TomahawkTake podcast 20: Atlanta Braves arrive at camp

At Camp Snitker, the Atlanta Braves are great, but some tests are positive.

Step 1 is complete:  the Atlanta Braves are now in camp for their 3-week ramp-up to a season that will be anything but regular.

During this first week, we’ve seen the positive (positive virus tests, which is really a negative thing), the negative (difficulty getting adjusted to the new routines), and the truly positive:  baseball players doing baseball things on a baseball field.

Atlanta hasn’t had the kind of wonky snafu’s with virus testing that some teams have experienced.  Then again, the Braves were hit hard:  four players, including Freddie Freeman, have tested positive and are now separated from their teammates until they can get at least two negative tests over a time period of no less than a day.

How long will that take?  An even better question is this:  how long will it be before each player involved is fully healthy again.

For some players — like Scott Kingery of the Phillies — it’s a relatively short downtime.  He’s back with their club now (he’s believed to be one of those impacted while still in Florida).  For the Braves… no word yet except the generic “getting better”.

Our podcast Episode 20 talks about this and a bunch of other topics that are coming up with the onset of this nutty short season that MLB is about to embark upon.

So here is that podcast for your edification and entertainment:

The direct download link is available here if you prefer to listen in that manner. This is also available via iTunes, Spreaker, and a variety of other podcast outlets.

Get prepared for some baseball that’s decidedly different.  Get prepared to be annoyed when you realize that the better teams in the “MLB Central” division will have inherent advantages over every other club this year — and the playoffs will be impacted.

But that’s exactly why we’ve been harping on the schedule:  this is going to be sixty difficult games coming up for the Atlanta Braves.

The teams left standing could simply be those staying the most healthy between now and the end of October.