Atlanta Braves: Come Rain or Shine

This Atlanta Braves team changes with the weather, which means one can be chilling poolside, in the sun, one moment, only to see the sky turn black, out of nowhere, as lightning flashes, and the thunder cracks the heavens like an egg, covering the baseball field with yolk dripping into a frying pan.

This team's longest win streak is three games this season, which has occurred on four different occasions, and its longest losing streak is five, which has happened just once. The good news is that the dreary weather does stay long. The bad news is that it shows up every other day, like an annoying extra on one of the TGIF shows.

Recently, the Braves went 3-6 on a road trip that started in Baltimore's Camden Yards and went through Cincinnati and Boston's Fenway. I was at the lone game Atlanta won in Baltimore a 7-2 win by Tommy Hanson. Then the rain started, and they dropped the next two by a total of thirteen runs. If baseball were The Wire, then the O's pretty much hid Atlanta's pitching arms in row houses, as if Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, and Melvin Mora were Chris, Snoop, and Marlow.

In Boston, the only game Atlanta took of the series was an 8-2 win by Kawakami in the opener. Then, in a rain that fell all game, they left three men on base when Matt Diaz struck out in the top of the 9th. The game ended on a solo shot by Red Sox short stop Nick Green. The homer especially stung because it followed the announcer's words, "Get ready to be here a while; we're probably going to extra innings." It was one of those small moments in a season that makes a fan think that even in a downpour, our glass is somehow half empty, that it's just not our year. This emotion grew when one reflected back on the bottom of the seventh that saw both Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones ejected.

Sometimes when managers and players argue with the umpire, they're arguing more with God and fate than anything else: "Hey, God, where's the damn rainbow? How come when we throw strikes to JD Drew you call 'em balls, but the same pitch is a strike for us?" God often responds to such outbursts with an ejection, allowing your team to come back without you, and then, just for kicks, breaking the hearts of your teammates while you sit helplessly in the locker room. The experience opens up a wide range of emotional flood gates, including anger, joy, worthlessness, and ultimately dejection.

Of course, when times are bleakest, the clouds part, a dove flies by, and there's a rainbow, causing one to think the worst is over--"I can see clearly now. The rain is gone." The Braves are on a two- game winning streak, and they are going for their fifth 3-game win streak of the season tonight. Currently, they lead the Yankees 1-0 at home, and Bobby Cox says he likes this team . . . rain or shine. I just hope one morning I find the summer heat has turned all this rain into a fried egg, sunny side up and ready to eat. I want consistency from a team that so far has played like a weather report.