Braves Baseball
Now that we have reached the All-Star break, marking the halfway point of baseball season, I reflect on another rather disappointing year for my home team, the Atlanta Braves. I am still trying to adjust to this reality after growing up in the 90's and expecting the Braves to win at least their NL East division. Like all good things, the Braves dominance had to come to an end. Their players were aging and being traded or retiring. New young talent has been coming up through the Braves organization. But once these talented players become worth enough money, Atlanta seems unwilling to pay the premium and ends up losing them to higher paying teams. Despite the tremendous number of injuries this year for the Braves, almost all of which affect the highest paid players on the roster, the team is doing surprisingly well. They are under .500, but still within reasonable reach of the first place Phillies, just 6.5 games back.
I've gone to Turner Field to watch the Braves three times this season. Fortunately, they have played very well and won each time I attended a game. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-a became a big Braves sponsor by installing a 40-ft tall, steel tomahawking cow on the skydeck beyond left field. Amazingly, it stands higher than the famous Coke bottle, made out of all kinds of baseball gear. There really is nothing better than enjoying some summer ball at the ball park. I went to the July 4th game, a rare sellout at Turner Field. The game was followed by fireworks, although we could see fireworks about the city skyline throughout the game.
I will continue cheering for the Braves, hoping for a miracle as they enter the 2nd half of the season. This year has been full of surprises in baseball, so maybe there will be one more in store.
Jul 15, 2008 9:34 PM
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