Fredi Gonzalez had deployed Kimbrel for a four-out save in Game 2, and apparently the manager was waiting to do the same in Game 4. He waited too long. The Braves were eliminated without the best closer in the business throwing an actual pitch. They were eliminated on a night when Freddy Garcia, a journeyman more traveled than Marco Polo, matched the mighty Clayton Kershaw inning for inning -- to absolutely no avail.
Thus did Oct. 7 and the early moments of Oct. 8 in the year 2013 stand alongside the dark doings of Oct. 9, 2005, in the annals of Atlanta sporting infamy. That day the Falcons had rallied from a 28-13 fourth-quarter deficit behind No. 2 quarterback Matt Schaub -- starting because Michael Vick was injured -- to tie New England at 28 in the Georgia Dome, whereupon Tom Brady drove the Patriots within sight of Adam Vinatieri's winning field goal with 17 seconds remaining.
Then the Braves would squander a 6-1 lead as closer Kyle Farnsworth, who WAS summoned in the eighth inning, yielded a grand slam to Lance Berkman and then, in the ninth, a tying homer to Brad Ausmus. The end would come much, much later, when Chris Burke homered off Joey Devine with one out in the 18th. The winning pitcher? Roger Clemens, who entered in the 16th.
That remains the worst day in Atlanta sports history. But we now have a comparable worst night. And woe, yet again, is us.
- See more at: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/oct/08/worst-night-atlanta-sports-history/#sthash.ZBksRExL.dpuf
Thus did Oct. 7 and the early moments of Oct. 8 in the year 2013 stand alongside the dark doings of Oct. 9, 2005, in the annals of Atlanta sporting infamy. That day the Falcons had rallied from a 28-13 fourth-quarter deficit behind No. 2 quarterback Matt Schaub -- starting because Michael Vick was injured -- to tie New England at 28 in the Georgia Dome, whereupon Tom Brady drove the Patriots within sight of Adam Vinatieri's winning field goal with 17 seconds remaining.
Then the Braves would squander a 6-1 lead as closer Kyle Farnsworth, who WAS summoned in the eighth inning, yielded a grand slam to Lance Berkman and then, in the ninth, a tying homer to Brad Ausmus. The end would come much, much later, when Chris Burke homered off Joey Devine with one out in the 18th. The winning pitcher? Roger Clemens, who entered in the 16th.
That remains the worst day in Atlanta sports history. But we now have a comparable worst night. And woe, yet again, is us.
- See more at: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/oct/08/worst-night-atlanta-sports-history/#sthash.ZBksRExL.dpuf
Clemens, who entered in the 16th.
That remains the worst day in Atlanta sports history. But we now have a comparable worst night. And woe, yet again, is
- See more at: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/oct/08/worst-night-atlanta-sports-history/#sthash.ZBksRExL.dpuf
That remains the worst day in Atlanta sports history. But we now have a comparable worst night. And woe, yet again, is
- See more at: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/oct/08/worst-night-atlanta-sports-history/#sthash.ZBksRExL.dpuf
Fredi Gonzalez had deployed Kimbrel for a four-out save in Game 2, and apparently the manager was waiting to do the same in Game 4. He waited too long. The Braves were eliminated without the best closer in the business throwing an actual pitch. They were eliminated on a night when Freddy Garcia, a journeyman more traveled than Marco Polo, matched the mighty Clayton Kershaw inning for inning -- to absolutely no avail.
Thus did Oct. 7 and the early moments of Oct. 8 in the year 2013 stand alongside the dark doings of Oct. 9, 2005, in the annals of Atlanta sporting infamy. That day the Falcons had rallied from a 28-13 fourth-quarter deficit behind No. 2 quarterback Matt Schaub -- starting because Michael Vick was injured -- to tie New England at 28 in the Georgia Dome, whereupon Tom Brady drove the Patriots within sight of Adam Vinatieri's winning field goal with 17 seconds remaining.
Then the Braves would squander a 6-1 lead as closer Kyle Farnsworth, who WAS summoned in the eighth inning, yielded a grand slam to Lance Berkman and then, in the ninth, a tying homer to Brad Ausmus. The end would come much, much later, when Chris Burke homered off Joey Devine with one out in the 18th. The winning pitcher? Roger Clemens, who entered in the 16th.
That remains the worst day in Atlanta sports history. But we now have a comparable worst night. And woe, yet again, is us.
- See more at: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/oct/08/worst-night-atlanta-sports-history/#sthash.ZBksRExL.dpuf
Thus did Oct. 7 and the early moments of Oct. 8 in the year 2013 stand alongside the dark doings of Oct. 9, 2005, in the annals of Atlanta sporting infamy. That day the Falcons had rallied from a 28-13 fourth-quarter deficit behind No. 2 quarterback Matt Schaub -- starting because Michael Vick was injured -- to tie New England at 28 in the Georgia Dome, whereupon Tom Brady drove the Patriots within sight of Adam Vinatieri's winning field goal with 17 seconds remaining.
Then the Braves would squander a 6-1 lead as closer Kyle Farnsworth, who WAS summoned in the eighth inning, yielded a grand slam to Lance Berkman and then, in the ninth, a tying homer to Brad Ausmus. The end would come much, much later, when Chris Burke homered off Joey Devine with one out in the 18th. The winning pitcher? Roger Clemens, who entered in the 16th.
That remains the worst day in Atlanta sports history. But we now have a comparable worst night. And woe, yet again, is us.
- See more at: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/oct/08/worst-night-atlanta-sports-history/#sthash.ZBksRExL.dpuf