In the blink of an eye, the Braves have given their identity a total makeover. It seems like a lifetime ago when many a pundit and prognosticator spoke of the Braves in an indifferent, if not speculative, tone. Now with thirteen-consecutive wins in the rear-view mirror, people address this team with a heightened sense of revelry. Is it deserved? Absolutely. It's not often that teams put together one double-digit win streak, much less two in the same season. To do so in such a grandiose, bloodthirsty fashion as they have makes it all the more impressive. Sweeping the best team in the NL, then three more teams on top of that, is remarkable. We'd all be just as impressed had they taken two of three from St. Louis and Colorado, swept Philadelphia, and taken two of three from Washington. Instead, they just went ahead and won 'em all.
The sweep of Washington stands as the high-point of the season thus far. Whether they were trying to or not, the Braves made a statement during that series, one that transcends any media fodder or nonsensical Twitter battle. This season, the NL East is sole property of the Atlanta Braves. The Nationals are a talented team, one with nothing left to lose, fighting mostly for pride at this point. Oftentimes those teams are the most dangerous. Instead of allowing them to renew their sense of purpose, the Braves broke them. You could see it in Bryce Harper's eyes just as well as you could see it on Davey Johnson's face. The Nats' season is over.
One last note on the Nationals and the Bryce Harper situation: they seem to be a club driven by a sense of bravado, and Harper
is at the head of that. Juxtapose that with the stoic nature of the
Atlanta franchise that has been so prevalent since the glory days of the
early 90's, and it's clear that the mantras of these two clubs are at
odds with one another. Is there a lingering resentment between the two
clubs due to the stark contrast in their clubhouse cultures? An
outsider's perspective doesn't offer much in the way of insight, but
it's entirely within the realm of possibility.
When it
comes down to it, pointing a finger and cussing a pitcher from sixty
feet away comes off as petulant. On top of that, if Bryce truly had no
intention of challenging Teheran physically (as he stated after the
game), then what's the point of standing at a safe distance and berating
him? If you're going to take issue with being hit by a pitch that's
fine, but you have to own it. In baseball, that means charging the
mound and rolling the dice. If you don't want to do that, then shake it
off and take your base.
We already knew a lot about
Bryce before that moment, but we learned a little more from his reaction
in the moment and from his comments afterward: he's a grandstander.
Anyway, enough about the Nationals. While it has been fun to enjoy this team's performance since the All-Star break, an infinitely more important battle looms: the race for home-field advantage during the playoffs. In light of the recent win streak, the Braves are probably the odds-on favorite to end the season with the best record in the NL as they have a very easy schedule. One thing that will work against them is the delicate balance that must be struck between resting the starters and putting the team in the best position to win. If Atlanta has the division locked up by, say, September 15, it's likely that we'll be seeing a lot of Terdoslavich, Schafer, Reed Johnson, and perhaps even Janish and Laird from that point forward. At that point in the season, it's likely that Fredi Gonzalez will make decisions about starters on a day-to-day basis, as far as the aforementioned balance is concerned relative to the race for the best record. His track record in this area has been very good lately, so there's little reason for concern.
If there's one thing to take away from this win streak, it's this: April was no fluke. The ceiling for this team's performance is as high as any team in baseball, Detroit and St. Louis included. The talent is certainly there, but more importantly, the killer instinct is there in spades.
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