One constant in the game of baseball is that rivalries, especially within divisions, form the backbone of fans' interest. There are few things more "fun" then relishing in the teams we hate faltering and the match-ups themselves just feel more important and impactful. It is honestly great. For the Atlanta Braves, that means their fans truly despise the Phillies and the Mets and the feeling is certainly mutual.
Yes, the Marlins and Nationals are in the National League East as well, but they don't have the same history against the Braves that the Phillies and Mets have and, to be blunt, those teams haven't been good for a bit. These rivalries have defined Braves baseball going back a few decades. Hell, just bring up Chipper Jones' name in New York or wear a Braves jersey at a Phillies game if you need proof.
Atlanta's rivalry with the Phillies in particular has reached a fever pitch the last couple of years as Philadelphia has been responsible for the Braves' early exits from the playoffs the last two seasons. However, the Phillies apparently still have Little Brother syndrome when it comes to the Braves as they somehow felt slighted by manager Brian Snitker's comments before the 2024 season when he said that he didn't like the new playoff format. No, seriously.
"A number of Phillies took offense. They believe Snitker was making excuses and demeaning their back-to-back triumphs as a Wild Card over the Braves in the DS."@Ken_Rosenthal talks about how the Phillies felt about the comments made in the spring by the Braves manager pic.twitter.com/F8DbUmap2s
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 20, 2024
Phillies manufacturing "disrespect" from Braves is just sad
It is wild that this is actually a thing. When Snitker was asked about his thoughts about the new playoff format in the wake of back-to-back years where a LOT of teams (not just the Braves) with first round byes have struggled after the layoff, Snitker was transparent and explained that it is hard to deal with velocity and the speed of the game after a break like that. There was no "we beat the Phillies without the layoff" or discounting how well the Phillies played. He didn't say anything that others in other markets have said.
Sadly, the Phillies decided to take it that way as Ken Rosenthal passed along the tidbit that several Philly players thought that Snitker was diminishing their accomplishments against the Braves in the postseason. Here is a news flash for those delusional Phillies: it can be true that the new playoff system kinda stinks AND the Phillies deserved to win those playoff series. Not everything is about you, fellas.
The Phillies are a legitimately good team and it is good for them that the Braves lost half their lineup and multiple key rotation arms so that they can finally hang a division title banner in 2024. Sure, they can't seem to beat anyone consistently the last couple of months despite being at near full strength including getting destroyed by the Mets, but they do deserve to win the division this year. It would have been nice to see how things would have shaken out if the Braves weren't down five actual All-Stars for a huge portion of the season.
That said, the Phillies better not complain at all about the postseason format if their playoff run this year doesn't go to plan. No one was going to kiss the ring they have failed to win before this season and no one should be interested in hearing their excuses, no matter how good they look on paper, if that comes to pass especially given that they think it is so easy.