Helene is apparently not much of a baseball fan.
The hurricane that bears her name has created a logistical quagmire for the Braves (and Mets), who potentially face a most unlikely and grueling set of games if they are to make it into the postseason, to say nothing of actually winning if they get there.
A season that has included no shortage of unanticipated hurdles now has one more obstacle, this one featuring inches of rain, damaging winds and a big green blob on a weather forecast map.
By a decree of Major League Baseball on Wednesday, the Braves’ second and third games of their crucial three-game series against the Mets at Truist Park were postponed until Monday, when the teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader. The small problem there is that both teams are playing to get into the playoffs, which begin Tuesday. If either team qualified, it would likely be at either Milwaukee, San Diego or Los Angeles.
It’s a bananas scenario – a weather event washing out a critical series between teams competing for a playoff spot that then compels them to complete the regular season on the eve of the playoffs. If the Braves are fortunate enough to make it through, it’s entirely possible that they would have to burn through their pitching staff to do it and then would have to get on a cross-country flight to play an opponent that has had a day’s rest and has its staff set up for a three-game battle.
It would constitute a significant competitive disadvantage. It’s a mess, and that’s only the start.
The Kansas City Royals are scheduled to arrive in Atlanta Thursday from Washington for a three-game series against the Braves that is scheduled to start Friday. There’s no telling that air travel into Atlanta will be an option on Thursday or that weather will permit games on Friday, which could mean a another doubleheader at some point this weekend. (The Royals themselves are trying to secure their own wild-card berth.)
Could this have been avoided?
It’s hard to say. Of course, the easy answer is, “Without a doubt.”
Both teams had an off day Monday and could have played one or even two games that day ahead of the storm. The washed-out Thursday game is actually a makeup game from a rainout in April, and the Mets could have come back to Atlanta on an off day earlier in the season that both teams shared but chose to tack it onto this series.
Also, in the past, teams have moved series to other cities due to hurricanes.
However, the answer that is probably more accurate is that there may not have been enough time to be proactive in a meaningful way. It was only Tuesday that Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency, an indication of when government officials recognized the impending threat. That was a day after both teams had their shared open date. It would be virtually impossible to reschedule a single night game into a doubleheader on the same day. It was Wednesday that Helene was upgraded to a hurricane.
By comparison, when MLB moved two series in 2017 because of hurricanes, in both instances the league had much more advance notice, based on when the storms were identified as hurricanes, before the two series were ultimately moved.
It’s conceivable that Major League Baseball could have gotten ahead of this over the weekend, but at that point it was not clear that weather in Atlanta would impact games as they have.
Here’s the upshot. It will be a challenge for both teams and probably more so for the Mets, who will go to Milwaukee for games Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then fly back for a potential doubleheader starting at 1:10 p.m. If either team advances, winning a wild-card round (best of three, all on the road) will be a highly testy challenge.
But it’s also possible (though perhaps unlikely) that the Braves, Diamondbacks and Mets – all within a game of each other – settle the race before Monday, in which case the games would likely not be played.
It’s a messy situation, for sure. But, given the circumstances, this probably isn’t the best time for complaining – teams or fans – about what a raw deal their team got dealt or how difficult the next several days will be.
Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory that “preparations to protect life and property from storm surge and damaging winds along the Florida Big Bend Coast should be rushed to completion.”
Gov. Kemp’s state of emergency declaration issued a caution for the potential for flooding, fallen trees and downed power lines that could make roads impassable and isolate residences and people from access to essential public services.
You can understand if people in affected areas of the state – possibly including metro Atlanta, which could be subject to flash floods – aren’t fretting over the possibility of pitching rotations getting out of whack.
It’s been a strange year already for the Braves. There might not be a more fitting conclusion to their regular season.
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