Fan News

They are riding amid an improbable pursuit, defining a miraculous tale no longer bombarded by a grim crisis. The Texas Rangers began a seemingly hopeless season in bankruptcy court, and became closer as a team when the news surfaced in spring training that Ron Washington had tested positive for cocaine. They built a social connection as a potent club and emerged into contention, which is heavily embraced as an ethical rebirth in baseball for a team that struggled in recent memory.

No one could argue with the Indians' decision to trade Chris Archer as part of the deal sending Mark DeRosa to the Indians prior to the 2009 season.  Look at the ERAs he has posted through his first three years:

The game was over. There was no chance the Braves come back in this one. Matt Cain was cruising along. When Cain was replaced by Javier Lopez, who promptly made Jason Heyward look like a statue, again, I had seen enough.

You see, I’ve been down this road before with the Atlanta Braves. I’ve watched thousands of Braves games over the past 23 years. 

As a six-year-old child in 1988, I watched the Braves finish with 106 losses. I saw them lose 90-plus in ’87, ’89, and ’90.

As so dubbed by fans and critics across the country, the 2010 Major League Baseball season has been the Year of the Pitcher. This title is well deserved, as perfect games were thrown by Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay and no-hitters were twirled by Ubaldo Jimenez, Edwin Jackson, and Matt Garza. And no one will forget the rather infamous 28-out perfect game that Armando Galaraga gave us.

Three of this year's division series seem all but over. 

The Yankees, Phillies, and Rangers lead their best of five division series by two games to none.  Only a late inning rally by the Atlanta Braves prevented all four baseball series from being two games to none affairs and feeling all but over.

Baseball has been playing five game series since 1969.  In that year baseball added four new teams and expanded each league to two divisions. 

Rick Ankiel knew it was gone off the crack of the bat, a blast that made his career.

It seemed all but over. The Giants were leading 4-1 with two innings to go.

San Francisco has one of the best bullpens in baseball, but there came the Atlanta Braves, and in the blink of an eye, the game was tied.

It marked the second time that night a team came back from a 4-0 deficit to win the game, as the Braves eventually won 5-4 in 11 innings thanks to a home run by Rick Ankiel.

Now the series moves back to Georgia tied at one.

You can find more Mets analysis at The Shea Faithful

Well Mets fans, it’s finally that time. We knew this day was coming, we could see it from a mile away.

This article is going to be more of a blog post than an article since I was talking on the telephone for the first five innings of the game.

Here are some of my exact thoughts as the game took place.

Cain in trouble. Gets strong and gets out of it.

Sanchez base hit. Nice. Huff strikes out, he's really not locked in.

[Girl continues to chatter.]

Burrell yanks one. Holy sh*$! It's outta here! Yes!! Yes!

[fist pumps in air]

The Atlanta Braves couldn't get anything started against the San Francisco Giants' vaunted pitching staff, so the home-standing Gents took an admittedly unorthodox approach.

They decided to start the Bravos' offense themselves—not the wisest thing to do for your World Series aspirations, but it sure makes for an exciting night of baseball.

And another significant challenge for emerging southpaw Jonathan Sanchez.