I fully admit I said there was no chance they could catch the Braves by the end of the season. Here they are, almost caught by July 4. Absolutely wild.
As someone who thought the division was far from over (mostly because Braves pitching was always fraudulent) , I too am surprised that there’s a quality chance we take the division over before the break BUT the Braves shitting the bed the last month helped (not complaining)
I thought it would get spicy in mid-August, not the by the beginning of July. The Braves were always going to cool off but we've been winning at a consistently good clip and they have started cratering way worse than i thought.
It’s almost like there’s 162 games in the season and starting off slow doesn’t end the possibility of winning the division from a team that had a hot start
The Phillies didn't just start off slow, they were horrendous. The Barves didn't just start hot, they had a very long run of good baseball and are a well-constructed team. This wasn't the Royals having 1 good April.
People were correct to have significant concerns about the division.
Concerns sure, but I recall most of this sub declaring the season over after 28 games, and that’s a ridiculous thing to say after one month of baseball
Many people here are just shitposting basically. It's fun to jump from pole to pole of "World Series incoming!" to "FIRE THEM ALL!" after a bad at bat. I would take basically nothing seriously. Even the people who are serious are often unserious people if you know what I mean
I think one should always have mild doubts and concerns, no matter when hot and cold streaks arise. A team’s level is determined over 162 games, always. Two years ago, the Phillies rampaged out of the game—then leveled off and never rediscovered the spark. For all we know, they could have played their best baseball for the 2026 season…or could keep rolling through. That’s the joy and agony.
I said the same thing thing. The braves were so good on so many fronts it didn't seem like a fluke. I was sure, by end end of the season, all we were gonna be talking about was Braves vs Dodgers.
I think the thing I keep needing to learn about baseball, and I keep trying to workshop a turn of phrase for it, is that there are so many games until there aren't, and it’s never too late until it is.
The AL Central alone over the last, like, three years kind of surmises that. It felt like a new team either made the playoffs or won the division outright in like the final three weeks of the season when they were back by 10 games or something
I’m very old in Reddit years. Been following baseball for 50 years now. My team growing up were the masters of the slow start, late close, then usually falling short. Taught me to sit back and appreciate the arc of a season, not to read too much into anything. Don’t get too high or low. Engage when you can see the “magic” turned on. Avert the eyes when your team is flailing, as nearly every team will do.
For the gajillionth time, demonstrating that the start of a season doesn’t tell us much about how the season will play out. All the early buzz was about the NL Central, which has been inching back to the pack, while the East has caught up.
It's always like an automatic loss with Painter and Nola on the mound, what if we were winning with them, we would've been already in the #1 spot earlier. Let's goooooo! #Phillies
I told my brother last month or so, if we could get to within 5-6 games behind Atlanta prior to the all star break, we would have a chance… I didn’t think we would be in striking distance BEFORE THE BREAK! it’s possible to be in the lead by the break. Wild times I tell ya!
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u/anhydrousslim Jul 01 '26
I fully admit I said there was no chance they could catch the Braves by the end of the season. Here they are, almost caught by July 4. Absolutely wild.