Atlanta Braves Grief Counselor Back From Rehab
Braves fans Welcome Back Their Grief Counselor
It’s been a while folks.
I was on a little sabbatical from Baseball (divorce, remarried, another divorce, cheers), but I am back to give advice and take all feedback, positive or negative, in reference to our beloved Atlanta Braves.
Let me begin by saying it’s ok to cry. Just don’t start crying uncontrollably where snot is running down your face…that’s not cute.
We all have our favorite players (Jason Heyward) and honestly the days of having one player to play their entire career with one team (Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter) is rare so expect the worse and pray for the best, DAILY with this team.
Aug 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons (19) (top right) reacts with teammates in the dugout against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Turner Field. The Yankees defeated the Braves 20-6. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
To play devil’s advocate…
I mean, Andrelton Simmons? (expletive) are you serious?
I threw up a couple times immediately after hearing the news… and I was sober.
But before I begin a rant on how much we love the guy, his defense was other worldly blah blah blah… we have to see the big picture here.
#FrontOfTheJersey is still the theme. On most days of basic competency, the front office should be doing their best to build a winner. From the looks of our 40 man roster today, that winner must be buried 20 layers deep because I don’t see it yet but in theory, their job is to field a team that FANS want to come to the ballpark to see and/or cut on the television and/or radio to see and hear.
#IBelieveInThePlan may need to be the new hashtag until some other pieces fall into place because right now….”there ain’t enough milliliters in this bottle to help me see the plan clearly” (don’t tell my advisor).
I get it though. We come from a very recent tradition of winning. Pennant after pennant, Cy Young Awards, perennial All-Stars, etc etc… the tradition is still IN US.
But we can’t judge this team based off of another past team’s performance. We have to stop comparison-shopping at the Gap. The 2016 Braves will be NOTHING like the 2015 Braves. The stats will be different, front office is already different, the competition they face will be different; so YOU have to give each team each year a chance to honor the uniform they put on.
We know what it means, they want to live up to those expectation but we have to be fair and allow them to live up to them.
Most of the time, because we have/had an emotional connection to a certain player, once they are traded, non-tendered or outright released we tend to lash out in a negative way without taking a step back and looking at the “big picture”. Losing Simmons, Craig Kimbrel, Heyward Evan Gattis and others hurts, yes, but each of those moves have set us up for a better future. (I know it is cliché and I’m starting to sound as redundant as the others I read); BUT we could have been somewhat mediocre for a few years barely leaping over .500 or we take an unbiased look at who we are and we utterly destroy the reset button (we hit it too hard) and build from within to set us up for another run of 14 straight division championships. I would prefer the later.
If this were another front office, like the Miami Marlins for example, then I would be looking at everything they do with an objective high-powered microscope. But the “Johns” in the front office have shown themselves to be shrewd businessmen and stellar negotiators. Let’s give them until the end of THIS year (2016) for the core of the plan to be revealed.
Until then, there may be a few head scratchers.
There will definitely be some questionable signings and even more curious NON-signings (pass) but it’s all for the greater good.
What we should be questioning is if the myth of Dian Toscano has been solved. He’s like Waldo, I still can’t find him. Or who’s on Third? Or 2nd? Or Shortstop?
It’s easy to be mad, it’s the default emotion, but once you sit down and take a few deep breaths (and maybe something to calm your nerves) then you will see that the Braves are in a very positive place for 2015 going into the Winter Meetings.
Look at the front of the jersey.
Those names on the back WILL change, but the name on the front is what matters.
Til next time (and probably real soon)
s/n: If anyone wants to buy some Andrelton Simmons Jerseys I bet they are super cheap on eBay right now