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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: observations from deadline day

By Alan Carpenter

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26: Johan Camargo #17 and Ender Inciarte #11 of the Atlanta Braves smile after both scored on a single by Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 during the fifth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 26, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 9-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26: Johan Camargo #17 and Ender Inciarte #11 of the Atlanta Braves smile after both scored on a single by Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 during the fifth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 26, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 9-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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TOKYO, JAPAN – DECEMBER 22: A scene depicting Mount Fuji and the surrounding landscape on December 12, 2012 in Fuji, Japan. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN – DECEMBER 22: A scene depicting Mount Fuji and the surrounding landscape on December 12, 2012 in Fuji, Japan. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /

You’ve Got to Rise Up

Wednesday was a red letter day for even more reasons.  The victory over Washington was yet-another-heart-attack game, but it was successfully executed in the end.

That took a 4.5 game NL East lead and made it a 6.5 game lead.  The Braves leave Washington having expanded their advantage and taken 3 days off the calendar in the process.

It also momentarily drove Washington out of the playoff picture.

The Nationals also obtained 3 relievers within the last couple of hours available on Wednesday:

However, the Braves beat them in this arms contest, too.  They may be better now, but objectively speaking, Atlanta got the better players.

Between the offense, the pitching, and the pitching support, you’d have to conclude that Atlanta is at least one of the Top 2 teams in the NL now. 

The AL is now dominated by Houston thanks to Greinke’s acquisition, so that means the odds would suggest either a Dodgers/Astros World Series or a Braves/Astros series as things stand today.

Sure:  it’s a long way off and each team mentioned will have to take care of its business… but each one is certainly capable.

Every one of the contenders following the Braves either didn’t do enough or didn’t do anything on Wednesday.

The Braves not only did better on their deals, but they also saw their rivals get little of any possible impact.

Going For It

There’s no doubt: the Atlanta Braves are trying to win the World Series.  They will have a tough road, of course, but nothing less should be expected.

The starting rotation is still in a bit of flux, but that depth is still fully in place as well.  If it comes to it, we’ll have to see if the not-yet-aces can keep up with the aces in October.

The Astros are also clearly “All In”:  they’ve got a timer on their ‘window’, but have propped it open with a very expensive set of cleats.  That said, they now have 3 frontliners in the rotation for the playoffs.

The Dodgers could not get anything of significance going – nor the Cardinals.  The Cubs made some noises, as did the Nationals… the poor Brewers were scrambling.  The Phillies only made token efforts to fill immediate needs.

Only time will tell about what the Mets, Reds, and Padres did, but it almost certainly won’t matter this season.

It’s great to see these moves for the Braves, though, and great to see the effort.  There’s no doubt what was taking place here.

Next. the Greene New Deal. dark

The Astros are getting credit for “winning” the trade deadline with a single trade, but in terms of the sum of individual moves, the Braves won the “bang for buck” battle.  Hopefully, we’ll see which of these teams prevails in late October.

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