Dodgers were just the better team this year. They’re probably the best team in baseball, and TB has a tall task ahead of them.
The Braves are young. They made some crucial mistakes, and the Dodgers were savvy enough to capitalize. There’s a maturation process involved with winning a World Series.
The Braves advanced two rounds and fell to a juggernaut in seven. That’s not choking.
Poor Freeman. Will never see have a ring with this organization. Hopefully, he moves on to a team that cares about winning.
Yeah, if only we had Bumgarner to help get us over the hump (for context to readers who haven’t followed your extensive name changes – this is the “genius” who used to be called NoBumgarner=NoNLCS because he argued that if we didn’t go after Bum, we would be “giving up” on this team).
I’ve never seen a “fan” who dissapears whenever the team is winning and chirps louder than any opponent I’ve ever heard when we lose. Really hope everyone else on the site can see that you don’t represent Braves fans in any way. Also hope you find whatever is missing in your life that makes you behave this way in a public forum.
What. A. Game. Seven.
Down to the final AB. Helluva series on both sides
Helluva job by the Dodger arms. Shut them down completely. Sorely needed after May looked terrible and what was shaping up to be a long night. They held the fort. The bats worked the Braves arms hard with deep counts and timely hits. Well deserved. Great game. Great series. Bravo
Braves starters impressed me thoroughly. Series may have been different with the normal rest. It took some highlight reels to overcome from LA’s side. Nothing for ATL to hang their head at truly
Let’s go dodgers!
Even when the Braves were ahead it felt like they were behind. The Dodgers got the hits when it counted, and the Braves ran into some freebie outs that they usually wouldn’t.
Yeah, I sorta feel like the Dodgers felt the pressure of being the favorite the first 4 games while the Braves were loose. The Mookie catch in game 5 and the subsequent base running blunder by Ozuna completely flipped that. The Dodgers seemed looser after that, just having fun and playing their game. Big moment in that series. Nothing felt ‘comfortable’ for Atlanta afterwards.
We got that close to an Astros-Dodgers WS… that close…
I’m glad it’s the rays, and I think the rays are the better team. I just think it will be a more neutral World Series than if Houston was there
Braves stars came up small.
Braves are a good looking team with a bright future. Even with injuries in their rotation, the Braves took an outstanding Dodgers team to the 9th inning of game 7.
Soroka’sHealingAnkle is the epitome of the classless trash-fan. The better team won and the good news is, your idiotic takes hold even less water than before, as you’ve been proven to know less about baseball than even I imagined a week ago.
And what’s up with saying “the Dodgers are better on paper” in one post, then calling them overachievers in another? I mean, which is it? Take your time with the answer, as you now have the whole off-season to think about it.
Regarding the series, it was epic, and even as a Dodgers fan, I have to say it was too bad somebody had to lose, given the effort put in by both teams.
Braves were a classy opponent, though I can’t say the same for many of their fans, whose tears I’m drinking tonight.
Dodgers over Rays in 7.
Hey, thanks for the shout out.
Looking forward to watching the overachievers inevitably lose in the WS again. May actually be more gratifying than the Braves winning tonight since the Braves choking is an expected perennial thing. Hopefully, the Dodgers follow suit with their perennial choking.
Hey, it’s my pleasure to show you the door.
Enjoy the winter…Maybe the Falcons will somehow get to 4 wins and the ATL can claim another moral victory.
Cheers!
Thanks for assuming I care about Football or the Falcons.
Dude. Get a grip. This team was clearly better and got further than any recent Braves team. If you can seriously call a team that lost the NLCS in seven games “losers” and “chokers” and berate their organization for not doing more, then you simply do not understand baseball. Switch to the NBA or the NFL where that kind of smack mouth trash talk is part of the landscape. This is BASEBALL. It will break your heart no matter which team you root for. Just enjoy the games, cheer for your team, and set more reasonable expectations. There’s no need to rip everyone and everything just because the ride ended one game short of the WS.
Berate for not doing more? They went into this season with Faulty and Newcomb in their rotation. They went into this season without fixing third base. This was all pre-covid. It was a shortened season. Let’s not jump into their bandwagon yet – albeit I agree they did more than expected.
At the end of the day, I knew they will choke the series being up 3-1. Forget everything else. Honestly speaking, as a fan it kills you watching the same thing over and over. It doesn’t end there though. Every subsequent offseason they go cheap and don’t do enough to give you hope things will change.
Sorry that I’m angry this team continues to settle with losing while continuously lying to the fanbase that they will spend and trade.
Again, I would kindly and gently advise you to adjust your expectations. By your definition 28 teams “settled for losing” this year because they didn’t make the series. This is a team with limited payroll capacity. They aren’t ever going to spend another $40MM to match the Dodgers. They are always going to be the underdogs. They spent the money they had on Acuna/Albies extensions, Hamels, Ozuna, d’Arnaud, and the bullpen pieces. It’s a REALLY GOOD TEAM. I know you’re mad right now but sleep it off, get up in the morning, and remind yourself that our team outperformed 26 of the 30 major league teams this year. We should be proud of this team, not angry at them.
That was one long, bitter whine.
But you’re not a Braves fan.
The Braves settled with losing when they acquired Milone knowing their rotation problems. How is that not enough to prove they just gave up on the season?
Let’s move on from last night.
Let’s look into this offseason.
Do you agree that the Braves should be aggressive this offseason given how close they got this season?
They are aggressive. But at no point will they break up the farm and trade them for a single pitcher or position player in an attempt to win it all. That’s old school philosophy and good teams stay away from it as much as possible.
Braves have a mediocre farm system with Anderson and Pache having graduated and the Coppolella penalties. AA has done a great job.
A large contract for a declining vet is the last thing the Braves need.
They have Wright, Wilson, Waters, and one of their young catchers available to trade.
They have contracts coming off the board and money to spend.
There is a constant denominator as to why the Braves fail in the playoffs –
Their offseason moves are exactly it! They don’t do enough. There are obvious holes on the roster that are not being addressed.
Their front office moves are what got them to the playoffs and within 1 run of the World Series. Playoffs are a crapshoot and this year will be the most difficult WS to win ever with the additional teams, short series, and few rest days.
But you are missing the point. It is no longer about making the playoffs. The Braves have a decent foundation to make the postseason.
It is time to take the next step forward, which the Braves are not doing. Not addressing their rotation at all is number 1 proof of that. Not addressing 3rd base and settling for a flawed hitter in Riley is number 2.
I can assure you if the Braves bring back Ozuna, they will still not be competitive in the postseason. They need more.
I keep hearing the same things over and over from fans every postseason exit and it just mind-boggling how you people come up with excuses for the team.
We will see what they do this offseason.
The point is that they got there BECAUSE of the good front office moves, not IN SPITE of them.
Freeman needs an extension that makes sense for both sides, Soroka and Fried are going through arbitration, Ozuna’s production will have to be replaced and some depth added to the rotation and bench.
Money will be spent but you’re wrong if you think it’s being spent on splashy free agents or that AA will trade young, cost controlled players for aging vets.
Sign all the Cubans, Sororka’shealingankle doesn’t speak for all of us, or even most of us. The Dodgers earned it. Yes the Braves made some mistakes, but it’s because the Dodgers were smart enough to capitalize. If JT isn’t aware enough to go to 3rd on Riley’s blunder, it’s not a blunder. The better team won this year, that’s all that can be said. Good luck and looking forward to hopefully doing it again next year with a different outcome.
Hell of a series Braves fans! You have a great young organization that went far in this weird season while missing Soroka! A lot to look forward to with that club
Momentum of the series changed on these plays.
Betts caught Swanson 2 inches off the ground
Betts-caught Ozuna on the wall
Pache didn’t play the wall well-Seager home run
Betts caught Freeman at the top of the wall
Ozuna base running error, such errors at this level cannot be made
Swanson base running error-such an error at this level is poor-fundamental is that you see the ball through the hole before taking off. You can’t let chances with 2nd and 3rd occupied none out pass by, that was the ballgame there, we get a clutch hit there and probably win the game. Instead we come up with bone headed novice base running. Poor fundamentals.
Riley-what was he doing, either stay at 2nd or go to 3rd.
Braves did remarkably to push this all the way to 7. Braves really missed Donaldson unfortunately, I believe if we had him and Ozuna in the lineup the result could have been different.
Needs for next year-a veteran arm that can eat up innings. Lester lives in Atlanta, maybe him. Braves need another big bat, Freeman & Ozuna are the only real dangers from 1-9. Our 7-8-9 needs major attention. What happens with Ozuna, give him 4-5 years, but I suppose that depends whether they are going to keep the DH in the NL.
Matzek, Martin, Melancon & Greene were all good. I don’t know what happened to Will Smith, nearly unhittable as a Giant.
Bye bye Flowers you’ve given good service, although I wish we had kept Suzuki at that time. Welcome in Contreras. I believe that may also have been Markakis last game, and Duvall’s contract is up as well.
It always amuses me when fans say “we” as if they are part of the organization.
I’m glad the new internet has cameras so you can identify and know whether or not the person posting is or isn’t part of the Braves organisation. Thank the Lord for that new development.
The Braves are a publicly traded franchise, so he technically could be part of the ‘we’, just saying.
Is it really a big deal for fans to feel a part of something they root for and excitedly use the word ‘we’ though?
@Fred – That was a good summary of key points, but I think the play that sent the Dodgers to the WS happened in the second inning of Game One when Adan Duvall strained his oblique. Duvall was a key source of timely long balls all year long, and he was sorely missed. With him in the lineup instead of Pache, the Braves “bottom three” would have been Swanson, Markakis and Riley, a much better trio than Markakis, Riley and Pache. With Duval on the field, Acuna is the one jumping for homers that just clear the fence instead of a rookie who’s still adjusting to major league parks. Nobody’s talking about it because ATL won three of the first four without him, but the Braves are a MUCH better team with Duvall than they are without him. Pitching wasn’t the Braves’ problem—they held LA to three runs and four runs in the final two games. SCORING was the Braves’ problem, and Duvall would have made the difference there.
you are overrating Duvall quite a bit there.
@BravesAbsent – Duvall was 3rd in NL in HR, 24th in NL in OPS, tied with Bryce Harper at 27th in NL in RBIs. What am I overvaluing? What team wouldn’t miss that?
Funny to see Braves fans try to rationalize how they choked a 3-1 lead. Your offense consists of 2 players clocking homers with little else. Tons of strike outs and big power just like the Yankees. Dodgers had more hits and men on base almost every inning! Braves Rotation really didn’t play anyone with potential outside of dodgers as the Reds and Miami were both in the 20’s overall in offensive production. Fried and Anderson got lucky the first games of the series because the second appearanceS dodgers clearly figured them out knocking them out in 3/4th innings. Dodgers are deeper and the better team won.
They always rationalize and make excuses. When they got beat up last year in game 5, they were ok too and said, we will get them next year. It’s quite telling that most people probably don’t care either way, hence why they are okay being the embarrassment in the MLB playoffs for over 2 decades.
Relax, fellas. Dodgers were the better team, but they scraped through a seven-game series they could easily have lost so either the Braves were better than you thought or the Dodgers nearly choked, it has to be one or the other. Fried pitched at least six innings in both his games and gave up a total of four runs so you should review your “knocked them out” comment. The Dodgers are good, but based on the actual games, they are exactly a one-run seventh game better.
* 1 or 2 bad baserunning mistakes
Blah blah blah. I’ve never seen so clueless talk so much.
Just came back to see if you were still crying on here lol
or he would have stuck out on 3 pitches every AB and the series wouldn’t have even gone 7 games. I would say what Pache did was more than what they would have gotten from duvall.
This braves fan is truly disappointed but not surprised. You can say if only they had another starter or if only soroka hadn’t got hurt or if only but they just didn’t get the job done. I’m proud they got this far but still disappointed.
Sorry about multiple same comments. I don’t agree with there being a curse on georgia but it does get frustrating when ga teams get really close but can’t close the deal. Hawks were great a few years back but couldn’t get past lebron james. Falcons could not stop tom brady and now Braves can not win just one game out of three.
Massive respect for Atl this series-
Fried is a lot better than I gave him credit for, Anderson as well-
This series will be good for them moving forward. They are a top 5 organization in all of baseball with a ledger so clean you could eat off of it.
The only real disapointment has to be Will Smith here – I was a big Smith fan this offseason and thought the 3/39 was a steal – He really coulda earned that whole contract this series but was rather terrible. He nuts up for a series Braves are in the WS
That was difficult to watch. Losing after you lead 3 to 1 isn’t rare but it’s is unusual. Fits perfectly with being an Atlanta sports fan.
Mlbn said it was either 3 or 4 times it’s happened in AL, but first time in NL( come back to win down 3-1)
I kinda wonder if that has anything to do with DH. Either way, it was a really fun series all 7 games
The Cubs did it in 2016, the Giants did it in 2012, the Marlins in 2003, the Braves in 1996, the Pirates in 1979 and then there were a few AL teams as well. Maybe it was 4 but on the NL side that did it and 1 on the AL, the Red Sox in 2004. So maybe you got it backwards? Four for the NL and one for the AL that it has only happened but only since the division expansion?
I’m very confident I heard it how they presented it, because they made a big deal about LA being 1st
Now mlbn easily could have been wrong lol. Because you’re right about Cubs. Idk that’s what I get for trusting mlbn without checking lol
I have complete respect for the LA Dodgers team, but some of their fans, maybe not as much.
You won a 7 game series by one run due to a million dollar star who earned his money and swung momentum of the series with a few plays. You also had a deeper starting pitching rotation, no fault of the Braves that they lost Soroka, Hernandez, Hamels, and Foltynewicz and Newcomb., not to mention we lost a key outfielder in Duvall in Game 1.
You’ll still be a good team next year as well with that lineup, depending on what happens with Turner, I don’t see him going anywhere.
Hopefully the Braves will meet you again, but next time it will be with a deeper rotation of Soroka, Fried, Anderson, Wilson, and an experienced veteran arm and another big bat, then let’s see what happens. I wouldn’t be blowing your trumpet too hard about how you emerged victorious by one run in a 7 game series against basically rookie starting pitching and minus an outfielder. You got out of a very deep pickle you were in, and the Braves assisted & helped you with some of the mistakes they made-these are facts that are not up for debate.
One big hit or good inning or bad inning of baseball is all it took.
Basically 2 guys won it for the Dodgers, Betts & Seager, they made the crucial plays when it mattered, the difference between winning and losing, and for the money you guys spent then you probably should have won. Not much difference between you and the Yankees though when it comes to spending and you won by 1 run.
LA Dodgers payroll Total Payroll:
$107,917,397
NY Yankees payroll $109,439,081
Atlanta Braves payroll $63,061,931
Tampa Bay payroll $28,290,689
The only trumpet I hear is yours and it sounds bad
Excuses are like a**holes…