Preface this as way too early....but, for you figure filberts, the Braves Magic # is 26.
BuzzBomb.. beat me to it. It is better coming from you, though... will carry more "jinx effect" with it.
Ok... mainly for
@Milwaukee and
@kg01 ; but here are some stats that further lead me to believe Nationals simply cannot catch up with the Braves. ...and to be clear, I think the Nats are playing some of the best baseball in their history over the last few weeks/month. It is great! They just dug too big a hole early in the season and the Braves are VERY GOOD too... consistently so. Just no good reason to believe that will change.
Some "comforting" numbers for the Braves:
1) Records vs teams above .500: Braves (44-34); Nats (34-38)
2) Records in 1-run games: Braves (25-13); Nats (14-19)
3) Remaining Strength of Schedule: Braves (20th most difficult in MLB); Nats (9th)
I do want to address the "aw shucks" rigmarole from a select few of my virtual pals. I should at least be honest (even if only for a moment here)...there is something to this. I would not use that term (aw shucks); but that is just semantics. I will be happy to admit if the situation reversed and my team was up by 5.5 games with 30 games remaining and the 2nd place team was playing so well... I'd be quite concerned about losing the lead/division. Here's the deal, though... MY TEAM is NOT in the lead. Yours is the only one that can screw this up.. not mine. My team is really in the perfect place for us to have this "relationship" we're experiencing here. As a Nats fan co-mingling with a bunch of Braves fans, I really am in a no lose situation...plus you guys are so nice (for now... except
@Milwaukee).
Even if the Nats make a run... and get "close"... it will only be a bonus as you guys squirm and fret over the potential collapse of the ages. No downside for me.. and I'll repeat, I appreciate you guys allowing me to drop in with a Nats jab/fact/thought every now and then. Makes this season all the more fun.
Looking ahead, I'd expect the Nationals to close the gap here in the next week or so...maybe. Both teams have below average opponents over next 5-7 games. However, September is much more difficult for Nationals than the Braves. Unless the numbers above aren't reversed by both Nationals (be better) and Braves (be worse), the wildcard is still best Nationals can do.
PEACE... & THWG!!