Will the Boston Red Sox fire Terry Francona?
Will the Braves fire Fredie Gonzalez?
Will the players for these teams, that were sure shoe in’s for the playoffs, be traded or released in the off season? Who will take the hit when the dust settles and the reality hits that both these teams were actually in the lead at one point in each of their final games and BLEW IT! There’s got to be someone to blame, right?
Wow, I watched both games last night. It was an example of a major choke job. Atlanta got beat by a team that really isn’t playing for anything and Boston, well, they faced a team that really had their number the whole year. What a shame! What a shame!
Wait a second! I know why these teams lost their last games, the other teams really hate them. Yea, that’s it. Other teams don’t really like Atlanta and Boston so they played them harder than usual. If they were nicer, perhaps, then Philly and Baltimore would’ve just given away the games.
Does that sound familiar to you? That’s what I remember hearing from everyone when the Mets collapsed on the road to the post-season in 2007. “Nobody really likes the Mets so every team played them extra hard.” The one thing about records are that they are made to be broken. Now when FOX puts up the Collapse Chart during the playoffs, the Mets won’t be on top. As a matter of fact, I think what we witnessed this September will go down in baseball lore as the great Double Choke.
I really felt bad for those Atlanta Fans, at least the ones who went to the game. Could you imagine, they couldn’t even sell out their house when their team is playing for a post season spot! They don’t know how good they have it.
But seriously, I wonder who will take the hit for these teams MONUNMENTAL COLLAPSES. You want to see something amazing, come over to my house while I play the smallest violin for the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox. Did you see Chipper’s face in the dugout? Priceless!
I guess you can tell by the tone of this post that I have no sympathy for these teams what-so-ever. I do like the Red Sox, only because they give the Yankees fits. But the Atlanta Braves? The only thing that would’ve been better would be to watch the Phillies collapse as well. In time perhaps, in time.
The Mets took a lot of criticism when they had their epic collapse in 2007. Besides the comments from every major broadcaster in the country, they were also the punch-line for a sure fire laugh. It trailed them for years and eventually led them to what we have today, a sub .500 team made by a GM with open wallet and bad press conference skills.
Things are looking up but we as Met fans know just how long and hard that wait could be.
Now it’s time to see how these other teams handle it. I want to to see how Theo Epstien and Frank Wren field the awkward questions about their team and their own jobs while their teams clean out their lockers and head to what is sure to be the longest winter of their lives.
Been there and done that.
Now it’s your turn. Have fun!
10 comments
Anonymous
9/29/2011-6:03pm at 6:03 pm (UTC -4)
braves can go with the “we are on the way up, young, etc.” idea. The red sox though, they are supposed to be a win-now team complete with huge payroll.
Anonymous
9/29/2011-6:39pm at 6:39 pm (UTC -4)
Oh, probably a guarantee though that Papelbon isn’t coming back! Not sure if they had any intention though in the first place.
Anonymous
9/29/2011-8:30pm at 8:30 pm (UTC -4)
After the Mets 2007 meltdown I researched teams that suffered similar meltdowns to determine if they bounced back in subsequent seasons. In almost all cases the teams went into a nose dive and required rebuilding. The Mets almost defied history with their 2008 season but alas the bullpen took care of that.
Anonymous
9/29/2011-9:27pm at 9:27 pm (UTC -4)
3 Days ago my father in law asked me who I wanted to make the wild card and answered it that I just want Boston and Atlanta to both lose to wash away the Mets from the books as the most recent greatest choke in memory. And all the better wanted them both to spit the bit. I usually don’t take pleasure in other teams losing or rooting hard for a team to lose just to miss the playoffs but here in this case I did. Alright major media time to rip those darling red sawx and dem’ tomahawk choppers just as bad as our Metsies. I feel like CTL-ALT-DEL has finally been hit to reset our franchise.
Anonymous
9/29/2011-11:25pm at 11:25 pm (UTC -4)
I find it interesting that you have carried the albatross of 2007 and 2008 until now. Sadly the failures of Boston and Atlanta only go into the record books along side the Mets and Philadelphia and do not expunge previous records. The problem with Mets history is not the failures of 2007 and 2008 but rather the fact that for most of their existence the Mets have been irrelevant failures. The only solution is for the Mets to become consistent winners and I wonder if that’s possible as long as the Wilpons own the franchise.
Anonymous
9/29/2011-11:41pm at 11:41 pm (UTC -4)
I haven’t carried the 2007 & 2008 seasons as an albatross but my team has…. I’ve got better things to do with my time then fret over another losing season, I’ve watched them for too long to know what the score is as in I know they are consistent losers more than winners, but, to move forward certain things such as this best be purged from a teams DNA by having another team claim the crown of most recent chokers. How long did Gene Mauch and the Phillies have to carry that crown till the Mets helped put that in the rear view mirror. Granted they had won in between since ’64 to take that edge off but why would I want to wait any longer than necessary?
Anonymous
9/30/2011-1:11am at 1:11 am (UTC -4)
I must apologize since my post sounded as if I was referring to your life outside of the time you apportion to being a Mets fan. That was not my intention. I always approach a new season as a new beginning for my team. I also believe the 2007 and 2008 seasons no longer affect this group of Mets and the Braves and RedSox meltdowns have zero impact on them. But I know of many fans that allow the events of previous seasons to creep into their present fan interest. There are Mets fans that still hate Beltran because of 2006. The most extreme was one individual that was livid because the Mets did not beat the Yankees during one of their annual matchups because he was still angry over the Yankees beating the Dodgers in the 1941 WS. I’m sure Yankees fans will never allow RedSox fans to forget this meltdown.
Anonymous
9/30/2011-12:50am at 12:50 am (UTC -4)
Here’s something from Amazin’ Avenue that’s fun to watch:
“The Five Longest Mets Home Runs of 2011″
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/9/29/2458795/the-five-longest-mets-home-runs-of-2011
MetsFan4Decades
9/30/2011-1:09am at 1:09 am (UTC -4)
I miss Carlos Beltran
Anonymous
9/30/2011-1:22am at 1:22 am (UTC -4)
he’s a FA, you can have him back!