Atlanta Braves Podcast S2E35: The World Series preview edition

It’s happened… the mighty blue dragon has been slain and the Atlanta Braves are moving on to the last stop on their magical tour.  What awaits them in Houston?

Thus far the Atlanta Braves have survived by keeping things as simple as possible for their hitters and for their pitchers.

For the most part, the roles have remained in place and players have been used at times that give them the best possible chances for success.

That will almost certainly continue to be the gameplan for Brian Snitker and his troops as they invade Houston on Tuesday to begin the 2021 World Series.

This is a tough race to handicap as it’s very likely to come down to the pitching of the Atlanta Braves versus the bats of the Houston Astros.

Houston has managed to win while seemingly scoring at will against all colors of Sox this post-season.  The fewest runs they have scored in any game thus far was 3… and then 5 (twice).

In the meantime, they have hit double-digits on 2 occasions and posted 9 runs during three other games.

But can they overcome the pitching that this Braves club has brought to bear?  Atlanta allowed the Dodgers to post 11 runs in one game that effectively allowed them to rest the majority of their bullpen for the clinching Game 6, but aside from that lone anomaly, here’s the runs that Milwaukee and LA were able to muster:

• 2, 0, 0, 4 (Brewers)
• 2, 4, 6, 2, 2

22 runs in 9 games… or 33 in 10 games if you prefer the entire story.  In other words, the Braves have only allowed roughly an average run count matching the lowest output that the Astros have posted.

Truly the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object.

The Astros feature an excellent defense (though uncharacteristically have committed 6 errors in the post-season… Atlanta has just one) and an outstanding offense.

The Braves counter with excellent infield defense and a pitching staff that often keeps the ball in that infield.

The biggest factor could end up being this:  can Atlanta score enough off a threadbare Astros pitching staff?

Let’s just say that the 4-2 games we’ve been experiencing lately probably won’t quite approach the kind of run-scoring we’ll see this week.  It may not be “Coors Field” run-scoring… but it might be close.

Braves Preview Podcast

So here’s that more detailed preview of the World Series… usual rules apply:

• The direct download link is here.
• Your favorite subscription site already has it… heck, I see a bunch of y’all have already started listening!
• The inline player is available right here.

So with that… it’s time to buy the snacks, reserve the family TV set for the week, and settle in:  it’s the World Series.  It’s our Atlanta Braves.  Let’s go!!