Once the Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East on Sunday, talk quickly turned to how they should handle the rest of the regular season. There are two schools of thought. First is the idea that this is a Braves team that has a lot of guys who have been banged up and/or who aren't exactly young, so giving as much rest as is reasonably possible has real value. On the other hand, the Braves still have a chance to earn a first-round bye if the Dodgers slip this week. That the Braves' remaining schedule is pretty soft adds credence to both potential options.
In some ways, there are no right answers until we have a better sense of the actual playoff picture, when you can better understand and possibly dictate potential matchups. However, if Braves manager Walt Weiss is to be believed after his comments following Atlanta clinching the division, fans should expect the Braves to go all out the rest of the season (within reason).
Walt Weiss seems to be a fan of the Braves trying to maintain momentum over lots of rest ahead of the playoffs
Now, there were never going to be any clear-cut answers here. Some guys will get more rest than usual this week, and others are going to proceed as normal. Can you imagine if Weiss opted to sit Matt Olson for a couple of games and end his streak of consecutive games played? Not only could he lose the clubhouse, but fans would absolutely riot.
However, there is some wisdom to what Weiss is saying. In previous years, former manager Brian Snitker and others cast partial blame for previous postseason exits on the Braves having a first-round bye, and too much downtime CAN lead to rust. With the high stakes in the playoffs, you want to be playing at your best and carry momentum if you can. The real question is what will benefit the Braves more: getting some rest or continuing as usual to keep the good times rolling?
The logical answer is some version of both, and no amount of bluster from Weiss will change that. Sure, he wants the Braves to keep playing hard, but Weiss has also been far more willing to rest players than Snitker was, and he has been vocal as to why. Hell, we already knew that Chris Sale would be getting some extra rest ahead of the first game of the Wild Card round. It stands to reason others could be treated similarly.
So what does all of this mean? Well, the odds of seeing one of those Braves lineups made up of roster dregs are basically zero. Atlanta wants to put their best foot forward and stay sharp for the playoffs. However, that doesn't mean it will be completely business as usual, no matter what Weiss' public posture may be. At the end of the day, Weiss and the Braves have little to gain from COMPLETELY tipping their hand with their plans.
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