The Braves have one more shot to make the playoffs. Of course, once they do that, how far does anyone think this team can actually go? One school of thought is for the Braves to put their fans out of their misery today, and not prolong the suffering. But none of us want that do we. The Braves need to make the postseason for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to send Bobby Cox out as a winner one last time.
Here's the lineup Bobby will try to do this thing with:
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Omar Infante, 3B - .635
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Jason Heyward, RF - .803
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Derrek Lee, 1B - .839
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Brian McCann, C - .665
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Matt Diaz, LF - .677
- Alex Gonzalez, SS - .600
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Brooks Conrad, 2B - .696
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Rick Ankiel, CF - .676
- Tim Hudson, P
That number to the right of each hitters' name is their September OPS. A whole lot of mediocrity in this lineup right now. One might call our lineup "replacement level" ... barely.
For those asking what the scenarios are that the Braves will clinch the Wild Card, here they are. If we win and San Diego loses, then we obviously clinch the Wild Card, and that would be the best scenario. Yes, we could conceivably force a one-game playoff even if we lose today, and San Diego loses. The most interesting scenario would be for the Braves to win and San Deigo to win. That would force a one-game playoff between San Diego and San Francisco, and the loser of that game would play us in a one-game playoff for the Wild Card. Any one-game playoffs that the Braves have to play would be played in Atlanta.
Regardless of scenarios, the Braves need to simply focus on winning today. Game time is 1:35pm. The Padres and Giants play at 4:05pm.