I'm just all over the place today.

I've blogged about Wrestling, football, animation, Sheiky interviews, the weather and combinations of all those things.

Now, its time to talk a little Braves Baseball.

The Braves have been on a run that is unheard of in professional sports. 14 consecutive division championships dating back to 1991. Several league championship appearances, several world series trips and 1 world series victory. They have had Impact pitchers, impact hitters and impact defenders over the coarse of their run.

This season, they currently stand at 56/64 and are currently out of the playoffs, fighting to gain ground in the wild card standings. The division title is out of the question.

As a fan, I am left to ponder, what happened?

First, let me debunk one argument. The argument that it had to end eventually. This to me is a flawd argument because winning 14 division titles in a row eliminates luck from the equation. Nobody gets lucky for 14 seasons in a row. If its not luck that won all of those titles then it must be skilled. Its sustained skill because only John Smoltz remains from the Braves team that won the division back in 1991. This is a team that has had a lot of turnover during its run and has still managed to keep winning. The constants have been Smoltz, General Manager John Schuerholz and Manager Bobby Cox. Chipper and Andruw Jones have also been there for a majority of the run.

The Braves have managed to win division titles with their pitching during the days of Maddux, Glavin & Smoltz. They've won divisions with offensive firepower and defensive skill. They've won with a roster of veterans and a roster of rookies. Winning has taken many different forms over the years, so its not as though we can say that their pitching got old and that was the end of it because that's simply not an accurate statement of what happened. The point is that those that say that it had to end some time are only saying that because in their minds it has to be true. The reality is that if you make the right moves and develop the right kind of talent you can remain good for eternity. Ah, you say, but if the injury bug hits that is beyond your control. Yes, but the injury bug bit the Braves last year to the tune that they used 7 rookies in 1 starting lineup and a total of 17 during the coarse of the season, so if you have depth you can overcome that.

Plus, you can remain good if your opponents are too stupid to capitalize on their own fortunes, this description fit New York until this season and will fit the Phillies until the end of time it would seem.

So, it didn't have to end, the Braves are still a very talented team that should still be winning but is clearly not.

So, again what went wrong?

The departure of Leo Mazone, the former Pitching Coach? Well, this would seem to be a possibility given that he was part of the team's run until taking a job with the Orioles during the offseason. He leaves, and the Braves start losing, seems like it fits. But to me, it doesn't quite fit for 2 reasons.

1. The pitching hadn't been what carried the Braves for years. Sure, its worse with him not there, but last year's team didn't win because of pitching and neither did the year before.
2. His presence hasn't done much good for Baltimore. The Orioles are in 4th place in their division its not as though everything he touches turned to gold.

So, Mazone may be part of the explanation but his departure is not an excuse nor a full explanation.

The next suggestion is lack of depth. I find this hard to swallow because last year's group gained a lot of valuable experience that should have come through this season when Chipper and Andruw Johnes missed time due to injury. Plus, Renteria at shortstop has been a good replacement for Raphel Furcal. They do have a good scouting system and a good farm system so they've got talent in the system.

Maybe its just that the Mets finally got it right. Ok, I'll admit that this is part of it. The Mets finally made the right moves and are finally a healthy team and this has played a large factor in the Braves not being in first anymore. But, again its not the whole story. The Mets aren't playing the Braves every night, and so that doesn't explain how the Braves are playing so poorly against the rest of the league, so as to risk not only not making the playoffs but not finishing the season above .500. You can credit the Mets for some of that, but to say that their success is why the Braves are struggling so much doesn't make sense and gives the Mets too much credit.

Perhaps Bobby Cox has been around too long? Perhaps anyone that believes this is an idiot. Bobby Cox is loved by his players, and he knows how to get the most out of them. His postseason managing leaves a lot to be desired as any Braves fan can tell you but his regular season managing is second-to-none.

So, what is it? Well, honestly I have no idea. I am writing this I guess to sort of pss the torch to the Mets. But, I will say this. I think its a combination of young players getting used to success and thinking it can just be turned on at any point, a little bit of bad luck (note I said luck doesn't win 14 divisions in a row, that doesn't mean that there's not luck from season to season) and the rest of it is a combination of a good Mets team and a mixture of X-factors.

Hopefully, the Braves will win the wildcard, perhaps they'd be better off that way. But there are a lot of teams ahead of them, and a lot of those teams are better than they are. I'm not sure I understand how it happened, but the fact is that the run has ended.