Often, sports fans and writers are guilty of exaggerating the importance of a game or stretch.
The Braves will play nine games in eight days, all on the road against the two teams in front of them in the National League East.
Upping the stakes even more, the July 30 trade deadline is the Braves’ first day back home.
The Braves went 2-3 in their first homestand of the second half, losing a half game to the first-place Mets in the process.
Also on the IL is shortstop Francisco Lindor, whom the Mets acquired over the winter and paid well over $300 million in an extension.
They’re boasting the longest postseason drought in the NL despite spending oodles of money in recent years.
Unless they wilt in the next week, it’s hard to see a scenario where they aren’t going hard after upgrades .
General manager Alex Anthopoulos made it clear last week that the Braves are operating as buyers until something changes.
But the Braves won’t have the same urgency – or rather, desperation – of the two teams in front of them, if the standings aren’t drastically altered by July 30.
There’s been regression galore in the bullpen, which was perhaps the Braves’ greatest strength during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Anthopoulos could go wild, making several additions, but it seems unrealistic he’d add enough to change this season’s fate.
They want to earn their fourth consecutive division title, and as we see time and time again in sports, just getting into a tournament gives you a chance.
Still, the teams in front of them are more inclined to make major additions, such as Cubs slugger Kris Bryant or Kimbrel.
The Braves could justify further buying, standing pat or deciding to concede, perhaps even cutting salary and adding to their prospect pool.
Or, in a totally conceivable scenario, the Braves have an average trip and arrive home nearly the same place they started.