Let’s get this out of the way before anything else: no, the Braves have not sewn up a playoff spot. They could still lose one in the next two weeks. But, you can’t blame me for this post jinxing it! The Braves are selling NLDS tickets! Someone made a fanpost about the playoff roster! It’s their fault, not mine! Okay, now that that’s out of the way...
The Braves seem fairly likely at this point to make the playoffs via winning the NL East. That means they’ll be matched up against some other team in a five-game NLDS. As of right now, the other two NL division winners are somewhat in flux. The Cubs are likelier to win the Central than the Brewers, but the West is a complete toss-up (though the Diamondbacks look to have fallen out of it at this point). So, it’s somewhat of an open question about who the Braves might face — of the remaining contenders with appreciable playoff odds, only the Cardinals seem primed for a Wild Card spot but not a division berth.
My own guess is that the Braves end up facing either the Dodgers or the Rockies, with a slight edge to the likelihood of them facing the Dodgers. But, that’s my guess based on what I think will happen, not what I want to happen. Of course, there’s also a reality where somehow the Braves end up with the NL’s best record and face the Lightning Round winner, but I don’t think that’s too likely given that they don’t even have the NL’s second-best record right now.
To that end, today’s Fanpost Friday question: who would you prefer the Braves face in the NLDS? Why?
I think there are pros and cons to many of the choices. On the one hand, the Cardinals and Rockies seem to be the two weakest contenders, on paper. On the other hand, the Dodgers have actually had the worst results so far. The Braves have fared terribly against the Rockies and Dodgers this season, and not great against the Brewers either. (They still have a series with St. Louis remaining, but swept the Cardinals earlier this year.) In-season records are not at all predictive of playoff success, but does that inform your decision to any extent?
Anyway, go forth and Fanpost!