I know I have been a little late on posting chapters, but I hope you will all bare with me as I am trying to get something really good ready to show you. Now with that said I would like to give you some updates.

First Jumped is really coming along... and should have some chapters done soon. Also I am fairly certain that once I am finished with the books you will be able to get them on Amazon through the kindle store. In time they will also be available in hard back.

Secondly, article is coming soon about Dubai.... So keep your eyes up..

Also as always thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Please subscribe and send any of my work you like to your friends and family.

p.s. Wish me luck, just submitted a paper to GSU conference. 

Welcome to Atlanta

For years Atlanta fans have been accused of being lazy, unconcerned, and more importantly lacking passion. How quickly people forget the past and the fans passion, no matter what we did or how often we showed up no one cared on one remembered, because we did not have an iconic moment, an immortal moment that showed that we cared and were passionate about our team.... Enter Friday and Atlanta's redemption.

Now before I go much further please let me acknowledge that I do not feel continually throwing debris onto the field was acceptable, but the initial downpour I thought was called for. I was at the game and I have to say that I have never seen fans that passionate in person before. Do not get me wrong I have seen us excited or seen sold out Thrashers playoff games, sold out Falcons games, and felt the excitement through the media and distance, but I have never been there in person. And you see despite the Braves front office apologizing, I think the fans reaction was the best thing to happen to Atlanta sports in a long time.

No one remember our passion for the Thrashers, all the remember is a lack luster fan base letting their team be taken. In reality we all know that this is not true, we hated Atlanta Spit and after being beaten down for years we could not stand up and support them any more. In sports they allays say protest the ownership if you do not like it, do not buy the product, hit them where it hurts.... We did that and we lost our team. But that is not the point here... When the thrashers were in Atlanta we could fill Philips and did for many years and during our one playoff run the "highlight factory" was raucous and passionate. In the end though no one remember those sell outs or passion, but instead only remembers empty seats and us losing a team for a second time.

Falcons and the Braves have also faced the same fate in regards to fan ridicule. People quickly forget how the Braves fans filled Turner field for 6-7 years after its opening, holding one of the best attendances in baseball. People instead sight a half full stadium on a Monday night to show our fans passion. Despite what Phillies fans say, they do not love their team... Eagles, Fliers, yes, Chillies no. The only reason they sold out the stadium was because the team was good at the time they opened it. Now that they are struggling we shall see what happens to their "die hard" fans.

What Atlanta fans needed to put them on the map was an immortal incident that would show our passion for years to come. A moment where in the bad times, when people are doubting our loyalty we could point to and say "really? you really want to make that point?" Despite all the good Atlanta fans had done through the years we did not have that, however now we do.

On a prime time slot, the Braves fans showed the country watching on TBS what we are made of when you screw over our team. We did not roll over, we booed, we threw things, and we showed our passion for a team that was making its comeback. I do not think people should have thrown things for 20 min (which in reality that is a little overblown, the majority of it came in the first few minutes and then a few stragglers threw things later on), but I think we should have been appalled with the call and how we were being treated.

Turner Field was electric, people were passionate and excited and we showed the country that we cared. In the end if the fans had not raised hell, we would have been accused of being soft and not sticking up for our team. However in the end I was in a stadium where 50,000 thousand people chanted "in-field fly.... in-field fly" every time a ball was hit in the air. I got to see a crowd stand up for their team and their city.

Friday night was special for me, not because I saw Chippers last game or a historic "playoff game", but because I got to be witness to and a part of the birth of the Atlanta fan base. We now have a calling card , a call to arms, an instance that we can all gather behind and rally to show that we are not lazy fans, but instead caring passionate fans. So move over Philly, New York, and Chicago... Atlanta has arrived and is here to stay. 

The New Playoff

New Wild Card System, Not as Bad as it Seems.

Lately a lot of negative feelings and discussion have occurred concerning Baseball's new playoff system. Some players like Chipper Jones have recently come out against it claiming that it is"stupid", while fans have contended that the new system will water down MLB's product by allowing sub-par teams to make the playoffs. Of course others contend that it is simply a money grabbing venture by Bud Selig and in this vein the most cynical think that it is just a ploy to guarantee that the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies make the playoffs every year. This negativity, though, has drowned out the real story here and the importance of the rule change. This decision was made with a lot of care and consideration. Even though I am a Braves fan and know that my team will be experiencing the one game "playoff" that could erase our great season in one bad game, let me explain why the new system is great and how it improves the game.

Lets start with addressing Chipper Jones' comments, which seem to voice the majority of the concern about the new system. Chipper thinks that the wild card game is just for the fans and that “You say to yourself, we could possibly have the second- or third-best record in the National League when the season’s over and we have to play a one-game playoff just to get in.” Here is the embodiment of the concern: that possibly a team with the second best record in baseball could be knocked out in a one game playoff , giving way to a less deserving team. To see if this concern is really valid we should look at how this rule would have played out if it had been since the "wild-card's " inception in 1995.

Below we have a table representing the wild card. The third and fifth columns represent which team would have made it into the one game playoff if the rule had been in existence. In other words it represents the "extra" team that would have had a chance at the title.

Key:

N or A= a year where the second wild card had a better record than at least one divisional leader in their league.

n or a= a year when the second wild card would have been tied with at least one divisional leader

W= year the wild card team won the world series

.

Year	NL Wild Card	2nd NL Wild Card	AL Wild Card	2nd AL Wild card
1995	COL 77-67	HOU 76-68	NYY- 79-65	LAA- 78-67
1996-n	LAD 90-72	MON 88-74	BAL 88-74	SEA 85-76
1997-W, N	FLA 92- 70	LAD, NYM 88-74	NYY 96-66	LAA 84-78
1998-a	CHI 90-73	SAF- 89-74	BOS 92-70	TOR 88-74
1999	NYM 97-66	CIN 96-67	BOS 94-68	OAK 87-75
2000- A	NYM 94-68	LAD 86-76	SEA 91-71	CLE 90-72
2001- N	STL 93-69	SAF 90-72	OAK 102-60	MIN 85-77
2002-W	SAF 95-66	LAD 92-70	LAA 99-63	BOS, SEA 93-69
2003-W, A,	FLA 91 71	HOU 87-75	BOS 95-67	SEA 93-69
2004-W	HOU 92-70	SAF 91-71	BOS 98-64	OAK 91-71
2005-N	HOU 89-73	PHI 88-74	BOS 95-67	CLE 93-69
2006-N	LAD 88-74	PHI 85-77	DET 95-67	CHW 90-72
2007-N	COL 90-73	SAD 89-74	NYY 94-68	DET, SEA 88-74
2008-N,a	MIL 90-72	NYM 89-73	BOS 95-67	NYY 89-73
2009- A	COL 92-70	SAF 88-74	BOS 95-67	TEX 87-75
2010	ATL 91-71	SAD 90-72	NYY 95-67	BOS 89-73
2011-W,	STL 90-72	ATL 89-73	TAB 91-71	BOX 90-72

So, since the wild card has been in existence the "second" wild card team has had a better record or been tied with a division leader 11 out of the 17 seasons. In the national league the average record a second wild card team would need to have is 89-73 to make the playoffs. In the American League the second wild card team would need to have a record of 88.875- 73.123 to make the playoffs.

I think the numbers speak to two things, the first being that by adding a second wild card team we are in no way adding a scrub team or an untalented team. Beyond this though 11 out of the 17 seasons the second wild card team was at least tied with at least one division leader. If anything I think this shows us a fault with the divisional system more than the 2nd wild card, in how it relates to getting the most talented team on the field. I am not opposed to opening up the discussion about doing away with the divisional system, reworking it, or trying to find a better way to make sure that the best teams make the playoffs. However, we have to remember that this problem about a good team missing the playoffs is nothing new and can not be blamed on the additional wild-card team.

Now that we have shown that the"second wild-card" teams are more than qualified to play in the playoffs what do we address next? Maybe the claim that this is just a way to get teams like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia in the playoffs more? Wrong. In the national league teams from the central or west division would have fared best under this system, making it 12 out of the 17 seasons. In the American League it would have only placed the Yankees or Red Sox in the playoffs 4 out of 17 seasons. All in all this system would have helped teams in the NL and Al west the most, teams like the Padres Seattle, San Fran, and Las Angles.

I am hoping that the chart above dispels peoples ideas that the Wild card team is unqualified and really do hope that people are not being cynical about this just being a way for MLB to make money, because in the end this new system was not hap-haphazardly created and makes winning one's division important again.

Before the wild card's creation in 1994 (not realized until 96 due to the strike) only two teams from each league made the playoffs. The creation of the wild card as we all know was done to make it so there would be an even number of teams in the playoffs when they added the NL/ALDS. Now MLB could have given the division leader with the best record a bye in the NL/ALDS, instead making the other two division leaders play to get to the NL/ALCS. Of course we have all seen rest - too much rest- completely de- rail even the best teams in major league baseball, so instead baseball opted to add the wild-card team and gave every team a 12.5% chance of winning it all.

The problem with the wildcard before this year is simply that there was no incentive to play for your division since it's inception. If you won your division or squeaked in as the wild card you had the exact same chances of winning it all. Because as we have heard a thousand times: "Anything can happen once you are in the playoffs." For this reason no one had real incentive to win their division instead of the wild-card, which at the end of 162 games there should be a reward for winning your division.

Winning the division means something again and as I pointed out earlier that we may need to revise the system, under our current system we had to give reason to the season and more importantly being the best in your division. Under the new system the wild card teams have to not only play one extra game (throwing off their pitching rotations), but they also have to deal with the fact that if they had won their division they would not be in this situation.

Sometimes we may face a situation where one of both of the wild card teams have better records than the other divisional leaders, but we need to remember that this is not the fault of the new system and is instead the fault of the divisional system as whole.

Under our current system this is the best system, because one game not only puts the wild card teams under extra pressure, but it also does not give the divisional winners too much rest. When Bud Selig introduced this idea and created the committee to review and develop the new system they all agreed that it should only be a single game and not a best 2-3 that has been proposed by many columnists and some players. This committee was not a rag tag group of guys and included some of the most respected owners, managers, and former managers, many of which hold credentials in Cooperstown. One game means the wild card team will have more travel, gives the divisional leaders a little rest while not getting them cold, and also makes the wild-card teams have to play extra to make it. The new system puts the wild card team at a disadvantage, a disadvantage the wild card should be.

The Braves have said that they are still shooting for the Nats and the division, something that never would have happened if the second wild card was not in place. These sorts of comments and fire show the true genius of how it fixes the current playoff system. Winning your division, playing all 162 games to your fullest means something again. Teams are not resting their players this last week, trying to prepare for the playoff's, but instead are playing it out to the bitter end trying to avoid the play in game. I love my Braves and baseball and while I do not agree with him often (couch all-star game cough) I think Bud did a great thing with the new system. 162 games mean something now, the division means something. By using this system it is less likely that a "hot" wild card team will be able to sneak into the playoffs. The "Wild Card" is supposed to be a second bite of the apple when it comes to the post season and now it truly is.