As we have now passed Labor Day and playoff baseball is right around the corner, it’s time to dig a little deeper and see what the Atlanta Braves are still playing for.
Obviously, the biggest thing the Atlanta Braves need to do is hold off the Nationals and secure the NL East again. That’s the most important and main thing to take away from this.
However, what about some of these other races we are currently in? What are we playing for besides going for back-to-back NL East crowns?
First and most importantly besides the division race is the race for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoff series.
A few weeks ago, no one would have given the Braves a shot, but with the recent play of both the Braves and Dodgers, the Braves have crept up to only 4 1/2 games back and have a legit shot.
The Dodgers are probably playing their worst ball of the season right now (still playing decent though) and the Atlanta Braves are probably playing it’s best ball of the season.
Hopefully the Braves stay hot and ride momentum into the postseason, but is it possible to be the #1 seed and catch the Dodgers now?
If both teams stay the course they have been on since meeting in mid August, it might come down to the wire. That is something not too many of us thought possible a few weeks ago, probably.
With that being said though, I think it’s fair to wonder if that would truly be the best-case scenario.
Think about this for a second — as of now, the Nationals seem to be a lock in the NL Wild Card game. The Cubs would be the other team as of now. The Phillies, Mets, Brewers, and the suddenly hot Diamondbacks all still have a shot though.
For the sake of this argument though, let’s assume it stays the Cubs-Nationals, which I think it will.
Those are the two teams besides the Dodgers that worry me the most. I feel confident in facing any of the teams in the playoff chase, but I feel most confident going against the Cardinals.
In my perfect world, we would play the Cardinals while the Dodgers take on whoever survives the Wild Card game, and we could go from there.
Obviously, as a Braves fan, I want the Braves to win every game and I’m still hoping they can get to 100 wins this season. That would mean we would be red hot going into the playoffs.
I’m not going to be picky, and I know you have to beat the best to win it all, so bring on anyone. Besides, maybe the Cardinals could upset the Dodgers and we could face them in the NLCS?
Anyways, that is my thoughts on the potential situation we have found ourselves in this September. It’s a good problem to have and I’m glad we are in this situation.
While I feel most confident going against the Cardinals, there is also a reason why we have gotten the second best record in the National League.