SO CLOSE BUT ALWAYS SO FAR; EVEN WITH 101 WINS, BRAVES GO FLAT.

Byline: Associated Press 

Team of the Decade?

The way things are going for the Atlanta Braves, they might have to settle for the being the Team of '95.

Despite an unprecedented run of six straight trips to the NL Championship Series, Atlanta begins another offseason wondering what went wrong rather than reflecting on all that went right.

``We're a victim of our own success,'' pitcher Tom Glavine said. ``It's almost like we'd be better off going in the can for three or four years rather than being so close so many times. We're judged more on our failures than what we've accomplished.''

The Braves, baseball's best team during the regular season with 101 victories, needed a second World Series title to solidify their ranking as the team of the '90s. Instead, they didn't even make it past the Florida Marlins in the NLCS, losing in six games.

For all their success this decade - six straight division titles, three straight division-series victories, four NL pennants - the Braves have only one World Series ring, their victory over Cleveland in 1995.

``Who cares what people think about the team of the '90s?'' pitcher John Smoltz said with a shrug after Tuesday's 7-4 loss sent Florida to the World Series. ``Toronto (the winner in 1992 and '93) can have it for all I care.''

Clearly, though, the Braves were frustrated by another postseason failure. They whined about the umpires and seemed at a loss to explain their inferiority against the Marlins all season. Florida's 8-4 advantage in the regular season turned out to be no fluke but a perfect indicator of how the NLCS would go.

``This hurts a lot,'' outfielder Kenny Lofton said. ``The best team did not win and I'll never change my mind on that.''

Atlanta had a higher batting average in the series (.253 to Florida's .199), more homers (six to one) and a lower earned run average (2.60 to 3.57). But two errors gave the Marlins five unearned runs in a Game 1 loss, and the third game was squandered away with a misjudged fly ball and a baserunning blunder.

``We pitched well, but we didn't play particularly well,'' general manager John Schuerholz said. ``You can't afford in a seven-game series not to be at the top of your game. We were very vulnerable.''

Now Schuerholz faces an offseason that's filled with uncertainty because of free agency and the expansion draft.

Lofton, hampered by injuries and never a smooth fit in the clubhouse, is not expected to re-sign with the Braves. If he does leave, the spring-training deal that sent Marquis Grissom and David Justice to Cleveland for Lofton and pitcher Alan Embree will look like a major bust.

``If the Braves would like me back, yes, I would come back,'' said Lofton, who hit only .185 with one stolen base against the Marlins. ``But it's not up to me.''

The Braves are probably more concerned about re-signing free agent shortstop Jeff Blauser, who hit .308 with 17 homers and 70 RBI. While Atlanta has enough outfielders to fill Lofton's shoes, there's no one in the organization who can take over at short.

``I don't know what's going to happen,'' Blauser said. ``This might be the last time I'll wear this uniform.''

Fortunately for the Braves, their four starting pitchers - Smoltz, Glavine, Greg Maddux and Denny Neagle - are signed to contracts that stretch into the next century. That alone practically guarantees that Atlanta will remain a prime contender, if not championship material.

``I would rather be in this position,'' Glavine said. ``Year in and year out, when we walk through that door in spring training we know we have a chance to be in the World Series.''

Not this year. Most people will not remember those 101 regular-season victories or that three-game sweep of Houston in the division series. The only thing people will remember is the Marlins celebrating in the middle of Turner Field on a brisk, October night.

That's why this defeat - to a wild-card team that finished nine games behind the Braves in NL East - was so hard to take.

``This was not a successful season,'' reliever Mark Wohlers said. ``It's not one to be proud of. It's hard to get to Game 6 of the LCS - you don't realize how hard it is. But the World Series is the only goal we had. We came up short.''

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Photo

Photo: Atlanta outfielder Ryan Klesko has nothing to look up at during the ninth inning of Tuesday's NLCS Game 6, which Florida won to advance.

Associated Press