The Braves Are In! ... Now what?
The Atlanta Braves are in the MLB post-season for 2024. Most years, that's not newsworthy. After all, they have won the National League East division the preceding six years.
But this season has been different. Heavy favorites in the preseason to again win their division, the Braves have encountered an almost laughable series of big injuries to big players– up to, and now including , game 162 yesterday, when planned starting pitcher Chris Sale was a last minute scratch because of back spasms.
As they have all year, the Braves clawed and scratched just enough. They found a way to get a win in the final game of the regular season, a 3-0 victory over the Mets . ( Note that in this odd year, the Mets had already clinched their own playoff berth by beating the Braves 8-7 in the first game of this same pasted-on doubleheader)
Atlanta 's reward is a best- of -three series against San Diego in San Diego starting Tuesday night.
The old saying in baseball is that momentum is tomorrow 's starting pitcher. Which for Atlanta means...TBD..a mystery. The possibilities include names from the recent past ( AJ Smith- Shawver) and the not as recent past ( Bryce Elder and Ian Anderson).
The odds seem long for the Braves to advance. But a little baseball history offers a bit of hope.
In 2021, the Braves did not get over .500 til August. They added several players to the roster for the second half. Outfielders Joc Pedersen, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler did not make headlines on arrival. But by the end of the post-season, with the Braves crowned as Worls Series Champions, you see Soler as World Series MVP, Rosario as NLCS MVP and Joc Pedersen as the star of the NLDS ( for which no formal MVP is given).
Going further back into time, consider the 1960 World Series. The Yankees had a far superior team than did the Pittsburgh Pirates. But it was Pittsburgh who prevailed in seven games, despite being being outscored 57 to 25 in aggregate. Each New York win was a rout. Each Pirate win was a nail -biter. The Yanks had a huge batting average advantage, .338 to .256. And they hit 10 homers total, to Pittsburgh's four.
But the underdog Pirates came back to win Game Seven in dramatic fashion with Bill Mazeroski slamming a ninth inning homer for the dramatic win.
All of which means nothing specific regarding this series– except that the Braves survived a series of major hurdles to make it this far. So they have a chance.
Game One begins tonight. San Diego pitches Michael King. The Braves announced plans to start AJ Smith-Shawver.
From there, it's anyone's guess. The Braves are rated only a 40% chance for a series win. But the oddsmakers don't play in the game and don't directly affect the outcome.
Which reminds me. Pete Rose died yesterday at age 83.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com