I don't follow as much as I did when I was younger (no more Braves on TBS).
Luckily I've been a Rangers fan too.
But if Chipper is healthy then fine. His numbers have fallen off. He will be 40 when the season starts, but he has earned the right to stay.
I will Dale Murphy had stayed with the Braves (even though his leaving helped launch the Braves of the 90s) & I wish he had 2 more homers.
The Cubs let me down against the Cards. A walk-off wild pitch!!! Come on man. The Cards finish with the CUBS & ASTROS!!! The braves finish with the Phillies. The Braves did it to themselves. There were several blown leads/saves by the Braves. Sept 9 against the Cards, the Braves allow 2 in bottom of the 9th to lose. Win that one and last night doesn't happen (theoretically).
So when I was a kid we moved to Tampa and that was well before the Rays were even a glimmer in MLB's eyes. Since they had no team I started watching the Braves because of TBS. I became a huge Dale Murphy fan. I still have all of his baseball cards from Rookie year till he left the Braves. People just remember the back to back MVP's but check out those 84 and 85 seasons. He was a monster in 87. He didn't really have a good lineup to protect him either. Bob Horner?? That guy struck out half the time. Murphy is still under-rated as far as I am concerned.
Dale Murpy's 162 game average:
30 HR, 94 RBI, 89 Runs, 26 doubles, 12 SB, 3 triples
His career batting avg hurts him. Most of the players below where above .300 career.
His numbers are right there with Hall of Famers from that era:
Paul Molitor: 14 HR, 79 RBI, 108 Runs, 37 Doubles, 30 SB, 7 triples
Eddie Murray: 27 HR, 103 RBI, 87 Runs, 30 doubles, 6 SB, 2 triples
George Brett; Andre Dawson; Wade Boggs; Kirby Puckett; Cal Ripken, Jr.; Ryan Sandberg; Mike Schmidt; Ozzie Smith; Robin Yount; Dave Winnfield
I'm not saying Murph was better than any of these players, he just compared favorably with them.
Great analogy.
It was an amazing night for this baseball fan even though I didn't care who won. However, I always want the Red Sox and Yankees to lose. The Rays are a small market team and I always pull for the small market team once the Astros are eliminated. I'm thinking of becoming a bandwagon Brewers fan with the survivor of the Rangers-Rays series as my second choice.
I know you are happy for your Cardinals.
And so my Rays meet the Rangers. We've already pulled off the impossible. All we have to do now is the really, really hard part.
Are any of you going to any of the games?
Can't believe my Cardinals got in. Gotta give Larussa credit even though he insists on filling up his pitching roster with worn out retreads. His bullpens consistently rank near the top in blown saves.