When it comes to curing irrational exuberance, Atlanta’s Braves are among the best. They can kill more rallies than Alan Greenspan.
Much of South Florida began another shiny weekend on a baseball buzz. At golf courses, beaches and tattoo parlors, in any language, only one subject mattered.
The Florida Marlins. Let’s Go, Fish!!
Then the Braves showed up and put everybody to sleep. They are very adept at this. They are cool, some would say too much so for their own good. But when critics wonder whether the Braves have enough passion, the Braves stick with what’s made them the team of the ’90s: pitching.
Denny Neagle finally cracked the Atlanta rotation Saturday night, and all he did was some serious sawing on the Marlins’ bat rack. He won with a minimum degree of difficulty by 4-0, and if it’s unfair to say so, it is also probably safe to say that Florida now trails this National League Championship Series 2-2.
The Braves not only will play two of the last three games at home, if necessary. They have Cy Young winners lined up from here to Wednesday, from here to Peachtree Street, from Greg Maddux to Tom Glavine to John Smoltz. If they get in trouble, you might find Neagle in the bullpen. If.
“Has that ever happened?” wondered Marlins manager Jim Leyland, whose staff is down to wounded wings and lots of prayers. “Where every night in a playoff, a team has to face a guy with a trophy? And the one guy who doesn’t have one wins more games than the other three?”
When the Braves, who shamelessly hoard pitchers, acquired Neagle in August of 1996, it might have been the last straw for Leyland. Neagle was Leyland’s ace in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates were liquidating. A month later, Leyland announced he would leave the Pirates.
In Atlanta, of course, Neagle is the even man out. Despite his status as the National League’s only 20-game winner this season, Neagle couldn’t get arrested during the division series against Houston, which the Braves swept.
More Top Picks Best Eye Massagers
If Neagle won 20 games in Chicago, he not only would have a place in the rotation of the Cubs or White Sox. He’d probably have his own statue by now, or a bridge or street in his name. In fact, Neagle might get the red-carpet treatment in Chicago if he won 20 games over two seasons.
Saturday night, all Neagle asked for was moderate help from his mates. Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones, Atlanta’s twin disasters of Game 3, led the hit parade, though the latter again went into another trance on the bases. As a group, though, the Braves welcomed the sight of Al Leiter.
Pity poor Leyland, who is famous for fiddling with lineups and enjoying the task. But this is ridiculous. He had a nice, orderly procession of scheduled starting pitchers for this best-of-seven series, only to have it plundered.
Kevin Brown, Miami’s best, was to have worked Saturday night and logged his third start in Game 7, if required. But now he will work Game 5, provided he can shake a virus.
“They’d have to shoot me to keep me from pitching Sunday,” the sturdy right-hander said, declining to elaborate on details of his illness. Nor could he figure out what caused the problem. It was suggested that Brown had been felled by some bad food, but at no time during this series has he been seen in the press cafeteria.
Speaking of mush, that describes Leyland’s plans beyond Sunday. Livan Hernandez, another fan favorite from Miami’s Little Havana section, will work Game 6. If there is a Game 7, only one man has been ruled out.
“I can’t go out,” Leyland said, “and suddenly put Sandy Koufax in a Marlins uniform.”