Atlanta Braves: Does Hope Spring Eternal in Atlanta?

With the first Spring Training game set for Saturday, February, 25th, The 2017 Atlanta Braves look to spark the future fire of contention, and with it, spark fan interest, as well.

An author should not let personal feelings dictate and direct words on a page. This, however, can’t be helped. It is, after all, about the Atlanta Braves. Our beloved Atlanta Braves. If you are old enough to remember the 1990 season, and how bad they were, and then the 1991 season, and how special they were, you understand.

If you can recall the 1990’s, with all of the championship chances, and yet that one glorious World Series, you understand. Even if you perk when thinking of the waning Bobby Cox years in the 2000’s, and their regular season thriving, and post-season flailing, you understand. This is hard to write, and might not be easy to read.

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Some are inclined to think that the Braves are pointed in a higher direction this year. My esteemed colleague Wesley Wilcox thinks so. On the other hand, there are folks, like our colleague Kit Anderson, who wants to pump those Braves brakes of expectation a little.

Las Vegas currently projects the 2017 Atlanta Braves to win between 71 and 77 total games on the season. That is out of 162 games in the regular Major League Baseball season. Basic math will show that this is a losing record. But basic research will tell you that it would be a smidgen of improvement over 2016. Bring up the Bravos these days around fans and count the eye rolls and groans. I bet the over-under on that would be close to 71, as well, depending on the crowd.

Fan consternation comes from abject disbelief. People who get paid a lot of money to play and coach sports for a living will tell you the most difficult thing to do is to change the culture of a losing team. Organizations and franchises have to learn how to win, and then believe that they can win, and then go out and win when the lights are brightest. The Braves had done that. After the dismal 1990 season (and all of the 1980’s), Atlanta tomahawk-chopped their way to 14 straight Division Titles. Fourteen! It was unheard of, and It was beautiful. But then Fredi Gonzalez and Frank Wren happened. That was not beautiful.

In just a few short years, fans had to hear tell of “rebuilding from the ground up” and “starting over”. It’s like your mechanic telling you your prized Bugatti needs a complete overhaul. Your responses would be something like, “Wait, what? How? When did this happen? “ . Franchises shouldn’t have to do that after 14 straight Division Championships.

Yet, there is a winsome, waxing optimism in Braves Nation. The new ballpark will be awesome. Names like Freeman, Swanson, and Inciarte give hope that they might do something big at times. Veterans like Kemp, Markakis, and Phillips give some solace of hitting strength. Many folks will go to the park just to see R.A. Dickey throw a knuckle ball, and to see Bartolo Colon just throw a ball. The Front Office tells us things are looking up, and they probably are. The problem is that Atlanta will be looking up in the standings for most of the year.

Next: Atlanta Hawks: A Crossroads at the Not-So Midway Point

Still, hope springs eternal in Spring Training. We Atlanta fans will show up to see the new faces and places. We love this team and want to believe, but at some point it comes down to that proof infused pudding that everybody always talks about (I still don’t know what that saying means). The famous line in the movie Field of Dreams is, “If you build it, they will come”. True, but you’ll have to win to keep’em coming. Or, at least, compete, please. Please, for the love of all things baseball holy, please be competitive. We’re waiting to chop again.

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