Three concerns that could doom the Atlanta Braves this Summer
The Schedule
I have been harping on this since the 2020 MLB schedule was released, and it remains a front-burner problem for the Atlanta Braves.
The way the schedule has been drawn up, you might as well pencil in the initial standings like this:
Team Name / Record / GB
- Washington 0-0 –
- Atlanta 0-0 3
- Philadelphia 0-0 3
- Miami 0-0 5
- New York 0-0 6
With the Nationals getting six games against the Orioles and the minimum of three against the Yankees, it’s like giving them a 3 game lead in the division before any contests are actually played.
Don’t forget: every game in a 60 game season is the functional equivalent of 2.7 games in a “normal” 162-game season. Every loss is magnified by that multiplier.
The only real way for the Atlanta Braves to make up that kind of ground in the division, then, is to beat up on the Nationals in their 10 head-to-head games.
A 5-5 record won’t cut it. 6-4 is the minimum needed, 7-3 is certainly preferred.
Can you make up that gap against other clubs? Yes, but then you have to hope the Nats lose more elsewhere, and their schedule is clearly the easiest in the division, so that’s something you can’t count on.
Beating the Nationals is something the Braves can do – they won the season series 11-8 in 2019 – but that kind of result is more imperative this Summer, given the imbalance of the divisional schedule and the unbalance of the competition across baseball.
In the Central divisions, there are clubs expected to be strong (Twins, Indians, White Sox, Reds, … maybe the Cubs and Cards) and clubs expected to be between mediocre and poor (Pirates, Royals, Tigers, Brewers).
That disparity is going to inflate the win totals of the strong clubs in a manner that teams from the East (especially) and West can’t answer. Thus, even getting a Wild Card playoff slot is going to be difficult if you’re not in one of the Central divisions.
Thus the Atlanta Braves must take matters into their own hands. If they can’t do that, disappointment may greet them at the end of September.
At least we’re not as bad off as the Mets are.