CBAreject

I don't think this argument is substantiated. Hotlanta didn't say Stros would definitely win. He just thinks that the 'Stros have a good chance. On the other hand, he should hear chillz' side, which isn't that the Braves will definitely win, but that they're not given respect by the media. My point from the beginning is that ESPN ALWAYS sells us (and other ATL teams for that matter) short. A team that has won 13 titles in a row should at least be given a 50% chance to win a postseason series against a team that has never won a postseason series. If you want to talk about HOT teams, you have to consider the fact that Atlanta's top 3 pitchers had an OUTSTANDING record in the second half, and I think they were 24-5 over the last 3 months. This series is going to be close and I think it could go either way. I give the Braves the nod because I think the vets are hungry this year and the youngsters bring energy. Somebody unexpected (Charles Thomas, Adam Laroche?) is going to come up big and take this series for us.

13 out of 16 ESPN experts pick the Astros to beat the Braves in the NLDS. I can't argue too much, because Clemens and Oswalt are a good combination and Houston is hot. Thing is, these writers have been wrong about the Braves so many times that it's not funny any more. I hope they have to eat crow again. The thing that we have going for us is that we generally fare well against Roy Oswalt and the Astros don't have a good #3 pitcher. If we beat Clemens once, we win the series. The fact that Clemens got a stomach virus and couldn't pitch the final game of the season was extremely fortunate for the Astros. They ended up winning that game, enabling them to save Clemens for games 1 and 4 in the NLDS. If he'd pitched yesterday, he wouldn't have been available until game 3, since you can't really use a pitcher on 3 days rest twice in a row.

I know this team hasn't exactly been dominant thus far, but 4-0 is pretty darn impressive. Somebody email Terrance Moore and Mark Bradley and berate them for being SO critical of the choice of Jim Mora Jr. for head coach. This guy has made believers out of his players (and fans). These worthless pundits wanted Crennell or Lovie Smith, who were both sexier choices and media favorites. Falcons management would've buckled under media pressure in years past. Not this time. McKay and Blank are pros. The Carolina contest was anybody's game until Mathis made a HUGE defensive play. How bout Kerney, too? This guy was wasted under the 3-4. He's leading the NFL now with 7 SACKS in 4 games. 7 sacks is a pretty good total for a SEASON. Wow.

Hmmmm... I never knew 'What's up' was ethnic. It seems universal.

4.07 > 4, right? Last I checked, that wasn't the ERA of a 'dominant setup man'. My argument is not that Reitsma doesn't deserve a spot on the team. My argument is that Reitsma should not be one of our two most important relievers. I agree Reitsma can be good, but the truth is he has been very bad a high percentage of the time. I don't want to *hope* that Dr. Jekyll shows up during the playoffs. The most troubling thing to me is that Reitsma has been at his worst when it mattered the most. When we were neck and neck with the Phillies, he blew AT LEAST three games to that team ALONE. Geez! If Chris were all we had, I'd be singing a different tune. We also wouldn't be going to the playoffs, but just for the sake of arguments....I couldn't complain that he pitches in the 8th. The fact is, we have 3 pitchers who have done a better job holding leads than Reitsma (Cruz, Alfonseca, Gryboski). Use those guys instead. All I'm saying. Now, I'm not the biggest Gryboski fan, either, but I trust Alfonseca MUCH MORE than Reitsma, and I really think Cruz is much more solid at this point. Reitsma hasn't been able to find the strike zone lately unless he fires it right down the pipe. Get him outta there.

I mean, who in his right mind would want to face a Roger Clemens on a mission to rescue this season? The only pitcher I fear more right now in a big game is Curt Shilling (all deference to Johan Santana who is still young). I want the Dodgers. I wouldn't put any faith in Jeff Weaver and Jose Lima. The Dodgers are unstable right now. The only way I would want Houston is if they have to burn Clemens in the last game of the season or in a tiebreaker game. That way, we'd only draw him once in a 5 game series. If we draw him twice and still have to face Oswalt, I'm not too excited about that. Of course, you left out one scenario: The Giants can still win the division, and I wouldn't put it past them considering how determined that team is right now. We could draw the Giants in the first round with St. Louis facing LA. Facing Barry in a 5 game series is scary, too. What if he hits 5 HR in the first 3 games. It happens. I also consider the Cubs just too long a shot. They'll be eliminated today.

Boy, I haven't heard any defense from KB on Chris Reitsma in some time. Why? Well, even KB knows that Chris Reitsma is the single worst pitcher on our team. Despite the fact that KB outright dismissed my concerns about Reitsma's propensity to blow BIG GAME after BIG GAME earlier in the year. KB called Reitsma one of the best setup men in the league and a lights out pitcher. Frankly, I would be surprised if we see Reitsma in the playoffs as a setup man. The job now belongs to Alfonseca. Bobby Cox is not stupid. He will not stake a year's success on a pitcher who has blown crucial games all year and hasn't been able to find the strike zone in the last 2 months. Today's audition was a last chance for Reitsma to keep his job. Well folks, HE FAILED. Reitsma almost blew a 4 run lead against a down-trodden Cubs team in the 9th inning today. Reitsma should not pitch in any big situations in the playoffs. It looks like Cox listened to me on Ortiz (he'll be our 4th starter if he starts AT ALL), so I hope he does the same on Reitsma.

Nobody is going to give us the benefit of the doubt until we start to win. Look, quite a few sports writers were burned in two consecutive seasons by picking us to go to the playoffs--once after the acquisition of SAR and again after the acquisition of Big Dog. Sure, we have new management. Sure, our roster is completely different. The truth is, however, Atlanta has become the laughing stock of the NBA. I ran into Rasheed Wallace in the ATL airport after he was traded here. "What's up, 'Sheed?" I said to him. I got a sneer back, but that's what I expected. Anyhoo, a couple of African-Americans came up and said "What's up, 'Sheed?" He was very cordial to them and proceeded to strike up a conversation, so I eaves-dropped. Their questions were, 'So, where are you going next?', 'You going to the Knicks?', 'How long do you think you'll stay here?' Even Atlanta natives knew that the Hawks were just a rest stop for a real star. They knew that Rasheed had no business in ATL. Look man, just take all of this criticism as a chance to say 'I told you so!' Of course, most writers will say that they liked the Hawks from the beginning, but you have to expect that. The Braves did it this year, and it's been the most satisfying year since '95. They were picked to finish 4th by a few reputable sources. 4th! So many writers are having to eat crow now. Just wait....

3-0 after a miserable game. Falcons drove inside the 10 three times only to settle for 2 field goals. Cardinals drove inside the 12 FIVE times only to settle for 1 field goal (four fumbles). At the end of the day, it's 6-3 and the Cardinals have to be wondering what how they got 3 points out of 5 great scoring opportunities. Still...3-0. Just keep the W's coming. BUT, if we play this way next week, we're going to get torched by the Panthers.

OK, so we're in agreement that Russ Ortiz shouldn't get a #1 or #2 start. No doubt Jaret Wright should start the first game, and I would throw John Thompson in game 2. The question is, what do you do with a now healthy Mike Hampton? Truth be told, Hampton has been our hottest pitcher lately, aside from John Thompson. Furthermore, Mike Hampton is one of our best big game pitchers. Tonight's win was 1-0, and we all know it's tough, tough to pitch when you have no room for error. I was really impressed with his resolve last year against the Cubs in game 2 when he got down 2-0. He ran off 6 consecutive strikeouts and got the Braves a win, ultimately. I don't care whether Ortiz pitches 3 or 4, but I think we know that Cox won't leave him out of the rotation. He has too much history of success. Either way, I want Hampton to pitch the other one. The trouble with all this is that Byrd deserves the start as much as Hampton. Some managers don't even use 4 starters in the playoffs, much less 5, so either Hampton or Byrd will just have to sit. Hampton gets the benefit of the doubt because he's lefty. Byrdie, enjoy long relief, buddy. It's been a good ride.

I visited there last spring, and I really liked the area / campus. I'm a first year at Duke.

Russ Ortiz is jeopardizing his next contract with his current run. This guy can't get the ball over the plate. With our shaky bullpen, it would be a disaster to throw Ortiz in the playoffs unless he has 2 good starts before then. Let's not forget what Tom Glavine did to our team in 2002. That year, Glavine was the Cy Young favorite after running up an 11-2 record. He finished the season 18-11. You can do the math. That's 7-9 after that great start. Furthermore, Glavine posted an ERA of nearly 5 in September of that year. Despite that miserable finish, Cox went with Glavine to pitch NLDS games 1 and 4 because of his HISTORY, not his lousy 6 starts to end the year. It turned out that both of them resulted in blowouts. Glavine kept up his stinky run right into the postseason. I'm afraid that Cox will again rely on a pitcher to revert to his prior form in the playoffs. Let's hope that Ortiz pitches no earlier than game 3 in the NLDS. If he does, I smell instant defeat.

It's hard to know where to put Vick. The truth is, his passing numbers will never be as pretty as Peyton Manning's. However, I don't know if there's another player who can single-handedly change the game like he can. Is there another player who takes a below average team and makes them instant playoff contenders? You could legitimately argue that a healthy Michael Vick is the best player in the league. I'm not sure that he is, but I wouldn't argue with you about it. That said, I think he's definitely one of the top 3 QB's in the league. I would put him at #2. I also have to take exception to Portis's #9 rating. This guy is in his 3rd season and still improving. He's not as good as LT or Holmes or probably even Jamal Lewis, but he's no lower than 4th on my list.

I've ranted about a lousy Reitsma all year. Well, now we have a suddenly unreliable John Smoltz to worry about. Tonight, Smoltz had his worst relief outing since that 9-run debacle against the Mets more than 2 years ago. A 5 run meltdown gave the Reds a win and Smoltz his 5th blown save of the year. What worries me, though, is Smoltz's last 5 or 6 outings. Last night he was touched up for a run on three hits against the Reds, but still held on to win the game. Reitsma gave up 2 runs in one inning in that contest as well. 2 weeks ago, Smoltz gave up 3 runs in an inning, blowing Jose Capellan's first major league win. Suddenly, one of the strongsuits of this Braves team appears to be its weakest link. Only Juan Cruz and Antonio Alfonseca have performed lately. They likely won't see big innings in the playoffs, though, where we'll trust Smoltz and Reitsma to finish up close games. We can only hope that Smoltz can pull it together for the postseason. Other than that, we need a solid Reitsma, or a reasoning Bobby Cox to use Alfonseca as his playoff setup man.

Who'd've....a double contraction. I love it more than a well placed semi-colon. Nice job by the Falcons today. I was really worried after the preseason, especially with D'Angelo going down. I don't think we've even approached our peak, yet, but it's nice to see a flogging of a solid Rams team. Great job to kick it up a notch after the Rams came back to tie. How many times did we see the team blow this type of game last year? Dunn sprains his knee. I've been saying Dunn should be a backup to Duckett for 2 years now. Duckett is a workhorse back. Dunn is too fragile to get 350 touches a year, and he gets stopped at the line too often.

I'm not sure 'Don't blow this one, Red Sox' counts as talking trash, and I'm disappointed in you for thinking that it does. We have multiple words in the dictionary for a reason--it prevents ambiguity that arises from using the same word or phrase for several different things. Trash talking would be 'Yeah, Red Sox rule; Yankees suck! Who's da boss now, biznatch?' Nothing has changed. I still want to see the Yankees and their $190 million payroll lose. I don't care if the Red Sox, Twins, or Angels do it...or some NL team. Whatever. Just get it done.

I'm not at all pro-Red Sox, as you know. I'm anti-Yankees. Red Sox winning the division would've been icing on the cake. The real prize is watching the Yankees and their grossly inflated payroll lose out on their devalued world series title. I have no intention of defending the Sox propensity to choke. However, I would hesitate to say that they 'CAN'T' beat the Yanks. 'Can' and 'will' are different things, though. All that is important is that some team, and preferably a low-payroll team (ala Angels '02 and Marlins '03), beats the Yankees in October. Then, I will have my BWA-HA once again (4 years running). Only this time it will be sweeter because of ARod.

Bosox are now 2 losses back of the Yankees with 5 more games left between the two teams. A blown save by the best closer in history leaves the door open for an improbable overtaking. Can I have my BWA-HA? 183 million dollar payroll not good enough to win the division? Oh, I can hardly bear it. Don't blow this chance, Bosox. Don't blow it. Bosox curse be damned. The curse of ARod will take the Yanks down.

I'm a Tech alumn, so I'm partial to Kenny. However, I realize that Kenny had his best years with the Nets. He was one of the top 4 PG's in the league back then. To say that he might peak this year is wishful thinking. Scratch that. Irrational thinking. That said, I believe that Kenny will do OK for us. I'll never forget the year that Stephon Marbury left Tech to become a top 5 draft pick (I was in high school). Mark Bradley wrote that Marbury would never be as good as Kenny Anderson. Mark Bradley has said a lot of stupid things in his career.

I think this team will be 'in it' by the end of the year, and the addition of Swift could really help us on a run at the 8th spot. There's enough veteran leadership now to make playoffs feasible, though not probable, IMO. Swift or no, Billy Knight's offseason will still be called a 'failure' by sports writers since he 'failed' to get KMart or Damp to take his money. Is anyone disappointed that we don't have those guys locked up to massive deals right now?

Sometimes, Reitsma can't even get the ball over the plate. I wonder about his head. He seems a LOT like Wohlers with a slower fastball. I would much rather have Alfonseca in the 8th. I trust his experience. He's not perfect, but I like him more than Reitsma. Also, I'm tired of Bobby giving Gryboski the ball with multiple runners on base. Gryboski does have a sinker that makes double plays more likely, but he also has trouble finding the strike zone on the first batter. This strategy has backfired, resulting in 2 losses due to bases loaded walks. Furthermore, we go out and trade for Tom Martin to get out the lefties, and if anyone had checked the stats, we'd see that he hasn't been very effective at doing that all year. Lefties don't ALWAYS get out lefties as a RULE. You still have to check the stats. Martin has blown a couple of games, including one to the Cards where Larry Walker (a lefty) raked him for a double. This isn't the first time the Braves have done something like this. For all the success they've had and for all the good trades Scheurholz has made, they just make me scratch my head sometimes.

I have been selling/buying on eBay for about 3 years. I had 90 positive feedbacks with no negative or neutral. About 6 weeks ago, I was selling some video games before I moved, and I sold a copy of Paper Mario to some guy. He never paid and never responded to any of my emails or payment reminders. After 4 weeks, I filed a non-paying bidder report with eBay to get my listing and final value fees refunded. Well, this guy is miffed that I would file a NPB on him, and get this.. He left me a neutral. What a total sack. The guy has a -1 feedback (1 pos, 2 neg), so it's not the first time he has chumped out on a payment.

Quote: hopefully he's just in to give the other guys (like Russ Ortiz) a rest and the other injured guys like Mike Hampton time to heal. Cyman, I don't mean any disrespect, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Reitsma pitches the 8th inning when the game is close. He is our designated set-up man to our closer, John Smoltz. He has had this role ALL YEAR. He is not just in there temporarily. He has pitched in big games all year and has NOT done well. I don't know who would say that Reitsma is just in there to rest the starters you listed. Quote: that being said, i dont care too much if the guy blows a few games here and there over the course of the remaining season- as long as he doesnt play in the postseason. There is NO WAY Reitsma doesn't play during the post season. He is our SET UP MAN. We traded for him in the off-season to BE our set-up man. Why would we bench him after 162 games of filling that role? Bobby will stick with him, and he will lose. Reitsma is garbage. He has a decent fastball, but it's straight and he gets too much of the plate when he's under pressure.

forgot to login...can somebody fix that?

I cannot give you any medical advice, as I have no license and don't really know that much. I will mention that I understand coughs generally persist after any illness that causes mucus buildup in the lungs. If you had a productive, hacking cough during your cold, your lung tissue might have become inflammed. For a week or two, minor irritations would trigger a coughing reflex, so you would have a hacking dry cough. So, that wouldn't be a big deal. If you actually have infection in your lungs, your cough would most likely be productive and regular, rather than dry and sporadic. In the second case, seeing a doctor would be necessary, but I can't say which case is yours.