A little more than three weeks ago, with the Atlanta Braves’ 2018 season about to begin, first baseman Freddie Freeman said of his team’s potential:
“This is a huge year for us. You never know, this could be the year that we’re the (2017) Twins. You don’t get picked and next thing you know, we’re there. We have a lot of guys who could make a huge impact this year and get us back to the playoffs.”
For those who didn’t keep up with the Twins’ stunning wild-card run to the playoffs last season, the parent club of our Chattanooga Lookouts went from a 2016 record of 59-103 to a 2017 mark of 85-77 before losing its lone postseason game to the New York Yankees.
And despite Monday night’s 2-0 loss at Washington, the Braves – who finished 72-90 in 2017 – are a fairly surprising 6-4 with a run differential of plus-27, which remains the best in the major leagues.
But does that give Braves Nation realistic reason to hope for a postseason for the first time in five years? Are these guys really better, or is this fool’s gold, a whole lot of noise that ultimately will signify nothing more than modest improvement by the time August rolls around?