It seemed just yesterday that this 2020 season was getting underway and the Philadelphia Phillies were going to run away with the NL East and the Atlanta Braves were going to finish this 60-game season in fourth place. Just fast forward three short months and the Phillies ended the season in third place and the Atlanta Braves won their third NL East Division Title.
The Braves finished off both the Cincinnati Reds (WCS) and Miami Marlins (NLDS) not losing a game and going 5-0 in those games. Next up was Goliath from the west in the shape of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Dodgers were expected to win this series, and they did, but the Braves gave the Dodgers their money’s worth.
The Braves started the NLCS winning the first two games, Dodgers won the next, then Braves took care of game four. With the Braves in control with a 3-1 game lead, Braves needed one win, but that win was so hard to come by, but they had their chances.
I’m not going to dwell on the blunders the Braves had, because in the heat of the moment, I might have done the same thing. The key ingredient in this whole matter is the Braves took the Dodgers to game seven and had a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning. That is what I’m going to reflect on this offseason as I get ready for Spring Training 2021.
The Braves still have a young team and they are still getting better as they go. They have Ronald Acuna, Jr and Ozzie Albies wrapped up for many years to come with Cristian Pache ready to take the reigns in centerfield. Braves need to lock up Marcell Ozuna now. Hopefully the contract is ready to go, but he is a free agent and will test the waters, but hopefully he will come back to Atlanta. Atlanta learned the hard way after letting Josh Donaldson go. But it was a blessing in disguise when the Braves signed Ozuna. Truth be told, I totally forgot the Braves signed Ozuna. With everything going on in this country during the early months of baseball, it wasn’t until the second spring training in July that I realized, oh yea, the Braves did sign Ozuna.
A lot of positives came out of this postseason, and that is what I’m going to share. Game one of the NLCS when 1B Freddie Freeman first inning home run sent me in the air with excitement, 3B Austin Riley hit the go ahead home run to put the Braves up 2-1. Ozzie Albies 2-run blast later that same inning to propel the Braves to a 5-1 win and 1-0 series lead. The next day the Braves hung on to win 8-7 with a big time win 10-2 the next night. Those are the three wins in the NLCS.
I am not going to play the Atlanta sports curse card. Does it cross my mind, sure it does? Do I believe it? No! I believe this team will come together and get the pieces they need. Braves need a top starting pitcher and with Mike Soroka going to ease his way back in the starting rotation from an achilles injury, I think we will be okay. Signing Ozuna is not an option, it’s a must.
As I close out my reporting of the 2020 Atlanta Braves season, I leave you the message from my twitter:
Originally tweeted by Mark A Kirkley 🇺🇸 (@makirkley) on October 19, 2020.
Photo 1 Courtesy of FanSided
Photo 2 Courtesy of Los Angeles Daily News
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