What Would You Do If I Sang Out Of Tune?

~JB, Braves Blogger Extraordinaire and Coffee Addict.

Espresso. The fuel of blogs. At least it is for mine.

Hello, Braves fans and baseball fans otherwise. It's been a long season already for the Braves and somehow we've only managed to fall 4 games away from first place. How? I don't know. We can't seem to remain above .500. We can't seem to win series against struggling teams and we can't seem to stay healthy.

But here we are. About to welcome the Phils, who cling to the aforementioned 4 game advantage, and a chance to improve our standings. How can we do so without Chipper when his fill-in is not only not hitting anywhere close to Chipper's "BA" B.A. but he could make Mr. Mendoza blush.

But even though this Braves blogger has seen better days... I've seen worse too. And though our roster has more missing pieces than my Pac-Man puzzle from 1982... well... I don't know if there is an upside here actually. It's just baseball and it'll break your heart as quickly as it'll make you leap for joy. Those of you not prepared for this fickle love affair will have a hard time even mustering the desire to read a Braves blog let alone watch an early July ball game.

So in case you haven't heard yet, Chipper will make his perennial appearance on the DL starting this week and it'll come just in time for him to miss the All Star game. Just when I was getting optimistic that he'd make it through the whole season... Well, I still love Chipper and there's very little not to love. At least I can say that Mike Hampton makes Chipper look like the 6 Million Dollar Man.

Now at this point the post takes a turn. Call this an opinion, observation, insight or whatever but here's how I end.

When in Chicago visiting Wrigley Field this June, I noticed something about the fans in the Friendly Confines. They turned out in very strong numbers and gosh they love their team. I happened to make it to one of those day game treats on a Thursday afternoon but the attendance would've told you it was a Sunday. Now true, Wrigley is smaller than Turner but I will say that the love the "Friendlies" have for their team is... electric.

Here's my point. The Cubbies haven't snagged a title in close to 100 years. They've had nothing but bad luck in the postseason and are now this century's version of the Red Sox. You could use success as an argument for why to give up on this loveable franchise on the Northside but it would get you nowhere with a true Cubs fan.

They are to me, an example of what I believe a team and its fans must sometimes go through to gather a TRUE following. I'm not talking about the "fans" that show up in gale force when the team is winning and then allow the Ted to become a Ghost Town when we're down in the standings. I'm not even talking about the tailgaters who get thoroughly intoxicated before, during, and after the game only to make complete fools out of themselves in the parking lot (I've hit one with my car this season). I'm talking about FANS. And truth be told, sometimes Fans have to go through some "Character Building Years" to refine their Fanship.

Now we Braves supporters have had a good run. Yes we only managed one Title in the 14 banners we collected during that time but I'll briefly state my argument once more, how many more WS's Championships would we have won playing 20 years ago without the dreadful playoff system we now employ? Regardless, we've obviously had some success since 1991 and now the years wane on. I'm not throwing in the towel on this season or saying our play off hopes for 2008 are shot when I say this. I'm just saying if the rough season we've had so far and the two missed playoffs of '06-'07 continue to be a trend, we will have to take our devotion to a new level.

I think this level of devotion has benefited teams like the Cubs. Disappointment is sometimes very good for a team and its fans to go through. Remember the magic of 1991? It wouldn't have been there in quite the same way if it wasn't for 1990 and all the other last place years before it.

Just a thought but getting through these hard times (and if it turns out... a hard season) and emerging as Braves Fans who know how to truly love our team is my silver lining.

Enjoy the day off of baseball. We got a brand new month and chance to gain some ground.

Whatever you do... Keep Choppin'