The Braves are about to play games that matter, though some will suggest that, for a team that hasn’t finished anywhere but first in its division since 2017, the games that matter are still six months off. We’re tempted to dismiss such carping with a cheery, “Whatever, dude,” but let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that such a sour sentiment might – might, I said – bear a salient point.
The Braves have built a team that will never be less than good. With that as a baseline, the only way they can placate their constituency is to win the World Series, which is never guaranteed to any team. The 2022 Dodgers won 111 games but lasted one October round.
And so we ask, knowing reason and logic will shout us down, can a case be made for a good team winning less in the hope of winning more? (Don’t look to the Dodgers for guidance on this, either: They won a mere 101 games last year and met the same abrupt end.) Might the Braves do something different over the next six months that might keep them – apologies for the inelegance of this phrasing – from spitting the bit come October?
Should they win even bigger? They’ve won 205 games over the past two regular seasons; they’ve won a total of two games over those two postseasons. With the expanded-again playoffs, October is tougher than ever to negotiate, and it hasn’t been easy since DiMaggio wore pinstripes. The Braves could go 120-42 – that’d be a record – and still start the Division Series 0-0.
Should they win less big? We’re starting to hear this again, same as when the Braves’ run of 14 consecutive division titles yielded one World Series title. The catch, now as then: Trying to save something for October might lead to missing October. Maybe yu’ve heard: You can’t win it all if you don’t make the playoffs.
Should they win slightly less big? I understand the concept, counterintuitive though it is. I don’t understand how it would work. Do you shoot for 95 wins, as opposed to 105? Do you aim for 90, which is how many regular-season games the Braves-conquering Phillies won last year? Do you try to avoid a bye, seeing as how three teams, the Braves among them, came off byes and went bye-bye last fall?
Should they win just enough to host a wild card round? That worked – at least until the NLCS, when it stopped working – for those Phillies. It didn’t work for the Brewers or the Rays. Those teams started the playoffs knowing they wouldn’t have to play on the road until Round 2, which neither reached. October’s weird.
Should they win enough to claim a wild card but NOT to host a wild card round? We knew when this exercise began where it would lead, and here we are. We’ve gotten ridiculous.
Should they delve into load management? This might not be totally ridiculous. Seven National Leaguers worked 159 or more games last season. Three were Braves: Matt Olson, Ronald Acuna and Austin Riley. Ozzie Albies logged 148. But what’s the point of having great players if they don’t, you know, play?
Should they attempt to play those great players just enough? Again, I take the point. If they’re leading the NL East by 10 games on July 1, might they seek to give position players a weekly day off? This would entail locking Brian Snitker in his basement, but yeah, they could try. (And good luck telling Acuna, “Forget that 50-50 season; today’s your bench day.”)
Should they, come Labor Day, encase Charlie Morton in bubble wrap? If today’s missive adds nothing else to the civic discourse, let this be it. If Morton doesn’t hurt his finger last September and is available to start NLDS Game 3 in Phily, the Braves win that series and the World Series. I’ll never believe otherwise.
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