Why the Atlanta Braves must win the NL East

Rescheduling the Schedule

Based on the current schedule, it would require two “bumps” in the schedule to get starts from Fried, Wright, and Strider lined up for the Mets.

That kind of relief could come from September callups from the list of Kyle Muller, Ian Anderson, and Bryce Elder… all who served well during the recent series in Miami.  Any of them should be more than capable of shutting down a depleted Nationals squad.

Doing so would also give the Braves a chance to throw the same trio into a Wild Card series, if it comes to that.  They would only need to skip a starter for the last game of the regular season, and if the divisional race has already been decided by then, the choice of a starter wouldn’t matter.

Clearly, the better sequence of events would be for this club to keep on winning and to take the division away from New York, but part of that depends on the Mets themselves… they have the potential to keep that from being possible, of course.

But how much better for the Braves if they were to win the division, take a week off, and then see the Mets have to spoil Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom in a Wild Card series before (if they prevail) having to go into the next round short-armed and unable to use their best pitching weapons until the middle of their series?

Heck… winning their 5th-straight divisional title would not only help the Braves, but it could do a favor to everybody else in the playoffs… maybe even a first-round Philadelphia team that stumbled to a 5-14 record against the Mets this year.

So how important is winning the division?  While Atlanta’s pitching is deep, that group will need a break from the intensity that September will bring… getting that time off could mean the difference between another World Series run and an early exit from the playoffs.