Braves are smokin

[Admin]

How can you say that they have no heart or fire? When players put on the pinstripes they become different players. That has been proven many times by guys who other teams basically gave up on and they turned into big time players for the Yankees. For example, Scott Brosius was on his way out of baseball when the Yankees got him. Paul Oneil was simply an average player and turned into an icon in NY. Tino Martinez was a mediocre player until becoming a Yankee. All of these guys became tremendous players for the Bombers. Now you have the guy with maybe the biggest heart of everyone in baseball, Jeter. He has more heart than many teams have all together.

I am not going to claim that I know everything about the Braves because I dont watch them that often, but I dont seem to remember the Braves being a team that because of their heart could will themselves to victory. It was never heart that caused them the loss to the D-Backs, it was simply running into an unstoppable player in the Unit. Then the Angels were pretty much unbeatable when they won it all and the Marlins were by far the hottest team in baseball at the end of last season and the Yankees didnt have anyone that could hit the fastball consistently. It never had anything to do with a lack of heart or fire.

[chillzatl]

I seroiusly spit coffee all over my keyboard when I read that first sentence...

if you believe that crap, and it is crap, I got some tickets to the moon for you to buy.

Yes, all those players you mentioned had heart and you know what, THEY ARE ALL GONE. You know what else? The yankees haven't won jack [censored] since they left.

That HOMER theory you have about players becoming "different" when they put on pinstripes is retarded. It's the kind of thing a blind fan would say, because it's BS. It was true of that previous yankee lineup, because those guys were gutsy players who had heart. The current lineup has none of what made that group special. Which is why they haven't won in three years.

And no, the Braves didn't have players who had the heart to will them to victory. Thats' why they made it to the big dance and lost so many times. That's what seperated those yankee teams from the Braves and everyone else. Those guys had heart. This new Yankmees team is bought and paid for and they have NO HEART.

You can say what you want about why they lost. But they got beat by a team that wanted it more, period. You are a blind homer and will never see it. You may think it deep in your soul. But your blind fanboy-ness will never let you admit it.

[Admin]

Well I would say that we shall see this year when/if the Yankees win the World Series whether they have the heart to do it, but then you would just say its because they bought and paid for it. But, if they lose or dont make the World Series its because they have no heart, right? The Yankees are pretty much damned if they do, damned if they dont in your eyes.

[chillzatl]

if they win it all, I'll take my hat off to them. Because it takes something special to win it all. I don't like that fact that the landscape of MLB allows Big Stein to buy up whatever talent he wants to buy. But it does take something special to win it all. It takes more than a collection of great players. Braves fans know this all too well.

Which has been my point all along. I've experienced it for too many years myself. A team full of great players that just lacks that extra something that it takes to win it all. I realize it even moreso after watching this years Braves team. We may not have the 100 win season of teams past. But you can see that this team has something special about it that those other teams just didn't had. Just like those late 90's yankee teams had something special about them that didn't just show up in the daily wins and losses.

Sports writers have spent the last few years disecting the Braves and why they, despite a 100 win season, would not win it all. When you have a team that is so good, they can win 100+ games by playing with 80% energy simply because of how much talent they have, it's VERY hard, nearly impossible for them to suddenly become this fired up, charged team for the final 21 games it takes to win the championship.

That's the same situation the Yankees are in now and have been in for a few years now. They are so good, they can coast and win 100+ games. But in the playoffs you're going to hit a team that is just pumped and fired up to play. When you do that, you've got to match that intensity to be able to win. And when you're stocked with aged, vet players who have played an entire season without that urgency or intensity, it's damned hard to summon it up for one series, even if it's the most important one of the season. Braves fans know this all too well.

whew, so now, after like 3 days, I've managed to articulate what I was trying to say all along. I'm sure you won't agree with me. But I hope you will at least understand where I'm coming from.

[CBAreject]

Go Yanks! Go!

Who cares, dude? The fact that they haven't won in 3 years means BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Yanks have never developed prospects as well as the Braves. Sure, they trade tons of 'prospects' away, but they don't pan out, do they?

Soriano is the only Yankees player to pan out in recent years. Nick Johnson has yet to show me anything. Yankee prospects are generally overrated.

[Guest]

The Yanks developed some excellent players a few years back, though, like Jeter and others. They aren't a team that totally relied on buying players when they were winning championships in the late 90s/early 2000s.

[Admin]

Looking at the Yankees over the years of their recent success, these are the players that come to my mind that the Yankees brought up. All of these players were either drafted by the Yankees or signed as undrafted FA's.

1 - Bernie Williams

2 - Derek Jeter

3 - Ted Lilly (very good starting pitcher for the B-Jays, traded for Jeff Weaver who was traded for Kevin Brown)

4 - Nick Johnson (traded for Javier Vazquez)

5 - Alfonso Soriano (traded for A-Rod)

6 - Brandon Claussen (traded for Aaron Boone)

7 - Eric Milton (very good starter traded for Chuck Knoblauch)

8 - Andy Pettitte (best pitcher during total championship run)

9 - Roberto Kelly (traded for Paul Oneill who was huge part of Yankees dynasty)

10 - Ricky Ledee (traded for David Justice)

11 - Jim Leyritz (Braves fans remember him I am sure)

12 - Sterling Hitchcock (traded for Tino Martinez)

13 - JT Snow (traded for Jim Abbott)

14 - Mariano Rivera (best closer in baseball history)

15 - Jorge Posada

16 - Drew Henson (traded for Denny Neagle as key member of 2000 world series winners)

Those are the players that I came up with. Each of these guys was very instrumental in some way to all of the Yankees championship runs over the last decade. So, while all of these guys might not have been the ones winning the championships, they were certainly critical components to the wins.