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PAGE 2B
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Local Sports
Braves 400
Club, Hot Stove
League to
host events
The Braves 4(X) Chib will
host its annual preseason
luncheon featuring sports
writers giving their thoughts
on the upcoming season on
Thursday, April 8, in the 755
Club at Turner Field. The
cost is S2O.
Also, Forsyth County Hot
Stove Night at the Rome
Braves will be Saturday.
’ April 24. Tickets are $lB
each, including pregame
meal of hot dogs, hamburg
ers, chicken and BBQ. por
information, call Johnny
Tailant for tickets before
April 19 at (770) 887-5537.
Adult baseball
league forming
A new adult baseball
league associated with Stan
Musial Baseball is seeking
teams in Forsyth and sur
rounding counties to begin
play in late spring and sum
mer of 2004. For more infor
mation. call Dennis
Holbrook at (770) 887-4036.
Park and Rec
Challenger
Softball
The Forsyth County
Parks and Recreation
Department is hosting
Challenger Softball on
Thursdays. April 15. 22 and
29. and Tuesdays, May 4 and
11 at Central Park Field No.
3 from 6:30-8 p.m.
There is no charge.
Everyone who attends will
receive a T-shirt on Tuesday.
May 11.
The event is open to all
special education students,
grades K-12.
It's Time to
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Braves’ division streak goes bust this year
So this is it. Mark it down
now lest we forget amid the
excitement of the pennant race
and the tumult of the playoffs.
Make a special note to remind
yourself come October what a
strange and unusual year 2004
became:
The Year the Braves Didn’t
Win The Division.
Talk is cheap on opening
day, find every year the pun
dits assure us that the Braves
long run is over. Yet for the
last 12 years in a row. when
the dust has cleared, the
Braves remained division
champions.
Remember a couple of
years ago, when the Mets
became the chic pick to unseat
the Braves? They brought in
Mo Vaughn. Roberto Alomar.
Roger Cedeno, and Jeromy
Bumitz to get them over the
hump. Did they ever. They
haven’t been out of last place
since.
Last year, they imported
Tom Glavine in time to wit
ness the worst season of his
career.
And this year they won’t
be much improved. Their new
doubleplay combination of
Kaz Matsui and Jose Reyes
didn't play a single game
together this spring. Can't
wait for the fun to start the
first time they try to turn two.
Sprinkle in Mike Piazza at
first base, and the infield
becomes ground under repair.
These guys are so bad that
owner Fred Wilpon (he went
to high school with Sandy
Koufax!) addressed the team
at spring training with these
encouraging words: “We want
STOVE from 1B
ning on a group trip to see
the Rome Braves on
Saturday. April 24.
Since the group of
Forsyth County baseball
enthusiasts first got together
in 1992. they have made reg
ular trips to minor league
ballparks across the South
east.
Denton v J
Ashway vjf
to play. . meaningful games."
Wow. Talk about inspiration!
Talk about throwing down the
gauntlet! Talk about last place!
The Montreal-San Juan
Expos are still in the hemi
sphere, as well as the division,
still multi-lingual and multi
domiciled. They still have the
venerable Frank Robinson in
the dugout, piloting the ship of
fools.
They don’t have Vladimir
Guerrero, their best hitter from
a year ago. They don't have
Javier Vazquez, their best
pitcher from a year ago. In
their place, les Expos picked
up household names like Nick
Johnson, Tony Batista, and
Carl Everett, always a calming
influence in the clubhouse.
The only meaningful games
these guys will play will be
against the Mets.
Next up are the Marlins,
who do have a nice team. And
one that might have a chip on
its shoulder.
"When people looked at us
and called us the Miracle
Marlins, I think they forgot
that from May 23rd on. we
had the best record in base
ball," growled manager Jack
McKeon.
The Marlins’ strength lays
in the starting rotation of
Series hero Josh Beckett. Brad
Penny, rookie sensation
Dontrelle Willis, and Carl
And with the Greenville
Braves on their way to
Memphis, it never hurts to
have another minor league
ballpark within close prox
imity.
"Maybe we need to get
one at Mary Alice Park,"
Tailant joked.
"That would be a good
place. I need to tell
[Cumming Mayor H. Ford
Pavano. And A.J. Burnett
could be back by summer.
But their catcher is gone,
which could make a huge dif
ference to a young staff. And
Ivan Rodriguez took his bat
with him. They’ll also miss
Derrek Lee and Juan
Encarnacion in the lineup, and
Ugueth Urbina and Braden
Looper in the bullpen.
Sorry. I just don’t see this
team rolling through the
league like it did a year ago.
All of which brings us to
the Phillies, this year’s chic
pick to unseat the Braves.
Mind you, these clowns fin
ished 15 games behind the
Braves a year ago. a develop
ment so revolting that they
demolished their stadium.
They also went out and
added Billy Wagner and Tim
Worrell to replace useless
closer Jose Mesa. But who
cares if they saved a combined
82 games last year? They
won’t save that many coming
out of the same bullpen.
Besides, how good can any
bullpen be that includes
Roberto Hernandez among its
denizens?
The lineup is no great
shakes, and some guys, like
Pat Burrell and David Bell,
are coming off horrible years.
They don’t run and they can’t
field.
The starting rotation? Fair
at best. The manager?
Combustible at least. Combine
a new ballpark with great
expectations and two expen
sive closers you can’t reach,
and Larry Bowa will have this
team imploding by the All-
Star break.
Gravitt] that’s what we
need."
Tickets for the April 24
event are $lB. which
includes a pregame meal of
hot dogs, hamburgers, chick
en and barbecue.
"Last year, we had about
60 [members attend] because
we kind of combined with
the 400 Club," Tailant said.
"We’ll probably have that
All of which leaves the
division to the Atlanta Braves
for the 13th straight year.
The Braves lost a bunch of
offense. But we’ve seen how a
couple of young guys—Rafael
Furcal and Marcus Giles—can
energize an entire lineup.
Now, let’s add Adam
Laßoche, Johnny Estrada, and
Mark Deßosa to the mix, and
see if a little youthful enthusi
asm doesn’t spark some
excitement.
Questions abound about
the frailty of J. D. Drew, but
this guy is on the verge of a
healthy, break-out, MVP-type
season. He should combine
with the Joneses to provide
the division's most productive
outfield.
The Braves starting rota
tion should also be the divi
sion’s most reliable. And the
bullpen benefits by the old
Branch Rickey maxim: adding
by subtracting. Greg Maddux
had become quite a drain on
the pen with his six inning
stints. And any bullpen with
out Roberto Hernandez and
High and Away Ray King is
improved. But the Braves also
added Chris Reitsma, a nasty
set-up man, in front of John
Smoltz, baseball’s best closer.
And stirring the mix is
Bobby Cox. the best manager
in baseball over a 162 game
season.
After 12 years, it still looks
like the Braves are the real
chic pick.
When not practicing his
avocation, Denton Ashway
practices his vocation with the
law firm of Ashway and Haldi
in Cumming.
many this year, or maybe
even more."
And not only will those in
attendance get to watch the
Rome Braves, but they'll
also get to see Tailant's son.
Smith, in action as the team’s
mascot. Romey the Brave.
For information on the
trip, call Johnny Tallant for
tickets before April 19 at
(770)887-5537.
BASS from 1B
retrieve. Most anglers seem
to think that the more casts
they make the better their
chances, but during Lanier’s
prime crankbait period, that
is certainly not the case. It is
imperative that one finds the
“happy medium” to be suc
cessful.
The retrieve must be just
fast enough to allow the
crankbait to dive and wiggle,
but not one bit more than
that. Only the trial of success
or failure will show a fisher
man when he has achieved
the proper speed.
Best places to cast are
usually points and coves
above Browns Bridge in the
beginning of this period, but
within a week, it won’t mat
ter which end of the lake one
chooses. Red clay banks
seem to have more bass than
rocky or sandy ones.
It’s best to use spinning
tackle with eight-pound test
line to'be more efficient and
allow the lure to go deep
enough to attract the bass.
Smaller diameter lines will
let the lure go even deeper,
but one is more at risk of los
ing fish and lures with the
lighter lines.
If an angler casts directly
at the bank, finds the right
speed of retrieve, and dili
gently works the proper
places, he can expect to catch
10 to 25 spotted bass and a
few other species of fish in
an 8-hour period each day for
the next couple of weeks. As
soon as the surface tempera
ture all over the lake reaches
60 degrees, however, one can
put the crankbaits away and
learn a new method for the
next part of the spring sea
son, but I'll save that one for
another article.
Bill Vanderford has won
numerous awards for his
writing and photography,
and has been inducted into
the National Freshwater
Fishing Hall of Fame as a
Legendary Guide. He can be
reached at (770) 289-1543,
JFishsl @aol.com or at
www.fishinglanier.com.