Braves Have Lost Swagger in Their Step

If the Dodgers, swept by San Diego over the weekend, were hoping to face an overconfident Atlanta team in their five-game division series, they’re going to be disappointed.

The Braves, who lost seven of 12 games to the Dodgers this season, appeared anything but cocky in their light workout Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

“If I was a betting man, I would have said that there was only a 10% chance of us coming here to play in L.A.,” said Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox about the Dodgers losing three in a row to the Padres. “But, those things happen. The minute you start taking things for granted in this game, you have problems.”

The last time the defending World Series champion Braves played the Dodgers, they were ending a 17-game trip thrust on them by the Olympics. The Braves won two of three games against the team they thought would be a playoff opponent.

“We thought that we would have to go through the L.A. Dodgers to get to the World Series,” Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones said. “But we didn’t think we’d be here now. Not this soon.”

That’s because Atlanta believed the Dodger starting pitching staff was too strong to be swept by San Diego. The Dodgers’ Ramon Martinez, Ismael Valdes and Hideo Nomo reminded the Braves of their John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.

“With a staff like that, they had to figure that they would win at least one of three games,” pitcher Denny Neagle said. “[The Dodgers] have to feel a little pressure on themselves coming into the series with a little cold streak.”

The Braves acknowledged, however, that the same pitching staff that was swept by the Padres could also be the difference in a short series against Atlanta.

“Having one pitcher get hot can be the difference in a five-game series,” said Neagle, traded to the Braves from Pittsburgh in August. “That’s why I like our chances with the best pitcher in baseball, John Smoltz, going for us in the first game.”

Another reason the Braves tried to downplay the Dodgers’ lost weekend against the Padres was their own slip in early September when Montreal cut a 12-game lead in the East Division to four.

“We were playing awful,” Neagle said. “We shocked a lot of people, even ourselves. We were just going through the motions. But the luxury of having a 12-game lead is that you have time to take a good long look in the mirror. We knew we had to step it up.”

Atlanta ended its swoon by clinching the division title against the Expos, but the Braves still aren’t facing the Dodgers on a big roll, having won six of their last 10 games.

Already without injured David Justice and Pedro Borbon, two key players in last season’s title run, the Braves will have to keep a close watch on starter Steve Avery, who has struggled because of a rib injury.

Veteran Terry Pendleton and rookie outfielders Andruw Jones and Jermaine Dye have played important roles this season but the Braves do not feel as invincible as a year ago.

“We want to win every time we go out, but we also know that the second time around is always a lot tougher,” first baseman Fred McGriff said. “In the playoffs, it is do or die.”

So what do the Braves believe will be the key against the Dodgers?

“At this time of the season, you can’t go out and beat yourself,” Pendleton said. “It doesn’t matter if you are home or away. Pitching and defense win world championships. You just have to go out and play baseball.”

Major League Notes

Gene Lamont is expected to become the Pittsburgh Pirates’ manager later this week, barring a breakdown in negotiations or a surprise offer from another team currently without a manager, Associated Press reported. Lamont, who managed the Chicago White Sox for 2 1/2 seasons, would likely make about $250,000 to $300,000 per season, or one-third of Jim Leyland’s $900,000 salary. . . . Reacting to the firing of friend and manager Kevin Kennedy, Boston Red Sox slugger Jose Canseco demanded to be traded. “The only reason I came to the Boston Red Sox was because of Kevin Kennedy. . . . I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else,” Canseco told Boston’s WBZ-AM while Kennedy was also on the air. “I just can’t see myself doing it.” . . . Bob Quinn was replaced as general manager by the San Francisco Giants, who elevated Brian Sabean to the job. . . . The average attendance at major league baseball games rose 6.4% this year but remained 15% below its level before the 1994-95 strike. The 28 teams averaged 26,889, up from 25,260 last season.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.