Still a favorite, huh? Must be a loose term; because baseball divinity hasn’t exactly been favorable for Braves fans. 6 seasons of division “titlelessness” since their epic 11 year consecutive dominant reign in the N.L. East; only one short-lived playoff appearance in those six years; the most painful end Braves fans have seen to a regular season in the last twenty years last year; the Phillies with an unyielding grip on the division; and the Nationals and Marlins making an array of “just trying to keep up” off-season maneuvers; and a football team that can only put up 2 points in a wildcard playoff. What’s next for Braves fans? The retirement of Chipper? The end of Atlanta before the end of the world? At least Braves fan can put faith in knowing they are remarkably still more favorable than the Mets, at the very least.
The N.L. East is going to be a very different and interesting division in 2012, especially if the Nationals find a way to land Prince Fielder. The Marlins have managed to completely warp their franchise into what they hope to be a competitive southern powerhouse. Then, you have the primary divisional front-runners of the last two decades still mixing it up in the Phils and Braves. I’d like to say the Braves are still a favorite in this division based off of their history and performance, but I can only sincerely be sure of their placement ahead of the Mets in 2012.
The Braves have essentially been the quietest team in the progressive transaction discussion in the 2011/2012 off-season. Which is not necessarily a good or bad thing for Braves fans because the team they had last year was certainly an admirable relevant contender in the N.L. Losing the 17-loss Derek “I’m too old for this rotation” Lowe isn’t leaving the Braves in disarray, as it makes their push for a younger crowd a little easier with more cash in their pocket.
Their solid veteran line-up partnered with a strong young and dangerous rotation is a great recipe for duplicating winning seasons. Duplicating another competitive 89-73 though, as positive as it seems, is not going to be enough for Braves fans to be satisfied in 2012. They’ll need players to provide exceeded expectations in performance and their what-if’s on the bullpen and prospects to be answered in their favor, if they want a chance at bringing the title back to the ATL. Which, for Braves fans, is more appealing than losing your bid for the wildcard in the last series of the season to a divisional rival.
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