Braves blueprint to win the NL East

            Time will tell whether or not these Braves catch the Mets in the NL East division race. I’m still a believer in this team’s ability to catch the Mets & win our fifth straight division title.  Not everyone feels that way, and it certainly won’t be easy, but I believe that this will happen. There are several reasons for my belief in this team, some of which I will detail further below. Think of this exercise as a reference to the “Ford Keys to the Game” played before every contest. Here’s how our beloved team can “get it done” and deliver another trip to baseball’s postseason.

Continue winning series

            It’s just as legendary Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis famously said, “just win, baby!” The Braves won five straight series before dropping two of three to the Cardinals this weekend. Luckily, we’re still just three games back of the Mets as the Mets lost 1-0 to the lowly Rockies. We’ve got the Rockies in town next after an off-day on Monday, which is a very winnable series. Upcoming series against the Marlins & A’s are ones that we should be clear favorites in as well. After that, the team’s got a huge west coast trip to face the surging Mariners & slumping Giants. From there, it’s all division games the rest of the way culminating in a home series vs. the Mets. That late-September Mets series is essential, as the NL East will likely come down to the wire.

Take advantage of off-days

            We’ve got a total of five off-days the rest of the way, including the one today (Monday). We’ll need to strategize our pitching rotation to have our best starters pitch against the best teams, our weaker pitchers face weaker teams, and rest our studs as-needed down the stretch. The ideal model for managing the rotation was revealed during a mid-August stretch where we played the Marlins in four games on the road followed by a four-game home series vs. the Mets. Basically, we let our weaker pitchers (Odorizzi, Muller, Anderson, & Elder) start against the Marlins while saving our studs (Strider, Morton, & Fried) for the pivotal series against the Mets. This method also allowed Max Fried & Kyle Wright an extra few days rest to heal some injuries. All in all, this formula worked pretty well as the team won seven of those eight games played.

Evaluate players returning from injury

            Ozzie Albies & Mike Soroka are set to re-join the team at some point in September. They’ll be joined by role players like Orlando Arcia & Ehire Adrianza as late-season call-ups. There’s not a whole lot of time left for these guys to get stretched out & contribute to the team; however, if any of these guys are able to help us out, even in a limited role, that’s a huge bonus. Last year, we saw Eddie Rosario make his Braves debut in August & become a key factor for us. Who knows? Maybe some of these guys instantly contribute & make our team’s playoff rosters.

Remember: we’ve been here before

            Aaron Rodgers perhaps said it best when famously telling Packer Nation to “R-E-L-A-X” after a disappointing 1-2 start to their 2014 season. Granted, he was probably high as a kite while  on Percocet’s at the time of delivering the message, but the point still stands. Simply put, the Braves have been through this late-season push each of the last four years & the Mets haven’t. We were down by double-digit games in the standings last year, just as we were earlier this year. None of that matters if the team comes through in September & October when it really counts. We must remember that although our road ahead is difficult, we also just might be those m’fers.