Braves End 15 Year Division Title Reign

Well every streak has to eventually come to an end. The New York Mets with last night's win have all but sewn up the NL East and will be the first team NOT named the Atlanta Braves to win the division while being in the Braves since 1990. To put that in perspective- I was in SECOND GRADE. I put the Braves streak up there with the St. Louis Blues' 26 straight playoff appearances, because it's really that amazing. Several key losses including Rafael Furcal, Tom Glavine, Javier Lopez, Gary Sheffield, and Mike Hampton and pitching coach Leo Mazzone along with injuries to Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones were what help do the Braves in. However, the Braves actually put up a fight for the wild card this season, just now falling out of contention late in the season. Several questions arise now: 1- Does Bobby Cox remain manager for another season? 2- Do the Braves try to trade Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, and John Smoltz in the offseason in order to free up money to rebuild and then rebuild the team around Edgar Renteria, Jeff Francouer, and Brian McCann? 3- Was the signing of Tim Hudson a mistake when other starters were on the market? Hudson has had a great career, but has struggled in Atlanta, which is unusual for an American League player coming over to the National League. The main question mark around the Braves incredible post season streak is the fact that they came away with just one championship in 1995. I think the answer to this is simple- for the most part, the Braves were NEVER the best team in the postseason, including '95. The Indians were the team to beat all year, but the Braves beat them in the World Series. The dominance of the Yankees, and the sudden rising of the Marlins (twice) and Diamondbacks were also killers. However, I must say that I enjoyed the 15 year run of the Braves, as it made for some unbelievable memories. Including the Sid Bream game and the controversial World Series against Toronto that followed. The Dave Justice homerun to win the '95 series. The '99 game 4 with the Astros and again the '05 game four which turned out to be the longest game in postseason history. I tip my hat to ya, Braves, thanks for the memories.