The Atlanta Braves start a 5-game series with the New York Mets with a doubleheader on Monday.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Atlanta Braves enter the most important series of the season thus far against the first place New York Mets, starting with a double-header on Monday.
The Braves seem to be in a sort of limbo as they enter this series, not really showing signs of good or bad since the All-Star Break, staying at an even 4-4 since then, continuing to show signs that nothing has really changed from the team we all saw in the first half of the season.
Same old, same old.
There have been some positives since the All-Star Break when it comes to starting pitching with Touki Toussaint making his first couple appearances of the season and showing major signs of improvement, Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies continuing to heat up, or Joc Pederson bringing some much needed pop from the left side of the plate.
Then, there’s still the bullpen… my, oh my, the bullpen.
There are many questions to be asked when thinking of the trade deadline, which is July 30th (Friday of this week).
This can be viewed as a good or bad thing for the Braves, who, like I stated a bit ago, are still in a limbo.
The importance of this series with the Mets stands with the fact that the Braves can either be fully out of the NL East race, fully in the NL East race, or stuck in the same position (the potential of being an extra game back or closer still stands), by the end of this series.
Five games gives the Braves a much-needed chance to really get themselves back into the position everyone expected them to be in before the season began.
The Braves win three or four of these five games, they are within a game or two of 1st place (but let’s hope they sweep and stand tied at the top at the end of this series). This means they could buy!
If they win one or two games, then they kind of put themselves either in the “out of it” club or “stuck in the mud” club and could potentially choose to sell or do nothing at the trade deadline.
With the scenarios sort of spelled out, how did the Braves fair against the Mets at the start of this important series?