2018 Braves are NL East Champs!
Well, with our home record being so mediocre (43-38), I certainly didn't expect the Atlanta Braves to eliminate the Philadelphia Phillies in the first three games of their four-game home series, but that's what happened. I watched on FOX yesterday as the Braves won 5-3 behind a strong start by their All-Star ace Mike Foltynewicz and timely hitting by MVP candidate Freddie Freeman (who has the most hits in all of baseball with 186) and Johan Camargo, one of the most underrated players in the league. Folty dominated the game for the first 7 1/3 innings. As is often the case, the Braves bullpen proved shaky but we hung on for the win.
2013 was the last time we were here. We played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first-round and lost. As of today we will play the Dodgers again in round one, but that is undecided as the Colorado Rockies are still in the mix for the NL West. There's long-shot chance we could catch the Chicago Cubs for the best record in the National League, but that is unlikely with only six games remaining. So, we'll see. Either way, I'm hoping for a happier outcome than we had in 2013, though I am well aware of our limitations in almost every category except for hitting.
The Braves lost 90 games or more in each of the last three seasons. So winning the NL East is quite a turnaround. A year ahead of schedule by some estimates. MLB.com mentions 10 moments that define the Braves improbable success this season. These represent the 'highs' but, as always with baseball, there were also some lows. Getting swept by the Rockies at home in August was definitely a low point. One of those games was such a blow-out it necessitated the Braves using utility player and clutch hitter Charlie Culberson to pitch the final inning. He didn't do that badly, got out of the inning on just 10 pitches though he gave up a run.
Overall, however, the Braves limited their losing streaks to 3-4 games at most and had several winning streaks of 4 or more games (the current streak is at 5 games and we had a 6-game streak earlier in September, we are 14-8 for the month so far). This consistency is encouraging going into the postseason.
As long-time readers know, I am a life-long Braves fan. So, yesterday was an exciting time for me. I admire so much about this team. Ronald Acune, Jr. should be Rookie-of-the-Year. Freddie Freeman (or possibly Nick Markakis) should be the league's Most-Valuable-Player. And Brian Snitker should be Manager-of-the-Year.
I really admire Snitker's stoic attitude as a manager and the decisions he makes in each individual game. Smart guy. But he has a lot of fire in his belly when necessary. He has been ejected a few games this season, including when the red-hot Acune was hit by a pitch to open a game in August. Snitker has proven himself to be highly capable in managing his players and his line-ups this season. I didn't realize until yesterday that he has spent his entire 42-year career in the Atlanta Braves organization. So, naturally he was emotional about the clinch of the division title yesterday. "I am a Brave," the choked up manager said.
I can certainly relate. It will be interesting to see how Snitker manages the team over the final few games of the season. Will he give his starters plenty of rest? Will he step on the gas and try to catch the Cubs for the best record in the NL? Snitker seems to think he can do both. Maybe he can. We might not have the pitching to go deep into the postseason but what a season it has been so far! I'm looking forward to October-ball for the first time in a long while.
The Braves completed a 4-game sweep of the Phillies today winning 2-1 with mostly substitute players out there. Anibal Sanchez got the win. He ended the season 7-6 but with a fine 2.96 ERA. He pitched pretty well in spot starts over the season and there was a stretch during the summer when he was the best starter we had. In that sense Sanchez helped the Braves through a potentially tough time when Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, and Julio Teheran were all struggling.
I wouldn't have bet on a sweep, but the Phillies looked bad compared to us. They are fading at season's end. That doesn't make us a kick-ass team...yet. We need to keep winning. Winning is important going into the postseason. You want the team to have a certain momentum and expectation (rather than hope) of victory.
In honor of their superb seasons, Snitker tipped his cap to Freeman and Markakis today by putting them as the only two regular position players in the starting line-up. Both only stayed in the game until their first at-bat and were substituted for after that symbolic plate appearance. Tyler Flowers caught but even he is second-string, despite a lot of valuable work this season. He stayed in the line-up. Everyone else was backup players with decent talent.
Six games remain. With their win today the Braves are 88-68. Two wins away from 90, which is usually a standard statistic of a great season. The Cubs, also with a win today, have 91 victories already. So we are unlikely to catch them for the best record in the league with so few games left. But we can still have better records than any of the other teams that make the play-offs. A home-field advantage is possible.
Which is a mild Catch-22. As I mentioned before, we are really a better road team. If that's true, however, we should win most of the final games of the season, all on the road. Ah well, let's just keep winning and don't worry about which stadium we are playing in. Ignore all that. Snitker says this team has "the 'it' factor." and he lauds that as a "cool thing" that you cannot "create" it just is. Let's simply focus on finding a way to win and see how far we go.
2013 was the last time we were here. We played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first-round and lost. As of today we will play the Dodgers again in round one, but that is undecided as the Colorado Rockies are still in the mix for the NL West. There's long-shot chance we could catch the Chicago Cubs for the best record in the National League, but that is unlikely with only six games remaining. So, we'll see. Either way, I'm hoping for a happier outcome than we had in 2013, though I am well aware of our limitations in almost every category except for hitting.
The Braves lost 90 games or more in each of the last three seasons. So winning the NL East is quite a turnaround. A year ahead of schedule by some estimates. MLB.com mentions 10 moments that define the Braves improbable success this season. These represent the 'highs' but, as always with baseball, there were also some lows. Getting swept by the Rockies at home in August was definitely a low point. One of those games was such a blow-out it necessitated the Braves using utility player and clutch hitter Charlie Culberson to pitch the final inning. He didn't do that badly, got out of the inning on just 10 pitches though he gave up a run.
Overall, however, the Braves limited their losing streaks to 3-4 games at most and had several winning streaks of 4 or more games (the current streak is at 5 games and we had a 6-game streak earlier in September, we are 14-8 for the month so far). This consistency is encouraging going into the postseason.
As long-time readers know, I am a life-long Braves fan. So, yesterday was an exciting time for me. I admire so much about this team. Ronald Acune, Jr. should be Rookie-of-the-Year. Freddie Freeman (or possibly Nick Markakis) should be the league's Most-Valuable-Player. And Brian Snitker should be Manager-of-the-Year.
I really admire Snitker's stoic attitude as a manager and the decisions he makes in each individual game. Smart guy. But he has a lot of fire in his belly when necessary. He has been ejected a few games this season, including when the red-hot Acune was hit by a pitch to open a game in August. Snitker has proven himself to be highly capable in managing his players and his line-ups this season. I didn't realize until yesterday that he has spent his entire 42-year career in the Atlanta Braves organization. So, naturally he was emotional about the clinch of the division title yesterday. "I am a Brave," the choked up manager said.
I can certainly relate. It will be interesting to see how Snitker manages the team over the final few games of the season. Will he give his starters plenty of rest? Will he step on the gas and try to catch the Cubs for the best record in the NL? Snitker seems to think he can do both. Maybe he can. We might not have the pitching to go deep into the postseason but what a season it has been so far! I'm looking forward to October-ball for the first time in a long while.
The Braves completed a 4-game sweep of the Phillies today winning 2-1 with mostly substitute players out there. Anibal Sanchez got the win. He ended the season 7-6 but with a fine 2.96 ERA. He pitched pretty well in spot starts over the season and there was a stretch during the summer when he was the best starter we had. In that sense Sanchez helped the Braves through a potentially tough time when Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, and Julio Teheran were all struggling.
I wouldn't have bet on a sweep, but the Phillies looked bad compared to us. They are fading at season's end. That doesn't make us a kick-ass team...yet. We need to keep winning. Winning is important going into the postseason. You want the team to have a certain momentum and expectation (rather than hope) of victory.
In honor of their superb seasons, Snitker tipped his cap to Freeman and Markakis today by putting them as the only two regular position players in the starting line-up. Both only stayed in the game until their first at-bat and were substituted for after that symbolic plate appearance. Tyler Flowers caught but even he is second-string, despite a lot of valuable work this season. He stayed in the line-up. Everyone else was backup players with decent talent.
Six games remain. With their win today the Braves are 88-68. Two wins away from 90, which is usually a standard statistic of a great season. The Cubs, also with a win today, have 91 victories already. So we are unlikely to catch them for the best record in the league with so few games left. But we can still have better records than any of the other teams that make the play-offs. A home-field advantage is possible.
Which is a mild Catch-22. As I mentioned before, we are really a better road team. If that's true, however, we should win most of the final games of the season, all on the road. Ah well, let's just keep winning and don't worry about which stadium we are playing in. Ignore all that. Snitker says this team has "the 'it' factor." and he lauds that as a "cool thing" that you cannot "create" it just is. Let's simply focus on finding a way to win and see how far we go.
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