Baseball guru Peter Gammons did something crazy today, folks. He predicted the Atlanta Braves will face the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, a rematch of the 1995 series that brought the Braves their only championship over their nearly decade-and-a-half of frustrating domination. You can read his article here.
I won’t argue that the Indians are a championship caliber team. However, the Braves have a ton to prove before I will jump on Gammons’ bandwagon. I’ve addressed some of those points already, to include the question marks in the rotation. Gammons says:
One can spend six weeks roaming spring training and believe that the Braves and Red Sox may well be the best teams in their leagues, but we all know what happens if John Smoltz, Mike Hampton and Chipper Jones get hurt.
Gammons makes an important point: Health will be a huge factor for the Braves, namely for the fragile Chipper and Hampton.
The Braves sure have a powerful offense. But we saw last year that good hitting means squat when you have a questionable rotation that lacks third, fourth and fifth starters. Then we have two new outfielders, Matt Diaz and Mark Kotsay, who need to have good seasons for the Braves to compete against the Mets and the Phillies.
If you recall the last time the Braves won a World Series, in 1995, they won it with a powerful, amazing starting rotation. They had clutch hitters, too, from old-timers like Ryan Klesko and Javy Lopez. But it was the rotation of Smoltz, Glavine, Avery and Maddox that led that team. There is a level of discomfort saying two of those pitchers are still on the roster, 13 years later.
I am not sure what Gammons is seeing, other than speculative potential from players who haven’t remained healthy in half a decade.
But there is a huge place in my heart that is hoping his crystal ball is right.
Filed under: Team News | Tagged: Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones, Cleveland Indians, Javy Lopez, John Smoltz, Mark Diaz, Mark Kotsay, Mets, Mike Hampton, Peter Gammons, Phillies, Ryan Klesko
