Winding down the great season

Since the Atlanta Braves are pretty much all but completely mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, my season is just about almost over. Even more so, the fact that home games left in Atlanta are left with today through Sunday, and then the last six on the road against the surging Phillies, and the Houston Astros, who I'm pretty certain, have not forgotten the C-blocking that the Braves gave to them at the end of last season.

Tonight marks John Smoltz statue night, and tomorrow is the final evening game at Turner Field. Saturday has been flexed to be broadcast on FOX, likely because the Braves aren't completely eliminated from contention, and the Brewers are still very well in the mix of the NL Central; for lack of a better term, it's probably one of the only appealing matchups between two teams who have everything to lose. Sunday is the final home game at Turner Field for this season, and then it's off to Philly and Houston to wind it all down.

If I attend all four games, that will push my overall game attendance to 38 games on the season. What makes me proud is the fact that nine of those were not home games, but expanding my horizons to parks outside of Atlanta.

• Safeco Field, in Seattle
• Fenway Park, in Boston
• Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia
• The Diamond (Richmond Braves), in Richmond
• Camden Yards, in Baltimore
• Rogers Centre, in Toronto
• RFK Stadium, x3, in Washington DC

And speaking of Washington DC; fairly recently, and fairly quietly, the Nationals won and have since left behind win #63. What does this mean? For all of the people, media, sports "broadcasters," who believed that the 2007 Washington Nationals were the worst team in the history of baseball, and were without a shadow of a doubt going to lose over 120 games, shattering the Mets' record, well, they're all fucking wrong. There are times in which it felt like the only people in this country who didn't believe that the Nationals could at least hold off 100 losses were myself and my co-writer.

I mean, seriously - it takes a severe lack of talent to lose 100 games. "Severe lack of talent" could easily describe teams like the Devil Rays, but even now they have guys like Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir, and Al Reyes who have gotten to the point where they could lose all their remaining games and still barely not touch 100 losses (but that would put them at 99). The Nationals have talent, whether it is yet to be fully tapped (Ryan Zimmerman), or was always there but forgotten to the public (Dmitri Young). Their farm system is full of potential, and has shown glimpses of it from guys like John Lannan. They shrugged off Mike Bacsik's fanboy dream to be in the histories of baseball when he gave up Barry Bonds' 756th, and despite the hoopla behind it - the Nationals still won that game. The worst team in history wouldn't have done that, and it would've instead prompted Frank Robinson to come out of his ground-level retirement home, look up to the skies, and say "can't no niggas play dis got-damn game???"

I love being right sometimes.

OH, and speaking of which, as of today, the New York Yankees as are 1.5 games behind in the AL East divisional race. The same people who said the Nationals were destined for 121 losses, were usually the same ones who declared the Yankees dead, and the Red Sox already the World Series champions. And just as they were wrong about the Nationals, they were wrong to declare that the Yankees were a dead team, and that their reign of nine consecutive division titles was about to end. The biggest mistake any of those people said was a mathematical equasion, stating how well the Yankees needed to play to remain in the hunt for October (which was like a 76% winning percentage or something). And apparently the Yankees read that article, and not only have they been playing 76% ball, they're playing more like 88% ball. And now they're thinking, fuck the Wild Card, let's take what's rightfully ours.

I'm not a Yankees fan, by any stretch of the imagination. But I do like to think that I'm an intelligent fan, and if there's one thing I've learned in my limited experience, is that it's never smart to bet against the Yankees. They did it in 2005, when Boston collapsed, and the Yankees literally stole the division out from under them on the second-to-last day of the season. Seriously, they finished with identical records, but the Yankees won the season series. Why should this year be any different? The Red Sox are no better than being able to be called the Atlanta Braves of the AL - they do well all the time, but really only have one championship to show for it - they collapse often in the playoffs just as much; the only real differences is that they are in Boston and have boatloads more money in their budget.

So yeah, the Yankees have taken their once 14.5 GB deficit, and sliced it to 1.5, with plenty of time to take the division. Ortiz is gimpy, Dice-K's out of gas, Schilling would rather blog, and Manny is still being Manny. Meanwhile, A-Rod is still slugging, Posada is quietly having one of the best years of his career, Yankee relievers are getting starters rest, and Pettitte is being, well, once again, Pettitte. To refer back to 2005 again, the White Sox let their once gargantuan lead slip to one game to the Indians - and then they mauled their last few opponents, and then swept the Indians, gave them malaria, forced them off their land, and then ate their lunch, to end the regular season, and then lost like, once, while their starting pitching threw like ten complete games, en route to the World Series championship.

Baseball is baseball - anything can happen. It's unwise for anyone to label anyone prematurely, because you never know what's going to happen next. Boston can respond like a rabid pitbull, or they can go down swinging like a tasteless Michael Vick joke.

Did I mention how much I love being right?