NEW YORK – Hey there,
Brian Snitker always says it: At the start of each season, the Braves set out to win their division. This goal comes before the ultimate prize, which is a World Series trophy.
Of course the Braves want to win the National League East.
We onlookers, though, can focus more on this: The Braves don’t have to win the division to earn a World Series ring. There are three wild-card spots, and those postseason berths count the same. The starting point might be different, but the road goes to the same destination.
“I still want to win the division,” Snitker said Thursday at Citi Field. “We gotta get healthy in order to make that happen. But as we’ve seen before in the past, you just gotta get in. You gotta get in the tournament to give yourself a chance, because anything can happen once you get in.”
You just have to get into the postseason. You just have to get into the postseason. You just have to get into the postseason.
This is the main point here.
Would a division title be terrific? Absolutely. But the Braves will take a World Series any way it comes.
Yes, the Braves can still win their division. No, the Phillies haven’t already won it. If you want to call the race, go ahead. But I’m not going to do so yet.
The juxtaposition of this season and last season really is interesting. A year ago, almost everything went well – “almost” because the Braves still dealt with Max Fried’s forearm strain, his blister and Charlie Morton’s finger sprain. (No season is ever perfect.) To fans, this season has felt cursed. Injuries. Underperforming stars. Bad luck. It’s been, to use a baseball term, a grind.
On Thursday, the Braves added another chapter to this difficult season. They had a mistake-filled loss to the Mets. They have lost five in a row. The Mets are within half a game of them for the top wild-card spot in the National League.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the best team in the league or the worst team in the league. You gotta win games,” Chris Sale said. “Every day, you show up to the ballpark and you expect to win. If you win, great, let’s do it again tomorrow. If not, hey, you gotta come tomorrow ready to go. The situation doesn’t dictate what our expectations are. We expect to win every game and that’s what we need to do from here on out.”
Perhaps the Braves’ battles with adversity will serve them well down the stretch. Or maybe this is, as skeptics might think, a ruined season.
The one certainty: There are multiple paths to a World Series trophy.
Remember 2021? As Snitker says, each season is different. But three years ago, the Braves proved you can look dead in the water, then put together a magical run. Last season, the Diamondbacks went to the World Series after winning 84 games and having a negative run differential. In 2023, the Phillies didn’t compete with the Braves for the division, but bounced the Braves and went on to appear in the Fall Classic.
Would a team rather win 100-plus games, capture the division crown and earn the wild-card bye? Sure. But in this sport, the postseason is unpredictable. Just get there and see what happens.
Baseball is a long season.
One example: When the Braves and Mets met at Citi Field in May, New York was 18-18. The Braves were 22-12.
Now, the Braves are struggling and the Mets are hot.
“They’re healthy. They got healthy,” Snitker said. “It’s a good club. Knew going in when we played them here the last time, they’re a good club. And that’s the biggest thing: When you can get all your guys on the field at one point in time, then you got an opportunity to do pretty good. We’re grinding through that right now trying to get to a point where we get everybody back.”
For now, the Braves have to fight.
“This is a tough one to swallow, but we’re gonna have to just keep going for it and playing hard,” Jarred Kelenic said after Thursday’s loss.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Extra Innings
In 2022, Austin Riley and his wife, Anna, welcomed their first child: A boy named Eason. Austin left the Braves’ series at Dodger Stadium to go home.
When he returned April 22, he began the hottest stretch of his career.
In 88 games from April 22 through July 31, Riley hit .302 with a .971 OPS and 27 home runs.
On Tuesday, Anna gave birth to their second son, William “Beau” Riley. Perhaps it means more dad strength.
“Probably my best couple months’ run of my career were after Eason was born, so I’m hoping history repeats itself,” Riley said.
On Thursday at Citi Field, Max Fried (left forearm neuritis) was testing how it felt to throw a bit, Snitker said.
“According to him, it’s getting better and better, so I think he’s close to starting throwing again,” Snitker said. “So that’s really good.”
Ramón Laureano had a rough end to Thursday’s tough loss. He was involved in a poor play in the top of the 10th, then overran a ball in the bottom half – which allowed the winning run to score.
The message to him after a rough inning?
“You gotta keep your head up,” Sale said. “This is a very humbling game. If it was easy – that saying. You just gotta keep grinding. Everyone has nights like that. Dust it off, get some sleep, come back tomorrow. That’s the cool thing about this game: Sometimes you can have a tough night and come back the next day and be the hero. Just keep grinding.”
It was good to see Nacho Alvarez Jr. debut this week. It’s always fun to see players rewarded for their hard work over their journeys.
It was even better to see the Alvarez parents at Truist Park on Tuesday. They couldn’t make it to the debut on Monday, and you know why if you live in Atlanta. Delta was a mess.
Forrest Wall, whom the Braves designated for assignment this week, was claimed off waivers by the Marlins. They optioned him to Triple A.
Wall’s speed can help a team, but he was caught stealing three times in six attempts this season. He didn’t produce much with the bat. He can play solid defense, but the Braves moved on because they needed a 40-man roster spot for Alvarez.
About the Author
