In all of the craziness from the 2020 baseball season, maybe the craziest things of all is that the Atlanta Braves biggest threat in the division is the Miami Marlins.
Last year the Atlanta Braves won 15 games against the Miami Marlins. But even then, as has been noted, a lot of those games were tight.
And after the moves the Marlins made in the offseason to try and be somewhat competitive, many people thought they’d be a pesky team in 2020.
But nobody thought they’d be a threat to win a division with a team as talented as the Braves, a team as rich as the Phillies, and a team that just won the World Series.
The Mets have a really good roster, too, but they’re the Mets.
And as Atlanta begins the last week of the regular season, it’s the Marlins who are attempting to dethrone them atop the NL East.
As they begin a four-game series on Monday Atlanta holds a solid three-game lead.
To be honest, the Marlins most likely need to sweep the Braves to have a shot at the division. If they won three-of-four then they’d only be a game back, but then they finish the season in New York against the suddenly red-hot Yankees while the Braves stay at home to play one of the worst teams in baseball in the Red Sox.
But still, this four-game series should have somewhat of a playoff atmosphere and will hopefully help get Atlanta ramped up for the playoffs as they try to clinch their third consecutive NL East title.
There’s also a little rivalry brewing between the Braves and Marlins. I think it all started with he who will not be named plunking Ronald Acuna Jr.
We know Acuna hates the Marlins and I can’t wait to see his bat flip when he hits a no-doubter in this series.
But just in general, it seems like the Marlins don’t like the Braves and are viewing them as the team they have to knock off the mantle to get where they want, which is true. And they’re trying to show they’re not intimidated by the Braves.
Make no mistake, this Marlins team has proven something this year, and with their talented pitching staff they’re going to make some noise in years to come and will be gunning for the Braves.
I’m really looking forward to this series, and again, I’m hoping the Braves can play some good baseball, clinch the division, and get ready for the postseason this week.