AJC Braves Vent

[Plainview1981]

To the "fans" ripping Bobby Cox, you need to listen to what his players and ex-players say about him. They think he's the best!

The Atlanta Braves have had less than stellar playoff performances of late. And, they have also had less than stellar fan support to match. Maybe they go hand-in-hand.

While watching the Yankees-Red Sox, and, Astros-Cardinals, as they continue into the postseason, pay especially close attention to the people in the stands and learn how real fans conduct themselves. It's not about Southern In hospitality.

Celebrate Atlanta's enduring success and recognize that there were many National League teams with more talent than the Braves but only four made it to the postseason.

The lack of success is measured in championships...champions are deemed winners...winning during the season is something the Braves do well.

So-called Braves fans, this is your opportunity to watch the remainder of the the postseason from the comfort of your living rooms. Which, seems to be where you are most of the time, because you don't show up at The Ted all that much.

"I would give Cox one more year and if we get the same results then it is time to make a change." -- Change to who?! Pretty lame to say stuff like that without offering your better choice.

It is difficult to understand why Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz continue to remain faithful to an organization that year after year, is saddled with such a bunch of pathetic, whiny, sore losers, that so many so-called "Braves fans" continually prove themselves to be.

When I saw Reitsma was coming in, I couldn't watch and went to walk the dog. When I got back, sure enough, the game was blown open. If I knew this was going to happen, how come Bobby Cox didn't?

I feel kind of sorry for Booby. He does try hard, but he just doesn't get it.

lf one man, George Steinbrenner, can foot the bill for a great team then why can't a conglomerate like Time-Warner do the same if they cared. Trouble is, they don't.

Maybe the Braves do not realize that there is only one finish line, the World Series. The others (Division Champions, NLCS) are just pit stops.

Any truth to the rumor that Chipper is leaving the Braves and picking up a Hooters franchise?

At the trading deadline, cards get Larry walker, Astros get Carlos Beltran and Braves get Tom Martin. Who's still playing and who's gone fishing?

Young players, pitching injuries and they still make it to #13. If you ask me our rebuilding does not need much help expect for a couple pitchers. Bring them up from minors and wait till next year.

They Yankees buy their way into the WS every year.

Smoltz starts next year and then right before playoffs blows out his elbow. Would that make all of you happy? Keep him in bullpen for one more year. If he wants to leave then let him go blow out his elbow for another team.

When your only all-star was a guy playing in AAA last year, there's something wrong! But why would the owners spend the money to get some all-star talent to win a world series when atl. fans are just fine with winning the division?

Did anybody else see the Braves dugout shot when Estrada hit his homer in Game 5? Everyone jumped up on the rail and cheered - except for J.D. Drew. He stayed on the bench. What's with this guy?

I don't understand how people still can complain about Time Warner - the Braves had the fifth highest payroll in the NL for 2004 ($400K behind 4th place Cubs) - including a payroll more than the Cards' and the Astros' and more than twice the Marlins' payroll.

The problem is none of these transplanted jerks were around when the Braves were in Loserville!

I'm a Braves fan who has never cheered the Yankees in postseason because I want to see some less fortunate talented team win. Go St. Louis!

Note to the young players of the Braves and a reminder to the "old heads" except Smoltzie: it takes a certain kind of hunger to push past the first round of playoffs and on to the main prize!

I salute Bobby Cox and staff for doing as well as you did overall given what you had to work with -- now get rid of some of the "old" dead weight and we'll be in the playoffs next season!

Cox must go...I want someone who can take us past "Division Title's!" When are we going to learn Chipper is way past his prime?

I'd like to see some of you haters get out on the ball field against Major League pitching and do any better!

The fact is until the braves owners are willing to spend a little money to go out and get some all-star talent the Braves won't win in the playoffs! It's been proven!

Not impressed with the Yankees, no matter how far they go in the playoffs. They have a payroll of almost 200 million, once again trying to buy their rings. If they are so great, go with a payroll of around 85 million next year and let's see what they can do.

Sheffield goes on to postseason success, so does Kenny Lofton, Boone, and Reggie Sanders after having none here. Makes you wonder, is it them or the Braves ho-hum atmosphere?

Bobby, players don't have time to "work through" slumps in the postseason. We might have had a chance with Marerro, Julio and/or Nick swinging the bats - but we'll never know. Loyalty, ya know?

From June to the end of the season the Braves announcers talked about how great the Braves are but when they lost NLDS the Braves were overachievers, sounds like a snow job doesn't it.

I love these morons that talk about Chipper like they know him. Do you know how stupid you sound when you talk about him having no heart and a bad attitude? Based upon what? Is it hitting over .300 in his career, hitting .298 career in the postseason, playing through pain and injuries, or the 300 HRs that turned you on to his lack of heart and bad attitude?

If Smoltz wants to start next year we should let him start, but only after the All-Star break. That way he can get in great shape and be lights out in October and everyone will be happy.

Don't blame limited money, Bobby Cox, or Reitsma for our demise this postseason. Everyone could see that it was a lack of run support in every game that plagued us. If you want to blame anyone blame Chipper, Giles, Drew, and the Killer B's.

Fire Cox, trade Chipper the Choker.

As Leo Durocher once said, "You don't save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain."

Someone wrote that stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That is actually the definition of insanity. And whoever says Bobby Cox needs to go is insane and stupid.

I will never go to a Braves game again if Chris Reitsma is on the roster. Booby Cox ought to be fired for putting him in the game on Monday with it on the line. Did Reitsma not prove the entire year that he stinks?

I say "Drop the Chop" too! We need something else next year.

If Smoltz wants to start next year, let him-but he should agree to void the remainder of his contract when his elbow blows again.

I too would rather have my season end in October than July. But only after the Braves raise a World Series trophy at Turner Field.

If J.D.Drew reads the vents there's no way he'd sign with the Braves, no matter how much money they offer.

No matter how bad you think the Braves are, their so-called fans are worse. The worst in baseball.

Trade Chipper "This Is What I live For" Jones and his $15 million, use the money to sign Carlos Beltran, and platoon Nick Green & Eli Marrero on third.

"Reeksma".

Reitsma is as much of a loser as Lopez was. To be so low on cash, Braves owners sure don't give a flip about throwing cash away!

Reitsma is the single biggest reason we lost after Bobby putting him in there. He gave up so many homeruns this year and cost us so much, please don't trade him just let him go.

Anyone who says the chop stinks is an idiot! What other team in baseball has such a good rallying cry!

I still believe!

I miss Erin Andrews.

Chipper Jones could be a lot better if he could find the right size hat for his big head. Trade A. Jones.

How about an incentive for Chipper where for every hit he gets, the team buys him a dinner at Hooters?

What this team needs is to get younger and stronger. Anyone born after April 23, 1972 should be traded or released, unless the name is Julio.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twelve out of thirteen times, shame on me.

Turner Field...The ''Field of Dreams'' for visiting teams.

I hope Furcal gets his life straight but the Braves need to let him go. He is an average defensive SS and a liability off the field

Thank you all for another very disappointing Braves season ending with our 13th straight Division Title!

Are our Braves not going to be allowed to forget that they lost in the postseason? Please give them a break!

Braves did really good with the limited money their stinking owners threw at them.

Webster's amended definition of the word choke, Atlanta Braves, i.e. C. Jones, Drew, Giles.

Did anyone else know the Braves would lose when they came back from commercial break and saw Chris Reitsma on the mound? He has got to go.

Couldn't you hear the collective "Oh, no" when we saw Reitsma in the bullpen? Was there no one else available? Ernie Johnson? Phil Niekro? A fan from the stands?

I quit wasting my time watching the Braves years ago ... why watch a team that always chokes in the playoffs? Just like another team that always chokes -- the Georgia Bulldogs.

How many managers have 13 straight chances to win a championship and only win once? Is it his team that's bad or is it the managing?

"We just ran out of gas," Jones said. Exactly. They are not adequately physically conditioned -- they just ran out of gas.

Lay off Bobby Cox. He's like a chef who never wins the blue ribbon at a chili cook-off. He does the best with the ingredients he's given.

It's not the Braves or Cox that need to be fired, it's the "owners". Where were the fans on Monday? Outside in the Will Call lines for 3 hours, food and beverage lines another hour and then by about the 4th or 5th inning we finally got to watch a team that's "sold" all their pitchers (except Smoltz, of course).

Once again the road to the NLCS runs through Atlanta. I just realized that the sign for it says: "Wild-Card Express Lane."

Thank you, 2004 Atlanta Braves. This was the most fun, exciting and unpredictable season.

The core of the team is good enough to keep us in 1st place next season.

The owner of the Astros said he fired ex-Braves third base coach Jimmy Williams because he didn't show any enthusiasm. I wonder where he learned that from? I think it's time that Bobby Cox goes! We need someone with some fire in him.

Being 'Round Another Victory Eluding Season

Braves fans, quit crying, you are a bunch of losers like the little league team you put in the field.

Braves fans, how about them Yankees? they play to go all the way not to just be there.

If Smoltzie thinks he can start again, I would love to see him do it but who do we have to close?

Anyone suggesting Bobby Cox should be fired is an idiot. Yes! An Idiot. I would rather have my season end in October than July.

How about Sheffield having more hits last night for the Yankees than he did with two post seasons with atl.

I would give Cox one more year and if we get the same results then it is time to make a change.

How does an outfield of Wise/Drew/Thomas sound with the backups being Marrero and Francouer?

If we re-sign Paul Byrd he better remember the Braves paid him for 3 years and he played less than 1/3 of that contract.

Ask the Astros and Marlins; division titles mean jacksquat!

If they do this well next year I'll have no complaints.

After watching the passion the Yankees and Red Sox, as well as their fans, bring to baseball every year, I have decided to drop the lackluster, non-motivated Braves for the Red Sox. They lose every year too but they are so much more exciting to watch.

Blame the chop! The slow, hypnotic chant and arm movement are lulling the Braves to sleep. You don't see any other team's fans trying to induce a coma to fire up their team at critical moments in a game.

Sheffield goes 3 for 4 and scores 4 runs against the Bosox -- guess he can produce when he's protected by an awesome line-up.

Is there a record for most postseason chokes? I bet you can't guess who'd win it?

If all we are going to do is heap praise for getting to the playoffs and be satisfied with that, we might as well not play. Ask Steinbrenner and Yankee fans.

To all these whiny folks whining about whiny fair-weather fans, who doesn't complain when their team loses?

Don Sutton could have done a much better job pitching. If you don't think so, ask him.

Thanks Braves for overachieving. I enjoyed the season.

For all you idiots that want to fire Bobby Cox, name one active manager not named Torre that has won more World Series titles than Bobby Cox.

Getting rid of the heartless Chipper would free up many dollars to pursue productive free agents.

Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Bobby Cox will be back next year. Need I say more?

If you get rid of Bobby, you won't enjoy a season of fabulous baseball and you'll never make it to the playoffs.

It's not Chris Reitsma! Oh, Where? Where are you, Mr. Ted Turner?

Ending 3rd in the National League is great!

What a joke this team is. No passion. No guts. No attitude. It all starts with Bobby Cox. Simply put, Cox is the worst manager in the history of professional sports.

I can't believe the number of fans who are satisfied with this same song every October. So Braves, go out and win your 18th or 208th NL East title or whatever, then get punked at home by the wild card team every year. Yeah, great. Swell.

What we need to do is get rid of Perez, Chipper, and Andruw. Trade them for some young pitching prospects.

Please, Please, Please! Somebody in Philadelphia hire a good manager who can win the NL East in 2005, and keep the choking Braves out of the postseason. I don't want to go through this again for four years in a row.

Old timers to bring back that can help the Braves win: Chief Nock-a-Homa, Gene Garber, Milo Hamilton, Hank Aaron (aren't he and Franco the same age?).

After thinking over how much I have enjoyed the Braves games this summer, it makes me ashamed that I waste time reading what the gripers and whiners have to say about them.

Don't expect history to treat the Braves kindly -- they're the Buffalo Bills of Baseball.

Let's admit that Bobby Cox is one of the greatest regular season managers of all time. It's just when he gets to the postseason, his brain turns to mush.

Just think, if Moneybags Steinbrenner owned the Braves, Cox would have won 150 games (at least) and the division series, NL series and World Series would have been sweeps.

Nice to see the fans come out in force for game 5.

Only an imbecile thanks you have had a good season when you lose so disgracefully in the postseason.

Don't blame the pitchers or the bullpen entirely for the series loss. Even if they all pitched perfect games, the Braves have to put some runs on the board to win.

For Braves fans down on Bobby Cox for not being able to "get over the hump," remember that Cleveland fans said the same thing about Mike Hargrove. What have the Indians done since then?

I've heard it said that if the fans would show up and support the Braves, they would play with more enthusiasm. Well, the fans showed Monday night, what's the excuse now?

Next year, could we get Chipper's daddy to bat for him. Just telling him how to do it isn't working.

I love the Braves -- caught the fever in '82. I will never understand, however, the decisions Cox makes. He should always manage the way he did game 4, with urgency.

The Braves were not beaten by a "better" team. They were beaten by a healthier team.

Now we can do what we have been doing after watching the Braves lose again, cheer for the Yankees to clinch the World Series.

The Braves need some players with that superior confidence in winning. Deion Sanders, David Justice, Mark Lemke, Ron Gant, Jeff Blauser and Terry Pendleton had that can't-lose attitude. Other than John Smoltz, I see none of that in the current Braves.

The fans showed up for the team; the team did not show up for the fans.

Another division championship. Another early exit from the playoffs. Another long winter. Does anyone see a pattern here?

How can so many idiots criticize Bobby Cox after all he has done over the years? He will likely be named manager of the year. Use your heads.

All I have to say is, who cares ... Go Falcons.

Bottom line, the Braves peaked at the wrong time.

Ban baseball in October in Atlanta.

If you listen hard enough you can hear the Braves exit the playoffs with a quiet whisper -- again.

I am one Native American (I prefer American Indian) who is not offended by the Chop or the Chant. Go Braves!

Do you now see why I've become a Yankees fan?

Chipper ought to wear a mask when he picks up his check each month, because what he's doing to the Braves borders on robbery. Trade him.

Same results for the Braves every October? The players are changed regularly but the manager stays the same. You figure it out.

Chipper Jones has such a bad attitude. You'd think he'd be a little more humble after choking like he did. Of course, with the kind of money he earns(?) I guess humility does not come, even after a fall.

It was especially disappointing to see this team go down on Monday night because they gave so much all season. Thanks, guys, for such a great time. I'm already thinking about April.

Congratulations to Bobby Cox and for a very good, new, and young team.

Any Braves fan has a right to their opinion but those with any baseball knowledge at all will give Bobby Cox the respect he deserves. Have we really forgotten what Loserville USA was like before Bobby?

You know why the Yankees are going to win -- because they hate to lose.

Another great regular season ends in futility. All I can say is "pathetic."

When you've got a yard full of healthy chickens, but they aren't producing, keep the chickens, get a new rooster (sorry Bobby).

Can anyone say let's trade Chipper? This guy is an overpaid, mediocre baseball player who does not perform in the postseason.

Congratulations to the Braves for a great year. This has been the most fun Braves team for me to watch since the streak began in '91.

2000 wins. 13 straight division titles, 5 NL titles, 1 World Series title. Fire Cox? Are you out of your mind?

Picking JD Drew over Andruw Jones for 2005 would be tantamount to picking Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning.

Since he's been blamed for everything else, I'll blame Bobby for not telling me to print my ticket online to avoid the 90-minute wait in the Will Call kiosk lines. Seriously, somebody on the Braves staff should be on the hook for that logistical blunder.

Thanks to the Pirates fan for his vent ... the thought of that pathetic organization makes me feel much better about our team's playoff woes.

What we need is more money and effort invested in our minor league system. We need a minor league John S .

I can only hope that Retsima was on a plane out of Atlanta quicker than the Astros.

Bobby and John are not the problems. AOL/TW has failed to invest the interest or money to make this team a winner.

Finally, I can listen to Sean Hannity for the full three hours without being interrupted by the Chokers, er, Braves.

Congratulations to Mark DeRosa on winning the Chairman's Award again. Let us not lose sight on what is important in life.

Bobby Cox is by far the best manager in the game

Braves have turned choking into an art form. How does Cox keep his job?

Why, with the Braves facing elimination, was Wright allowed to hit with two outs in the bottom of the fourth with men on base and the Braves trailing -- after he'd given up three runs?

From a diehard Braves fan. Grant Smoltz his wish and let him be a starter. I drool at the thought of him being a starter in two games of each postseason series. He is a big-game pitcher.

Otis Nixon would have caught the HR that went over Drew's "jump."

This year's Braves were overachievers in spite of the loss in the Div. series.

Cox was crazy for letting Wright hit with two outs and two on, when the Braves were still in the game!

How do you think the players felt when Reitsma gave up the first run and Cox kept him in there. They must have been furious by the time he took him out. Blame Cox for the huge loss.

Note to John Schuerholz: Any chance of replacing Choker at third base with Rolen?

Hats off to John Schuerholz, Bobby Cox, and the whole Braves organization, minus the broadcasting crew. Next year we will again be there, supporting this class group of people.

Baseball is a team sport of course, but I've never seen a more chilling example of one player killing his own team's season than Reitsma's horrid 7th inning. In 10 surreal minutes, he took us from hopeful optimism to elimination.

I don't get these blanket statements by Venters who claim there was no hustle by the Braves players during the playoffs. Please be specific -- because I saw plenty of heart and hustle. Bobby, as much as I respect him, never should have played Reitsma. That's what killed us.

Braves should petition MLB to move Braves home playoff games to a neutral warm weather site like Puerto Rico since they can only hit in warm weather.

Reitsma the gas can and Bobby Cox the match

Hate to break it to all of you "PC" freaks, but the Braves won the 1995 World Series doing that "offensive" chop.

Everytime I send a vent about the Braves it never gets posted, so here's the G-rated version about how I feel: &%$%^$#@*&!!!!!!

You have to wonder if we've seen our last game with Ortiz, Andruw and JD in the same lineup together.

The Killer B's: Buffalo Bills of Baseball

OK, can we get rid of cocky, overrated Chipper now?

Say what you want to about the Braves early exit. There are 23 other teams out there who would love the chance to just be in the playoffs.

Tickets (first base) for Game 5 of the 2002 NLDS - $29. Tickets (right field) for Game 5 of the 2003 NLDS - $29. Tickets (third base) for Game 5 of the 2004 NLDS - $29, realizing no matter where you sit the Braves will still lay an egg in Game 5 -- absolutely sickening!

How many other managers could lose Sheff, Maddux, Javy, and Vinnie and still win the Division Title? Cox rules.

We let pitchers flounder and take us out of the game in playoffs. Hopefully, someday you'll learn, Bobby, it's not like the regular season when you have weeks and months to make it up.

C'mon y'all, the Braves backsides are already sore enough from getting kicked around the last few years ... er, days. Just sit back and enjoy watching the Cardinals rip the Astros.

We'll get them next year ... we had a geat season.