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go to SICOVERS.COM(^12) SPORT S ILLUS TR ATED | OC T OBER 21–28, 2019
FLASH POINT
I beg to differ that the
Astros built the SCARIEST
POSTSEASON ROTATION EVER,
as touted on the cover.
The 1971 Orioles had
four 20-game winners
(Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar,
Pat Dobson and Dave
McNally) with a combined
70 complete games. And
they lost to the Pirates in
the World Series.
Richard A. Nyborg
Pooler, Ga.
No disrespect to
Gerrit Cole and Justin
Verlander, but the
scariest postseason
rotation belonged to
the 2010 Giants (Tim
Lincecum, Madison
Bumgarner, Matt Cain
and Jonathan Sanchez).
Charles Margiotta
Livermore, Calif.
Burnsed missed a most
salient point. Cobb
County did not want
the Braves, especially
with a cost to tax
payers of $400 million.
Knowing that such a
proposal would never
pass a referendum,
the chairman of the
county commission
negotiated the deal
sub rosa. He was
soundly defeated in
the next election.
We got them, we
love them, we
support them,
but we did not
want them!
William M. Wilson Jr.
Marietta, Ga.
THE TROUBLE
WITH TANKING
The best way to
eliminate tanking is
to hold draft lotteries
every year rather than
give the top picks to
the teams that lose the
THIS IS/WAS
BRAVES COUNTRY
As a lifelong Braves
fan who endured its
basement-dwelling
teams of the 1970s
and ’80s, I found Brian
Burnsed’s article on the
city and its sports
teams polarizing.
Money—not
race—was the
primary reason
the Braves left
Atlanta. The
city refused
to match
Cobb County’s
offer, electing
to spend money
on infrastructure
projects rather than
be “choked by debt,”
as then mayor Kasim
Reed said in 2013.
Mar t y Stewar t
Plum, Pa.
Warriors and Yankees
get the first picks of
their respective drafts,
so be it.
Sal Lejarza
Kenner, La.
Jimmy Johnson says,
“Getting picks is not
the answer. Picking the
right players, that’s the
answer.” It’s good advice
for the Dolphins, but it’s
like choosing the right
stock or partner: easier
said than done.
John Abbott
Depoe Bay, Ore.
POPULAR DEMANDS
Conor Orr’s essay on NFL
free agency (SCORECARD)
fails to consider player
accountability. It’s
shortsighted to blame
the NFL, which gives
hundreds of young men
the opportunity
of financial stability,
for its “oppressive”
movement policies
without acknowledging
that every one of the
players chose to sign
a contract to play.
Lon Sellers
Glendora, Calif.
GREG NELSON (ASTROS, DOLPHINS); DYLAN BUELL/GETTY IMAGES (BRAVES); ROBERT BECK (COVER)
FOR OCTOBER 7, 2019
ON DECK
The next edition of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
will be the Nov. 4, 2019, issue. Look for
it on newsstands and in your mailbox
beginning on Oct. 30.