2023 was a brilliant season for the Atlanta Braves. From March to September, the team was fiery hot behind the bat, hitting a total of 307 home runs. The cherry on top of a near-perfect roster was Ronald Acuña Jr., cementing his case for NL MVP in almost every game he played. Yet, that same strong rotation choked in October. Again.
Perhaps it’s laughable how almost three days to the exact date, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Braves to clinch the NLCS spot last year. Since the Atlanta team performs well enough in the regular season to not go through the Wild Card, does that gap of no play have a negative effect? Manager Brian Snitker doesn’t want to believe it.
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Brian Snitker Refuses to Let 5-Day Rest Be An Excuse
2022 was a special year for Philly because they broke an 11-year postseason drought. The club is even more determined in 2023 after losing the Fall Classic to the Houston Astros. But was that any excuse for the team with a 100-win season? For Atlanta’s skipper, the best regular season team in the National League has no justification. He even cites the Houston Astros as an example.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Brian Snitker will not use the 5-day break as an excuse that the Braves cooled down when they needed to be at their hottest.
“I’m not going to say that’s an excuse for us. I look at the Astros. It didn’t bother them. They kind of kept hitting on all cylinders.”
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker refusing to use the 5-day layoff for an excuse for their first-round elimination again: "I'm not going to say that's an excuse for us. I look at the Astros. It didn't bother them. They kind of kept hitting on all cylinders.''
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 13, 2023
The Astros did have a brilliant postseason run in the first round. Houston is on its seventh straight ALCS run and may make it to the Fall Classic again. After the troubles they faced to make it to October, the reigning World Series champs were not going to let anything stop them. But in the same way, the Braves, who had already experienced brutal defeat last year, should have been even more determined to do better this season.
Derek Jeter Predicted Atlanta Braves Would Lose
For someone who has lived through what the Braves are going through right now, Derek Jeter made the perfect prediction. The former New York Yankees player has joined ex-teammate Alex Rodriguez on FOX Sports as an MLB analyst. Ahead of the first Phillies vs. Braves match-up, the retired captain was sure the Big Peach would lose. Why? The curse 5-day break.
“The thing that concerns me is the 5 days off. I’ve been on postseason teams where you have days off and that can affect you offensively.”
Turns out the veteran’s worries weren’t over nothing. Brian Snitker knows how it affected his team, but at least they’re not using it to excuse their lack of performance. It was just another reason among many.
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Written by
Edited by
Deepanshi Bajaj