NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Phillies are living rent-free in the heads of the Atlanta Braves. After taking 3 of 5 from the Braves in the National League Divisional Series, the Phillies moved on to the National League Championship Series, and the Braves were sent home once again.
If this sounds familiar, well take a look at the 2022 season and it ended the same way. As great as the Braves were this season and last, it was their NL East rival who they just can’t seem to get by.
During the regular season, the Braves beat the Phillies 8 games to 5. Heading into this matchup, it was expected that the Braves would just run through the “lucky” Phillies on their way to capture another World Series title. But what they didn’t count on was how fundamentally sound this Phillies squad was.
The Atlanta Braves are explosive with the bats in which 5 players had over 30 home runs, 4 with over 100 RBIs, 8 with over 100 hits and how can we forget, the soon-to-be NL MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr, and his major league-leading 73 stolen bases? The Braves were loaded, dangerous, and looking for revenge.
Philadelphia Phillies Take Throne From Atlanta Braves
All season long, they were top dawgs in the National League. Even with the pricey bats of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves just seemed destined to be the last team standing at the end of the season. However, there was still some unfinished business that had to be handled and that was the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves and Phillies could very well become the new Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. We’re watching that kind of great rivalry unfold before our eyes. Muck like that, it still appears to be one-sided.
This is why baseball is such an amazing sport once September hits. Teams start pressing while others play loose. Going into the matchup, the pressure was on the Braves. They wanted to be the ones who sent the Phillies packing. They wanted to prove that last season was a fluke and nothing more. Instead, they will enter the offseason wondering if they have the necessary pieces to get past a Wild Card team.
Yes, the Phillies, no matter how you swing it, have advanced back-to-back seasons as a wild card. The Braves can make short work of any team but the Phils.
For a team coming off a World Series title just 3 seasons ago, one would think that pressure doesn’t get to them. Well, maybe it doesn’t. Then please explain how and why they can’t seem to figure things out when the lights are shinning the brightest against a deem they deem inferior.
As good as they are, can they get any better? The bats are hot and the starting rotation is one hell of a force. But the moment they hit the offseason, they may panic and decide to sell off some pieces. Meanwhile, the Phillies keep playing knowing they have the Braves number when it matters most.
To win 100 games in a season is nothing to scoff at. Hell, try doing it 2 years in a row and still failing to advance to the NLCS after winning a World Series and being picked to repeat. It was not supposed to be the Philadelphia Phillies who knocked them off their throne. That was supposed to be the Dodgers or someone in the American League. This was a dynasty in the making. But a closer look may reveal that the real dynasty resides in Philadelphia.
